Local News

Authorities were investigating the cause of a vegetation fire that broke out in the Kerby area yesterday. On Monday at 3:10 p.m., the Illinois Valley Fire District and Oregon Department of Forestry were dispatched to the fire along Forest Road 910 off Westside Road. IVFD officials said the fire was knocked down at just under three-quarters of an acre. ODF crews remained at the scene until the blaze was fully-extinguished. Officials said no structures were threatened and there were no injuries reported.

 

The Citizens Advisory Committee for the Josephine County Law Enforcement District is meeting tomorrow in Grants Pass. Wednesday's meeting will be held at 3 p.m. in the Board of Commissioners Conference Room at the Josephine County Courthouse. Under New Business, Attorney Alison Smith will present Oregon's Public Meeting Laws to the Citizens Advisory Committee. That will be followed by the topics of Meeting Recording, Bulletin Posting and Handling Media Inquiries. Committee members will hold a discussion on tours of the Josephine County Jail and ride-along updates will be provided by Sheriff Dave Daniel. Committee bylaws will also be discussed during the meeting, which is one of the first for the panel governing the new law enforcement district that starts in July.

 

Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) has announced funding awards of more than $40 million in grants and tax credits to build and preserve 471 homes, with a good chunk of the funding coming to River City. OHCS announced on Monday that $4.5 million has been awarded to Allen Creek Crossing, a 68-home development along Williams Highway in south Grants Pass. The resources come from the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, Oregon Affordable Housing Tax Credits, HOME and General Housing Account Program. These resources are used along with local, state and private investments to make possible the development of affordable housing in communities across the state. OHCS Director Andrea Bell said over 400 families and individuals will have a safe and stable place to call home because of these investments and the leadership of their local partners who made this possible. She said this progress can invigorate local neighborhoods, communities and economies. These investments also contribute to the five-year Statewide Housing Plan goal of increasing the pipeline of affordable rental housing. OHCS surpassed the goal of adding 25,000 new homes to the pipeline and had met this goal at around 107% of the target as of the end of 2023.

 

Total payroll employment in Jackson County rose by 270 jobs in February as many industries added jobs over the month. According to the Oregon Employment Department, there were 100,927 people working in Jackson County in February for a seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 4.5%, which was up from 4.3% in January and down from 5.4% in February 2023. On the positive side, jobs were added in construction, private education & health services, leisure & hospitality, and professional & business services. Retail trade and manufacturing lost jobs in February while government jobs increased, with most of the gains in local government education. Over the past year, payroll employment in Jackson County lost a total of 130 jobs, a decrease of 0.1%. Jackson County employment is now 1,620 jobs below the total reached in February 2020, prior to the pandemic. Industries adding jobs since February 2023 included private education & health services and constructio. Industries showing over-the-year losses were professional & business services, financial activities, transportation, warehousing & utilities, other services, leisure & hospitality, retail trade, information and wholesale trade.

 

Britt Music & Arts Festival is excited to announce the next slate of 12 Britt Presents shows for the 2024 summer season. This group of shows features another wide array of musical artists including country legend Willie Nelson. Britt newcomers this year will include Shaggy, Dirty Heads, Walker Hayes, Paul Cauthen, Classic Albums Live: Fleetwood Mac "Rumors," and Jason Bonham's "Led Zeppelin Evening." Britt favorites returning to the stage include reggae rock bands Iration & Pepper with special guests DENM and Artikal Sound System, American jam band Umphrey's McGee, world famous Cuban ensemble Buena Vista Social Orchestra, pop icons Colbie Callat & Gavin DeGraw, jazz and funk fusion artist Trombone Shorty, and reggae band SOJA. The community is also invited to the hill for a night of laughter with Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood: Asking for Trouble. It doesn't end there. Throughout the next month, Britt will continue to announce more shows for the 2024 season. With this announcement, there will be a member pre-sale before tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, April 26th.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed an out-of-state sex offender after responding to a disturbance at Three Rivers Medical Center late last week. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to a man threatening people at the hospital in the 500-block of SW Ramsey Avenue shortly after 3 p.m. on Friday. Police said TRMC Security called 9-1-1 to report a male subject making threats to hospital staff and the general public while hitting his head against the wall. While the man was said to be verbally aggressive, there were no physical acts of violence. Officers arrived on scene and diffused the situation by placing the man into custody. An investigation determined he is a registered sex offender for a felony offense committed in Texas in 1993, he had been living in Oregon for at least two months and he had not registered with local law enforcement. The 54-year-old suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Failure to Register as a Sex Offender and he was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on an outstanding warrant following an unusual weekend incident at a business on the east side of the city. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a trespassing complaint at Verizon Wireless on NE Terry Lane on Saturday around 2:45 p.m.. Police said a 47-year-old man was called in because he was yelling at himself while sharpening a machete on the sidewalk of the business with his belongings scattered about. They said he was not threatening anyone or wielding the machete around, but the store manager wanted him removed from in front of the doorway. Officers arrived on scene, contacted the man and discovered that he was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. He was lodged in jail without bail, his machete was seized and the rest of his belongings were logged into evidence for safe-keeping.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for two crimes after he ran away from officers who were investigating a trespassing complaint on the west side of the city. According to the Police Department, officers responded to the call in the 900-block of SW G Street on Saturday during the noon hour. Police said the 57-year-old man unlawfully entered the backyard of a residence and engaged in a verbal confrontation with the property owner. They said he fled the scene before officers arrived, but was contacted at the corner of H and Pine streets. The man became aggressive and took off running down the street, blocking vehicle traffic and kept running even though officers did not engage in any type of pursuit. The man then entered a property in the 700-block of SW H Street and climbed onto the roof of a building. He was told to get off the roof multiple times, but refused to comply. He eventually followed lawful orders after the threat of non-lethal force. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Trespass. He was being held without bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a woman for spray-painting the outside of someone's trailer at an RV Park just east of Grants Pass last weekend. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to the vandalism incident at the park in the 3200-block of Pearce Park Road on Saturday at about 10:50 p.m.. Deputies said a man called 9-1-1 to report he caught his 76-year-old neighbor spray-painting his RV black and applying some colorful metaphors to the outside of the trailer. The woman also reportedly stacked fencing against the trailer door in an effort to trap him inside. The woman could be heard laughing and screaming inside own trailer when deputies arrived on scene. It was unclear why she victimized her neighbor. The suspect was contacted and placed into custody. She was lodged in jail for 3rd-Degree Criminal Mischief and trespassed from her neighbor's RV space.