Local News

The Board of County Commissioners approved an order regarding requested fee changes from the Planning Department during today's Weekly Business Session.

Following the public hearing that began the meeting at 9 a.m., the board moved in favor of an order transferring county property to Cave Junction. A property line adjustment for the 210 Tacoma property, with an expense of $11,000 to be reimbursed to the Property Reserve Fund, was approved 3-0.

A motion approving a resolution for the County Supplemental Budget for 2025-26 passed unanimously. Changes to the budget were requested by Firewise, Planning, Facilities, and the Human Resources departments, with a Firewise grant extension having been received.

During public comment, the public presented concerns for code enforcement, a West Picket property, and Southern Oregon Sanitations presence at a recent Commissioner meeting.

Other topics included a Pipe Fork purchase request, transparency and appreciation of the board, an offer for budget consultation, accessibility to the Anne G. Basker Auditorium, and ways to spread kindness this Easter Weekend.

The board approved the consent calendar, and the meeting adjourned.

 

A recommendation to pause filling positions under the current budget until the end of June with exceptions was proposed by Commissioner Gary Richardson during today's workshop. A motion to have a hiring pause until the budget is finalized at the end of June, with exceptions of any currently approved Personnel Requisitions that have been posted, and exceptions granted by the board for directors who bring in PRs to be filled case by case was approved 3-0. The board moved other decisions on their workshop agenda to next week's Weekly Business Session

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office is seeking the public's help in locating a runaway juvenile. A report came in Monday that 17-year-old Ethan Knight was last seen around 8 a.m. on March 29th riding a skateboard with black & green swirl wheels on Lincoln Road. He was wearing black pants, a black hoodie, gray shoes, black hat, and was carrying a black cross-chest shoulder bag. Ethan is described as a 5'10" white male with brown hair, brown eyes, and weighing 160 pounds. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Ethan is encouraged to call the Sheriff's Office at 541-474-5123.

 

Deputies with the Josephine County Sheriff's Office attempted to stop a spray-painted black vehicle for a traffic violation on Redwood Highway near Glendon Road today at 1:53am.

The vehicle did not stop, and fled north on Redwood Highway. Spike strips were successfully deployed near Wonder, however the vehicle continued north on Redwood Highway.

The driver side front tire came apart near mile post 10 and the vehicle continued driving on three tires. Spike strips were deployed three more times before the suspect vehicle finally came to a stop near Elmer’s Restaurant on the Grants Pass Parkway.

The driver fled from the vehicle on foot and was taken into custody after a short foot pursuit by deputies and officers from the Grants Pass Police Department. The Oregon State Police also assisted during the incident.

The driver was identified as 34-year-old Anthony Lynn Foster. He was transported and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for both felony and misdemeanor Elude, Reckless Driving, Fentanyl Possession, Felon in Possession of a Weapon, Driving While Suspended, Third Degree Escape, and a Parole Violation.

 

The United States Marshals Service led Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force located and arrested a man wanted for nine local felony child sex abuse charges in White City Monday. The suspect, Jose Francisco Gonzalez-Castaneda, 40, of Medford, had a warrant with nine sexual abuse charges. He was lodged in the Jackson County Jail. Federal authorities added additional charges after Gonzalez-Castaneda was lodged. The arrest came when U.S. Marshals, along with Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and Central Point Police Department detectives located Gonzalez-Castaneda at a White City shopping center in the 7500 block of Highway 62. The task force arrested him without incident. The charges stemmed from a years-long investigation by JCSO Special Victims Unit detectives.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man at Resting Site 7 on both a charge and warrants for Methamphetamine Possession Monday.

Officers contacted Mark South at the 712 NE 7th Street site around 11:18 a.m. He was known to be wanted on two Police Department warrants for Unlawful Possession of Meth and Failure to Appear for a Drug Charge, so he was taken into custody.

During his arrest, South was found to be in possession of a container with a white residue inside. His warrants were faxed to the Josephine County Jail, where he was subsequently transported to by officers.

South was lodged on his two warrants and an additional charge of Meth Possession.

 

Josephine County Sheriff's deputies lodged two suspects on misdemeanor warrants Monday.

The first suspect, Michele Anderson, was taken into custody at the Josephine County Jail, 1901 NE F Street for a warrant charging her with Possession of Methamphetamine.

The warrant was received at 12:47 p.m. and faxed to the jail at 1:12 p.m. She was already lodged for an Oregon Parole Board warrant following a Sunday morning traffic stop.

Another misdemeanor warrant from the Josephine County Sheriff's Office was faxed to the jail at 10:54 p.m. for Kateena Forster. She was charged with Making a False Report, and remains in custody as of 11:24 p.m. Monday.

 

The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) has approved rate adjustments for PacifiCorp residential customers that take effect April 1st.

According to the Oregon Public Utility Commission, the changes reflect the outcome of PacifiCorp’s annual power cost adjustment resolved through an agreement among PUC staff, PacifiCorp, and consumer advocates.

They also incorporate several additional filings that either increase or decrease customer rates, with the net effect being an overall increase. The combined effect of the power cost adjustment and other routine filings is expected to increase the typical residential customer’s monthly bill by about $5.64 or 4.1%. Actual impacts will vary based on individual energy usage.

Residential rate changes were delayed until April 1st under the FAIR Act, which prevents residential rate increases during the winter heating season to help reduce customer cost impacts.

The overall change reflects updated actual costs for fuel, purchased power, wholesale market sales, and other power cost expenses for 2024 compared with the forecasted costs for that year. Several routine accounting and tax-related updates also contributed to the final outcome, with some filings resulting in a small rate decrease for customers and others resulting in modest increases.

In addition, the adjustment incorporates the cost of two wind farms, which serve to displace more expensive power, as well as updated funding levels to support the Energy Trust of Oregon’s energy-efficiency programs.

 

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners agreed to move forward with having a Solid Waste Code Enforcement officer position be filled.

During a meeting in the BCC Conference room, a discussion was held with the goal of reestablishing solid waste code enforcement. An officer position was unable to be funded previously, and while no specific certifications are needed for the position, certain abatements would need to be contracted out for hazardous waste.

The board approved an application for a grant from the Solid Waste Agency without objection. It was then determined that once a job description is finalized for the position, staff will move forward with a PR to work on filling the position.

The Commissioners will reconvene at 1:30 p.m. today for their County Administration Workshop where they will cover both Department and Board Business.