Local News

An alert employee at the Grants Pass & Josephine County Chamber of Commerce helped Grants Pass Police track down a man who had vandalized the facility earlier this month. The Police Department reports officers arrested the 48-year-old male subject near the Dollar Tree on NW 6th Street on Friday at 2:23 p.m.. Police said the man was identified as the suspect who intentionally damaged an Avista gas meter and a Pacific Power electricity meter at the Chamber, which is located at 1995 NW Vine Street. The facility was evacuated after the vandalism caused a gas leak. The suspect was observed by the Chamber worker on Friday near the Dollar Tree and they called 9-1-1. Officers swooped in and placed the man into custody. He later admitted to causing damage to the public utility devices. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on two counts of Felony 1st-Degree Criminal Mischief. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police evicted four campers for trashing a city park over the weekend. According to the Police Department, officers were performing a patrol check at Morrison Centennial Park on Saturday morning when they contacted the criminal quartet. Police said two men and a woman were cited for Offensive Littering because they had trash and drug items in and around their tents. They said two tents contained syringes and other drug paraphernalia along with human feces and other hazardous items. All three were trespassed from the park for 30 days. Another woman was cited for Possession of Fentanyl and was issued a 30-day park exclusion. Her inoperable vehicle was towed as a hazard because it was blocking multiple park spots, and because she had no insurance and an expired registration. Community service officers removed two truckloads of hazardous waste from the park and took it to Southern Oregon Sanitation for proper disposal.

 

The Grants Pass City Council will focus its attention on Caveman Pool, the American Rescue Plan Act and Urban Renewal Agency during its bi-weekly workshop session today. The City Council will open the workshop with a presentation on Caveman Pool followed by discussion regarding rebuilding the aging municipal facility with a new pool at the same site near Grants Pass High School. Next up is a review of the American Rescue Plan Act funding the City received as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council will evaluate current projects and possibly reallocate some of the funding. After a presentation on the Urban Renewal Agency Task Force, the Council will review the agenda for Wednesday night's regular meeting. Today's workshop begins at 11:45 a.m. in the City Council Chambers at Grants Pass City Hall, 101 NW A Street.

 

The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) is hosting a virtual event tomorrow night for the public to comment on Pacific Power's general rate increase filing that proposes an increase to electricity rates. The event will be held Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m.. It will provide the opportunity to speak directly to the commissioners about the proposed rate increase. Customers may also submit comments in writing or by phone through June 14th. Pacific Power -- which provides electrical services to 627,000 Oregon customers -- filed a request to increase overall revenues by $322.3 million or approximately 17.9% for all customer types combined. If approved by the PUC, residential single-family customers using an average of 950 kilowatt hours per month would see a bill increase of $30.66. For a residential customer in a multi-family home using an average of 650 kilowatt hours per month, bills would increase by $18.51. Actual percentage increases will vary depending on customer type and usage. Pacific Power's general rate increase filing is undergoing a nearly year-long review and will be fully investigated on behalf of electricity customers by the PUC, the Oregon Citizens' Utility Board and others. If approved, new rates are expected to go into effect on January 1, 2025. Access to Zoom link and phone-in details at "bit.ly/44bnMi6

 

Southern Oregon University has been honored by the National Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree Campus USA for the 10th consecutive year in recognition of SOU's commitment to the effective management of its urban forest. Tree Campus Higher Education -- a program that began in 2008 -- recognizes US colleges and universities for promoting healthy trees and engaging students and staff in the spirit of conservation. SOU -- which first earned the distinction in 2014 -- is one of 411 higher education institutions nationwide to receive the most recent recognition. SOU earned the Tree Campus designation by fulfilling the program's five standards for effective campus forest management: maintaining a tree advisory committee, a campus tree-care plan, dedicated annual expenditures for its campus tree program, an Arbor Day observance and a student service-learning project. Trees on campus and in urban spaces can lower energy costs by providing shade cover, cleaner air and water, and green space for students and faculty.

 

The National Weather Service has posted a Freeze Watch for parts of southwest Oregon that starts late tonight and runs until Tuesday morning. The Freeze Watch is in effect for western Josephine and eastern Curry counties including the Illinois Valley communities of Cave Junction, Selma, O'Brien and Takilma. Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 30 degrees are possible. Frost and freezing conditions could kill crops and other sensitive vegetation. It could also possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing. NWS officials said cloud cover could moderate temperatures and keep them above freezing. Right now, there is a 60% chance of freezing. Officials said to take steps now to protect tender plants from the cold.

 

A 33-year-old woman is in the Josephine County Jail after an alleged attack of her roommate. Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to the 7200 block of Monument Drive Friday afternoon at 1:24 p.m. following the reported attack. The suspect allegedly threw a handle at the complainant, who denied needing medical attention. Arriving Deputies reported the suspect also pushed the victim against a wall, again not resulting in in

 

A Cave Junction man with a lengthy criminal history was sentenced to more than 14 years in federal this week for illegally possessing methamphetamine and 12 firearms while on state supervision. According to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon, 39-year-old William Thomas Gillespie was sentenced Thursday to 173 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. Court documents show Gillespie was arrested in White City on April 6, 2020, while attempting to deliver approximately 174 grams of meth. At the time of his arrest, he possessed six baggies of meth and a digital scale. During a consent search of his residence, investigators located and seized 12 firearms including an AR-15 and multiple AK-style rifles. Three were of the firearms were stolen. On November 5, 2020, a federal grand jury in Medford returned a three-count indictment charging Gillespie with Illegally Possessing a Firearm as a Convicted Felon, Illegally Possessing a Short-Barrel Rifle and Possession Meth with Intent to Distribute. He was released from custody pending trial in June 2021 and in August 2021, pleaded guilty to the felony firearm and narcotics possession charges. In January 2023, Gillespie absconded from his supervised release and a warrant was issued for his arrest. On September 13, 2023, he was located and arrested in Bandon.

 

The 173rd Fighter Wing from Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls plans to conduct two flyovers today in western Oregon. F-15 Eagle fighter jets are scheduled to conduct a flyover at the University of Oregon Spring Football Game at Autzen Stadium in Eugene at approximately 1 p.m.. The F-15s will then perform a flyover at the 74th Annual Rotary Invitational Track Meet at Grants Pass High School at approximately 1:28 p.m.. All passes will be approximately 1,000 feet above ground level and about 400 miles per hour airspeed.