Local News

A vehicle crash took place today at 8:30 a.m., which dispatched emergency crews to the scene in Merlin.

Traffic was temporarily diverted after an overturned truck was reported on Ewe Creek Road. The crash, which is being investigated by the Josephine County Sheriff's Office, required firefighters from Rural Metro Fire's Merlin Station on Azalea Drive to use a ladder to help the driver exit the cab.

The driver was transported to the hospital by American Medical Response with what appeared to be non-life-threating injuries.

 

While searching for two men trespassing at CVS, Grants Pass Police apprehended a man wanted out of the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

Wednesday at 7:13 a.m., the manager of the 1642 Williams Highway store called 911 and requested two individuals be trespassed. The two male suspects were behind the store in the loading dock.

One was described as having red hair and a beard, wearing a gray t-shirt and jeans, while the other was wearing a gray and red hoodie, jeans, and was holding a shovel. While attempting to locate the suspects, a man was observed curled up in his shirt outside Safeway.

Upon contact with the man, he had a butter knife in his hand and wouldn't listen to commands. After the officer attempted broken commands in Spanish, the man cooperated, but he would not provide his name. Law enforcement were able to confirm his identity as Fernando Lopez-Aguilar, and learned he was wanted on an active felony warrant.

He was wanted on Strangulation and First Degree Burglary charges, so police took him into custody. Lopez-Aguilar was lodged in jail for his warrant, then transported to another agency according to jail logs.

 

A convicted felon in possession of metal knuckles was arrested by Grants Pass Police for methamphetamine possession.

Officers contacted two individuals at the corner of SE J Street and SE 8th Street Wednesday around 8:37 p.m. One of them, Clint Palomino, was located with metal knuckles in plain view. He was found to be a convicted felon, and a consent search was conducted.

Located on his backpack was a glass pipe, and officers proceeded to arrest Palomino for Meth Possession and Felon in Possession of a Restricted Weapon. He was transported to the Josephine County Adult Jail Facility for lodging.

 

Grants Pass Police lodged a man that turned himself in for a felony warrant late Wednesday night.

The suspect pulled up to the police station around 11:18 p.m. in a black Honda Civic. He said he wanted to turn himself in for his Police Department warrant charging him with Assault in the Fourth Degree, and for Interfering with Making a Police Report.

He was identified as Myles Hook and detained. After confirmation of the warrant, he was taken into custody and lodged in jail.

 

Josephine County Sheriff's deputies arrested and cited a man after finding him with methamphetamine on an Oregon Department of Transportation bike path.

During a routine patrol of the area this morning at 1:56 a.m., deputies located the suspect, Robert Kostenko with a clear zip bag sticking outside of his sock. The bag contained a crystalline substance that field tested positive as meth.

He was taken into constructive custody but released and cited to appear. He was trespassed from the ODOT bike path.

 

Dispatch was alerted to a shoplifting report Tuesday, leading to a response from the Josephine County Sheriff's Office.

The assistant manager of a business in the 100 block of Deer Creek Road called 911 saying a shoplifter ran out of the store across the street with stolen items. She was described to dispatch as having brown hair, tattoos on her face, wearing a leather vest, brown shirt, and tan pants.

Deputies were advised, and attempted to locate the suspect on the highway, and two nearby bridges. She was soon contacted at the 76 gas station and identified as Amanda Snow-Tursi. She was trespassed from the store for one year after having consumed a rotisserie chicken. A stolen 6-pack of beer was recovered and returned to the store.

Snow-Tursi was then cited to appear for Third Degree Theft, and released.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested one and cited another in separate Walmart shoplifting cases.

Tuesday at 11:12 a.m., loss prevention with the 135 NE Terry Lane store called 911 to report a man and woman were at the self-checkout skip scanning. The employee felt the value of all the items was about $1,000.

The man was described as wearing a black baseball cap and white t-shirt, while the woman had brown hair, and was wearing a blue Puma t-shirt. Both suspects were detained in the loss prevention office before the arrival of law enforcement.

Police contacted both individuals. The male suspect, Shane Shelton, admitted to committing the theft of about $259, while the female suspect denied it. Officers subsequently took Shelton into custody on a parole violation detainer, with charges of Second Degree Theft being referred for both suspects.

Shelton was lodged in the Josephine County Jail, and trespassed from the Walmart.

That afternoon at 2:50, loss prevention confronted Lacy Young Girard after she stole almost $60 worth of merchandise and passed all points of sale with the items concealed in her purse.

She was later contacted by arriving police officers, and admitted to the theft. She was issued a citation to appear in court, then released.

 

A summer of hands-on action along Oregon’s waterways wrapped up in September.

From May through September, the Waterway Cleanup Series, a partnership between SOLVE and Clackamas Water Environment Services (WES), supported 64 cleanup events across 10 counties, engaging over 1,400 volunteers who collectively removed over 24,000 pounds of litter from waterways and natural areas throughout the region.

The series brought volunteers to a wide range of waterways and natural areas, from the Clackamas River to the Rogue River and Johnson Creek. Among the largest events were the Down the Clackamas River Cleanup, which drew 161 volunteers; the 34th Annual Rogue River Cleanup, with 150 volunteers; and the Johnson Creek Cleanup, where 133 volunteers helped remove more than 7,000 pounds of litter.

Together, these efforts help address litter where it can have an impact far beyond the place where it is found. The impact of these efforts goes beyond the pounds of litter collected. For nine consecutive years, SOLVE and Clackamas Water Environment Services have partnered to support volunteer-led cleanups and connect volunteers to the relationship between litter, stormwater, and water quality.

From neighborhood cleanups to restoration projects, volunteers can find upcoming opportunities with SOLVE at solve.org.

 

The Board of County Commissioners approved two administrative policy revisions at their 9 a.m. Weekly Business Session.

Both the Social Media and Public Records Policies were updated to be more organized and better reflect the current understanding of State law. Motions to approve both revisions passed unanimously.

Also on the agenda was a resolution in the matter of affirming compliance with State and Federal Law, requesting the State address Counties' Federal Funding and False Claims Act exposure. The resolution draft is not intended to be voted on at this time. Continued discussion for public input will take place. It will be addressed at a future meeting.

Accountability, education, and a question about records requests were all brought up during public comment, and after approving the consent calendar, the meeting adjourned.