Local News

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office was looking for two people who fled the scene of a weekend motor vehicle accident near Selma. According to the Sheriff's Office, the Illinois Valley Fire District, American Medical Response and deputies rushed to a single-vehicle crash in the 3200-block of Lakeshore Drive on Saturday at 12:44 p.m.. Deputies said witnesses reported two occupants of the vehicle took off in another vehicle and did not return. The vehicle was moved off the roadway and flagged for towing. Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to contact the Sheriff's Office at (541)-474-5123.

 

The Oregon Department of Transportation was called in to clean up a big mess on the Grants Pass Parkway. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue responded to the mishap on the Parkway at NE Terry Lane on Friday night. Grants Pass fire officials said more than 25 bags of concrete and multiple cases of soda fell out of the back of a vehicle and blew open, causing a sticky mess on the Parkway. One lane of travel was shut down for about two hours for clean-up. ODOT provided a front-end loader and additional helping hands for the effort. The Parkway lane was reopened after the majority of the debris was removed.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for roughing up a gas station attendant before fleeing in a vehicle that they stopped on Interstate 5. The Police Department reports officers arrested the 46-year-old male subject in the northbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 60 on Saturday at 9:17 a.m.. Police said the man they identified as "Luis Alonzo, Jr." pushed an attendant to the ground at the Shell gas station on NW Vine Street, causing the attendant to strike his head against a pole and sustain physical injuries. They said the victim was treated at the scene for a bump on his head and dizziness. He was not hospitalized. After reviewing surveillance video of the incident, officers determined the suspect was a passenger in a black Toyota Tundra pickup. They spotted the pickup a short time later and followed it onto the freeway where they successfully pulled it over. Alonzo was subsequently placed into custody and transported to the Josephine County Jail where he was booked for 4th-Degree Assault and Menacing. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a well-known criminal offender wanted on a statewide felony warrant during a weekend patrol check in the downtown area. According to the Police Department, officers spotted the 30-year-old man whom they knew from numerous prior contacts near the corner of NW 4th and A streets on Saturday around 3:15 p.m.. Police said a routine records check showed the man they identified as "Dustin Michael Fontana" was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a previous conviction for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle. Fontana was placed into custody without incident and then lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for a series of weekend incidents near Three Rivers Medical Center. The Police Department reports officers placed the 57-year-old male subject into custody near the corner of Redwood Highway and Ringuette Street on Saturday at 5:21 p.m.. Police said they contacted a man dressed in a hospital gown after citizens reported he was having trouble crossing the highway and was doubled over. Callers said they were concerned he would not make it across the highway without getting hit. Officers eventually located the man and determined he had been called in three different times on Saturday for disorderly behavior. He refused legal commands several times and walked away from officers while arguing and yelling at them. According to the report, the subject turned around toward Redwood Highway and started urinating. He was finally subdued with a controlled takedown maneuver. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct and Escape. He was being held without bail.

 

Multiple agencies worked together to extinguish a weekend grass and structure fire in the Sunny Valley area. On Saturday at 3:19 p.m., ODF, Rural Metro Fire Department and Grants Pass Fire & Rescue were dispatched to a grass fire that had spread to a structure in the 2,000-block of Leland Road near Dog Creek Road. The first-arriving unit from ODF stationed in Sunny Valley was able to stop the fast-moving wildfire at just over a half-acre. A water delivery truck from "H2O to Go" also helped with containment. Structural units from Rural Metro and Grants Pass worked to put out the structure fire. Most of the occupant's personal belongings were saved. The occupant was not on scene upon arrival of firefighters, but they appeared as the blaze was controlled. An evaluation was conducted due to minor burns, but they declined transport to the hospital. The cause of the initial fire that started in the grass surrounding the structure was under investigation by ODF, but there were indicators that current fire season regulations were not being followed.

 

Two people were injured last night when their vintage truck rolled off Redwood Highway near Selma. On Sunday at 9:13 p.m., the Illinois Valley Fire District, American Medical Response and Oregon State Police were dispatched to the single-vehicle crash on US Highway 199 between Eight Dollar Mountain Road and Gold Canyon Drive. IVFD officials said arriving units found two occupants from the truck that rolled over and stopped off the highway, half on the hill and half in a ditch. Both were evaluated at the scene and then transported to Three Rivers Medical Center for further evaluation. Jerry's Towing hauled the damaged pickup to Cave Junction. OSP was investigating the cause of the crash.

 

The Oregon Department of Transportation is continuing work on the bridge retrofit project on Rogue River Highway this week and beyond. Starting on Tuesday, Birdseye Creek Bridge on Highway 99 will be closed for approximately 30 days. Please use an alternate route and watch for workers. The contractor has provided a pedestrian transport vehicle that can accommodate at least two ADA passengers, a maximum of 10 able-bodied pedestrians and up to three bicycles with a secured rack during the closure. The ODOT project is replacing bridge structures at Birdseye Creek, Foots Creek and Millers Gulch for earthquake resilience. The estimated project completion date is June 2025. For updated road conditions and closures, visit "tripcheck.com."

 

Grants Pass police and firefighters were busy protecting the community during the first week of school. According to the Weekly Report filed by Grants Pass City Manager Aaron Cubic, police officers responded to a total of 684 calls for service along with 439 officer-initiated calls last week that resulted in 40 arrests, 30 citations, 112 warnings and six highly-intoxicated people being lodged at the Sobering Center. Cubic also reported that officers conducted a total of 126 traffic stops in the city and they made 13 referrals to the Oregon Department of Human Services. Many of the traffic stops were due to moving violations in city school zones. The GPPD Community Response Team (CRT) contacted a total of 333 potential troublemakers while arresting seven people, citing 10 more and warning 78 others. The CRT did not issue any trespass warnings, post any transient camps or remove trash from any campsites. There are now two designated campsites on SE J Street and at the corner of 6th & A streets. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue responded to a total of 100 calls last week including 39 calls for emergency medical service, five for reports of fire or smoke, 15 lift assists, six rescue situations, six assists to other agencies and 10 false alarms.