Local News

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a motorcyclist who led deputies on a weekend pursuit in the Wolf Creek area. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies first attempted to pull over the street bike on Coyote Creek Road on Saturday during the noon hour. Deputies said the operator of the 2007 Suzuki motorcycle refused to yield and reached speeds of 80 miles per hour before he began having problems with the engine and slowed down to around 30 miles per hour. They said the 42-year-old male subject continued to run, leading them past Golden and the 5,000-block of Coyote Creek before taking a graveled Forest Service Road. According to the report, the motorcyclist looked like he was searching for a place to ditch the bike and run before he eventually pulled over. He was immediately placed into custody and the motorcycle was impounded with assistance from the Oregon State Police. The suspect was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Attempt to Elude Police. He was being held without bail.

 

Quick detection from a mountaintop camera and firefighters with good knowledge of the Fish Hatchery area were instrumental in reaching and putting out a weekend wildfire. On Saturday at 2:07 p.m., Rural Metro Fire Department and Oregon Department of Forestry were dispatched to a reported fire burning in a remote location on Jackson Creek just below Manzanita Peak. Rural Metro officials said firefighters accessed the location via a road in the 3600-block of Southside Road and arrived to find a one-quarter-acre fire spreading up the hill in brush and timber. A combined attack from Rural Metro and ODF ground crews -- supported by two ODF helicopters -- stopped the forward spread of the blaze not long after arrival. An engine from Grants Pass Fire & Rescue assisted with mop-up. ODF was actively investigating the cause of the fire. Officials said there were no structures in the immediate area, but the scene had evidence of dispersed living and other off-grid activity.

 

Local firefighters extinguished a weekend structure fire in a northwest Grants Pass neighborhood. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue, Rural Metro Fire Department and the Grants Pass Police Department were dispatched to a reported house on fire at 214 NW 2nd Street on Saturday at 1:56 a.m.. Grants Pass fire officials said crews were able to knock down the fire within 20 minutes of arrival and they isolated the flames to the attic area of the home. Officials said no injuries were reported and a damage estimate was not available. It was not disclosed whether the blaze displaced the occupants of the dwelling. The cause of the fire was under investigation.

 

Due to a staffing shortage, the Finance Customer Service Office at Grants Pass City Hall will close from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. weekdays beginning today. During this 90-minute in-person closure, payments will still be taken via the drop box at City Hall, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) through the Customer Service line at (541)-450-6035 or online. City officials said they don't anticipate this being a permanent change, though the closure will last until further notice.

 

The Dental Assistant program at Rogue Community College is accepting applications until this Friday for the 2024 cohort. The deadline is July 12th. The four-term certification program prepares students to meet the requirements to become Expanded Functions Dental Assistants (EFDA). Successful completion of the program equips students for job entry with state and national certification in dental radiology, and basic and expanded function dental assisting. The curriculum is based in general dentistry. Students receive training in four-handed chair-side assisting techniques to work with general dentists during all phases of patient examination and treatment. For more information on the RCC Dental Assistant program, e-mail Carmen Mons at "cmons@roguecc.edu."

 

Firefighters assigned to the Salt Creek Fire located approximately 10 miles east of Eagle Point made significant progress last night, lining 40% of the largest wildfire in southwest Oregon so far this year. The Oregon Department of Forestry reports the wildfire is burning on steep ground along Salt Creek Road and is currently estimated to be 1,500 acres. It was first reported just after 4 p.m. Sunday. The cause is under investigation. ODF Incident Management Team 1 has been briefed and will shadow current resources today before taking command of the wildfire tonight. This will bring in additional resources and allow local districts to be ready for additional fire starts. Fire activity naturally decreased last night when the sun went down and extremely hot temperatures dropped. With this advantage, resources were able to put in a mix of bulldozer and hand lines constructed along the entire northern portion of the blaze. The eastern and southeastern flanks remain largely unlined and they are the focus of the day shift today. A total of 321 personnel are assigned to the Salt Creek Fire today including 12 20-person hand crews backed by nine engines, 10 water tenders, seven bulldozers and six tree-fallers. Six helicopters, two large air tankers and one very large air tanker made numerous retardant drops last night to help box in the wildfire. The Jackson County Sheriff's Office and Jackson County Emergency Management have issued Level 1 "Be Ready" evacuation notices for Zones JAC-316, JAC-317, JAC-319 and JAC-321. Salt Creek Road and Wasson Canyon Road are closed at Highway 140, and Double Day Road is closed off Butte Falls Highway. Highway 140 and Butte Falls Highway remain open at this time.

 

Grants Pass smashed three previous high temperature records over the weekend as the Excessive Heat Warning has been extended at least one more day. Grants Pass hit 110 degrees on Friday, 113 degrees on Saturday and 108 degrees on Sunday, with all surpassing previous high temperature records for July 5th, 6th and 7th of 106. It's highly likely that more high temperature records will be broken. The National Weather Service has extended the Excessive Heat Warning through Tuesday night. Dangerously hot conditions will continue, with high temperatures between 105 and 115 degrees. The daytime thermometer is not expected to fall below the century mark until Wednesday or Thursday. Weather experts continue to encourage local residents to drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors -- especially the elderly. Those working outside should take extra care and any strenuous outdoor activities should be done in the morning or evening. The City of Grants Pass has announced that the Mobile Integrative Navigation Team (MINT) will operate a Cooling Center at least two more days due to the extended heatwave. The Cooling Center at 218 Redwood Highway next to Bi-Mart will be open both today and tomorrow from 2 to 8 p.m..

 

The Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications Center fielded more than 1,200 emergency calls for local first responders even before record-setting summer heat on July 4th. According to the 9-1-1 Dispatch Center's weekly post on Facebook, dispatchers received a total of 1,218 emergency calls between June 27th and July 3rd. The Grants Pass Police Department led the way with 969 calls followed by American Medical Response with 290 and Grants Pass Fire & Rescue with 131. Rural Metro Fire Department received 51 calls, Illinois Valley Fire District received 33, the Oregon Department of Forestry received 27, and both the Wolf Creek and Williams Rural Fire Protection Districts got nine. The local 9-1-1 agency also reported receiving 498 internal phone calls and making 512 outbound calls.

 

A 30-year-old man is in the Josephine County Jail following a criminal mischief/vandalism incident late Friday afternoon. Josephine County Deputies were dispatched to the 5000 block of Monument Drive to investigate the report of customer cutting off the hose from a fire extinguisher. The reporting party stated the suspect was still on the scene with a silver Buick Lacrosse with California license plates. The suspect told employees he needed it to fix his car. Deputies made contact with the suspect behind the business, placing him under arrest and transporting him to the county jail where he is being held on a charge of Criminal Mischief II-Vandalism/Crime Dama