Local News

Hunting season is here, and fire season isn't over yet.

According to the Oregon Department of Forestry, with dry fuels still prevalent across the state, taking a few extra steps while hunting can help prevent a wildfire.

Check fire restrictions before heading out to the woods. These are to prevent human-caused fires and will help you remain fire-safe while recreating.

If campfires are allowed, only use designated campfire sites and make sure your fire is out cold before leaving it. Inspect the area surrounding your target and ensure that vegetation and other combustible materials are not exposed to sparks or hot fragments.

Fireworks, exploding targets, tracer ammunition and sky lanterns are prohibited during fire season.

 

The Board of County Commissioners met for a Legal Counsel Update, and will further consider policy revisions and a resolution at the next Weekly Business Session. Administrative Policy revisions were discussed first regarding social media and public records. There was reported concern about inconsistencies and a lack of clarity on how social media should be handled, and it was felt the policy was out of date. Revisions would consider what is and isn't acceptable as far as social media's usage. For the Public Records policy, the goal is to clearly define when an elected official is making decisions on their own, and how that becomes severable from the records management officer's authority. Also to be clarified is the records process. Both are slated to be discussed further during the October 7th Weekly Business Session. The Josephine County Strategic Communications Plan was approved without objection. Legal Counsel will proceed with a draft of a Departmental Procedure from amendment to personnel policy for Direct Reports to the board.

 

After contacting a group outside Parker's Place Village, Grants Pass Police arrested a man wanted on a warrant for drug possession charges.

Wednesday night around 10:51, officers took Robert Eidy into custody for a warrant charging him with Possession of Fentanyl. A consent search was then conducted, which located a glass pipe in his left pants pocket.

The pipe tested positive for the presumptive presence of Methamphetamine. Eidy was transported to and lodged in the Adult Jail Facility for his warrant and charge of Meth Possession. He was later released due to a lack of jail resources.

 

A shoplifting report at Albertsons lead to the suspect's arrest Wednesday by Grants Pass Police.

Dispatch received word that a man had entered the 1690 Allen Creek Road grocer and began causing a disturbance by yelling. When confronted, he had grabbed a box of wine valued at about $15 off the shelf. He was told to leave by loss prevention, but he refused and continued to yell.

He then ran out of the store with the wine in hand. An officer, along with Oregon State Police, located the suspect across the street at Red Robin, and identified him as Kyle Waycott.

He was promptly taken into custody for Second Degree Trespass, Disorderly Conduct in the Second Degree, and Third Degree Theft. He was trespassed from both the Albertsons and Red Robin, and lodged in jail. Due to a lack of resources however, he was later released.

 

The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Wildland Fire Service will begin prescribed burning operations throughout Oregon and Washington as weather, fuel, and air quality become favorable. According to the BLM, operations will continue throughout the fall and winter. These burns are carefully planned to reduce hazardous fuels, protect nearby communities, and restore native ecosystems. Information about specific upcoming and active burns is available at www.blm.gov. Techniques range from broadcast burning, which is the application of fire to an entire area, to hand and machine pile ignitions. These burns focus on increasing safety in the Wildland-Urban Interface and restoring ecological function to the landscape. During prescribed burns, smoke may settle in low-lying areas overnight. Residents in these areas are encouraged to close windows at night to avoid smoke impacts. When driving in smoky areas, slow down and turn on headlights. People with heart or lung disease, asthma, or other chronic conditions, should ask their doctors about protecting themselves from smoke, and monitor their local air quality map.

 

Police were dispatched regarding a complaint at the Gospel Rescue Mission, where a woman was refusing to leave despite being asked by staff.

The suspect, Corrine Ford, was reportedly refusing to leave the Women and Children's Shelter. An employee told dispatch she had asked Ford to leave, who was getting aggressive. It was requested officers respond, but prior to their arrival, Ford had left the scene.

She was contacted by law enforcement in front of the G Street Plaza and taken into custody. Ford was wanted out of the Linn County Sheriff's Office for a DUII warrant, and officers transported her to the Josephine County Jail.

 

Officers with the Grants Pass Police Department arrested a man wanted on a warrant after he was observed on surveillance at Parker's Place Village.

David Jones was contacted near the property around 4:59 p.m. He was known to be wanted out of the department for multiple charges including Second Degree Burglary, two counts of Second Degree Theft, and Criminal Mischief in the Second Degree.

His warrant was confirmed, and officers transported Jones to the Josephine County Adult Jail Facility for lodging.

 

Two suspects were contacted by Grants Pass Police, with one being arrested for a warrant Wednesday.

The two were contacted after officers observed them under the Debbs Potts Memorial Bridge around 12:12 p.m. Ryan Velasquez was identified and found to be wanted on a warrant for a drug charge.

He walked off into Baker Park but was quickly detained by law enforcement. Velazquez was trespassed from the 760 E Park Street location, and transported to the Josephine County Jail where he was lodged on his warrant. His skateboard was logged for safekeeping.

 

A woman trespassing inside an Azalea Drive home Wednesday was lodged in jail by Josephine County Sheriff's deputies.

Despite an eviction notice being served the day before, the reporting party told dispatch that one person, who wasn't supposed to be on the premises, could be seen inside the home sleeping at 9:29 a.m.

The caller had tried to bang on the door and ask the suspect to leave. The doors were locked, and the person wasn't responding. Law enforcement arrived and gave commands to the suspect inside to vacate, which she refused to acknowledge.

Deputies entered the home and forced entry into the locked bedroom where the suspect, Katherine Clawson was identified. She was taken into custody for First Degree Trespass, and lodged in the Adult Jail Facility. She was trespassed from the property.