Local News

Grants Pass Police cited a motorist after she struck and injured a pedestrian at a Rogue River Highway gas station yesterday. Police officers and emergency crews responded to the incident at U-Save Gas in the 900-block of Highway 99 on Thursday at 2:25 p.m.. Police said a 55-year-old woman they identified as "Yount" was walking on the sidewalk of the gas station parking lot when she was hit by a Nissan Altima driven by a woman they identified as "Keeshan." Yount was transported to Three Rivers Medical Center with a possible broken leg. According to the report, Keeshan left the scene to retrieve her young child from a babysitter but returned. She told officers she did not seen Yount on the sidewalk as she was attempting to enter the highway. Yount did not want to press charges and was content to have Keeshan's insurance cover her medical care. Keeshan was cited for Driving While Suspended and warned for Failure to Yield Before Entering a Roadway.

 

The Oregon State Police was investigating a hit-and-run crash that injured a pedestrian in southeast Grants Pass last night. OSP reports troopers and emergency crews responded to the incident on Rogue River Highway near Fruitdale Drive on Thursday around 8:30 p.m.. Troopers said the preliminary investigation indicated a 24-year-old Grants Pass woman was walking north along the shoulder when a blue vehicle struck her from behind. They said the unknown-type of vehicle immediately left the scene. According to OSP, the victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries and she was transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment. Anyone with information on this incident is encouraged to dial *OSP.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a serial arsonist for setting more fires in the downtown area this week. The Police Department reports officers arrested 56-year-old Shannon Dixon Beckett on railroad property between SE 8th and 9th streets early Wednesday morning. Police said three separate calls for service were generated for fires Beckett started at 210 SE 8th Street, 130 SE J Street and SE 9th Street at the tracks. They said a dumpster in the alley behind Point S Tire was set on fire and burned part of the fence at the Eagles Lodge. Damage estimates were not available. Beckett was contacted on railroad property from which he had been trespassed. He was in possession of a hat with soot on the bill and one glove plus a lighter was found that he admitted belonged to him. He admitted to lighting the fire on railroad property, causing damage to vegetation. He also admitted to lighting cardboard boxes in the alley on SE 8th Street. A citizen used a fire extinguisher to put it out. All the fires had been fully extinguished by 6 a.m. and Beckett was immediately identified as the primary suspect. He has intentionally set numerous fires in Grants Pass and Medford in recent months. He has been trespassed from the City of Medford for his actions. Beckett was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony 2nd-Degree Arson, Reckless Burning and 1st-Degree Criminal Trespass. He was being held without any scheduled bail.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for getting physical with his father at a downtown area residence early yesterday. The Police Department reports officers arrested 47-year-old Christopher Ryan Fletcher for the incident at a home on NW B Street on Thursday at 2:52 a.m.. Police said Fletcher's father called 9-1-1 to report that his son just attacked him and "choked him out." An investigation determined the suspect pushed his father into a chair and held him there by applying pressure to his father's neck with a forearm. According to the report, the victim was able to breathe during the altercation, denying any pain or injury -- but he desired criminal prosecution of his son. Upon arrival, officers placed Fletcher into custody although he claimed his father attacked him with a stick. He was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Domestic Harassment and was being held without bail.

 

Police arrested a woman for causing multiple disturbances at the Grants Pass Library this week. The Police Department reports officers contacted 36-year-old Marissa Elizabeth Winters during a welfare check at the branch library at 200 NW C Street on Wednesday morning. Police said they were alerted to a female subject in a sleeping bag in the parking lot behind the library. She had just been trespassed from the library by a security guard. She reportedly spit in the guard's face twice and began throwing rocks at nearby vehicles. Upon arrival, officers confirmed that Winters was acting in a violent and disruptive manner, so they placed her into custody. On the way to the Josephine County Jail, she elected to continue spitting all over the backseat of the patrol vehicle. Winters was booked into jail for Physical Harassment, Disorderly Conduct, 3rd-Degree Criminal Mischief and 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. She was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman this week after she generated multiple calls for service regarding her behavior. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to a female subject who was walking down the middle of NW D Street while carrying a small dog shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday. Police said callers reported that 46-year-old April Anne Herzog appeared to be under the influence of narcotics or was having some sort of mental episode. One caller said the woman told them she wants to see people die "because they have wolf eyes." Another caller reported she tried to climb into the back of his truck. Officers responded and contacted Herzog who was lying in the middle of the street. They placed her into custody and seized her aggressive dog and took it to the Josephine County Animal Shelter. Herzog was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct and she was being held without bail.

 

Rural Metro Fire Department and the Oregon Department of Forestry responded to a roadside fire along Interstate 5 on Merlin Hill again this week. It was not far from a similar fire that occurred Monday afternoon. Rural Metro and ODF crews were dispatched to the incident on Wednesday. Engine 7502 from Rural Metro's Monument Drive Station arrived to find the small fire already had been contained by several passersby who jumped into action. This included Smith's Lawn Care with a water tank and hose. Rural Metro officials said roadside fires like this one are common this time of year due to extremely dry conditions and vegetation that is receptive to the smallest spark. Officials thanked vigilant citizens who were in the right place at the right time with the tools needed to keep the fire small. But it is the responsibility of anyone taking independent action to understand the hazards fire can impose on personal safety.

 

Firefighters helped the award-winning Grants Pass High School Marching Band and Color Guard celebrate the end of their rigorous two-week summer camp. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue was excited to give the two-time Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade participants a refreshing end to their camp by spraying down band members on Wednesday night. Fire officials said it was awesome to see the GPHS team work so hard through the sweltering summer heat to build and perfect their new show "Black Swan." The GPHS Marching Band and Color Guard is participating in a Drumstick Challenge at Mel Ingram Field this evening at 7. The community is invited to attend and support the group as they kick off their 2025 season.

 

Led by Board Chair Andreas Blech, the Josephine County Commissioners have tabled consideration of a lease agreement for the Grants Pass branch library until next week. During a public hearing held after the weekly business session on Thursday, Board Vice-Chair Chris Barnett outlined the agreement which calls for an extension of the $1 per year lease for five years, with the Josephine Community Library District assuming financial responsibility for building and grounds maintenance plus paying 1/6th of the cost of replacing the roof at the building on NW C Street. JCLD Director Kate Lasky and the district's attorney Mark Bartholomew both championed the agreement, stating that it showed "a shared commitment for the welfare of the community" and urged the Board to approve it immediately. Numerous library supporters also encouraged the Commissioners to act now during public comment. However, library critics including recalled Commissioner John West and former Grants Pass Budget Committee member Mike Pelfrey spoke in opposition to the agreement. Commissioner Blech appeared to be listening to them. At what should have been the end of the hearing, Blech asked for a motion to table consideration of the lease agreement until next Thursday because of the late hour and an appointment he said he had at 1 p.m.. He stated that the Board faced lengthy deliberations to consider the pact, even though it was described as a "win-win" by Barnett, Lasky, Bartholomew and many others.