Local News

The Oregon State Police arrested a Medford man for impaired driving and putting his young children in danger while doing so on Interstate 5 in the Grants Pass area. OSP reports troopers pulled over an Infinity G35 driven by 27-year-old Johan Velasquez-Urbina in the northbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 58 on Tuesday at 9:28 p.m.. Troopers said they responded to a traffic complaint regarding a vehicle driving erratically with its rear bumper dragging on the freeway. They found the vehicle as it was entering north Grants Pass and traveling at 97 miles per hour while passing other vehicles aggressively. During the traffic stop, Velasquez-Urbina displayed signs of impairment. After he performed poorly in field sobriety tests, he was placed into custody. It was quickly discovered that the driver had his 17-month-old and 3-month-old children in the vehicle, with the 17-month-old not properly restrained. Velasquez-Urbina was taken to Three Rivers Medical Center for a legal blood draw and then lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Reckless Driving and three counts of Reckless Endangering.

 

The Oregon Department of Forestry responded to 15 reports of fire on Tuesday following thunderstorms throughout the Southwest Region on Monday night. In total, ODF firefighters found and confirmed 10 fires from the 15 reported. ODF resources worked with federal partners at the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest and Medford BLM District in response to these fires and -- as a result -- all the fires are completely extinguished or fully-lined and holding in their current footprints. Numerous resources were used early Tuesday morning to gather information on these incidents including drone flights, reconnaissance flights with various aircraft and ODF's Detection Center cameras. ODF has a goal of extinguishing all fires as quickly and as small as possible. As a direct result of this work, the largest fire was caught at 12 acres. The East Trail Creek Fire near the 6,000-block of Highway 227 north of Trail forced Level 2 and Level 1 evacuation notices, but they were lifted by Tuesday afternoon. The other incidents were identified as the Alder Creek, Hibbard Point and Halls Point fires near Prospect; the Star Gulch Fire southeast of Williams; the Beaver Dam and Daily Creek fires south of Fish Lake; and the Summit Prairie, Mule Creek and Laurelhurst fires southeast of Lost Creek Lake. The ODF Detection Center will continue to monitor cameras in these areas and report any smoke found. A reconnaissance flight is planned for this morning to seek out potential new lightning strike areas.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a woman for assaulting her grandfather at a residence in the southeast part of the city. The Police Department reports officers arrested 36-year-old Sara Leanne Gardner for the incident that occurred on SE Grandview Avenue on Monday morning. Police said Gardner called 9-1-1 and requested law enforcement, stating that she was in a domestic violence situation. Officers immediately responded and found a much different situation. An investigation determined Gardner had assaulted her elderly grandfather by striking him with a pint glass and causing prolonged pain. She also made death threats and threatened to strike her grandfather in the head with a heavy glass jug. Following the investigation, Gardner was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Attempted 2nd-Degree Assault, Felony Unlawful Use of a Weapon, 4th-Degree Domestic Assault and Domestic Menacing. She was being held without bail pending her court arraignment.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a woman for attacking another woman at a residence in the Hugo area. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 60-year-old Jane Marie Critchfield for the incident in the 300-block of Tunnel Creek Road late Monday afternoon. Deputies said the female victim called 9-1-1 to report that Critchfield punched her repeatedly and possibly broke her nose. The victim requested medical attention -- but changed her mind, advising she was in pain but not seriously injured. Upon arrival, deputies interviewed both parties. Critchfield admitted to punching the victim more than once in the face with her fist, adding that she did so because the woman told her to. She was placed into custody. Critchfield was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 4th-Degree Assault. She was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for drug trafficking after catching him dealing narcotics in the parking lot of a downtown watering hole. According to the Police Department, officers observed 54-year-old Johnnie Thomas Brown, Jr., in a hand-to-hand drug transaction at River City Grill on SE K Street on Monday afternoon. Police said a consent search of Brown's BMW sedan yielded 2.52 grams of a white powdery substance that tested positive as fentanyl plus packaging materials and $522 in US currency. A subsequent search of the suspect's room at Motel 6 on NE 7th Street uncovered three scales covered in fentanyl as well as drug paraphernalia and additional packaging materials. Brown was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on charges of Felony Manufacture, Possession and Delivery of Fentanyl. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a motorist for impaired driving after she crashed into a parked vehicle in the downtown area. The Police Department reports officers and emergency crews responded to the incident in the 500-block of NW E Street late Monday night. Police said the owner of a Ford F-150 pickup called 9-1-1 to report a Toyota Corolla crashed into his parked vehicle and left the scene without providing any information. The victim stated his pickup was struck from behind and did not sustain much damage, but the suspect vehicle left its front bumper behind. Officers used the dislodged license plate on the Toyota to identify and track down its driver -- 34-year-old Christina Michele Brown -- at a home on Oakview Drive. Brown was standing outside the vehicle and admitted to driving. She displayed multiple signs of impairment and was placed into custody. After consenting to a breath test that documented a high level of impairment, Brown was lodged in jail for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Hit-and-Run Causing Property Damage. She was being held without bail.

 

The Oregon Health Authority has lifted the recreational use advisory for Lost Creek Lake in Jackson County. OHA had issued the advisory on June 24th. Water monitoring has confirmed that the level of cyanobacteria in the local reservoir is now below recreational guideline values for people. OHA advised recreational visitors to continually be alert of signs of cyanotoxin blooms. This is because blooms can develop and disappear on any water body at any time when bloom conditions are favorable. When recreating, people -- especially small children -- and pets should avoid areas where the water is foamy, scummy, thick, pea-green or blue-green, or if thick green or brownish-red mats are visible, or clumps are suspended in the water. If you see these signs, avoid activities that cause you to swallow water or inhale droplets such as high-speed water activities, and keep pets out of the area. Only a fraction of water bodies in Oregon are monitored for blooms and toxins, so it's important for people to become familiar with signs of a bloom, exposures and symptoms by visiting OHA's Cyanobacteria Blooms website at "healthoregon.org/hab."

 

The City of Grants Pass is offering a grant program to explore options that will alleviate the need for the City to allow persons experiencing homelessness to remain on public property overnight. The City Council is anticipating proposals for one or more managed low-barrier resting sites for homeless individuals. Alternative proposals will be considered if they demonstrate a capacity to minimize or alleviate the burden of using public property for homeless individuals to rest. At a minimum, the City's obligation is to provide capacity for 150 people in a manner that is compliant with ADA requirements and all local, state and federal laws and regulations. Proposals should describe the assistance that will be provided to move homeless individuals to transitional and/or permanent housing for addiction recovery, mental health and employment. The deadline for submissions in response to this Request for Proposals is no later than 4 p.m. on Friday, July 18th. The submittals should be directed to:

Grants Pass Homelessness Grant Program
Attention: Karen Frerk, City Recorder
101 NW A Street
Grants Pass, OR 97526

Questions regarding this program should be directed to the City Recorder at (541)-450-6010 or "kfrerk@grantspassoregon.gov."

 

An extended period of high temperatures has dried out vegetation, making it easier for fires to ignite and harder for them to be controlled. As a result, the Grants Pass Fire Marshal has elevated the fire danger level to 'high" starting today. The public use of power-driven and spark-emitting equipment such as chainsaws, mowers, weed-eaters, wood splitters, generators, and the cutting, welding and grinding of metal is now prohibited between the hours of 10 a.m. and 8 p.m.. This does not apply to the mowing of green lawns. All open wood-fueled fires are prohibited including campfires, cooking fires and warming fires, except at locations designated by the Fire Marshal. Wood smokers, charcoal barbecues as well as propane and natural gas-fueled ornamental fires are allowed. Motor vehicles -- including motorcycles and ATVs -- are only allowed on improved roads free of flammable vegetation, except for the culture and harvest of agricultural crops. Smoking in areas of flammable vegetation is prohibited. The Grants Pass Fire Marshal or an authorized representative may -- in writing -- approve a modification or waiver of these requirements.