Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a local warrant while investigating a trespassing complaint at a residence near Bi-Mart. The Police Department reports officers responded to the trespassing call in the 400-block of Marion Lane on Friday afternoon. Police said a homeowner called 9-1-1 to report a male transient sleeping on the side of his house. The caller advised that he yelled at the subject to wake him up, but he did not move. Officers arrived on scene and contacted the 30-year-old man, discovering that he was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for Probation Violation related to an arrest for 4th-Degree Assault. He was placed into custody. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail and he was trespassed from the Marion Lane residence.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested two people for stealing merchandise from Walmart and one of them on an outstanding warrant. According to the Police Department, the first incident occurred on Saturday at 3:41 p.m. when officers responded to a trespassing complaint at the store on NE Terry Lane. Police said a 36-year-old female subject concealed over $100 worth of items and failed to pay for them. She left as a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped a short time later by the Oregon State Police. She was arrested and lodged in jail for 2nd-Degree Theft. The stolen merchandise was recovered. The second incident happened on Saturday at 9:46 p.m. when officers responded to a trespassing call at Walmart. This time, a 45-year-old male subject was arrested after he was observed taking merchandise and not paying for it. Police said the subject was found to be wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for 3rd-Degree Escape. He was lodged in jail on the warrant plus a new charge of 3rd-Degree Theft.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested a motorcyclist for impaired riding following a weekend traffic stop in Cave Junction. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies pulled over a Honda motorcycle for speeding near the intersection of Caves Highway and South Old Stage Road on Saturday around midnight. Deputies said the 60-year-old motorcyclist displayed signs of impairment and performed poorly in field sobriety tests. He was taken to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where he provided a breath sample that exceeded the legal driving limit. The suspect was lodged at the Sobering Center after being cited to appear in court for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. His bike was impounded by Jerry's Towing.

 

Grants Pass police officers and firefighters stayed busy protecting the community while preparing for the first week of public school. According to the Weekly Report filed by Grants Pass City Manager Aaron Cubic, police officers responded to a total of 600 calls for service along with 314 officer-initiated calls last week that resulted in 40 arrests, 18 citations, 40 warnings and five highly intoxicated people being lodged at the Sobering Center. Cubic also reported that officers conducted a total of 53 traffic stops in the city and they made 12 referrals to the Oregon Department of Human Services. The GPPD Community Response Team (CRT) contacted a total of 97 potential troublemakers while arresting three people, citing nine more and warning 23 others. The CRT unit also trespassed 10 individuals from homes or businesses. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue responded to a total of 92 calls last week including 32 for emergency medical service, two reports of fire or smoke, 18 lift assists, five rescue situations, three assists to other agencies and three false alarms. Firefighters also performed 16 business inspections, led one education/prevention program, assisted the public five times and properly installed three child car seats.

 

The Illinois Valley Fire District responded to an electrical fire at a church in Cave Junction on Sunday. At 10:27 a.m. yesterday, IVFD and the Oregon Department of Forestry rushed to a reported fire at the Illinois Valley Evangelical Free Church in the 400-block of Laurel Road. IVFD and ODF crews arrived at the church and immediately detected an odor of electrical burning. Units were unable to find a fire, but they located the cause of the odor. A projector cord was found to have malfunctioned and it was unplugged.

 

Impaired driving continues to be a significant problem in Jackson County. Over the past three years, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office has made a total of 986 DUII arrests, with 322 in 2021, 290 in 2022 and 374 in 2023. To help keep the community safe, local law enforcement agencies are conducting three awareness campaigns from now through September. DUII Awareness runs from now until September 4th, Child Vehicle Restraint Safety Awareness is now until September 1st and Speed Awareness runs the entire month of September. Funding for these campaigns is provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). The ODOT grant seeks to reduce the number of traffic-related death and serious-injury crashes on Jackson County roadways through sustained DUII enforcement and education activities.

 

Emergency first responders are reminding motorists that many kids are headed back to school this week. Rural Metro Fire Department encourages motorists to slow down in school zones where the speed limit is 20 miles per hour and refresh on your duties at bus stops when lights are flashing. It is unlawful to pass a school bus with flashing lights. Watch for children who are walking or riding bicycles around schools. Many kids are starting classes at new schools this week and are unfamiliar with the campuses. Local law enforcement agencies across Southern Oregon will be patrolling in school zones -- especially this week as kids return to school after their summer vacation.

 

The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined a Medford roofing company more than $100,000 for repeatedly failing to safeguard workers from fall hazards that could seriously injure or kill them. Oregon OSHA cited JAM Construction, Inc., following an inspection of a jobsite in Central Point where work was being done on the roof of a house. OSHA officials said a recent inspection showed the employer failed to ensure that employees working on the roof installed and implemented fall protection. As a result, employees were exposed to potential falls of up to 13 feet to the ground. JAM Construction violated a rule requiring employers to ensure that fall protection systems are provided, installed and implemented where employees are exposed to a hazard of falling 6 feet or more to a lower level. It was the third time the local company violated fall protection requirements and OSHA issued a penalty of $103,438 for the third repeat violation. The agency also issued an "other-than-serious" citation to the company for failing to provide documentation showing employees had received fall protection training. Following the inspection, JAM Construction corrected the fall protection violation. Penalized employers have 30 calendar days to file an appeal.

 

Total payroll employment in Jackson County fell by 410 jobs in July due to public schools taking their summer break. According to the Oregon Employment Department, there were 102,475 people working in Jackson County last month for a seasonally adjusted jobless rate of 4.7%, which is the same as in June and up from 4.2% in July 2023. Government employment declined by 1,190 jobs in July, mostly due to 1,280 fewer jobs in local government education. Federal and state government had small gains. Private sector job gains were broad-based in July. Job totals rose in retail trade, health care & social assistance, construction, and professional services. Gains were also posted in leisure & hospitality, other services, and manufacturing. Utilities, warehousing & transportation was the only industry with a slight employment decline over the month. Over the past year, payroll employment in Jackson County rose by 770 jobs, an increase of 0.9%. Since July 2023, industries adding jobs were private education & health services, and leisure & hospitality. Industries with over the year losses included manufacturing, professional & business services, financial activities, retail trade, utilities, warehousing & transportation, construction and other services.