Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for multiple crimes yesterday after she was caught stealing from Walmart. The Police Department reports officers were alerted to a shoplifting complaint at the store on NE Terry Lane on Wednesday around 2 p.m.. Police said 30-year-old Samantha Kay Bonnell entered Walmart and passed all points of sale with about $19 worth of stolen items. She had been trespassed from the big box retailer on Tuesday. During a consent search, Bonnell was found to be in possession of a white crystal substance that tested positive as methamphetamine. It was seized for destruction. Bonnell was lodged at the nearby Josephine County Jail for 3rd-Degree Theft, 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass and Meth Possession. She was once again trespassed from the store.

 

No one was injured when a vehicle rolled over on Redwood Highway at Hayes Hill yesterday. On Wednesday at about 2:20 p.m., the Illinois Valley Fire District, Rural Metro Fire Department, American Medical Response, Josephine County Sheriff's Office and Oregon State Police were dispatched to the single-vehicle crash on Highway 199 near Hayes Hill Road. IVFD officials said the occupants were outside of the vehicle when emergency personnel arrived on scene and they did not sustain any injuries. The Oregon Department of Transportation moved the overturned vehicle to the side of the highway to ensure it was clear for other motorists. OSP was conducting an investigation into the cause of the accident.

 

An Applegate man escaped injury yesterday when he crashed his vehicle on Williams Highway near Provolt. The Oregon State Police reports troopers and emergency crews responded to the single-vehicle wreck near milepost 12 of Highway 238 on Wednesday at 1:17 p.m.. Troopers said a 56-year-old man was driving an eastbound Ford F-350 pickup when he lost control while negotiating a corner and slid into a ditch, turning the truck over onto its side. They said he was not injured. Caveman Towing removed the vehicle and hauled it to Grants Pass. No citations were issued.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for attacking his fiancee twice over the past week. The Police Department reports officers were alerted on Tuesday morning to a domestic assault that happened at a home on NW B Street. Police said an investigation determined that a 36-year-old male subject and his fiancee became involved in an argument which became physical on Monday night. They said the man grabbed a metal back-scratcher and struck the woman, causing physical injury. The victim waited to call 9-1-1 until Tuesday morning and then drove to the police station to be interviewed. According to the report, the woman said a similar incident occurred last week. Officers contacted the suspect at the couple's residence and he admitted to both incidents, so he was placed into custody. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony 2nd-Degree Domestic Assault, Felony Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Domestic Strangulation, Domestic Menacing and Probation Violation related to a previous arrest for 4th-Degree Assault and Resisting Arrest after he allegedly attacked his own mother.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man for threatening to kill a woman in a rolling case of domestic violence in the south part of the city this week. According to the Police Department, a female subject walked into a business in the 1500-block of Williams Highway late Tuesday afternoon to report the incident. Police said the hysterical victim called 9-1-1 to report a male subject was trying to kill her. She advised dispatchers that the man had struck her several times. She also said she hadn't eaten or had any water in days. The 29-year-old suspect was sitting in a blue Honda sedan with no plates outside the business. He threw the victim's items out of the car and left prior to law enforcement arrival, but he was stopped and detained a short time later. The suspect was arrested and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Domestic Menacing. He was being held without bail. The Women's Crisis Support Team responded to the business to speak with the victim.

 

Grants Pass Police apprehended a man wanted on a statewide felony warrant and added weapon and drug charges to his criminal bill after an early morning traffic stop this week. The Police Department reports officers pulled over a black Fiat driven by 44-year-old Ryan Patrick Cox near the corner of Redwood Avenue and Medart Lane on Tuesday around 1:25 a.m.. Police said they stopped the Fiat after observing it on a public roadway without any license plates. During a routine records check, it was discovered that Cox was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a burglary conviction. Burglary tools and a methamphetamine pipe were found in the car. In addition, officers located three restricted weapons in Cox's vehicle. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing any weapons. The weapons, burglary tools and drug paraphernalia were seized as evidence. Cox was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant plus three counts of Felon in Possession of a Restricted Weapon and one count of Meth Possession. He was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a Josephine County Community Corrections client on a statewide felony warrant this week. The Police Department reports officers placed 39-year-old Ciera Michelle Lokken into custody at the corrections office on NW 4th Street on Tuesday. Police said Lokken was wanted on an Oregon State warrant for Parole Violation stemming from a previous weapon conviction. She was at the office to visit her corrections officer and unaware that she was about to be arrested. Lokken was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on a no-bail detainer.

 

Cooler weather and recent rains have allowed the fire danger level to decrease in Jackson and Josephine counties, but the Oregon Department of Forestry reminds residents that the 2024 fire season remains in effect. On Tuesday afternoon, ODF and the Applegate Valley Fire District responded to a fire in the 8,000-block of Thompson Creek Road. Crews engaged in an aggressive initial attack and they were able to stop the fire's progress at just under 1.25 acres. Resources mopped up the blaze and investigators were looking into the cause. ODF officials said to be aware that fires can still start and spread, especially in dry vegetation. Help prevent fires by following current regulations, which can be found at "swofire.com/public-fire-restrictions."

 

Today is World Polio Day. We are so close and yet so far from eradicating this disease. COVID-19, large-scale migrations, multiple refugee situations and political/military unrest are making these final steps extremely difficult. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative began in 1988 as a partnership including the World Health Organization, Rotary International, Center for Disease Control, UNICEF and the Bill & Malinda Gates Foundation. Since its beginning, the initiative has organized the vaccination of more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries. About 370 million children are vaccinated every year. Countries with mobile populations and poor water and sewage systems are particularly at risk. The cost of vaccinating that many children every year is enormous. Not only does it require thousands of field workers and systems to track their progress, but the distribution is extremely difficult. The oral vaccines must be kept at no more than 46 degrees from manufacturer to the time they are administered. This means maintaining a cold chain to some of the most remote villages on the planet. Rotarians are proud of the part they play in this initiative. Every club makes a commitment to donate every year and welcomes donations. Donations can be made through the Rotary International website or by giving a check made to the Rotary Foundation/Polio to any Rotarian. The Rotary Club of Grants Pass is part of Rotary District 5110 which includes 68 clubs in southern and central Oregon as well as the northern edge of California. For more information, contact Ted Risser at (541)-450-5697.