Local News

Grants Pass Police arrested a felon for violating his post-prison supervision after he tried to steal merchandise from Walmart at the start of the weekend. The Police Department reports officers responded to a shoplifting complaint at the store on NE Terry Lane on Friday afternoon. Police said 31-year-old Kody Tyler Halverson stole less than $100 in clothing from Walmart, fled from loss prevention and then police. He was spotted running across Terry Lane and officers located him near Game Stop where they placed him into custody. The stolen items were returned to Walmart. According to the report, Halverson had a prior trespass warning at the retailer. Halverson was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for 3rd-Degree Theft, 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass and the resulting Felony Parole Violation. He was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

Two people were injured in a weekend pileup on Interstate 5 near the Hugo Exit. Rural Metro Fire Department, American Medical Response and the Oregon State Police were dispatched to the four-vehicle collision in the northbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 66 on Friday at 11:21 p.m.. Rural Metro officials said AMR medics triaged the scene and determined that two occupants of separate vehicles required transport to Three Rivers Medical Center with moderate injuries. No one else was seriously hurt. OSP was investigating the cause of the multi-vehicle crash, but it was reported that the chain of events may have started after one of the vehicles attempted to avoid an object on the freeway.

 

A busy agenda awaits the Grants Pass City Council when it convenes for its bi-weekly workshop session today. The City Council will open the workshop with Urban Renewal Agency projects and funding. That will be followed by discussion on the Owl parking lot, which will eventually be developed into a downtown plaza. Next up is a presentation on American Rescue Plan Act allocations. Under ARPA rules, contracts for pandemic-related projects must be signed by the end of the year and the projects must be completed by the end of December 2026. Also on the agenda is a motion from the Committee on Public Art and review of the agenda for Wednesday night's regular meeting. Today's workshop begins at 11:45 a.m. in the City Council Chambers at Grants Pass City Hall, 101 NW A Street.

 

The Jackson County Sheriff's Search and Rescue (SAR) team successfully located and rescued a Central Point man from Mt. McLoughlin over the weekend. The Sheriff's Office reports the 40-year-old man set out alone to climb the 9,493-foot Mt. McLoughlin at 7 a.m. Saturday. After summiting, he began his return but lost the trail and veered south into untracked terrain. After several hours of walking over broken volcanic rock, he texted his girlfriend, advised her he was lost, running out of food and water, and his cell phone battery was running low. At about 5 p.m., he texted a request for help and his girlfriend immediately relayed the request to Emergency Communications of Southern Oregon, who notified SAR. Using cell phone forensics, SAR was able to pinpoint his location and set out to reach him. The team advised the lost man to sit down and stay put to await help. It was dark, getting cold and he was wearing only a cotton t-shirt and shorts. He was also suffering from mild cramping in his legs due to dehydration and fatigue. SAR members hiked up from Highway 140 through dense foliage and over lava fields consisting of boulders the size of small cars. Searchers successfully located him around 9:30 p.m.. A physician and SAR volunteer evaluated him at the scene and -- after rehydrating him with water and feeding him high-energy snacks -- they determined he was able to hike out with assistance.

 

Grants Pass police officers and firefighters welcomed the fall season with another active week of community protection. According to the Weekly Report filed by Grants Pass City Manager Aaron Cubic, police officers responded to a total of 648 calls for service along with 298 officer-initiated calls last week that resulted in 79 arrests, 34 citations, 61 warnings and seven highly-intoxicated people being lodged at the Sobering Center. Cubic also reported that officers conducted a total of 70 traffic stops in the city and they made 27 referrals to the Oregon Department of Human Services. The GPPD Community Response Team (CRT) contacted a total of 195 potential troublemakers while arresting nine people, citing eight more and warning 32 others. The CRT unit also trespassed 10 individuals, posted 84 transient camps and removed trash from three campsites. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue responded to a total of 111 calls last week including 38 for emergency medical service, six for reports of fire or smoke, 18 lift assists, one rescue situation, six assists to other agencies and seven false alarms. The Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications Center fielded a total of 1,238 emergency calls.

 

The Oregon Army National Guard's Detachment 1, B Company, 1-168th General Support Aviation Battalion from Pendleton participated in a unique "bosslift" event this month at the Rogue Valley-Medford International Airport. The event, co-organized with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), primarily involved local educators, offering them a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the National Guard's aviation assets. Utilizing a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, the flight took participants on a scenic route from the Medford Airport to Gold Beach, then south of Brookings before returning to Medford. This bosslift marked a significant moment for Southern Oregon, being the first such event in the region in over a decade. The event was coordinated through a collaborative effort between local recruiter Sergeant 1st Class Erik Andreason of the National Guard and Cecil Owens, the State ESGR Director. This bosslift showcased the Oregon National Guard's aviation capabilities and strengthened the bond between the Guard and the communities it serves.

 

The Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications Center was busy during the final week of summer. According to the 9-1-1 Dispatch Center's weekly post on Facebook, dispatchers fielded a total of 1,238 emergency calls between September 19th and 25th. The Grants Pass Police Department received the vast majority of the calls with 946. American Medical Response received 318 calls and Grants Pass Fire & Rescue received 100. Rural Metro Fire Department received 61 emergency calls while the Illinois Valley Fire District received 36, the Williams Rural Fire Protection District received 6 and the Wolf Creek Rural Fire Protection District got 2. Local dispatchers also received a total of 495 internal calls and they made a total of 652 outbound calls.

 

The Illinois Valley Fire District and Oregon Department of Forestry knocked down a small vegetation fire southeast of Cave Junction yesterday. On Friday at 12:25 p.m., IVFD and ODF crews responded to a reported blaze in the 7600-block of Rockydale Road. IVFD officials said arriving units found a 1/4-acre fire burning in grass and brush just off Rockydale Road. Crews stopped forward progress of the blaze in short order and started building a line around it before beginning mop-up operations. The cause of the fire was under investigation. ODF officials said residents should be aware that there's still high fire danger in Josephine and Jackson counties. Fires will start and spread easily in these warm and dry conditions.

 

Several traffic complaints near the Grants Pass Parkway this week led to the arrest of a man on an outstanding warrant. Grants Pass police officers responded to the complaint in the 700-block of SE M Street on Thursday night. Police said 35-year-old Kyle Daniel Miller was called in by numerous residents for riding his motorcycle at fast speeds back and forth on SE 11th and M streets. They said they located a male subject standing next to a motorcycle matching the one called in and the rider identified himself as Miller. A routine records check revealed that Miller was wanted on a Jackson County warrant for failing to appear in court for Heroin Possession. After the warrant was confirmed, he was placed into custody. He told officers he wasn't feeling well after taking fentanyl a short time before he was contacted.