Local News

Firefighters extinguished a mobile home fire near Cave Junction last weekend. On Sunday at 8:57 a.m., the Illinois Valley Fire District responded to a reported structure fire in the 300-block of Little Grayback Road. Upon arrival, units observed a single-wide mobile home with an addition showing no visible signs of smoke. A subsequent investigation revealed smoldering embers within the structure's siding near a wood-burning stove. IVFD officials said the property owner had extinguished the roofline of the trailer before they arrived on scene. Firefighters successfully extinguished and fully suppressed the blaze. There were no injuries reported. Although it appeared flames had escaped the stove's chimney, the exact cause of the fire was under investigation.

 

The Grants Pass School Board is set to review several new policies during its committee meeting this evening. The District 7 Board of Education will open the meeting with approving draft minutes from its December 3rd policy meeting and workshop session. A lengthy list of new policies to review include personal communication devices, graduation requirements, graduation exercises, artificial intelligence, admission prices and receipts, family medical leave, individualized special education plans and reporting of suspected abuse. The D7 Board will also continue its November 24th update on instructional materials. Today's meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.. However, the start time may be delayed due to a preceding executive session that begins at 5 p.m.. The next Grants Pass School Board meeting is set for February 25th at 5 p.m..

 

AllCare Health has partnered with Rentec Direct to provide a streamlined platform for landlords to access the Health-Related Social Need (HRSN) benefit. The collaboration between the physician-owned healthcare organization and leader in property management software aims to make it easier for landlords to help their tenants in need of rent assistance while navigating the Oregon Medicaid Program. The HRSN Benefit is part of the state's 1115 Medicaid Waiver for the 2022-2027 period, designed to provide additional support for the social needs that impact health and well-being. The benefit includes rent assistance for eligible tenants who are at risk of homelessness or struggle to maintain housing stability. To qualify for rental assistance, AllCare Health members must be at risk of homelessness as defined by the state, have an income at or below 30% of the Area Median Income, lack sufficient resources to support networks to avoid homelessness, present with a housing clinical risk factor, need support staying in their current housing situation, and have a lease or written agreement with their landlord. The AllCare Health and Rentec Direct collaboration ensures that landlords can quickly and efficiently access the HRSN benefit for eligible tenants.

 

The Josephine Community Library District is seeking a dedicated individual to fill an open position on its Board of Directors. Position #2 is currently held by founding board member Laurel Samson, who has announced her decision to step down. The local library district is scheduled to appoint her replacement during its February board meeting. The appointed board member will serve the remainder of Samson's term through June 30th of this year. Applicants must reside within the library district's boundary. Community members who are passionate about the library district's mission are encouraged to apply for the open board position. Applications are due by Saturday, February 8th, at 4 p.m.. They should be dropped off at the Grants Pass branch library or e-mailed to "board@josephinelibrary.org." As Laurel Samson steps down, the Josephine Community Library District expresses its heartfelt gratitude for her many years of service and dedication to the library and the community. She spent 28 years working for the City of Grants Pass in various roles including community development director, assistant city manager and city manager before retiring in 2012.

 

The Owl Parking Lot at 5th and H streets in Grants Pass will undergo a major reconstruction this year and be converted to a joint parking lot and public plaza for community events. The City of Grants Pass has launched a "Buy-a-Brick" fundraising campaign before construction begins. For just $250, people wishing to add their personal touch to the Owl Plaza can purchase a brick with up to three lines of text engraved on a brass plaque that will be embedded in the brick. The bricks will form part of the patio base of the plaza near the 5th and H Street sidewalks. Hundreds of bricks are still available for purchase. Civic groups and businesses headquartered in Josephine County are also eligible to purchase a paving brick. Text is limited to three lines and 18 characters per line including spaces between words. For this campaign, the City is restricting the lines of text to names only -- not slogans, quotes or phrases of any kind. For more information, contact Dana Pearce at "dpearce@grantspassoregon.gov" or call (541)-450-6014.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on three local warrants during a patrol check at Fred Meyer late last week. According to the Police Department, officers contacted 51-year-old Sean William MacDowell at the store on the Grants Pass Parkway on Friday afternoon. Police said they spotted MacDowell and recognized him from previous criminal encounters. They said he was wanted on three Grants Pass warrants for failing to appear in court for one count of Methamphetamine Possession and three counts of 3rd-Degree Theft. He was cooperative and placed into custody without incident. MacDowell was lodged at the Josephine County Jail and he was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on two local warrants during a weekend patrol check at a fast food restaurant. The Police Department reports officers contacted 31-year-old Jose Manuel Urias at the Burger King on Rogue River Highway on Saturday around 2:20 p.m.. Police said Urias is well-known to them and he was observed walking along the highway near BK. They said he was wanted on a Josephine County warrant for failing to appear in court for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Reckless Driving, Criminal Mischief and Furnishing False Information to Police as well as a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for Criminal Mischief. After the warrants were confirmed, Urias was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrants and he was being held on $70,000 bail.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office tracked down and arrested a woman on a local warrant over the weekend. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies eventually located 52-year-old Angalene Marie Armstrong at a home in the 3300-block of Elk Lane at 1:45 p.m. Saturday. Deputies said they were looking for Armstrong because she was wanted on a Grants Pass warrant for failing to appear in court for 2nd-Degree Theft. They contacted her roommate in Independence and he advised she was heading to Grants Pass for a court case and he hadn't heard from her in more than a week. According to the report, deputies investigated and learned that her last registered local address was on Elk Lane and that's where they found her. She was placed into custody without incident. Armstrong was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on $10,000 bail.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a White City man for impaired driving during a weekend traffic stop near the South Y intersection. According to OSP, troopers pulled over a white Ford F-150 pickup driven by a 34-year-old male subject near the corner of 6th Street and Redwood Highway on Saturday shortly after 11 p.m.. Troopers said they stopped the truck for multiple traffic violations and the driver displayed multiple signs of impairment. They said he performed poorly in field sobriety tests, so he was taken to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where it was determined he was under the influence of both alcohol and narcotics. The suspect was lodged at the Sobering Center for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and Controlled Substances plus Reckless Driving. His pickup was towed.