Local News

For the second time in three days, rafters getting stuck on the rocks near Argo Park on the Rogue River mobilized rescue crews from multiple agencies. On Monday at 12:27 p.m., Rural Metro Fire Department and American Medical Response were dispatched to reports that rafters were in distress and one person was possibly missing. Rural Metro officials said everyone was accounted for, there were no injuries and all the rafts were recovered, although some gear was lost in the river. An engine from the Oregon Department of Forestry that regularly patrols the Galice area assisted with the incident. Officials said both rafting mishaps involved miscalculations made by experienced rafters. They said water levels at this time of year are low, exposing more rocks and making some usual waterway paths unsafe.

 

A Southern Oregon man has been arrested and charged with stalking and harassing Connecticut women's basketball star Paige Bueckers. The Oregonian reports 40-year-old Robert Cole Parmalee of Grants Pass was charged with breach of peace, electronic stalking and harassment while appearing in Connecticut Superior Court in Rockville on Monday. Parmalee was arrested Friday and is being held on $100,000 bond. According to UConn Police, the university's communications department learned of Parmalee targeting Bueckers through "rambling" emails. Parmalee claimed he was a member of the royal family and he wanted to marry a member of the women's basketball team. Parmalee also made social media posts that were threatening to Bueckers' friends and family. According to ESPN, one of Parmalee's TikTok posts threatened to kill himself and others if he couldn't "live with the woman of my choosing," apparently meaning Bueckers. Parmalee previously was arrested on August 27th by Connecticut State Police after he was observed walking along a highway near Bradley International Airport outside Hartford. The day before his arrest, Parmalee posted on TikTok that he was going to see Bueckers with the plan to propose to her and get her expelled from school. A judge ordered both a protective and no-contact order on Monday. Parmalee's next court appearance is scheduled for October 22nd.

 

Two people were seriously injured when their vehicle struck a power pole near Cave Junction late yesterday. The Illinois Valley Fire District, American Medical Response and the Josephine County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to the single-vehicle crash in the 2200-block of Holland Loop Road on Monday at 5:21 p.m.. IVFD officials said arriving units found a vehicle on its roof after striking a power pole. One person was still in the vehicle while the second person was ejected. Both patients were cared for by firefighters until AMR arrived on scene and took the most critical patient to a landing zone and a Mercy Flights helicopter flew the patient to Rogue Regional Medical Center in Medford. The second patient was transported by ground ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center in Grants Pass. Pacific Power crews arrived on scene to repair the damaged power pole. Jerry's Towing removed the heavily-damaged vehicle and hauled it to Cave Junction. The Sheriff's Office was investigating the cause of the crash.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on a local felony warrant while investigating reports of suspicious activity in a supermarket parking lot last weekend. According to the Police Department, officers responded to reports of two men and a woman believed to be using or selling drugs out of a parked vehicle at WinCo Foods on NE Terry Lane around midday Saturday. Officers contacted the trio including 38-year-old Charles Lee Shull and found no evidence of drug trafficking. However, they did discover that Shull was wanted on a Jackson County felony warrant for 1st-Degree Theft. Shull was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on the warrant. He was being held pending transfer to the Jackson County Jail in Medford.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a man on two local warrants during a patrol check at an eastside supermarket. The Police Department reports officers were patrolling the WinCo Foods parking lot off NE Terry Lane when they spotted 30-year-old Kraig Dean Toothman on Saturday afternoon. Police said they knew Toothman from previous law enforcement encounters and knew that he was wanted on two Grants Pass warrants for 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief and 3rd-Degree Theft. After the warrants were confirmed, the suspect was placed into custody. Toothman was lodged at the Josephine County Jail and he was being held in lieu of posting $60,000 bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a "frequent flyer" for trying to steal merchandise from Home Depot last weekend. According to the Police Department, officers were alerted to a shoplifting call at the store on NE Mill Street on Sunday around 6:15 p.m.. Police said 44-year-old Donn Reeves Fincher entered Home Depot and passed all points of sale with $58 worth of unpaid-for items. They said loss prevention stopped the man and recovered the stolen items, but he fled on foot prior to the arrival of law enforcement. Officers searched the area and did not locate Fincher until 11:27 p.m. at the Pinnacle 365 convenience store on NE A Street. That's where he was placed into custody and then lodged in jail for 3rd-Degree Theft.

 

Oregon Secretary of State LaVonne Griffin-Valade is celebrating National Voter Registration Day today by encouraging eligible Oregonians to register to vote or update their voter registration at "OregonVotes.gov/register." National Voter Registration Day is a nonpartisan civic holiday started in 2012 that is dedicated to celebrating our democracy on September 17th. The deadline to register to vote to receive a ballot for the November General Election is October 15th. Ballots will start going out on October 16th. Oregonians can register online at "OregonVotes.gov/register." They may also choose to register by completing a voter registration form and returning it to a county elections office. To register to vote in Oregon, you must be a US Citizen, a resident of Oregon and at least 16 years old, with ballots being issued once you turn 18 years old. Already registered? You can use the "My Vote" tool to view your voter registration information and make any necessary updates including if you recently moved or changed your name.

 

The Grants Pass City Council is ready to move forward with a project to renovate Caveman Pool at an estimated cost of about $6.1 million. During its weekly workshop on Monday, the majority of the City Council was in favor of a municipal pool facility that is smaller in size than the current pool -- but has a greater number of play features. City Parks Superintendent Josh Hopkins presented a plan that creates 4,234 square feet of water surface, with depths ranging from 3-feet-6-inches to 10-feet-8-inches. The four-lane 25-yard lap swim area would be oriented north and south rather than the current east-west configuration. Amenities to the pool would include a water slide, a 3-meter diving platform, a 3/4-meter diving board and several interactive water play toys. Hopkins said the main building would remain in its current location and the total size of the facility would not change. He said construction of the pool would be plaster, which lasts longer but requires water to be left in the pool during the offseason. Water leakage from the current pool would be virtually eliminated. The cost estimate for the new pool is estimated to be $6.1 million, with $6.3 million already earmarked for the project. Most of the funding would come from the Urban Renewal District, supplemented by American Rescue Plan Act funds.

 

Drive-thru chain Dutch Bros said Monday that it will donate its former corporate headquarters in downtown Grants Pass to the Oregon Center for Creative Learning, which operates a preschool and children's museum. Dutch Bros will retain a corporate office in Grants Pass, about six miles north of downtown on North Valley Drive. The company moved its formal headquarters from downtown Grants Pass to the North Valley Drive office earlier this summer, months after it moved many of its corporate functions out of state. The Oregonian reports the company valued Monday's donation at $2.7 million. "Donating our building to Oregon Center for Creative Learning guarantees more kids and families in Josephine County have a compelling future through early childhood education and family activities," said Travis Boersma, Dutch Bros' chairman and co-founder. Dutch Bros is one of Oregon’s largest companies, operating more than 900 drive-thrus in 18 states. Earlier this year, the company moved many corporate jobs from Southern Oregon to new offices near Phoenix, Arizona. CEO Christine Barone works in Arizona, though Boersma still lives in Oregon.