Local News

Firefighters extinguished a large vehicle fire in the Selma area on Wednesday. At 12:52 p.m. yesterday, the Illinois Valley Fire District and Oregon Department of Forestry responded to the incident in the 4,000-block of Thompson Creek Road. IVFD officials said the initial call was for a grass fire that was possibly determined to be a structure fire where Rural Metro Fire Department and American Medical Response were dispatched. They said the fire was first detected on ODF cameras. Arriving units found a vehicle fire with minimal spread to surrounding wildland. Crews worked together to keep the fire small and halt spread into nearby trees. Officials said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

 

The Rogue River City Council has a fairly light agenda for its monthly business meeting this evening. Following Committee Reports and Public Comments, the City Council will move to New Business that contains only four items. The first order of business is to approve Mayor Pam VanArsdale's appointment of Ed Hudson as an alternate member of the Rogue River Planning Commission. A lease agreement with Umpqua Bank for the public parking lot at Main and Pine streets is also on the docket. The final agenda items include re-adopting an ordinance that grants an electric utility franchise and general utility easement to Pacificorp within the City of Rogue River and accepting the May 9th and August 8th meeting minutes of the 2024 Tree City USA Committee. Tonight's meeting starts at 6 at Rogue River City Hall, 133 Broadway Street.

 

The Board of Commissioners continued its effort to remove outdated ordinances from the Josephine County Code during its business session on Wednesday. Following four brief public hearings, the Board voted unanimously to repeal rules pertaining to the payment of attorney fees, utility consumer choice, sanitary landfills and the designation of county property for sanitary landfills. The second readings and approvals of the new ordinances are scheduled for September 4th. Assistant County Legal Counsel Leah Harper testified all of the existing rules are outdated and need to be removed from the County Code. She said attorney fees were never paid to witnesses who cooperated with the District Attorney, the case against Pacific Power's Smart Meters was settled and the former Marlsan Landfill has been closed for many years. Under Administrative Actions, the Board also voted unanimously to approve an order outlining general fund appropriations in various county departments. Scott Blower of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest presented the Board with a certificate of appreciation for the efforts of Josephine County Public Works in the Bear Camp Road Project. The Grants Pass & Josephine County Chamber of Commerce opened the meeting with a presentation on the recent Lemonade Day event.

 

The Grants Pass City Council took several more steps to alleviate the local housing crunch during its regular business session on Wednesday night. The Council approved a resolution awarding a Housing Opportunity Fund grant of $238,152 to PANO, LLC, and InkBuilt for the development of 15 to 20 affordable homeownership units as part of the Allenwood Drive mixed-income housing development. An additional resolution was approved for the Nebraska Trail Apartments at the intersection of Ramsey and Nebraska Avenues in the amount of $241,227. The plan is for 50 or more apartments. Those apartments are to serve households at or below 80% of the average median income. A third resolution awarded an American Rescue Plan Act grant of $800,000 to the Mid Rogue Foundation for Hillcrest Veteran's Village, a proposed development of up to 36 rental units located at 948 NE Hillcrest Drive. The grant is to defer the public infrastructure cost. A resolution approving the purchase of property owned by Asante fronting on NW Midland Avenue, Washington Boulevard and 6th Street for $2 million was also passed.

 

The Oregon Department of Transportation is partnering with the cities of Grants Pass and Rogue River as well as Josephine and Jackson counties to develop a Grants Pass-to-Rogue River Multimodal Plan. This plan will identify a continuous trail linking Grants Pass to the City of Rogue River and filling a gap in the larger regional trail network. The goal of the network is to connect Grants Pass and Rogue River to the Bear Creek Greenway that runs all the way to Ashland. The project team wants to hear from you. The team is hosting an open house this evening from 5 to 8 p.m. at The Hiive in downtown Grants Pass. Stop in at your convenience and provide feedback on your vision for the Rogue River Greenway and the potential trail alignments. The Hiive is located at 164 SE G Street in Grants Pass.

 

Zone changes allowing a proposed R.V. Park, a code amendment allowing public infrastructure on private streets were approved by the Grants Pass City Council while an amendment making it against to the law to feed feral cats failed. Councilors approved a request for two land use changes on approximately 5.22 acres located at the intersection of Northeast Agness and ‘F’ Street. The request was to change the zoning from Industrial to General Commercial to facilitate the development of a proposed R.V. Park. The Urban Area Planning Commission recommended the denial. The hearing pointed out the UAPC did not receive significant information to make the decision. The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development had expressed concern that the reduction of industrial land wasn’t supported by the City’s Comprehensive Plan The Council unanimously approved the 2nd reading of a development code amendment allowing public water, sewer, and storm drainage facilities in privately maintained streets with an easement for maintenance. An uptick in applications, combined with expected increases in demand for development on private streets and recent requests by the Home Builders Association resulted in the Public Works Department to propose the code change. The Council dismissed an amendment to the City Code making it unlawful for any person to feed or care for feral cats. In 2023 the Council authorized a contract with JoCo Spay and Neuter for a trap-neuter-release services, shelter, and feeding community cats in Baker Park and that contract remains in place. The Council convened as the Urban Renewal Agency to award two grants. The first grant was a matching Urban Renewal Agency grant for a property at 1038 Northwest 6th Street for Cynthia’s Home Sweet Home. This award is for up to 50% of allowable expenses. Approximately $10,678 for this project.

 

The Grants Pass City Council took several steps to alleviate the local housing crunch Wednesday night during their regular Business Session The Council approved a resolution awarding a Housing Opportunity Fund grant of $238,152 to PANO L.L.C. and InkBuilt for the development of 15 to 20 affordable homeownership units as part of the Allenwood Drive mixed income housing development. The funds come from the City’s construction excise tax. An additional resolution was approved for the Nebraska Trail Apartments at the intersection of Ramsey and Nebraska Avenues in the amount of $241,227. The plan is for 50 or more apartments. Those apartments are to serve households at or below 80% of the average median income. These funds also come from the City’s construction excise tax. A third resolution awarded an American Rescue Plan Act grant of $800,000 to the Mid Rogue Foundation for Hillcrest Veteran’s Village, a proposed development of up to 36 rental units located at 948 Hillcrest Drive. The grant is to defer the total public infrastructure cost.

 

The Board of Commissioners continued its effort to remove outdated ordinances from the Josephine County Code during its weekly business session this morning. Following four brief public hearings, the Board voted unanimously to repeal rules pertaining to the payment of attorney fees, utility consumer choice, sanitary landfills and the designation of county property for sanitary landfills. The second readings and approvals of the new ordinances are scheduled for September 4th. Assistant County Legal Counsel Leah Harper testified all of the existing rules are outdated and need to be removed from the County Code. She said attorney fees were never paid to witnesses who cooperated with the District Attorney, the case against Pacific Power's Smart Meters was settled and the former Marlsan Landfill has been closed for many years. There was no public testimony in the hearings. Under Administrative Actions, the Board also voted unanimously to approve an order outlining general fund appropriations in various county departments. The department heads are expected to watch both their spending appropriations and revenues in the same manner as departments not paid for by the general fund. Scott Blower of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest presented the Board with a certificate of appreciation for the efforts of Josephine County Public Works in the Bear Camp Road Project. The Commissioners reminded citizens of the Fire Hazard Map Meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon in the Anne G. Basker Auditorium. The Grants Pass & Josephine County Chamber of Commerce opened the meeting with a presentation on the recent Lemonade Day event. New Chamber CEO Terry Hopkins said around 300 local children participated in the program with more than 80 lemonade stands in Grants Pass and Cave Junction. Young entrepreneur Reese Tappan said she donated $50 from her stand to the Rogue Valley Humane Society.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a woman who allegedly threatened her boyfriend with a knife outside a downtown business yesterday. The Police Department reports officers responded to a reported disturbance near an unnamed business on SE H Street on Tuesday at 2:35 p.m.. Police said a 61-year-old female subject and her boyfriend got into an argument while parked at the incident location. They said she admitted to taking out a knife and stabbing the seat next to her boyfriend, stating that she would cut him. No one was hurt and no physical contact occurred. According to the report, the woman drove away in a maroon Buick sedan while screaming. Officers searched the area, located her at 11th and I streets, and placed her into custody. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Unlawful Use of a Weapon and Menacing. She was being held without bail. Josephine County Animal Control was called in to take possession of a cat that was inside the suspect vehicle. It was taken to the Animal Shelter.