Local News

US Senate votes expected for this week in Washington, DC, have forced the postponement of US Senator Ron Wyden's scheduled town halls in southwest Oregon. Wyden's office sent out a weekend press release that stated the town halls slated for Tuesday in Josephine and Curry counties and for Wednesday in Coos and Douglas counties have been postponed until further notice. Senator Wyden was set to hold a Josephine County Town Hall at Hidden Valley High School tomorrow afternoon. All four town halls will be rescheduled.

 

The US Supreme Court today dove into the high-stakes case on homelessness that originated in Grants Pass with justices struggling to figure out where to draw the line on how far cities can go to regulate how people sleep or camp in public spaces. The Oregonian reports they also asked if the Supreme Court even needed to intervene in this case since Oregon in 2021 adopted its own state law that allowed for "objectively reasonable" time, place and manner limits on sitting, lying or sleeping outside. During two-and-a-half hours of lively argument, conservative justices questioned why federal judges should weigh into municipal policy decisions. They wondered why those affected by camping ordinances in Grants Pass can't raise the defense in state courts that their individual circumstances left them with nowhere else to sleep once they're fined or charged with a crime in state courts, instead of seeking a broad ban on the city's ordinances. The liberal justices, in turn, hammered the city’s lawyer, who claimed that homelessness isn’t considered a status. Attorney Theane D. Evangelis, representing Grants Pass, argued that the city's laws punished the general conduct of sleeping outside in public places and not the broad condition of being homeless. The case arose when several homeless people filed suit against Grants Pass in 2018, alleging the city's aggressive enforcement of its public camping and sleeping ordinances were intended to banish them from town. A divided 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals barred the city from enforcing the laws, finding they criminalized the status of being homeless in violation of the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment, and the city petitioned for the Supreme Court’s review. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision by the end of June.

 

US Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced Friday that 30 Oregon counties will receive more than $47.7 million in federal payments under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (SRS). The SRS funds are allocated from the US Forest Service for schools and road maintenance, youth job training, wildfire prevention, watershed restoration and habitat conservation. Locally, Douglas and Klamath counties will receive by far the largest amount of SRS funding with $6.67 million and $6.37 million, respectively. Jackson County will receive more than $1,462,000 and Josephine County will get $950,157.29. Nationwide, SRS provides critical funding for schools, roads and other municipal services to more than 700 US counties. A portion of US Forest Service funds generated through multi-use activities such as timber production, grazing and special use permits supports rural counties with federal forestland to improve the health of forested communities. More funding for rural counties is expected from the Bureau of Land Management in the near future.

 

Do you have a child that will be attending a Three Rivers District school this fall as a kindergartner? If so, please come to the "Kickoff to Kindergarten" this Thursday, April 25th, at 6 p.m.. Learn the skills that a typical 5-year-old needs to be familiar with by the time they start school at this week's event. Families will receive a free kit containing age-appropriate learning materials to use with their child at home. The kit includes items such as alphabet cards, color and shapes cards, memory match cards and a book. Parent sessions will start promptly at 6 p.m.. Pizza and water will be provided, but daycare for children is not. Bring immunization records, birth certificate and proof of address. The program is open to all children who will be 5 by September 1st. RSVP by calling your local neighborhood school. If you need help determining which school is in your neighborhood, please call (541)-862-3111.

 

The Grants Pass Police Department assisted Rogue Area Drug Enforcement (RADE) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) this week with the arrests of three people associated with a local drug trafficking enterprise. On Thursday around 9 a.m., RADE and the DEA served a search warrant in the 1800-block of NW Burns Avenue in Grants Pass. The search warrant revealed approximately four pounds of fentanyl, about $35,000 in suspected illegal drug proceeds, 13 firearms -- three of them stolen, more than 12 ounces of methamphetamine, an ounce of cocaine, an ounce of psilocybin mushrooms and other controlled substances. GPPD reports 47-year-old Brandon Gregory Ruppel and 52-year-old Laura Jean Berry were arrested and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Manufacture and Delivery of Controlled Substances within 1,000 Feet of a School, Possession of a Schedule 2 Controlled Substance and Felon in Possession of a Weapon. An additional occupant of the residence -- 50-year-old Jason Ruppel -- was cited to appear in court and released for multiple drug and firearms charges. RADE is a multi-jurisdictional narcotics task force that identifies, disrupts and dismantles local, multi-state and international drug trafficking organizations using an intelligence-driven, multi-agency, prosecutor-supported approach.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a Grants Pass area man this week for being in possession of a vehicle that was reported stolen out of Douglas County. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested the 55-year-old suspect at a home in the 11,000-block of Peco Road off Azalea Drive late Thursday afternoon. Deputies said the Douglas County Sheriff's Office reported a 2004 Dodge Durango had been stolen that morning and the local man had been identified as the suspect. The Peco Road residence was listed as the address for the man, and that's where he was located and the vehicle was recovered. Upon contact with the suspect, he advised deputies that he had called the victim's parents, told them he didn't steal the vehicle and that he had permission to drive it. However, the parents and law enforcement disagreed so he was taken into custody. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Possession of a Stolen Vehicle and he was being held without bail. The victim traveled to Grants Pass from Douglas County and picked up his vehicle.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a male transient this week for trespassing on railroad property and acting aggressively toward law enforcement. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a trespassing complaint near the railroad tracks in the 400-block of NW F Street behind American Medical Response late Thursday night. Police said AMR employees called 9-1-1 regarding a man making unreasonable noise on the railroad property next to their headquarters. Dispatchers advised they could hear the man yelling that he was going to kill someone along with some other vulgar statements. Responding officers contacted the 30-year-old man near Debo Park and he began acting aggressively toward them. A brief struggle took place before they placed him into custody. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Disorderly Conduct and Criminal Trespass. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police received an assist from the Josephine County Sheriff's Office when they arrested a motorist for impaired driving early yesterday. The Police Department reports sheriff's deputies pulled over a vehicle driven by a 53-year-old man near the corner of SE 6th and G streets on Friday at 2:45 a.m.. Police said deputies had stopped the motorist for driving north on southbound 6th Street. Since the traffic stop occurred in the downtown area, they requested police officers take over the investigation. Officers contacted the driver who showed multiple indicators of impairment. He was hostile toward them and found to be driving with a suspended license. The man performed poorly in field sobriety tests, so a search warrant was obtained and he was taken to Three Rivers Medical Center for a legal blood draw. Based on the results of the blood draw, the suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Reckless Driving and Driving While Suspended. His vehicle was impounded.

 

Oregon river information is now more accessible than ever on the National Rivers Project's (NRP) recreational river map. In collaboration with the Bureau of Land Management, the River Management Society recently added over 1,000 miles of Oregon rivers to the NRP site. This includes nearly 700 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers, iconic whitewater reaches and beginner-friendly sections. The NRP website offers intuitive search features for both beginners and experienced paddlers. Users can sort sections by difficulty and recreational amenities such as fishing, camping and boat ramps. Each listing provides river access and permit details, with links to more information. Some of the recently added sections are very accessible with developed launches, while others are more wild and remote. BLM rangers remind boaters to check local weather conditions, water levels and permit requirements before department on a river trip. NRP Coordinator James Major said all their river and access information is sourced and reviewed by managing agencies, so boaters can feel confident when they begin their trip-planning on their website at "nationalriversproject.com."