Local News

The James C. Richards Award was presented to Rogue River Mayor Pam Van Arsdale Friday during the League of Oregon Cities’ 100th Annual Conference in Portland.

The League says this award is given to an elected city official who serves the citizens of Oregon through exceptional personal investment in intergovernmental affairs.

During her eight years as Mayor, Van Arsdale has modernized city policies and secured vital transit services from neighboring counties.

Her regional leadership includes eight years on the Rogue Valley Council of Governments board, and she also serves on the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development’s Local Officials Advisory Committee and several LOC Policy Committees.

In 2018, her efforts were recognized with the Mayor’s Leadership Award for Small Cities from the Oregon Mayors Association.

Balancing a full-time career with civic engagement, Mayor Van Arsdale sets a high bar for integrity and impact. Her steadfast commitment to open, educated discussion, along with realistic solutions, has benefited her city, Jackson County, the Southern Oregon region, and the entire state.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office made a traffic stop Monday morning resulting in the arrest of a man with two warrants.

Officers pulled over Tyler Garland at the corner of Fruitdale Drive and Gaffney Way. He was found to be wanted on both a Grants Pass and Jackson County Warrant.

Garland was taken into custody and lodged in the Josephine County Jail on the warrants for Fentanyl and Meth Possession, First Degree Forgery and Theft, and Three Counts of Identity Theft.

Garland was also cited for Driving While Suspended, and his vehicle was towed from the scene.

 

Following a report of a traffic accident, the Illinois Valley Fire District and AMR-Josephine County were dispatched to the Collier Tunnel by Gasquet Fire and Del Norte Ambulance.

Upon arrival, responding units assessed two vehicles involved in the incident blocking the lane, with no reported injuries.

The scene was subsequently released to Gasquet Fire and the California Highway Patrol.

 

Thirty-one Oregon arts organizations will receive $10,000 grants to strengthen K-12 arts education during the 2026 fiscal year.

According to the Oregon Arts Commission, the awards are part of a $310,000 investment from the OAC's Arts Learning grant program. Every funded project is a collaboration with local schools and communities across Oregon.

Two recipients of the grant funding include the Rogue Valley Art Association in Medford, in support of the Elementary Arts Outreach serving up to 900 5th graders in Jackson County schools, and the Illinois Valley Community Development Organization in Cave Junction, supporting RiverStar's dance and theatre education for youth ages 5-18 in rural Illinois Valley and Josephine County.

These projects foster the sharing of knowledge between artists and educators and positively impact the achievement, skills, and attitudes of learners.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for stealing a purse out of someone's vehicle Sunday night.

Officers contacted the victim in the 100 block of NE Evelyn Avenue. She said that she and her husband returned to their vehicles and realized both cars had been broken into, and that her purse had been stolen.

An off-duty Oregon State Police officer later identified the suspect looking into and attempting to break into other vehicles. She was contacted by officers, who identified her as Mya McCreery.

She admitted to entering the victim's vehicle and stealing the purse. McCreery was lodged in the Josephine County Jail for Second Degree Theft and Unlawful Entry into a Motor Vehicle. The purse was returned to its owner.

 

Grants Pass Police were alerted to a trespassing complaint at an apartment complex Sunday morning.

After arriving at the complex in the 800 block of NE Victoria Street, officers met with the caller who stated the suspect, Jack Spurgeon, was in her residence and had no right to be.

Spurgeon had been coming and going, forcing his way into the apartment for the last 1-2 weeks, and leaving behind drug paraphernalia, according to the caller. She wanted him trespassed and consented to a search of the apartment.

Officers called out to Spurgeon before going inside, but he didn't respond. Upon entering and clearing the residence, officers located him hiding in the bathtub behind a shower curtain.

Spurgeon was charged with First Degree Criminal Trespass and lodged in the Josephine County Jail.

 

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office has received reports of two new scams targeting vulnerable people in the community. JCSO reports the victims included a mother of a runaway child and family members of a recently arrested Adult-in-Custody (AIC). In the first case, suspects obtained information from a social media post about a missing juvenile. They sent the family a video, possibly AI-generated, showing the child restrained in a chair, and demanded $1,500 or they would harm their family member. The video could only be viewed once, and the call originated from a Canadian phone number. The family quickly confirmed the juvenile was safe. This marks the second local scam of this kind in less than a month. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has tracked over 100 similar ransom scams since 2020. NCMEC tells families to allow authorities to create and distribute missing child posters and warns against including personal phone numbers or emails on self-made posters. In the second case, scammers called a family of a newly arrested AIC, impersonating a JCSO deputy. The scammer asked for $1,500 for bail and another $500 for an ankle monitor to secure the AIC’s release to a drug treatment program.

 

Rogue Community College’s Counseling Department is partnering with Max’s Mission to offer free community workshops on naloxone.

The workshops will teach participants about what naloxone is, how it works, how to use it and where to find it locally. Each attendee will receive an information packet and a naloxone kit to take home.

Workshops will take place Tuesday, October 7 at 2 p.m. in the Rogue Community College Higher Education Building at 101 South Bartlett Street in Medford, and Monday, October 13th at 11 a.m. in the Table Rock Campus "A" Building at 7800 Pacific Avenue in White City.

These events are free and open to the public, but registration is required. To ensure enough supplies are available, and for more information, call (541) 956-7084.

 

After a quick Legal Counsel Update, the Josephine County Board of Commissioners will hear many Department Business presentations during Tuesday's workshop. The board will first hear an update on the Grants Pass Civil Air Patrol property, a confirmation of the Sheriff's certificate of sale, and authorization of the distribution of proceeds from the sale, plus a review of Quitclaim Deeds and Land Sale Contracts from the September Auction. The Sheriff's Office will then present the e-Citations Integration Program, Community Justice will go over the third contract amendment for Options for Southern Oregon, and the Recreation Department has an Engineering Services Proposal for Schroeder Park, as well as an agreement with SOU. Public Health will present the board with amendments to Oregon Health Authority Intergovernmental Agreements, and the Human Resources Department will have many Personnel Actions and Requisitions on their agenda to discuss.