Local News

The Regional Forest Practice Committee for Southwest Oregon will meet at 9 a.m. this morning at the Oregon Department of Forestry Office on Monument Drive near Grants Pass. The committee's agenda includes division updates, Operator of the Year discussion and voting, Forest Practice Technical Guidance development and stream flow permanence update, E-Notification System changes, Forest resources training strategy and compliance monitoring update. Regional Forest Practices Committees are panels of citizens -- mandated under Oregon law -- that advise the Oregon Board of Forestry on current forestry issues and forest management approaches. Under Oregon law, a majority of the committees' members must be private forest landowners and logging or forest operations companies.Oregon's forests are among the state's most valued resources, providing a balanced mix of environmental, economic and social benefits. The public may attend the meeting in-person or online via Zoom. Public comments will be accepted.

 

Recent fall-like weather and widespread rain has made it possible to ease off on some public and industrial fire prevention regulations on lands protected by the Oregon Department of Forestry Southwest Oregon District. Effective immediately the public fire danger level will decrease to “low”, and the industrial fire precaution level will decrease to I on ODF-protected lands in Jackson and Josephine counties. The city of Grants Pass immediately followed suit, also lowering the danger to low. In low fire danger, public fire prevention regulations which will remain in effect, include:

• No debris burning, including piles and debris burned in burn barrels.
• No fireworks on or within 1/8 of a mile of ODF-protected land.
• Exploding targets and tracer ammunition, or any bullet with a pyrotechnic charge in its base, are prohibited.
• Smoking while traveling will only be allowed in enclosed vehicles on improved roads, in boats on the water and other specifically designated locations.
• Any electric fence controllers must be approved by a nationally recognized testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories Inc., or be certified by the Department of Consumer and Business Services, and be installed and used in compliance with the fence controller’s instructions for fire safe operation. Under IFPL I (one) – fire season requirements are in effect. In addition to the following:

• A Firewatch is required at this and all higher levels unless otherwise waived.

For more information about the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Fire Season regulations, please call or visit the Southwest Oregon District unit office nearest to you:

• Medford Unit, 5286 Table Rock Rd., Central Point – (541) 664-3328
• Grants Pass Unit, 5375 Monument Dr., Grants Pass – (541) 474-3152

 

Josephine County Commissioners made quick work of their Weekly Business Session with no action items on the agenda. The consent calendar containing the minutes from three meetings was approved as was the reapproval of an order in the matter of authorization of the sale of County Real Property by Sheriff’s Sale. Commissioner Herman Baertschiger pointed out the reason for the reapproval was an item was left out of the initial order. The document is now approved. The Commissioners then adjourned the Business Session. The Board will convene an administration workshop Thursday morning at 9 a.m. in the BCC Conference Room to deal with the Hillcrest Veterans Village, the Martha Mine Forest Land, the County’s fees for 2025, the Applegate Hills Plat map and the resignation of the Coordinator for the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council.At 9:15 the Commissioners are scheduled to convene as the governing body of the 4H/Extension Service District. The agenda calls for a supplemental budget hearing to appropriate 4H Building reserve funds for use on the 4H buildings.

 

An Oregon State Trooper stopped a red Dodge Ram pickup on northeast ‘7th’ Street Tuesday night for a traffic violation. The Trooper discovered the driver, 48-year-old Trevor Jarrett Ridgway, was wanted on an outstanding Josephine County warrant, so he was arrested and transported to the County Jail and jailed with bail set at $25,000. He is facing a charge of distributing a controlled substance-methamphetamine.

 

The Sobering Center on Foundry Street called the City Police with a request for help with a disorderly guest. The Center’s staff stated the “guest” was banging on the door latch, making threats to others and disturbing other occupants. The unruly guest, identified as 44-year-old Christian Anthony Bartell, was taken into custody following a call to his parole officer who authorized a parole violation detainer.
Bartell was transported to the County Jail and lodged. It was his third incarceration for parole violations in the past year.

 

Grants Pass City Police arrested a male in his vehicle at the intersection of Mill and ‘J’ Street, in the vicinity of the ‘J’ Street campground. Just after midnight this morning an Officer detained 62-year-old James Stanford Miller, and upon contact, observed drug paraphernalia. Miller admitted the substance was methamphetamine. Field tests confirmed his confession. Miller was found to have three active warrants for arrest, one from Josephine County for failure to appear on a traffic offense, and two out of county hold warrants from Douglas County.

 

Josephine County Deputies arrested two subjects on outstanding warrants Tuesday afternoon. At 2:27 p.m. a Deputy made contact with 42-year-old Edmond Frank Fabianeck as he was walking in the Redwood Highway/Rockydale Road area and placed him into custody on a Sheriff’s felony warrant. He was transported to jail to face charges of theft III and theft I/shoplifting. Fabianeck had been arrested in September for failing to register as a sex offender. The 2nd arrest came at 2:41 p.m. when a deputy detained Michele Joseph Anderson, 48, in the 500 block of Jamarkand Drive. Anderson was wanted on an Oregon State Parole violation for weapon use. It was Anderson’s third arrest for parole violations since April of this year.

 

The City of Grants Pass is asking for your help to make the trails on Dollar Mountain the best they can be. Currently, the trails are fresh and soft, and contractors are preparing the surfacing for ideal conditions in anticipation of rain, which will help pack down the surfaces; footprints and bike tracks will adversely affect the trail conditions now due to their soft texture. To avoid costly repairs and future closures for maintenance, all users–especially motor-powered users–must stay off the new trails under construction, that is five miles of trails on the east side of trails located off of Hieglen Loop. All forms of motorized ATV vehicles, including dirt bikes and 4-wheelers, are prohibited on the City-owner portions of Dollar Mountain.Please stay off of the newly constructed trails with all modes of travel until they are finished and opened. The construction is expected to last until the beginning of December. Please note that closed areas will be marked.

 

On Monday, October 14th, detectives with the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team (DINT) were assisted by the Douglas County Sheriff's Office in bringing to conclusion a month-long investigation into suspected drug trafficking. At approximately 8:30 PM, a Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle on I-5 at milepost 161 near Curtin, at the request of DINT detectives. Two persons were detained: 45-year-old Jeffrey Bell, and 45-year-old Annie Randles, both of Roseburg. During a search of the vehicle, detectives found approximately 2 pounds of suspected methamphetamine. Detectives followed up with a search of a residence in the 900 block of Shoestring Road in Riddle where they found more evidence of drug trafficking. Jeff Bell was lodged at the Douglas County Jail on charges of Possession, Manufacturing, and Delivery of Methamphetamine.