Local News

Grants Pass Police snared a man for not complying with his reporting requirements as a convicted sex offender following a weekend contact in the downtown area. The Police Department reports officers contacted 45-year-old James Edward Weinshrott in the 100-block of SW 6th Street on Saturday shortly after 4 a.m.. Police said they were patrolling the downtown area when they spotted Weinshrott and knew him from numerous prior contacts. They also knew he was a convicted sex offender who had not reported as such since October 2023, which made him out of compliance. Weinshrott was placed into custody and lodged in jail for Failure to Report as a Sex Offender. He was being held without bail.

 

The Illinois Valley Fire District responded to two incidents that resulted in injuries to the occupants of vehicles at the start of the weekend. On Friday at 4:13 p.m., IVFD and American Medical Response were dispatched to a small vehicle fire on Holland Loop Road near Takilma Road. Arriving units found a fully-involved minivan. IVFD officials said one occupant sustained burn injuries and was evaluated by AMR. The occupant chose to seek further medical attention at Three Rivers Medical Center. The fire was extinguished and the vehicle was flagged for towing. On Friday at 5:15 p.m., IVFD and AMR crews responded to a single-vehicle crash into a tree near milepost 2 of Waldo Road. Officials said one patient was transported to the hospital with minor injuries. The Josephine County Sheriff's Office did not respond to the incident, but the agency was notified and the vehicle was flagged for towing.

 

The City of Grants Pass has announced that the first phase of the Dollar Mountain Trail Project has been completed. Contractors will return in February to complete round two of the project. All trails on the Highland Loop side are now open for hiking and mountain biking. J2 is the first downhill-only mountain bike route. Please follow the signs indicating directions and intended users. All ATV riders -- including four-wheelers and dirt bikes -- are prohibited from accessing any portion of the city property and trail system. If you witness any ATV riders on city-owned properties, please call the Grants Pass Police Department. Route details can be found on the Trail Forks website at "trail-forks.com." Search for "Dollar Mountain Trail Park."

 

A federal grant award of more than $33 million will allow the Oregon Department of Transportation to construct a wildlife crossing over Interstate 5 in the Cascade- Siskiyou National Monument in southern Jackson County. The Federal Highway Administration said it will be the first wildlife overcrossing for Oregon and the entire stretch of I-5 between Canada and Mexico. The grant award will go toward construction of a wildlife overpass on I-5 just north of the Oregon-California border. The location is within the Mariposa Preserve, part of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. Funding will allow for construction of an overpass spanning the northbound and southbound lanes, directional fencing to funnel wildlife to the structure, and associated habitat improvements. The purpose of a wildlife crossing is to prevent wildlife-vehicle collisions which threaten the safety of both motorists and wildlife, and to reconnect critical wildlife habitat. In addition to the FHWA grant award, ODOT will provide matching funds of $3.8 million for a total project cost of $37 million. The required match comes from a $7 million allocation to wildlife corridors by the Oregon Legislature with the passage of House Bill 5202 in 2022.

 

Grants Pass police officers and firefighters continued protecting the community during the week before Christmas. According to the Weekly Report filed by Grants Pass City Manager Aaron Cubic, police officers responded to a total of 543 calls for service along with 268 officer-initiated calls last week which resulted in 33 arrests, 39 citations, 44 warnings and five highly-intoxicated people being lodged at the Sobering Center. Cubic also reported that officers conducted a total of 66 traffic stops in the city and they made 26 referrals to the Oregon Department of Human Services. The GPPD Community Response Team (CRT) contacted a total of 200 potential troublemakers while arresting two people, citing three more and warning 40 others. The CRT unit also trespassed three individuals, posted 148 transient camps and removed trash from five campsites. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue responded to a total of 94 calls last week including 32 for emergency medical service, five for reports of fire or smoke, 20 lift assists and six assists to other agencies. The Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications Center fielded a total of 1,049 emergency calls.

 

Earlier this month, Rogue Credit Union leaders visited Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center to present a donation of nearly $247,000 and gift a wagon-full of "Wally the Wolf" stuffed animals to children receiving care. The donation includes funds raised throughout 2024 by Rogue Credit Union members and team members. This contribution is part of Rogue Credit Union's ongoing commitment to support the Pediatrics Unit of the Olsrud Family Women's and Children's Hospital at Asante Rogue Regional in Medford, which opened in January of this year. Members of Rogue's leadership team and Asante staff were accompanied by Wally the Wolf -- a mascot from the credit union's Rogue Rangers program -- as they delivered dozens of stuffed animals to the delight of patients and their families. Deliveries were made to children receiving care in the Pediatrics Unit and NICU, both of which provide some of the only specialized care available in the Southern Oregon region.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed a man for a vicious attack on a woman in Cave Junction yesterday. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 62-year-old James Marvin Henslin for the incident in the 200-block of East Hanby Road on Thursday at 11:58 p.m.. Deputies said they responded to a report of a bleeding woman who had been assaulted in a wooded area near the Dollar General store. They contacted a group of people including Henslin as an ambulance picked up and transported the victim to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment of serious injuries. According to the report, Henslin admitted to beating up the woman for stealing a gun from him. Witnesses told deputies the man kicked the woman in the face with a steel-toed boot while she was sitting down. He was placed into custody. Henslin was transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail on felony charges of 2nd-Degree Assault and Unlawful Use of a Weapon. He was being held without bail. His boots were seized as evidence and a knife was taken for safekeeping.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for frightening family members with a chainsaw and hitting two of them with a PVC pipe at a southwest city residence yesterday. The Police Department reports officers responded to a domestic disturbance at a home in the 1,000-block of SW I Street on Thursday around 2:50 p.m.. Police said a woman called 9-1-1 to report that her brother -- 55-year-old Jeffrey Alan Washburn -- threatened to attack her with a chainsaw he was using to cut wood in the backyard. The caller also said that her brother hit her and her niece with a PVC pipe before continuing to wield the chainsaw in a threatening manner. According to the report, both the woman and her niece sustained minor injuries. Washburn was interviewed and admitted to officers that he hit the women in order to defend himself. He was immediately placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony Unlawful Use of a Weapon and 4th-Degree Assault. He was being held without bail. Family members told police Washburn tried to burn down their house a few days ago and stated they were working to obtain a restraining order against him.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested two people on outstanding warrants yesterday after responding to a domestic disturbance call east of Grants Pass. OSP reports troopers were alerted to a possible domestic violence incident near the corner of Rogue River Highway and Gordon Way on Thursday at about 2:45 p.m.. Upon arrival, troopers contacted 39-year-old Jimmy Dean Couch of Fresno, California, and 28-year-old Alyssa Josephine Arias of Grants Pass, finding that no physical disturbance had happened. However, they discovered that Arias was in violation of a court order by being with Couch and both were wanted on warrants. Couch was wanted on a California fugitive warrant while Arias was wanted on a local warrant for Contempt of Court. Both were placed into custody at the scene. Arias was additionally charged with Restraining Order Violation. Couch and Arias were transported to Grants Pass and lodged at the Josephine County Jail without bail. They were still in custody this morning.