Local News

Firefighters extinguished a small grass fire in the Wilderville area on Wednesday. Rural Metro Fire Department responded to the reported fire on Round Prairie Road at about 1:15 p.m. yesterday. Rural Metro officials said an engine from the Wilderville Station arrived to find a 1/100th of an acre grass fire and started suppression. Due to other calls of smoke in the area, a Grants Pass Fire & Rescue unit was dispatched to assist in investigating and eventually ended up at the original fire. Units from Rural Metro, Grants Pass and the Oregon Department of Forestry completed mop-up of the incident. The cause of the fire was under investigation by ODF.

 

US Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley have announced the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding over $22.6 million to 15 school districts around Oregon through its 2023 Clean School Bus Program rebate competition. The federal investment will help replace 96 older buses in school districts across the state with new electric or propane buses. This will further accelerate both Oregon and the nation's transition from diesel to low- and zero-emission vehicles -- improving air quality, advancing environmental justice, boosting the economy and creating good-paying jobs. The Clean School Bus Program is made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is providing $5 billion to overhaul the country's school bus fleet. The Ashland School District has been selected to receive $200,000 in rebate funding to purchase one electric school bus. It was the only local district to receive money in this third round of federal funding. EPA is expected to make more funds available for clean school buses this year.

 

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday approved the first reading of an ordinance that would allow the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) on rural properties. The Board voted 2-0 to approve the ordinance that amends the Josephine County Code by adding a chapter to Rural Land Development regarding ADUs and set the second hearing and adoption for June 26th. Commissioner Herman Baertschiger was absent. Assistant Legal Counsel Stephanie Nutall testified that ADUs would be limited to 900 square feet and they must be located no more than 100 feet from an existing single-family dwelling on rural properties outside the urban growth boundary that are at least two acres in size. She said the current code does not permit ADUs. The Commissioners postponed an Administrative Action item as well as a planned presentation from Josephine County Public Health. Under Requests and Comments from Citizens, the Board heard from the Executive Director for Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc.. Colleen Padilla said she was happy to report that SOREDI has added a new staff member that brings the 37-year-old organization back to full strength for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. She said they look forward to serving Josephine County. The Board opened the meeting with the monthly employee recognitions.

 

The Oregon Housing and Community Services Department (OHCS) has advised the City of Talent of its intent to fund the city's proposed West Valley View Plan Upgrade and Revitalization Project in the amount of nearly $4.3 million. Talent Mayor Darby Ayers-Flood said this is very welcome news, adding that the project is key to the economic recovery of the community. She said it's also a project that will ultimately unify several neighborhoods through improved connectivity. The project would include infrastructure improvements needed to prepare the Gateway site for redevelopment as a mixed-use, workforce housing and commercial development. Other work would include an extension of Wagner Street east of Talent Avenue and a fully-improved street with sidewalks, drainage and curbs on Gangnes Loop. The funding is provided through the federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program. The funding allocation is subject to a final review of the project scope by OHCS, completion of a community outreach program and other federal funding conditions. The City is also working with OHCS and ACCESS to develop a relocation plan for the remaining Almeda Fire victims currently living in trailers at the Gateway site. The current agreement to provide the site for temporary housing expires in January 2025.

 

Josephine Community Library is inviting citizens to join the 2024 Summer Reading Program that starts this Saturday and runs through August 10th -- with activities, in-person weekly crafts and prizes for all ages. The 2024 theme is "A Journey Awaits: Where Books are Your Passport and Imagination is Your Destination." It's being sponsored by Evergreen Federal Bank, Josephine Community Library Foundation and the State Library of Oregon. Participants can track their reading using the online reading tracker and earn raffle tickets for prizes at the end of the program. Community members can visit the library website at "josephinelibrary.org" or visit in-person at three branches in Grants Pass, Williams or Wolf Creek for weekly themed activities, recommended reading and interactive resources. The Illinois Valley branch library is closed this summer for renovations. Online registration for the Summer Reading Program is underway. Activity booklets, crafts and registration prizes are available while supplies last at the library branches beginning this Saturday, June 15th. Special events are planned. The Summer Reading Program and related events are offered at no cost to local participants. A library card is not needed to take part.

 

Two women were killed yesterday when their vehicle slammed into a tree off an Illinois Valley roadway near Kerby. The Josephine County Sheriff's Office reports deputies and emergency personnel were dispatched to the single-vehicle crash in the 4600-block of Reeves Creek Road on Tuesday at 3:08 p.m.. Prior to law enforcement arrival, the driver -- 20-year-old Paige Ellen Collyer -- and the passenger -- 34-year-old Shannon Marie Hewitt -- were pronounced dead by medical personnel. Next of kin have been notified. Deputies said evidence at the scene indicated the 1997 Lexus sedan was traveling north on Reeves Creek at high rate of speed when it failed to negotiate a curve and left the roadway, striking a tree. The Illinois Valley Fire District, American Medical Response, Oregon State Police and Jerry's Towing assisted at the scene of the double-fatal crash.

 

The Josephine County Board of Commissioners this morning approved the first reading of an ordinance that would allow the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) on rural properties. The Board voted 2-0 to approve the ordinance that amends the Josephine County Code by adding a chapter to Rural Land Development regarding ADUs and set the second hearing and adoption for June 26th. Commissioner Herman Baertschiger was absent. Assistant Legal Counsel Stephanie Nutall testified that ADUs would be limited to 900 square feet and they must be located no more than 100 feet from an existing single-family dwelling on rural properties outside the urban growth boundary that are at least two acres in size. She said the current code does not permit ADUs. The Commissioners postponed an Administrative Action item as well as a planned presentation from Josephine County Public Health. Under Requests and Comments from Citizens, the Board heard from the Executive Director for Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc.. Colleen Padilla said she was happy to report that SOREDI has added a new staff member that brings the 37-year-old organization back to full strength for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. She said they look forward to serving Josephine County. The Board opened the meeting with the monthly employee recognitions. Several county workers were recognized including Deputy Planning Director James Black and Drug Prevention Coordinator Shawn Martinez.

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for harassing his ex-girlfriend at a south-city apartment complex late last night. The Police Department reports officers arrested the 39-year-old male subject for the incident at Harbeck Village Apartments on Harbeck Road at 12:47 a.m. today. Police said the man showed up at the apartment of his ex-girlfriend while heavily intoxicated and an argument followed, with the man pushing the woman once on the shoulder and attempting to punch her. The victim told officers she was able to block the punch due to her ex-boyfriend's high level of inebriation. Responding officers searched the area and found the man walking back to his mother's residence on SE Ramsey Avenue near Three Rivers Medical Center. A records check showed he had been trespassed from the same apartment last December. The suspect was placed into custody and lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Physical Harassment and 2nd-Degree Criminal Trespass. He was being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman for discarding items -- including a dead cat -- into her neighbor's yard at a southeast-city apartment complex last night. According to the Police Department, officers responded to a complaint at the complex in the 500-block of SE L Street on Tuesday around 9:45 p.m.. Police said were alerted to a 9-1-1 call from a woman who claimed her neighbor had been throwing trash into their yard and it had escalated with the 52-year-old female subject throwing a dead cat over the fence. Officers said an investigation revealed that the woman intentionally overturned a cat bed with a dead cat and defrosted meat over the fence. They reviewed video of the incident and then placed her into custody. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Offensive Littering. She was being held without bail.