Local News

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office cited a woman yesterday after her dog bit two people at a Grants Pass city park. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies responded to an animal complaint at Tussing Park on West Park Street on Monday around 4 p.m.. Deputies said they cited the unidentified woman for K9 as a Public Nuisance after her dog bit two people at the park. The woman was also provided with a notice of impound and her dog was taken to the Josephine County Animal Shelter for the 10-day bite quarantine period. The woman was advised how to contact the shelter to get the dog out after the quarantine ends.

 

Applications are being accepted for three positions on the Grants Pass and Josephine County Bikeways & Walkways Committee due to expiring terms. The purpose of this committee is to seek input from the community, coordinate and disseminate information for public education about biking and walking routes and rules, and serve as a resource and advisory group regarding bike and pedestrian trails for the City and County. The special qualifications for this position are people who represent the interests of bikers and walkers. Applications are available at the City Administration Office at 101 NW A Street or online at "grantspassoregon.gov/committee-application." Completed applications must be received by 5 p.m. on Friday, June 6th. Applications will be reviewed by the committee on Tuesday, June 10th. Appointments will be made by the Grants Pass City Council on Wednesday, July 2nd.

 

The Grants Pass City Council's Monday workshop dealt with some alternative approaches to create a low-barrier shelter and navigation center in order to cope with the homeless situation. The City Council is considering providing real property to manage the unhoused population. The real property would be either owned by the city or it could be purchased. The panel directed staff to create a grant program that a private entity would apply for to manage either or both a low-barrier shelter and navigation center. The goal would be to reduce or eliminate the current "no barrier" camps. The program will be brought back to the Council at the June 2nd workshop, to be followed by a community forum. The Council also directed staff to initiate a rate review for revenue bonding to fund the new water treatment plant. Impact to citizens will be a 2.5% increase in water rates for three years. A single-family dwelling currently paying $47.45 monthly for water would be paying $54.23 in 2028. The increase was needed after the Trump administration cancelled FEMA's BRIC grant program that had already approved $50 million for the water treatment plant. Councilors also received updates on Economic Development funds and Urban renewal grants. The programs are for attracting visitors from over 50 miles outside of the urban area, plus updating and beautifying Grants Pass’s downtown area.

 

Today's Special Election features candidates running for leadership positions for local school and community college boards, the library district, fire districts, a park district and a water district. A number of the candidates are running unopposed. Contested races include three positions on the Grants Pass School Board. Gary Richardson is defending his seat against Judy Christensen, Cassie Wilkins is defending her seat against Tom Sheckells and Quin Collins Pehrson is taking on Marjie Wilkie. Six candidates are running for three positions on the Three Rivers School Board. The races include Cameron Camp against Neigel Von Hruska, Mariah Rossi versus Bill Ertel and Carrin Godfrey against Rick Nelson. There is one contested race for the Josephine Community Library District Board, with Kelly Robinson taking on Tommi Drake. There is one contested race for the Josephine County Rural Fire Protection District, with Ralph Weidling against Michael Grant. Claudia Pratt is running against Jim Krois for the Williams Rural Fire Protection District. As of Monday evening, the Josephine County Clerk's Office reported an unofficial turnout of just 14.44% of ballots received and 13.65% of ballots accepted. The deadline for the return of ballots by hand or in the mail is 8 o'clock this evening.

 

US Representative Cliff Bentz has announced that a junior from Phoenix High School has been selected as the winner of Oregon's Congressional Art Contest out of a record number of 38 submissions. Talula Heckendorf's artwork, "Man Walking Through an Alaskan Town," was selected by a panel of five judges who praised the piece as having 'great depth, detail and perspective.' Talula may travel to Washington, DC, to see her artwork displayed in the national student art exhibit in the US Capitol and attend a reception in her honor. Bentz also announced three regional winners from Oregon's Second District. They will have their art displayed in one of the Congressman's offices in Medford, Ontario or Washington, DC. They are Heckendorf, Avery McLean of Crater High School and Lesly Alvarado-Perez of McLoughlin High School. Congressman Bentz thanked the 38 young artists for their "amazing" submissions and the judges for their work in judging the 2025 competition.

 

The City Council’s Monday workshop to deal with alternative approaches to a low barrier shelter and navigation center to deal with the homeless situation. Council is considering providing real property to deal with the unhoused population. Real property would be either currently owned or to be purchased. Council directed staff to create a competitive grant program a private entity would apply for to manage either or both a low barrier shelter and navigation center. The goal would be to reduce or eliminate the current no barrier camps. The program would be brought back to the Council at the June 2nd workshop, to be followed by a community forum.The Grants Pass City Council directed staff to initiate a rate review for revenue bonding to fund the new water treatment plant. Impact to citizens will be a 2.5 percent increase in water rates for three years. A single-family dwelling currently paying $47.45 monthly for water only would be paying $54.23 in 2028.The increase was needed after the federal government cancelled FEMA’s BRIC grant program that had already approved $50 million for the proposed water treatment plant. Council moved forward due to concerns for fragility of the current plant. Councilors also received updates on Economic Development funds and Urban renewal grants. The programs are for among other things, attracting visitors from over 50 miles outside of the urban area, plus updating and beautifying Grants Pass’s downtown area. The fiscal budget for 2026 is just over $468,000.

 

Local authorities continue enforcing shoplifting and theft laws with three more arrests Sunday. The first occurred when Amy Ward, 44, was seen on Walmart security cameras at self-checkout knowingly not scanning items and placing them in her shopping cart. She passed the final point of sale and was stopped at the door by Walmart asset protection. Officers issued a citation and court date and trespassed her from Walmart. At 4:23 Sunday afternoon Walmart loss prevention notified law enforcement a shoplifter was being detained in their office. 32-yar-old Jillian Roberts was arrested and lodged in jail on theft III charges. She was released this morning. At 7:31 Sunday evening Catalyst Pizza called City Police to report a woman stole money from the tip jar and was currently passing the A-1 market on foot. Angelica Lane was located and had spent part of the $3 she had taken from Catalyst at the market. She was arrested and lodged in jail for theft III and remained in custody this morning.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a woman with an active warrant and found her to be in possession of both fentanyl and methamphetamine. At 3:48 p.m. Sunday an officer recognized Hope Susan Hoover, 33, and knew she was wanted. After confirming the warrant and Hoover’s identity the officer observed the tip of a small, clear baggie in her left pants pocket. The baggie was removed and contained a chalky white substance that Hoover admitted was fentanyl. The fentanyl had a gross weight of 7.9 grams.She was transported to the Josephine County Jail where, during the dress out process two more baggies were removed from between her buttocks. One tested positive for fentanyl and the other tested positive for meth. At that time, she told deputies she swallowed four grams of fentanyl during her initial contact with officers. She was transported to the hospital for medical clearance, and then returned to the jail where she is being held possession charges for both fentanyl and meth plus the out of county hold warrant.

 

A 911 call came from a woman that advised she wasn’t home but could see someone on camera breaking into her home the 100 block of Neila Lane. The woman stated some cameras were not working and wasn’t sure what was happening but did mention a vehicle. A responding officer reported a visual of a white truck in the area of Neila Lane and Redwood Avenue and contacted Bret Leon Court-Murphy, 49, at the truck. Court-Murphy was found to be driving while suspended-misdemeanor and was taken into custody. A baggie with a white substance was located in his right front pocket after he consented to a search. He advised it was methamphetamine and it tested positive as such. He was lodged in the Josephine County Jail on the Driving while revoked charge and possession of meth. According to jail records this was Court-Murphy’s 5th incarceration this month for various offenses including assault, harassment, resisting arrest and contempt of court. There was no further word on a break-in.