Local News

Grants Pass Police jailed a man for multiple counts of domestic violence after a weekend incident was overheard on a gaming microphone and reported to law enforcement. The Police Department reports officers arrested 38-year-old Shayne Alden Pitard for the incident at a residence on Rogue River Highway on Sunday at 12:44 p.m.. Police said a woman was playing a video game when she heard another woman screaming to stop hitting her. The woman called 9-1-1 to report her children are friends of the victim's children, which made it easy for officers to locate the incident location. According to the report, the victim disclosed that her husband assaulted, menaced and choked her that morning. Officers placed Pitard into custody and noted there had been ongoing physical abuse including striking his wife with a dangerous instrument. The victim was assisted by the Women's Crisis Support Team. Pitard was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Felony 2nd-Degree Domestic Assault, Felony 4th-Degree Domestic Assault, Felony Unlawful Use of a Weapon, plus two counts each of Domestic Strangulation and Domestic Menacing. He was being held without bail.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a teenage girl for attacking her mother and her mother's ex-husband at a residence near Wilderville this past weekend. OSP reports troopers responded to the disturbance at a home in the 900-block of Cheney Creek Road early Saturday morning. Troopers said they were notified that a 17-year-old girl was involved in a physical altercation with her parents after returning home from a party with friends. The mother reported her daughter returned home intoxicated and started an argument, which escalated when the daughter broke an air conditioning unit in her bedroom to exit the home. According to OSP, the daughter then used a shovel to break the windows on her mother's Chevrolet Malibu and cause additional damage to the car. The teen daughter was taken to Three Rivers Medical Center for medical clearance and then lodged at the Josephine County Juvenile Justice Center on charges of Felony 1st-Degree Criminal Mischief, Menacing and Disorderly Conduct.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested two motorists for impaired driving during separate incidents on the same day last weekend. The Police Department reports the first incident occurred on Saturday afternoon when officers pulled over a Subaru driven by a 54-year-old woman near the corner of Leonard Road and Kokanee Lane. Police said they stopped the vehicle for swerving and not maintaining its travel lane. They contacted the driver and she showed signs of impairment from alcohol. She initially agreed to perform sobriety tests, but then declined. She had two past convictions for impaired driving over the past 10 years, so she was lodged in jail for Felony Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants and Reckless Driving. The second incident happened on Saturday evening when officers responded to a hit-and-run crash in the 1600-block of NW Hawthorne Avenue. No one was hurt, but there was damage to both vehicles. Police said a 44-year-old man was driving an Acura sedan when he made an illegal right turn and collided with Mazda sedan before fleeing the scene. The suspect was located a short time later at his home in the 2100-block of NW Heidi Lane. He displayed signs of impairment and was placed into custody before being lodged in jail for DUII, Reckless Driving and No Insurance.

 

A motorist was injured last weekend when she crashed her vehicle into an embankment along Interstate 5 near Grants Pass. The Oregon State Police reports troopers and emergency personnel responded to the single-vehicle wreck in the northbound lanes of I-5 near milepost 53 at 8:18 a.m. Sunday. Troopers said evidence at the scene indicated the 58-year-old female driver was traveling too fast for the wet conditions, lost control and drove into the dirt embankment. They said she was transported by ambulance to Three Rivers Medical Center for treatment of unspecified injuries. 3 Boys Towing responded to recover the vehicle and hauled it to Grants Pass. The driver was given a copy of the crash report at the hospital. Apparently, no citations were issued.

 

The Oregon Department of Transportation was busy responding to numerous crashes on Southern Oregon roadways on Monday. ODOT officials said most of the wrecks occurred because people were driving too fast for the wet road conditions. As drivers adjust to fall weather, ODOT is offering a few reminders for safer driving on wet roadways. Leave more additional space between your vehicle and other vehicles, reduce your speed to prepare for sudden stops, and make sure your windshield wipers, tires and brakes are all in good condition. More safe driving tips can be found at "tripcheck.com."

 

Local law enforcement got a boost last week with five deputies graduating from the Oregon Public Safety Academy. All will serve as corrections deputies. The Josephine County Sheriff's Office congratulates Deputies Zacha and Serabia while the Jackson County Sheriff's Office congratulates Deputies Case, Lacombe and Mallory. All six deputies spent the past six weeks at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) in Salem. All three Jackson County deputies were in the class color guard, with Deputy Case as the color guard leader. Deputy Lacombe was selected to speak at last Friday's graduation ceremony. Josephine County Sheriff Dave Daniel and Jackson County Sheriff Nate Sickler said they look forward to the deputies continued service in their jail facilities in Grants Pass and Medford.

 

With just one week before the November 5th General Election, Josephine County voters are turning in their ballots at an increased pace. As of Monday evening, the Josephine County Clerk's Office reported voter turnout to be 33.45%. Out of 71,044 eligible voters, 23,761 ballots had been received. Voter turnout is generally higher during a presidential election, but local voters have plenty of other reasons to participate in this year's election. Two out of the three positions on the Josephine County Board of Commissioners are up for grabs as is the position of Josephine County Treasurer. Mayor positions in both Grants Pass and Cave Junction are being contested as well as City Council seats in both cities. There are also four measures that will be decided in the upcoming election. They include bond measures for Rogue Community College and the Three Rivers School District along with a local option tax supporting Veterans Services in Josephine County and a transient lodging tax in Cave Junction. The deadline for ballots to be returned is November 5th at 8 p.m., but postmarks will be counted. In addition, there are eight locations where ballots can be hand-delivered. They include the Clerk's Office, the north and south entrances to the Josephine County Courthouse, the back parking lot of the Grants Pass library branch, Washington Federal Bank on Union Avenue, Ray's Food Place in Merlin, Hidden Valley Market in Murphy and Cave Junction City Hall.

 

Grants Pass police officers and firefighters were on point as they protected citizens and property in the community last week. According to the Weekly Report filed by Grants Pass City Manager Aaron Cubic, police officers responded to a total of 687 calls for service along with 323 officer-initiated calls last week that resulted in 45 arrests, 44 citations, 58 warnings and four highly-intoxicated people being lodged at the Sobering Center. Cubic also reported that officers conducted a total of 90 traffic stops in the city and they made 28 referrals to the Oregon Department of Human Services. The GPPD Community Response Team (CRT) contacted a total of 180 potential troublemakers while arresting seven people, citing 13 more and warning 29 others. The CRT unit also trespassed five individuals, posted 81 transient camps and removed trash from three campsites. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue responded to a total of 110 calls last week including 48 for emergency medical service, one report of fire or smoke, 19 lift assists, six rescue situations, seven assists to other agencies and five false alarms. The Grants Pass 9-1-1 Communications Center fielded a total of 1,107 emergency calls.

 

Fire season has officially ended in Grants Pass and eliminated all public use restrictions in the city. The Fall 2024 Open Burn Window will be from this Saturday, November 2nd, through Sunday, November 10th. Starting Wednesday, Grants Pass residents will be able to apply for their burn permits online or in person. The City offers burn permits through Grants Pass Fire Community Connect, which is "sizeup.firstduesizeup.com/cc/grants/auth/signin." Just sign up and receive your permit online. Grants Pass Fire & Rescue will still be offering permits in person at the Parkway Fire Station, which is located at 800 East Park Street. Office hours are 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. For more information, call the Grants Pass Fire Prevention Bureau at (541)-450-6200. Outdoor debris burning is only allowed if the DEQ ventilation index for the airshed is 400 or greater. It is the responsibility of each person to check the airshed rating before burning.