Local News

Grants Pass Police jailed a man last weekend for intentionally setting a fire near the former J Street homeless campground and damaging a commercial vehicle. The Police Department reports officers arrested 47-year-old James Mattthew Brockmann for the incident near the corner of SE J and Mill streets on Sunday at 9:56 p.m.. Police said they initially contacted Brockmann for walking down the street with a lit Tiki torch. A short time later, they observed a large fire that was threatening a semi-truck parked along the road. Firefighters responded, evacuated the area and extinguished the fire, but not before it caused about $1,000 in damage to the semi. Witnesses at the scene identified the man who started the fire as "Mud." Officers caught up to Brockmann as he was heading toward the 7th Street campsite after it was determined by video evidence that he started the fire. He admitted to setting the fire because he was frustrated with others for not watching his belongings. Brockmann was lodged at the Josephine County Jail on felony charges of 2nd-Degree Arson and 1st-Degree Criminal Mischief. He was being held without bail.

 

The Oregon State Police arrested a Grants Pass man for impaired driving after he caused a weekend crash on Interstate 5 just east of the city. OSP reports troopers and emergency personnel responded to the two-vehicle wreck near milepost 54 of I-5 on Sunday at 5:13 p.m.. Troopers said an investigation indicated 22-year-old Ulises Leonel Saldivar was driving a Ford Ranger pickup when he failed to maintain his lane and sideswiped a semi-truck trailer driven by a 38-year-old Walnut Creek, California, man. No one was hurt and the damaged Ford was towed into Grants Pass. According to OSP, Saldivar displayed signs of impairment and was transported to the Grants Pass Sobering Center where he provided a breath sample that was well over twice the legal driving limit. Saldivar was lodged at the Sobering Center for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, Reckless Driving and Driving While Suspended. His vehicle was impounded because it was used to commit a crime.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a motorist for a moving violation following a weekend traffic stop at the Williams Highway Plaza. According to the Police Department, officers pulled over a white Chevrolet Tahoe driven by 38-year-old Kevin Jay Olagues at the shopping center in the 1600-block of Williams Highway on Sunday at 9:54 a.m.. Police said they observed Olagues fueling up his vehicle at the Pinnacle 365 station at the corner of Redwood Highway and Ringuette Street. They said they knew his license was suspended, so they followed him on Union Avenue to the plaza. Upon contact with officers, Olagues advised he was going to the liquor store which gave him no emergent reason to be driving. He was placed into custody. Olagues was lodged in jail for Driving While Suspended. He was also warned for Speeding and told the next time he is caught driving, his SUV will be impounded.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested a motorist for a moving violation during an early morning traffic stop yesterday. The Police Department reports officers pulled over a pickup driven by 28-year-old Alexander C. Shults near the corner of Dowell Road and Redwood Highway on Monday around 3:15 a.m.. Police said Shults was stopped for speeding and he failed to yield to lights and siren for nearly 1/4-mile. During contact, they learned his driving privileges had been suspended and that he was driving his mother's truck for no emergent reason. Shults was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Driving While Suspended and his mother's pickup was impounded. He was also cited for Failure to Yield to an Emergency Vehicle and Failure to Install an Ignition Interlock Device.

 

Firefighters extinguished a mobile home fire near Cave Junction last weekend. On Sunday at 8:57 a.m., the Illinois Valley Fire District responded to a reported structure fire in the 300-block of Little Grayback Road. Upon arrival, units observed a single-wide mobile home with an addition showing no visible signs of smoke. A subsequent investigation revealed smoldering embers within the structure's siding near a wood-burning stove. IVFD officials said the property owner had extinguished the roofline of the trailer before they arrived on scene. Firefighters successfully extinguished and fully suppressed the blaze. There were no injuries reported. Although it appeared flames had escaped the stove's chimney, the exact cause of the fire was under investigation.

 

The Grants Pass School Board is set to review several new policies during its committee meeting this evening. The District 7 Board of Education will open the meeting with approving draft minutes from its December 3rd policy meeting and workshop session. A lengthy list of new policies to review include personal communication devices, graduation requirements, graduation exercises, artificial intelligence, admission prices and receipts, family medical leave, individualized special education plans and reporting of suspected abuse. The D7 Board will also continue its November 24th update on instructional materials. Today's meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.. However, the start time may be delayed due to a preceding executive session that begins at 5 p.m.. The next Grants Pass School Board meeting is set for February 25th at 5 p.m..

 

AllCare Health has partnered with Rentec Direct to provide a streamlined platform for landlords to access the Health-Related Social Need (HRSN) benefit. The collaboration between the physician-owned healthcare organization and leader in property management software aims to make it easier for landlords to help their tenants in need of rent assistance while navigating the Oregon Medicaid Program. The HRSN Benefit is part of the state's 1115 Medicaid Waiver for the 2022-2027 period, designed to provide additional support for the social needs that impact health and well-being. The benefit includes rent assistance for eligible tenants who are at risk of homelessness or struggle to maintain housing stability. To qualify for rental assistance, AllCare Health members must be at risk of homelessness as defined by the state, have an income at or below 30% of the Area Median Income, lack sufficient resources to support networks to avoid homelessness, present with a housing clinical risk factor, need support staying in their current housing situation, and have a lease or written agreement with their landlord. The AllCare Health and Rentec Direct collaboration ensures that landlords can quickly and efficiently access the HRSN benefit for eligible tenants.

 

The Josephine Community Library District is seeking a dedicated individual to fill an open position on its Board of Directors. Position #2 is currently held by founding board member Laurel Samson, who has announced her decision to step down. The local library district is scheduled to appoint her replacement during its February board meeting. The appointed board member will serve the remainder of Samson's term through June 30th of this year. Applicants must reside within the library district's boundary. Community members who are passionate about the library district's mission are encouraged to apply for the open board position. Applications are due by Saturday, February 8th, at 4 p.m.. They should be dropped off at the Grants Pass branch library or e-mailed to "board@josephinelibrary.org." As Laurel Samson steps down, the Josephine Community Library District expresses its heartfelt gratitude for her many years of service and dedication to the library and the community. She spent 28 years working for the City of Grants Pass in various roles including community development director, assistant city manager and city manager before retiring in 2012.

 

The Owl Parking Lot at 5th and H streets in Grants Pass will undergo a major reconstruction this year and be converted to a joint parking lot and public plaza for community events. The City of Grants Pass has launched a "Buy-a-Brick" fundraising campaign before construction begins. For just $250, people wishing to add their personal touch to the Owl Plaza can purchase a brick with up to three lines of text engraved on a brass plaque that will be embedded in the brick. The bricks will form part of the patio base of the plaza near the 5th and H Street sidewalks. Hundreds of bricks are still available for purchase. Civic groups and businesses headquartered in Josephine County are also eligible to purchase a paving brick. Text is limited to three lines and 18 characters per line including spaces between words. For this campaign, the City is restricting the lines of text to names only -- not slogans, quotes or phrases of any kind. For more information, contact Dana Pearce at "dpearce@grantspassoregon.gov" or call (541)-450-6014.