Local News

The Cave Junction City Council will hold a public hearing on flood hazard protection during its monthly meeting this evening. The flood protection ordinance is to bring the city in compliance with current standards mandated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Oregon. In July of this year, FEMA announced changes to the implementation of the National Flood Insurance Program in the state to comply with the Endangered Species Act. Local jurisdictions must implement the standards by this month or risk being ineligible for participation in the NFIP. In other business, the City Council will hold a hearing on the Cave Junction Library's Closing Presentation and Pacific Power will provide an update on its local powerline project. There is also a resolution declaring 129 North Kerby Avenue a nuisance plus the monthly public works update. The next City Council meeting is scheduled for January 13th. Cave Junction City Hall will be closed on December 24th and 25th for Christmas, and it will close at 11:30 a.m. on December 31st and remain shuttered for New Year's Day. Tonight's meeting starts at 7 at Cave Junction City Hall, 222 Lister Street.

 

Residents are invited to attend and participate in a community forum hosted by the City of Grants Pass tomorrow evening to learn about current issues related to housing production, rent burden, fair housing and more. The community forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Grants Pass City Council Chambers, 101 NW A Street. Information will be shared on current housing statistics, causes and consequences of rent burden, barriers to reducing rent burden and community resources. Any feedback from this community discussion may be used to help guide city housing strategies and initiatives to address current rental housing challenges. Grants Pass has been identified by Oregon Housing & Community Services as a city that is severely rent-burdened, with 28.6% of all renters paying more than half their income on rent.

 

The results are in for the Grants Pass School District's 2024 Holiday Card Contest. Nearly 500 people voted for their favorite holiday card designs from District 7 students, which are now headed to the printer. The district winners were Ryder B. from Lincoln Elementary School in the K-1 level, Zoey D. from Lincoln in the 2-3 division, Juliette W. from Highland in the 4-5 division, Skyler P. from North Middle School in the 6-8 division and Peerada G. from Grants Pass High School in the 9-12 division. The People's Choice winners were Juliette W. from Highland and Peerada G. from GPHS. The winning students will be recognized by the Grants Pass School Board on Tuesday. People who want to purchase District 7 holiday cards can call (541)-474-5700.

 

The Grants Pass Broadcasting Corporation and Grants Pass Active Club staged another successful Kids Day event on Saturday. According to an updated tally provided by the Active Club this morning, a total of $18,941.75 was collected during the three-hour annual event. The total represents generous donations made by individuals, families and local businesses plus an auction of several items including a Traeger grill package that sold for $2,000 and a Bo Nix-autographed Oregon Ducks football helmet that went for $1,550. Proceeds from the 67th Annual Kids Day event will go to taking 174 local kids shopping to get Christmas presents for their families. Thank you for participating in Kids Day -- we couldn't have done it without you!

 

The Grants Pass Broadcasting Corporation and Grants Pass Active Club staged another successful Kids Day event this morning. According to an unofficial tally when the broadcast-a-thon ended at 11 a.m., a total of $17,808 was collected during the three-hour annual event. The total represents generous donations made by individuals, families and local businesses plus an auction of several items including a Traeger grill package that sold for $2,000 and a Bo Nix-autographed Oregon Ducks football helmet that went for $1,550. Proceeds from the 67th Annual Kids Day event will go to taking 174 local kids shopping to get Christmas presents for their families. Thank you for participating in Kids Day -- we couldn't have done it without you!

 

Grants Pass Police jailed a local felon for violating his post-prison supervision by stealing a vehicle following a traffic stop in the southeast part of the city yesterday. The Police Department reports officers arrested 31-year-old Nicholas Patrick Scarnechia near the corner of SE J and 11th Streets on Thursday at 9:33 a.m.. Police said they pulled over a gold Chevrolet Tahoe driven by Scarnechia because he failed to use his signal prior to making a turn onto J Street. They said he admitted that he was on parole and did not have a driver's license. A records check showed that the vehicle he was driving illegally had been reported stolen. A consent search of the vehicle uncovered a small baggy of a crystal substance that fielded-tested positive as methamphetamine. It was seized for destruction and the suspect was placed into custody. Scarnechia was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle and the resulting Felony Parole Violation. A charge of Possession of Meth was referred to the District Attorney's Office. The registered owner of the Chevy Tahoe was contacted and they responded to take possession of their SUV. Jail records show Scarnechia has been arrested for violating his parole from a 2018 conviction five times since June of this year.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office jailed two men early yesterday for stealing items off tractors at a farm located just east of Grants Pass. The Sheriff's Office reports deputies arrested 31-year-old Kody Tyler Halverson and 48-year-old Demetrius Elward Hughes for the incident in the 3300-block of Foothill Boulevard on Thursday around 10:45 a.m.. Deputies said the property owner called 9-1-1 to report two male subjects stealing stuff from his tractors. The caller said it was an ongoing issue as the two men kept coming back to his farm. He advised he had just spotted them out in his field. Upon arrival, deputies placed Halverson and Hughes into custody, stating that one of them was trying to hide. Halverson and Hughes were both lodged at the Josephine County Jail on charges of 2nd-Degree Theft, Criminal Mischief and Criminal Trespass. It was unclear in the report if the stolen items were recovered. Halverson was additionally charged with Felony Parole Violation and he was being held on a no-bail detainer.

 

The Josephine County Sheriff's Office arrested two men for theft and littering on a rural property yesterday. According to the Sheriff's Office, deputies were performing a patrol check on the "211 Spur" near a local waterway around midday Thursday when they observed 25-year-old Gage Dwayne Wilson and 38-year-old Morefire Zyerin Stilke. Details of the incident were not disclosed, but the theft of a Predator Generator and littering were mentioned in the report. The two suspects were placed into custody. Wilson and Stilke were transported to the Josephine County Jail where they were booked on identical charges of 1st-Degree Theft, Theft-by-Receiving, Offensive Littering and Littering within 100 Yards of a Waterway. Both men were being held without bail.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested an uncooperative young motorist for impaired driving and other crimes late yesterday after he crashed into a parked vehicle on NE A Street. The Police Department reports officers responded to the two-vehicle collision on NE A near the Pinnacle 365 store on Thursday shortly before 6 p.m.. Police said an investigation determined that a 19-year-old male subject was driving a black BMW west on A when he struck the rear-end of a silver Chevrolet sedan, pushing the parked sedan up onto the sidewalk, causing substantial damage to both vehicles and damaging a flower bed belonging to A Street Dental. A medic who also responded to the crash advised the young driver appeared to be highly intoxicated. The driver refused to provide a breath sample, so a search warrant for a legal blood draw was obtained and he was placed into a patrol vehicle for the ride to Three Rivers Medical Center. The suspect then spit on the back seat of the patrol car, kicked the windows, and flung dirt and debris inside the car. After a blood sample was taken at the hospital, the young driver agreed to submit a breath sample -- but he immediately changed his mind and requested an attorney. The suspect was lodged at the Josephine County Jail for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants, 2nd-Degree Criminal Mischief and 3rd-Degree Criminal Mischief. He was also cited for the breath test refusal and his car was impounded.