Local News

A North Carolina man has pleaded guilty in federal court to attempting to coerce and entice a minor in Medford to engage in unlawful sexual activity, U.S. Attorney Scott Bradford announced today. Sage Austin Miller, 28, from Winston Salem, North Carolina, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor. According to court documents, on September 23rd and 24th, 2024, Miller used Snapchat to communicate with a person he believed was a 16-year-old girl living in Medford. During the online communications, Miller attempted to persuade and entice the purported minor to meet him for sexual activity. Miller later traveled to and arrived at a predetermined meeting location. As part of his plea agreement, Miller admitted that he used a cellular phone connected to the internet to communicate with a person he believed was under the age of 18 and that his conduct constituted a substantial step toward committing the offense. The conduct would have violated Oregon's Online Sexual Corruption of a Child in the First Degree statute had the planned encounter occurred.

 

Beginning November 12th, the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest will sell permits to cut Christmas trees from local national forest lands.

According to a release, the public can purchase Christmas tree permits at all Forest Service offices, online, and from local vendors around southwest Oregon.

Christmas tree permits for the 2026 season are available for purchase online at Recreation.gov. They are $5 per permit with an additional $2.50 reservation fee. Christmas tree permits purchased online must be printed to be valid. Traditional, in-person Christmas tree permits are available at Forest Service offices and participating local vendors. Households can purchase a maximum of five permits.

Fourth graders are eligible for a free Christmas tree permit as a part of the Every Kid Outdoors initiative. To be eligible for the free tree permit, the student must have a valid Every Kid Outdoors pass or voucher. Passholders can get their free Christmas tree permit by visiting a Forest Service office or on Recreation.gov.

Visit the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest website for more guidance on Christmas tree cutting, including maps, best practices, and office locations and hours.

 

For the second year in a row, Oregon has been awarded about $197.3 million to continue improving rural healthcare through the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced.

According to a release, this new award comes after first-year RHTP investments brought positive results in key areas established by the Kotek administration. This new funding is in addition to the approximately $197.3 million that Oregon was awarded for the program’s first year.

Oregon is using this federal funding to support proven, community-driven projects that improve rural healthcare access, including maternity care, primary care, and behavioral health. Oregon’s rural health improvement efforts include the Grants Pass-based Siskiyou Health Center’s new mobile health clinic, and integrated care through the expansion of Nurture Oregon, a project which offers peer recovery support, medical care, behavioral health services, and social service coordination.

The federal government awarded Oregon additional funding after evaluating Oregon’s and other states’ progress against their RHTP goals. During the national program’s inaugural year in 2026, Oregon was one of the first states to distribute federal funding to local projects, which enabled the state’s rural health improvement efforts to move forward quickly.

 

An ongoing issue regarding a neighbor yelling at and threatening the reporting party resulted in an arrest by Josephine County Sheriff's deputies Sunday afternoon.

Dispatch was notified of the neighbor's presence in the 200 block of S Junction Avenue in Cave Junction at 11:43 a.m. The caller reported the suspect, later identified as Susan Couch, had been screaming at her and her family while on their property for hours.

Couch was captured on a recording walking onto the property after being told not to. She then struck the reporting party twice before being escorted back to her property by force by the caller's husband. A short time later, Couch returned to the driveway of the caller's home and punched the husband.

She appeared to be intoxicated and was uncooperative with arriving law enforcement. Couch admitted to hitting the reporting party, saying she didn't think it was wrong to do so. Deputies transported her to jail where she was lodged for two counts of Harassment and Criminal Trespass in the Second Degree.

 

Following two reports of the same man looking around properties on McCarter Lane, Grants Pass Police arrived at the scene and lodged the suspect on drug charges.

One call to 911 reported the suspect was in her driveway around 3:37 p.m. She was worried the man would take her motorcycle, and dispatch advised her to stay inside her home with the door locked. Another caller in the neighborhood said the same suspect appeared to be under the influence and was trying to take a moped.

Police arrived and contacted the suspect, Anthony Retamoza. He quickly approached an officer who held him at taser point, leading to his compliance. He was detained and a search of his person was conducted.

Law enforcement found a bag with a white crystal residue that field tested positive for methamphetamine. Also located was foil with a white powdery residue, which yielded a positive result for the presence of fentanyl.

Retamoza was unaffiliated with the initial residence, and was clearly under the influence. Police lodged him in the Josephine County Jail for the crimes of Meth and Fentanyl Possession. He was also trespassed from the residence.

 

Grants Pass Police arrested two men during an area check of Bi-Mart, one for methamphetamine possession and trespassing, the other for a warrant and trespassing.

Sunday at 2:01 p.m., law enforcement contacted three suspects by the 230 Redwood Highway business. Prior to being detained, one of the suspects, Ryan Burrows, dropped a glass pipe with residue while standing. The pipe was field tested and produced a positive result for the presence of meth.

Jesse Rosario was also identified and found to have an active warrant for his arrest out of the Police Department. Both men had been previously trespassed from the store, and were subsequently taken into custody.

Police lodged Burrows in jail for Meth Possession and Second Degree Criminal Trespass. Rosario was lodged for the same trespass charge, and his warrant, also for Second Degree Criminal Trespass.

 

Construction of the sewer extension for the Fruitdale Towne Home Project will began today and will continue through Tuesday, November 10th, between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

According to the City website, Fruitdale Drive is closed today between Carnahan Drive and Mt. Baldy Road while a new manhole is constructed on the north side of Fruitdale. Tomorrow, sewer main installation will continue, requiring work across both travel lanes on Fruitdale Drive.

Westbound traffic will be detoured via Mt. Baldy Road, while eastbound traffic will be detoured via Carnahan Drive. Both detour routes will connect to Rogue River Highway.

Residents will continue to have access to their homes throughout construction. Local traffic will be accommodated as needed. Emergency vehicles will not be allowed through. Detours will be in place, and motorists are advised to avoid the area and find alternate routes.

Please use caution in the construction area and follow all posted traffic control signs and directions from flaggers and work crews. For more information, contact the City of Grants Pass at 541-450-6110

 

Law enforcement, while conducting a patrol check at Riverside Park Sunday afternoon, apprehended a woman with drug paraphernalia.

The suspect, recognized as Rose McLaughlin by the Grants Pass Police officer, was observed near the river's edge actively smoking something from a glass pipe with a glass bubble at the end. Upon noticing the presence of police, McLaughlin reportedly threw the pipe into the river.

The officer was unable to recover the pipe, but McLaughlin was taken into custody at the scene around 1:11 p.m. She was taken to the Josephine County Adult Jail Facility for lodging on charges including Tampering with Physical Evidence, and a detainer per her parole officer. She was also issued a 30-Day Exclusion from Riverside Park.

 

Grants Pass Police lodged a woman causing a disturbance outside a Taco Bell for disorderly conduct.

The suspect was reported to be outside the 195 NE Terry Lane drive-thru yelling, screaming, and throwing sticks at cars around 9:26 a.m. The caller described her as wearing a black hat, blue jacket, and black pants, and that she began grabbing rocks and throwing things at cars on the Parkway.

Dispatch was told the suspect went into the nearby Walmart parking lot, and was circling someone's SUV. Law enforcement soon contacted and detained the woman, identified as Natasha Taylor, outside the Taco Bell. She was making nonsensical statements to the officer, and was taken into custody for Second Degree Disorderly Conduct.

Taylor was then transported to the Josephine County Jail where she was lodged and later released due to a lack of jail resources.