Local News

A Josephine County Sheriff’s Deputy’s traffic stop just after 11 Wednesday morning resulted in one warrant arrest. The incident log simply stated the Deputy was out with one vehicle and two subjects with no other information. One of the subjects, identified as Gary Putnam, 54, was found to have an active warrant out of Umatilla County for failure to appear on a DUII charge with bail set at $5,000. Putnam was arrested and lodged in the Josephine County jail and remained in custody Thursday morning.

 

Grants Pass City Council reconvened as the Urban Renewal Agency following their Wednesday night business session. The Agency authorized a contract with a private consulting firm, First Forty Feet, to prepare a mixed-use redevelopment plan in tandem with a commercial market and feasibility study for approximately eight acres of Urban Renewal Agency owned property bounded by Northwest Washington Boulevard, Northwest Midland Avenue and Northeast 6th Street. The Opportunity Plan will be developed over the next nine months and will include two primary elements. The first is a community engagement phase that will involve two public workshops, stakeholder interviews and surveys and will result in citywide input on desired land uses involving agency owned property.The second element is a commercial market analysis led by Leland Consulting group that will assess demographics, economic trends, and real estate conditions for the site. The project will be 100% funded by the Urban Renewal Agency through funds already allocated for this project.

 

Oregon State Police responded to a single vehicle crash on Highway 199 on Monday, December 15, 2025, at 11:53 p.m.,, near milepost 9, in Josephine County. The preliminary investigation indicated a southbound Ford Econoline, operated by 27-year-old Dakota Mcleod Palmer of Ashland, lost control of the vehicle, left the roadway, and struck a utility pole. Palmer was transported to an area hospital with reported minor injuries.A passenger of the vehicle, Kyle Dewayne King, 50, of Elgin, Texas was declared deceased after being transported to an area hospital.The highway was not impacted during the on-scene investigation. The cause of the crash is under investigation.Troopers were assisted by the Josephine County Sheriff's Office, Rural Metro Fire Department, and ODOT.

 

An Oregon woman was sentenced to federal prison Wednesday for embezzling more than $250,000 from her employer and evading over $50,000 in federal taxes. Notja Michelle Brower, 53, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $310,106 in restitution to her victims.According to court documents, in July 2018, Victim Business 1 hired Brower as a bookkeeper and office manager. Within one month of her hire, Ms. Brower began defrauding the business by issuing herself unauthorized company checks and pocketing thousands of dollars in cash payments. She then altered the business records to conceal her thefts as expenses and payroll draws. Brower also fraudulently opened a credit card in the personal name of the business owner and used that card to purchase over $20,000 in travel, casino, restaurant, and exotic car rental expenses. Brower then made payments to that credit card using the business checking account. Also, for tax years 2018 and 2019, Brower willfully failed to report the embezzled funds as income in tax years 2018 and 19, resulting in over $250,000 in unreported income and a total tax due and owing of $57,705. A federal grand jury in Medford returned a twelve-count indictment charging Brower with bank fraud, wire fraud, unauthorized use of an access device, aggravated identity theft, and tax evasion in April of 2024. Brower pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of tax evasion in March of 2025. This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation and Medford Police Department. It was prosecuted by John C. Brassell, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

 

Grants Pass City Councilors Wednesday night vacated common property lines among four tax lots on Southeast J Street and Southeast K between Southeast 6th and Southeast 7th Streets. The actions are necessary to develop the new building for the Josephine Community Library. A resolution was approved for the annual cost-of-living fee schedule effective January 1st. These annual changes are based on the average monthly consumer price index for the period of November to September of the previous year. This year’s adjustment is 2.71%. Water rates have additional adjustments previously approved by council. The ordinance authorizing the issuance of Water Revenue Bonds necessary to provide the additional financing to complete the construction of the water treatment plant was passed unanimously. This project requires a bond offering of approximately $65 million dollars to complete the project. Council voted on a resolution awarding Seed Collective Catalyst LLC an $80,050 grant for the Grants Pass Nexus Incubator over two years for start up costs with the goal of providing small business access to resources to assist their business plan while serving as a catalyst for starting businesses. The Grant would be distributed on a reimbursement basis. Council voted to creating new job descriptions for Utility Billing Manager and I T Director in finance that have added duties outside of their job description. The move does not add a fulltime equivalent position but does add $7,000 and $9,000 annually. A temporary rate increase was approved for Southern Oregon Sanitation for green waste at the Redwood Transfer Station. The rate increase was requested due to increased costs due to the unexpected closure of Southern Oregon Compost increasing costs by 17%. The temporary increase raises the charge for green waste from $6.50 a yard to $16 per yard. Richard Akers was appointed to the Urban Area Planning Commission.The Consent Calendar, which contained the City Manager’s annual evaluation was passed. The Manager’s performance was found to meet most expectations.

 

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory from 7 a.m. today to 4 p.m. Friday combined with a heavy rain warning for Josephine, Coos, Curry and Douglas counties. Southwest winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph are expected in Josephine and Douglas counties as well as Highway 199 through the Illinois Valley, Including the communities of Selma, Cave Junction, O’Brian and Takelma. Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects and a few power outages may result. Winds this strong can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. Extra caution is advised. An atmospheric river arrives Thursday night and persists through Friday, bringing another round of moderate to heavy rain. Rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches are expected with the highest amounts likely in Curry County.
Small streams and creeks are still likely to run high and could resulting nuisance flooring along the ponding of water on roadways during periods of heavy rain. Significant rises on mainstream rivers are expected, but the overall concern for widespread flooding is low at this time.

 

A Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been recognized with one of Oregon law enforcement’s highest honors.

JCSO Corporal Cynthia Mallari was named the 2025 Oregon State Sheriffs’ Association (OSSA) Deputy of the Year during an awards ceremony held Thursday, December 11, in Bend.

Corporal Mallari has been with the JCSO for 13 years, beginning her career as a Corrections Deputy in 2012 before transferring to the Patrol Division in 2019. She was promoted to Corporal in 2022.

In addition to her patrol and supervisory responsibilities, Corporal Mallari serves as a Field Training Officer, Defensive Tactics Instructor, and Crisis Negotiator. She also volunteered to assist the Special Victims Unit during a period of overwhelming caseloads.

Her contributions this year and throughout her career exemplify the highest standards of law enforcement service, making her a deserving recipient of the OSSA Deputy of the Year award.

 

Logos Public Charter School announced that its Middle School Sasquatch Research & Adjudication Team earned 1st Place at the 43rd Annual Southern Oregon University State of Jefferson Middle School Scavenger Hunt.

The team secured the top spot with 280 points, outperforming a highly competitive field. Talent Middle School placed second with 261 points, followed closely by Ashland Middle School with 253 points.

This achievement means that Logos Public Charter School’s middle and high school teams swept this year’s SOU Scavenger Hunt academic competition, with the high school team having claimed its division title earlier this fall.

The annual scavenger hunt challenges students with complex research questions, creative “bring-in” tasks, and live adjudication debates.

 

Grants Pass Police contacted and arrested three separate suspects throughout Tuesday on their warrants.

At 9:37 a.m., an officer recognized Charles Howard in Resting Site 6 North at 714 NW 6th Street. He was known to have a warrant out of the police department for Unlawful Possession of Meth.

Following a positive identification, the officer transported and lodged Howard in the Josephine County Jail on his warrant.

At 10:13 a.m., officers observed Sarah Vischer walking eastbound on NE Fairview Avenue. She was known to have a serviceable warrant charging her with Meth Possession out of the GPPD.

Vischer was contacted, positively identified, and then transported to the Josephine County Jail where she was lodged on her warrant.

Then at about 3:27 p.m., officers responded to the Josephine County Community Corrections Department where a parole officer had detained Ronald Varner for a warrant out of Jackson County.

Arriving officers confirmed Varner's identity, arrested him, and subsequently lodged him in the Josephine County Jail for his warrant and a parole violation detainer.