Remote Surveillance Trailer in Grants Pass, OR

The City of Grants Pass and Josephine County are inviting community members to apply for a volunteer position on the Bikeways & Walkways Committee, as one member’s three-year term is set to expire. The committee plays an important role in shaping local bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, encouraging public engagement, and promoting safe, accessible routes throughout the region.

The Bikeways & Walkways Committee serves as an advisory body to both the City and County, working to coordinate and share information with the public about biking and walking routes, safety guidelines, and local trail systems. Its members provide input on future projects, help educate the community, and act as a resource for improving and expanding bike and pedestrian networks.

To be eligible for the open seat, applicants must reside within the city limits of Grants Pass and have an interest in representing the needs and perspectives of local bicyclists and pedestrians. The City is seeking individuals who are passionate about improving mobility options and enhancing the overall connectivity of trails and walkways.

Applications can be submitted either in person at the City Administration Office, located at 101 N.W. A Street, or online through the City’s website. All applications must be received by 5 p.m. on Friday, December 5, 2025. The committee will review submissions on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, and final appointments will be made by the City Council during its Wednesday, January 7, 2026 meeting.

The appointment represents a three-year volunteer term, during which the selected individual will collaborate with other committee members, city officials, and community stakeholders to help develop and promote a more bike- and pedestrian-friendly environment in Grants Pass and Josephine County.

The City encourages residents who regularly bike, walk, or advocate for alternative modes of transportation to apply, emphasizing that community participation is essential for shaping future projects and ensuring that local infrastructure reflects the needs of those who use it most.

For more information and to apply online, residents can visit the City of Grants Pass website or stop by the Administration Office during regular business hours.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — A Rogue Valley social media star is turning clicks and views into real-world impact — one basketball court at a time.

Mason Smith, known to millions online as dadsocial, recently unveiled a brand-new outdoor basketball court at the Boys & Girls Club of Grants Pass. Until now, the organization had no outdoor space for kids to shoot hoops.

Over just four days, Smith and a team of local contractors transformed a grassy patch of land into a fully functional court, complete with professional striping. The entire project was funded by donations, sponsorships, and the revenue generated from Smith’s social media audience.

“I think it’s only just to use the platform that I have to positively impact as many people as I can,” Smith said. “So I found that to be community projects like this, or classrooms or teachers lounges, or ways that I can apply my skill, film it and then post about it, and hopefully my audience will help me contribute financially to the project, like just off the views.”

Smith said local businesses and volunteers stepped up to contribute materials, labor, and equipment — all at no cost to the Boys & Girls Club.

This is the 12th basketball court Smith has built across Josephine and Jackson Counties — each one funded entirely by community support and online engagement. His projects have also included renovations for schools, teacher lounges, and classrooms, all inspired by the same mission: to give back and inspire others to do the same.

For the kids in Grants Pass, it’s more than a court — it’s a place to play, grow, and dream. And for Smith, it’s another example of how social media can be a force for good.

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14-point halftime deficit proves too much to overcome despite valiant second-half performance by Black Tornado

Possibly a little struck by the moment at hand, North Medford took a while to get going before settling in and giving Grants Pass all it could handle in the second half Friday night in the season opener for both teams at Mel Ingram Field.

The only problem is that the 14-point deficit created in the first half ultimately proved too much to overcome as the host Cavemen held on for a 21-18 victory in the South/Central Football Conference contest.

The win also marked the head coaching debut at Grants Pass for Matt Kennedy.

“It took them probably a couple quarters to settle into it all,” North Medford head coach Nathan Chin said of a Black Tornado team replacing all but a handful of starters, “but I was proud of them just to keep on battling into the second half like they did.”

North Medford (0-1, 0-1 SCFC) scored the first 10 points of the second half to close within 14-10, but Grants Pass was able to answer with a four-play, 80-yard scoring drive that included a 30-yard run by Treyton Powers and 36-yard diving catch by Brevik HIll on a pass from Jordan Rossetta.

Weston Berg capped the drive with 6 ½ minutes remaining on a 2-yard touchdown run.

North Medford bogged down on its ensuing drive but was able to hold Grants Pass (1-0, 1-0 SCFC) to a turnover on downs with 1:39 to play at the Tornado 38-yard line.

Senior quarterback Traeger Healy eluded pressure and offered up a jump ball downfield that Brady Patterson sliced in to bring down for a 34-yard gain. On the next play, Healy found Liam Rea in the end zone for a 28-yard TD for a 21-second scoring drive.

Still with a chance, Patterson offered up an onside kick for North Medford, but it was easily captured by Grants Pass junior Cameron Bowen. The Cavemen then had Rossetta kneel down three times — losing 16 yards in the process — to run out the clock.

“Losing always hurts, and it should as a competitor,” said Chin. “You put all the time in, it should hurt. But as we all know, you’ve got to learn. If we didn’t learn about ourselves and we don’t learn from this game, then we’re not doing our job. We’ll hit the weekend and we’ll learn from it and we’ll grow from it — which we grew just in a matter of the game, I believe. Seeing what we can grow into this next week is going to be huge.”

Healy was under duress and didn’t have many receivers break open in the first half, leading to a 6-for-12 passing tally for 23 yards that was tempered by him pulling the ball down and rushing eight times for a team-best 49 yards in the opening 24 minutes.

Things came together a little more in the second half, with Healy finishing an unofficial 14-for-26 for 121 yards through the air to go with 50 yards rushing.

“I think he did a good job of moving around the pocket and taking what they give you,” Chin said of his QB. “It showed his maturity to be able to take space when space is given for him. He ran and played tough.”

Rea finished with seven catches for 54 yards, and North Medford used a blend of Joe Castillo (12 carries, 59 yards), Samson Vaelua (eight carries, 41 yards) and Healy scrambles to account for 150 yards on the ground.

Chin counted the Black Tornado fortunate to be trailing only 14-0 at halftime after Rossetta put on quite a display by completing 11 of 18 passes for 192 yards in that span. Rossetta connected with Nate Bassett on a toe-tap touchdown at the back of the end zone from 15 yards out with 2 ½ minutes left in the first quarter.

North Medford suffered a tough break when a punt early in the second quarter glanced off the back of Cade Pettersen and into the waiting arms of Hill at the Tornado 25. Three plays later, an all-Powers drive was capped by his 1-yard TD run.

“It was a good team job by just kind of staying in the game and giving us an opportunity in the second half,” said Chin.

Turnabout proved to be fair play in the second half, however, when a high snap to GP punter James Traylor led to him only being able to attempt to run out of his own territory. He could get no further than the 32-yard line.

North Medford covered those 32 yards in three plays, with Vaelua scoring his first varsity TD on a powerful 13-yard run to paydirt with 6:16 to go in the third quarter.

“When momentum swings, you’ve got to take advantage,” said Chin, “and I think our kids did a good job there of taking advantage of that momentum swing.”

Vaelua, a 5-foot-11, 205-pound junior, had a big impact on both sides of the ball, coming up with a few tackles for loss with quick rushes off the edge to complement his punishing runs on offense.

It was Vaelua’s 3-yard tackle for a loss on a run by Logan Eldred that forced GP to punt the ball on the ensuing series.

“That’s one that we figured you were going to hear about sooner than later just from what we saw from him as a JV player last year,” Chin said of Vaelua’s breakout effort. “He’s done a really good job of just converting to the varsity. He’s a tough load as a back, and he’s a really aggressive defensive player.”

With the ball back in North Medford’s hands, the squad marched from its own 48 to the Cavers’ 11 before settling for a 28-yard field goal when faced with a fourth-and-goal situation. The Tornado had successfully picked up first downs on short-yardage fourth-down plays — one on a run by Vaelua and another on a pass interference — but Chin didn’t want to take any chances on a third attempt given the distance and more than eight minutes still remaining.

Patterson came through with a 28-yard field goal to make it 14-10.

Chin said he had considered going for a field goal attempt on the second fourth-down conversion — set in motion from the GP 19-yard line — and didn’t hesitate to send Patterson in on the last situation.

“With fourth-and-11 at the 11 — it’s hard enough first-and-11 at the 11 — so we just elected to be able to kick a field goal and put our trust in Brady and keep playing ball from there,” said the coach. “There was still a lot of game left.”

Powers had not been part of the GP backfield to that point in the second half — battling cramping legs — but took his first carry to start the ensuing drive 30 yards to double his output at the time and give his team breathing room. He followed that with a 13-yard gain before limping off to the sideline, only to watch Hill come up with a diving catch to the 1-yard line on the next play.

“We knew he was going to be a tough one, that wasn’t a surprise by any means,” Chin said of Powers making a late-game impact.

Powers wound up running for 82 yards on 12 carries, while Rossetta completed 14 of 24 passes for 230 yards. Traylor, a sophomore, hauled in a 72-yard pass on the second play from scrimmage and finished with five catches for 148 yards.

North Medford 0 0 7 11 — 18

Grants Pass 7 7 0 7 — 21

GP — Bassett 15 pass from Rossetta (Leon kick)

GP — Powers 1 run (Leon kick)

NM — Vaelua 13 run (Patterson kick)

NM — FG Patterson 28

GP — Berg 1 run (Leon kick)

NM — Rea 28 pass from Healy (Healy pass from Patterson)

Reach sports editor Kris Henry at kris.henry@rv-times.com or 458-488-2035

Four years ago, Rachel Sager (then Damiano) and Katie Medart created a video called "I Resolve Movement: Response to Gender Identity Politics." In it, Sager (an assistant middle school principal) and Medart (a middle school science and health teacher) discussed a series of proposals regarding transgender students' pronouns, name changes and bathroom access at school.

On the I Resolve website, points include relabeling bathrooms as "anatomical male" and "anatomical female" and stipulating that "students and staff cannot be mandated to call students by preferred names and pronouns. They can only be given the choice to."

The website says the goal of the movement is to "speak out on gender identity education policy and offer solutions that would allow teachers to continue teaching without violating their conscience and that would respect the rights of parents."

Sager and Medart were both fired for violating district policies. They then sued the district, claiming their rights to free speech and religious freedom were violated, among other points.

"The superintendent and principal, along with the other Defendants, quickly resorted to retaliation and censorship to appease public critics of Rachel and Katie's speech," their complaint reads. "And the principal, who led the school district's investigation of Rachel and Katie, even subjected them to questioning on whether their religious beliefs make them unfit to be public educators."

Both were later reinstated. In 2023, a U.S. Magistrate Judge dismissed the case, writing that the school district's legitimate administrative interests outweighed the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights. "While the decision to terminate Plaintiffs' employment was made according to District policies, those policies did not violate Plaintiffs' constitutional rights," the decision reads. The case then went up to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. This summer, a three-judge panel agreed with parts of the previous ruling and disagreed with other parts, sending the case back to the lower court. On Thursday, the School Board voted unanimously after an Executive Session to approve a settlement agreement. Details of the settlement weren't made available.

Alliance Defending Freedom, which represented Medart and Sager, said it would send JPR a statement about the settlement on Monday but did not. A spokesperson for Grants Pass School District 7 wrote in a statement Monday, "After meeting in executive session on Thursday, the Grants Pass School Board voted unanimously to approve an unspecified settlement agreement. Because the agreement has not yet been finalized, the district is unable to provide additional information at this time." A statement on the "I Resolve" website reads, "We have settled our lawsuit with the District! More details to come soon."

has reported that as part of the settlement, Medart was asked to submit her resignation. On Monday afternoon, she was still included in the district's online staff directory. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

This week in Grants Pass offers a blend of live music, community gatherings, and family activities that bring people together across town. While the start of the week is relatively quiet, things pick up as Thursday rolls in, giving residents and visitors several opportunities to get out and enjoy local culture.

The Josephine County Fairgrounds remains a reliable hub during the weekdays, with regular open riding hours and club activities that provide an outlet for both horse enthusiasts and social groups. These ongoing programs set the tone for a community that thrives on tradition and local connection.

By Thursday evening, the riverfront comes alive with Taprock’s “Tap & Rock Brews & Music” series. The venue has become known for pairing regional breweries with live entertainment in a setting that showcases the Rogue River as its backdrop. It’s a casual way to transition into the weekend while supporting local talent and enjoying a night out.

Friday expands the musical offerings with Schmidt Family Vineyards hosting its weekly music night. From 5 to 8 p.m., visitors can relax among the vineyard’s landscaped gardens and sample wines while listening to the acoustic stylings of Mike Brons. The combination of wine, food, and music has made these evenings a seasonal favorite for many.

Saturday morning kicks off downtown with the Growers’ Market at 4th and F streets. Running from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the market features fresh produce, handmade goods, and a lineup of food trucks that highlight the region’s agricultural and culinary diversity. Later in the afternoon, families can head to the Josephine Community Library for its monthly LEGO Build & Play session. From 1 to 2 p.m., children and parents alike can participate in a creative hands-on activity that encourages imagination and collaboration. Midday also sees Taprock offering its “Lit Lunch” program, a special event that blends dining with community engagement.

For those looking to extend their weekend plans, a short drive south into Josephine County leads to the Out’n’About Treesort near Cave Junction, which is hosting its “Osmosis in the Trees” music festival through Sunday. With its unique treehouse accommodations and outdoor setting, the Treesort provides a memorable environment for live music and camping, appealing to those who want to pair entertainment with an adventurous escape.

Throughout the week, the Chamber of Commerce and Visit Grants Pass maintain calendars filled with rotating community events, from classes to networking breakfasts. These resources, along with the Fairgrounds’ own listings, ensure that there is nearly always something to do, even on quieter days when organized events are fewer.

Taken together, the week in Grants Pass demonstrates the balance of small-town traditions with opportunities for culture, music, and community involvement. Whether it’s sipping wine on a vineyard lawn, dancing by the riverfront, shopping local at the market, or building with LEGOs at the library, the choices reflect the personality of a town that values both its roots and its creativity. For anyone seeking ways to fill their days, the events of this week offer something meaningful to enjoy in the heart of Southern Oregon.