Courtesy of Oregon Department of Forestry Oregon’s state forests are home to a wide variety of wildlife including two threatened bird species, the northern spotted owl and the marbled murrelet. As part of the Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) compliance with the federal and state endangered species acts, ODF surveys[Read More…]
Author: Rogue River Press
Fish Counts At Foster Dam
Returning adult salmon and steelhead enter the fish ladder on the south side of the dam and are held in a 12’ x 40’ trap until they can be processed by ODFW’s South Santiam Hatchery staff. Hatchery employees operate the fish trap one to three times per week depending on[Read More…]
Oregon Military Hall Of Honor Ceremony
Courtesy of Oregon Military Department Six Oregon military veterans were inducted into the 2026 Oregon Military Hall of Honor during a formal ceremony held at Camp Withycombe in Happy Valley, Oregon, on April 18, 2026, in recognition of their acts of heroism and exceptional service to the nation. The six[Read More…]
DOJ Secures 20-Year Sentence In Cold Case Homicide
Attorney General Dan Rayfield announced that Marcus Sanfratello, 73, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the 1983 homicide of Teresa Peroni, closing a case that went unsolved for more than four decades. Sanfratello pleaded guilty to Manslaughter in the First Degree in Josephine County Circuit Court. Under[Read More…]
Zempel Service Notice
BARBARA CAROL ZEMPEL, age 73, of Rogue River, died April 7, 2026, at her home. A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m., May 9, 2026, at Grace Baptist Church. Arrangements with Hull & Hull Funeral Directors.
Westerman Service Notice
The children of GWEN WESTERMAN will hold a Celebration of her Life of 103 years on May 2, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. at the Rogue River Community Center. Gwen was born in Covena, CA on December 27, 1921 and passed away on November 26, 2025. She moved to the Rogue[Read More…]
Fields Obituary
JOHN DOUGLAS FIELDS, 81, of Wimer, passed away March 5, 2026, in Rogue River, Oregon. The eldest son of John Henry Fields and Helen Marie Garner, he was born in 1944 in Grants Pass, Oregon, at Josephine General Hospital. He attended 18 schools in 12 years, as his father’s Naval[Read More…]
OSP Makes Arrest In Grants Pass Sex Abuse Case
Courtesy of Oregon State Police Following a grand jury indictment, Oregon State Police made an arrest in a Grants Pass sex abuse case involving a Grants Pass school support staff member. On February 6, 2026, the Oregon State Police began an investigation into Highland Elementary School educational assistant Joseph Deley[Read More…]
Find Your Joy During National Library Week
Jackson Country Library Services is turning the page to National Library Week, which runs Sunday, April 19 through Saturday, April 25. First celebrated in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association and libraries of all types across the country each April. This week-long[Read More…]
Oregon U.S. Attorney’s Office Case News
Medford Man Sentenced To Federal Prison A convicted felon was sentenced to federal prison for illegally possessing firearms. Devon James Wright, 31, was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release. According to court documents, Wright was caught on two separate occasions with firearms. First,[Read More…]