The students complete community service in honor of Moore. Saturday’s car wash was the second of its kind. The students also held a coin drive for Moore, raising $1,400.

Medford Police also responded and searched the area. “Looking at this area … there’s no ignition sources, no electrical sources and all that, so we will rule everything out, so right now they are looking in the area for someone who may have potentially started the fire,” said Medford Fire’s Battalion Chief Wayne Painter.

A weak cold front swept through the state this afternoon. Light and widespread showers developed as a result, but precipitation totals did not amount to much. Showers will gradually diminish from west to east towards midnight, and following this skies will begin to clear.

By Sunday, a high pressure ridge will begin to set up across the Eastern Pacific and this will make for sunny and warm conditions. Temperatures should jump ten degrees into the second half of the weekend. By Monday, we’ll see another increase in afternoon highs, again another ten degrees. This will be the last day of spring, or more like summer, weather. A strong storm is on the horizon.

Tuesday clouds will begin increasing ahead of a strong and deep cutoff low. This system will bring a chance for precipitation to the entire viewing area through the remainder of the week. The biggest change will be temperatures. The air mass moving into the NW with this low pressure system will bring unseasonably cool conditions. A 15-20 degree temperature drop will occur Monday through Wednesday. With very cold air aloft, snow may even fall in the higher elevations. This is something that will have to be monitored closely into the next several days.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Meteorologist Alyssa Caroprese

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – This Tuesday, Josephine County voters will take their stance on the proposed public safety tax levy. Among the more unlikely services in that levy is animal control.

Now the Josephine County Animal Shelter is making their case for funding, and turning to donors to help them stay on their feet.

Officials with the animal shelter say there’s quite a bit of hand-wringing over the upcoming levy vote.

“It’s, you know, quite a bit of a concern because we’re already stressed and stretching our resources to the limit with what we do have,” said shelter manager Brad Booker.

Volunteers perform most shelter’s services, like pet adoption and licensing. But animal control is an exception. Depending on how voters lean, county funds could dry up for things like taking in abandoned pets, or handling nuisance or aggressive animals.

“The more funding that we have, the more likelihood that we’re able to control those situations and respond to all the calls in a timely manner,” said Booker.

Events like the Grants Pass Saturday pet fair give the shelter the chance to make up some of the difference by getting in front of potential donors and volunteers.

“Just general public support is really needed,” said volunteer coordinator Lynn Meagher. “Hands-on volunteers are desperately needed.”

They say those volunteers can’t help with animal control, but if funding dries up they’ll need help wherever they can get it.

“If we lose funding, we lose funding for things like vet bills… basic toys!” said Meagher.

Their message to volunteers — spend time socializing with an animal. The more social it is the more likely it will be adopted. And as more pets find families, more money gets saved.

“The less dogs and cats we have out there, the less care that’s needed, the less money that’s needed to provide that care,” said Booker.

Josephine County voters cast their ballots on the public safety levy this Tuesday. That levy would amount to a $1.48 per thousand dollars of assessed property value for the next three years.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Today is safety awareness day in Grants Pass. Residents young and old came down to the Grants Pass shopping center for the town’s safety day event.

Visitors climbed aboard equipment and vehicles from Grants Pass Fire and Josephine County Search and Rescue.

The Caveman Kiwanis club fitted people for free bike helmets. And the event even featured a judo demonstration from River City Martial Arts.

Mayor Darin Fowler says as safety budgets thin, citizen safety awareness can go a long way.

“They need to be the first responders — the one on scene who are not professionals need to be equipped to do the right thing first,” said Fowler.

In addition to community awareness events like safety day, mayor fowler says the town is investing in a sobering center. It could be finished as quickly as nine months, and would provide a place for those who are impaired to recover without taking up jail space.

A similar safety event was held at the South Medford Walmart on Saturday.

Courtesy: OSU Sports Information

EUGENE, Ore. – Andrew Moore tossed a two-hit shutout and Michael Conforto and Ryan Barnes each hit solo home runs to send the sixth-ranked Oregon State baseball team to a 9-0 win over No. 10 Oregon Saturday afternoon at PK Park.

The Beavers evened the series with the shutout, which was the team’s 10th of the season and second of the year for Moore, who improved to 11-1, becoming the Pac-12 Conference’s first 11-game winner. The victory pushed the Beavers back ahead in the chase for the Pac-12 Championship, and now lead the Ducks by one game.

Oregon State (42-9 overall, 21-5 Pac-12), up 2-0 after seven, scored five in the eighth and two more in the ninth for the convincing win. The nine-run victory margin was the largest between the teams in a game that counts toward the Pac-12 standings since Oregon (43-12, 20-6) reinstated its program in 2009. It’s the second-highest overall.

“This was a very important bounce back win for us,” head coach Pat Casey said. “We battled through five tough innings against a very good starter in Cole Irvin. We were focused today and it showed.”

Moore held Oregon to just two hits – a double by Ryon Healy in the fourth and a single by J.J. Altobelli in the sixth – while walking one. He only picked up two strikeouts, with both coming in the eighth.

Pitching in his hometown of Eugene for the first time at the collegiate level, he did so in fine fashion, and in the process, set the Oregon State freshman record for victories in a single season, surpassing Sam Gaviglio’s 10 in 2009.

Moore also pushed his earned run average to 1.34 on the year.

The teams were embroiled in a scoreless tie through six but Conforto lofted a home run over the left field fence in the sixth off Irvin. Barnes did so in the seventh as well to put the Beavers in the driver’s seat, 2-0.

Then came the eighth inning. Oregon State sent 10 batters to the plate with Barnes and Danny Hayes highlighting the inning. Hayes hit a two-run single and Barnes tripled to right for three of the inning’s five runs. Andy Peterson, who went 4-for-4 with a walk, also drove in a run during the inning, which he followed in the ninth with another RBI.

Peterson’s four hits led the Oregon State offensive attack, which finished with 12 hits off four Oregon pitchers. Hayes and Barnes each had two hits as well.

Irvin took the loss and dropped to 10-3 on the year. The Oregon lefty allowed six hits and two runs with a walk and three strikeouts in seven innings.

Oregon State head coach Pat Casey:

Oregon State pitcher Andrew Moore:

Oregon State second baseman Andy Peterson:

Officers located the children on F Street in Grants Pass before an Amber Alert could be issued. But the vehicle is still outstanding. Officers believe the white Ford Explorer could be connected to a reckless driving complaint on Upper River Road Saturday afternoon.

Police are using surveillance photos to help locate the suspect. Contact police if you have any information.

Officers say Silva drove away from the hotel while being pursued. Medford Police say Silva crashed the vehicle and witnesses report he ran away on foot. After investigating the area, officers say they found Silva in a utility trailer near the crashed and abandoned car.

Officers say Silva resisted arrest, but was ultimately taken into custody. The victim is currently being treated for her injuries, according to a press release.

Courtesy: Oregon Sports Information

EUGENE, Ore. – Tommy Thorpe picked the right night to have the best start of his career at Oregon. The sophomore was dominant holding No. 4 Oregon State to just two infield hits in eight innings in a 3-0 win for the sixth-ranked Ducks on Friday night.

Thorpe matched a career-high with seven strikeouts while only allowing infield singles in the second and third innings. The sophomore, who moved to 6-4 on the season with the win, only faced real trouble in the third. The Beavers (41-9, 20-5 Pac-12) put runners on second and third with a bunt single, a hit batter and a wild pitch, but Thorpe struck out Michael Conforto to end the inning.

Thorpe took the mound in the ninth and walked the leadoff hitter forcing Oregon (43-11, 20-5 Pac-12) to go to closer Jimmie Sherfy. The Ducks’ All-American picked up his 20th save, breaking the Oregon record of 19 he set in 2012, to help UO pull into a first-place tie with the Beavers in the Pac-12.

The Ducks jumped out early scoring two runs in the first and one run in the second. Ryon Healy, who returned to the starting lineup after sitting out the last three games, put Oregon on top 1-0 with a base hit to left field scoring Brett Thomas. After a Mitchell Tolman sacrifice bunt put runners at second and third with one out, Aaron Payne scored to make it 2-0 on a slow roller to first by Scott Heineman.

Freshman Nick Catalano led off the bottom of the second with a double and scored on a RBI flare single by J.J. Altobelli to give the Ducks a 3-0 lead.

Thomas and Payne led Oregon with both going 2-for-4 with a run scored. Matt Boyd (10-3) took the loss for Oregon State.

The Ducks and Beavers meet Saturday at 2 p.m. at PK Park in game two of the three-game series with both teams scheduled to throw freshmen. Cole Irvin (10-2) will pitch for Oregon, while Andrew Moore (10-1) gets the start for Oregon State.