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Sky over Grants Pass (please click to enlarge and view)
Updated 1-10-10 |
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Grants Pass Fire and Police (& Sheriff): *Fire: Fire protection in the City of Grants Pass is under the umbrella of the City Public Safety Department, while in the outlying Josephine County areas fire protection is provided by contract with homeowners with a few different private fire agencies; the largest and most professional (in my opinion) is Rural Metro *Police/Sheriff: Police protection is under the same City of Grants Pass Public Safety umbrella as the City fire Department is. The other area of Josephine County is served by the Josephine County Sheriff Department, which under excellent leadership of current Sheriff Gil Gilbertson has vastly improved. The Sheriff department has also brought in new equipment for search & rescue to hopefully avert another loss as in what happened to the Kim family (in December 2006). The only dark spot is a police department that in mine and others view is lacking any compassion (especially in regards to the issues/threats that are affecting my family). I will admit that where as the desk sergeants were less than what I would ask in a public servant the deputy chief was more amiable, but still continued with statements that were more based on protecting the status quo rather than trying to correct problems. I still differ as this departments handing of issues (including simple issues such as traffic citations which the GPPD way of handling these is stereotypical of small towns, to which Farmers Insurance has stated that his and other’s in the departments comments are totally false). I will have a blog post soon dealing with these issues with the evidence to correct the lies and views of a department that simply wants to protect its own rather than the public it serves (see this post: Dishonesty by the Grants Pass Police). I would advice potential visitors to Grants Pass to watch their back, stop at yellow lights at all costs, although heaven forbid if an accident should result from slamming on the brakes and one of the dishonest officers should respond (such as one in particular that is in the motorcycle traffic patrol); worse if you should need real assistance, I would call 911 and try and move just outside the city limits so the vastly better Sheriff department can respond. Events Grants Pass has much to attract visitors, from simply being a friendly community with family values that makes this a nice place to live (our Church, Bethany Presbyterian is awesome), to the many events or natural attractions (such as rafting on the Rogue River). BOATNIK (Memorial Day Weekend): The Grants Pass Active Club holds Boatnik every Memorial Day weekend in Grants Pass. This event has been held since 1959. The activities start Thursday evening in Riverside Park with the Davis Shows Carnival. Friday includes the Boat Show on the River - 8:00pm to 9:00pm Sprints, Drags, and Hydros. Followed by the Marathon Jet Boat Exhibition Run - Riverside Park 7:30pm. Saturday morning is the well-known Boatnik parade. After the parade makes its way through Grants Pass, the focus then becomes Riverside Park where there is a whirlwind of activities to include: arts and crafts, food venders, pizza eating contest, children’s ID booth, boat racing and various other activities. Sunday includes the Fireworks Display at Dusk at Riverside Park. Monday is the highlight of Boatnik featuring the Oregon Air Guard F15 Flyover (my personal favorite) and the WORLD FAMOUS WHITE WATER HYDROPLANE RACE. PICTURES; Grants Pass Oregon Boatnik (Click to enlarge): ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Here is a video with selected clips from Boatnik 2009 Here is a video with selected clips from Boatnik 2008: BALLOON FESTIVAL (First Weekend of June) This is launched from Parkside Elementary School, generally starting at 6:30 am on Friday. The main events start Saturday morning with another 6:00 am Balloon launch. In the evening there is a Kite Making & Demonstration as well as music followed by a 9:30 pm “Night Glow” Balloon Launch. Sunday morning includes one more Balloon launch at 6:30 am. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Most Pictures click to enlarge Camping Camping is probably my favorite pastime and it is relatively inexpensive and family friendly. Here in the Greater Grants Pass area there are many camping opportunities. I will add to this section over time, so please check back as I had more here Joe Creek Waterfalls RV Resort This is probably my favorite private RV/Campground in the Grants Pass area based on scenery and cleanliness.![]() ![]() 699 Jumpoff Joe Creek Rd. Grants Pass, OR 97526 Reservations: 541-479-7974 Indian Mary Park is my favorite Josephine County Park located on the Rogue River along a scenic stretch of the road that connects the little towns of Merlin and Galice. There are 91 campsites, 44 with full hookups, 12 with electric & water only, and 35 for tents only. Fishing, whitewater rafting and amazing sightseeing jaunts are all available within a very short distance of the park. The drive to the park is also very scenicIndian Mary can be reached from the I-5 exit 61 (Merlin-Galice road). It's about 10 miles from the exit to the entrance of the park. The parks phone number is 541-474-5285. Sources: National BLM; Rogue River http://www.usbr.gov/pmts/sediment/projects/SavageRapids/SavageRapids.htm Boatnik.com http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en | Pet_Videos | Music | Music-2 | Grants-Pass | My-Pictures | Aquarium-Bio | Music-Download-3 | | About Me | Feedback | Checkout-Tutorial | | Return Home | Downloads | Shipping and Return Policy | Contact Us | Great Links | Aquarium_Information | Privacy-Policy | |
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