A Medford man is headed to prison after pleading guilty on Monday to charges for sharing child pornography online. Detectives arrested 56-year-old James Scott Pyper, a registered sex offender, in April at a house in the 2300-block of Temple Drive in Medford. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office had received a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) on April 13, letting them know that someone living in Jackson County had uploaded “multiple pornographic images of children” in September of 2019. Originally charged with 15 counts of Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, Pyper agreed to plea guilty…
Author: Tony Cooper
he name Crater Peak is misleading. The views from its summit are broad, sweeping and expansive, but Crater Peak doesn’t offer even a peek at Crater Lake. Unlike Crater Lake, which is a body of water in a caldera, Crater Peak is an actual crater. Located in the south zone of Crater Lake National Park, the peak reaches an elevation of 7,263 feet, which is actually lower than the highest viewpoint along Rim Drive. But that doesn’t detract from the charm, or the views, that reward hikers making the 7-mile round-trip trek. Crater Peak’s summit crater is the rounded remains…
13-year-old Ashton Torgerson, a Medford native, started competing in junior monster truck races a year ago. Now, he’s looking to make the jump to full-size monster trucks.
Today, Jackson County Public Health reports 65 new COVID-19 cases and three new deaths. Due to the holiday, this total is reflective of November 25th and November 26th. This update brings the total reported COVID-19 cases in Jackson County to 3,645 and the total number of deaths to 29. Jackson County’s 27th COVID-19 death is a 90-year-old male who tested positive on November 3 and died on November 17 at his residence. He has underlying conditions. Jackson County’s 28th COVID-19 death is an 82-year-old female who tested positive on November 11 and died on November 24 at Ashland Community Hospital, in…
A 27-year-old Mashpee resident last seen in Portland, Oregon, has been reported missing. Mykilee Driver was last seen at 12:40 a.m. Nov. 12 in the parking lot of Gateway Park apartments in Portland. Driver’s mother, Zarahra Overton, said her daughter was visiting her when she got into a Lyft and did not return. Overton said Driver was having a mental health episode before she disappeared. She called the police, but Driver declined treatment. She then called for a Lyft and left. Driver was diagnosed last year with psychosis, Overton said, and has had mental breakdowns in the past. Since her…
The Medford Police Department has launched a murder investigation after discovering a man’s body at the Best Western Horizon Inn on Sunday night. Officers responded to the motel on Barnett Road just after 8 p.m. for an assault report. Arriving at unit number 136, Medford Police said that they found the body of a 28-year-old man in the room. “Injuries to the deceased male were consistent with an assault,” Medford Police said in a brief statement. The victim was identified as 28-year-old Jeffrey Blackwood. Officers found a suspect in the assault, identified as 18-year-old Jackson Frischman, at the scene. He…
This coming Friday marks the return of “Coffee for a Cure,” an annual breast cancer fundraiser at all Human Bean locations. All proceeds from October 23 goes toward local organizations that help care for and support breast cancer patients. “Coffee for a Cure has become a hugely successful and effective event, and we are delighted to help make a difference in the fight against breast cancer,” the Human Bean said in a statement. Friday’s fundraiser marks the 15th anniversary of Coffee for a Cure, and Human Bean says that it has raised more than $1.8 million to date. “In Oregon…
The suspect in a double murder northeast of Wimer has been taken into custody, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office revealed on Friday. The agency said that it received a call from someone living in the 15000-block of East Evans Creek Road after 11 p.m. on Thursday, reporting that suspect 35-year-old Joshua Robert Miller had appeared at their house. The residents left, and deputies responded to the area — setting up a perimeter around the property alongside troopers from Oregon State Police. JCSO said that Miller was taken into custody without incident shortly after 3 a.m. on Friday morning. The Jackson County…
The good news, perhaps, for nervous Duck fans is Mario Cristobal says it does not compare to the situation three years ago. That’s when Cristobal was elevated to replace head coach Willie Taggart — who left Oregon after one season for a lucrative contract at Florida State — before attempting to prepare the team for the Las Vegas Bowl while also trying to salvage a promising recruiting class. This year Cristobal is preparing for Friday’s Pac-12 championship game against No. 13 USC after having the regular-season finale against Washington canceled and throwing the original game plan to play Colorado on…
The Southern Oregon Spartans announced that they will be cancelling the rest of the 2020 hockey season, on Wednesday. According to the team on a Facebook post, the reason for the cancellation was due to the new state-wide two-week freeze that Governor Kate Brown enacted today. “With this new mandate that just happened from the governor’s office we just don’t see when we can open up with fans in Medford,” said Dylan Martin, who is a co-owner for the team. “It just wasn’t looking good for us so we figured now is a good time to cancel the rest of…