At the fourth annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day community gathering at Grants Pass High School on Saturday, speaker Taylor Stewart urged the audience to keep hope, even in the midst of hopelessness in the world.

"Before any of us can get to any of the specifics for how to be a part of change, we must have hope," he said. "So for many of us, one way that we can meet this moment is by maintaining internal hopefulness, in the midst of external hopelesseness."

After watching the Grants Pass girls pull off an upset in Friday’s Southwest Conference game against Sheldon, the Cavemen couldn’t duplicate that feat in the nightcap at Heater-Newman Memorial Gymnasium.

The Cavers knocked off the fifth-ranked Irish 53-46 in the opener, but the Sheldon boys remained perfect in SWC play with a 55-43 win over the Cavemen.

Grants Pass Police Department

A man accused of stealing $42 worth of Walmart merchandise was cited on a third-degree theft charge at 7:39 a.m. Friday.

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A 40-year-old man was arrested on a meth possession charge and three warrants at 2:56 p.m. Friday near Williams Highway and West Park Street.

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The Britt Music & Arts Festival announced the first seven concerts for the coming performance season in Jacksonville on Friday afternoon.

“Even beyond the incredible mix of artists we present on stage, evenings at Britt are the best kind of community: singing, dancing, laughing, and enjoying the beautiful hillside together,” said Abby McKee, the Britt’s president and CEO.

Two more sets of announcements will be coming Feb. 13 and March 13.