Grants Pass residents saw an aerial show of air tankers dropping bright retardant on a mountain southeast of town Thursday evening, and woke up this morning to more firefighting efforts and what looked like a volcano from smoke rising from the peak.

The Board Shanty Fire was estimated at about 300 acres as of this morning, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry. There have been no reports of homes destroyed. Read More »

After a 12-2 loss in its opener at the Cal Ripken state baseball tournament, the local 11U Three Rivers All-Stars rebounded with four straight wins to take the title last week in Eugene.

The championship qualifies Three Rivers for next week's regional tournament in Meridian, Idaho.

In its opener, South Coast pounded the local team by 10 runs, but Three Rivers turned around and slammed Willamette Valley 12-2. Read More »

When the van pulled up in front of the historic chateau at the Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve last week, I stepped out of the passenger side to an unexpected welcome.

"Hello cousin!" said the greeter with a big smile.

It was none other than my cousin Deelia Cooke Warner of Cave Junction, treasurer of the Friends of the Oregon Caves and Chateau, which formed in 2007 as the official National Park Service partner supporting the monument. Read More »

A new exhibition of contemporary acrylic paintings by Karen Staal opened this week in Medford.

The work, by artist Karen Staal, is on display at the Collier Gallery at Collaborative Theatre Project, 555 Medford Center.

An opening reception is planned for Saturday from 4:30-6:30 p.m., in conjunction with the opening weekend of CTP's newest show, "Dear Jack, Dear Louise," a love story by Ken Ludwig set during World War II. Read More »