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FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2026 GRANTSPASSTRIBUNE.COM | $0.00

U.S. Remains Deep in Iran Conflict

American Casualties Rise and Oil Tops $100

By John Oliver Nearly seven months after American forces opened a massive military campaign against Iran, the United States remains entrenched in a conflict that has outlived Operation Epic Fury, claimed the lives of 18 U.S. service members, wounded hundreds more and pushed the consequences of the war far beyond Iran’s borders and into the world’s oil markets, shipping lanes and neighboring countries. Operation Epic Fury began Feb. 28 with an intensive assault on Iran’s military infrastructure, targeting missile forces, air defenses, naval capabilities, command facilities and other strategic sites. The Pentagon formally ended the Epic Fury designation May 5, but American combat operations associated with the Iran conflict continued under broader overseas operational classifications. The campaign name disappeared while U.S. forces remained in the fight. The war entering its seventh month bears little resemblance to the concentrated opening campaign. American and Iranian forces have continued

Americana and Folk Music Come to Grants Pass exchanging attacks, commercial vessels have been struck around the Strait of Hormuz, Iran-aligned forces have expanded operations elsewhere in the region and Saudi energy infrastructure has become another target. Iraq and Yemen have assumed greater importance as armed groups operating beyond Iran’s borders increase the geographic reach of a confrontation that began primarily between Washington, its allies and Tehran. For the United States, the mounting casualty count provides the clearest measure of how far the conflict has traveled beyond its original military campaign. At least 18 American service members

have been killed since hostilities began, while recent Pentagon reporting has placed the combined number of wounded from Epic Fury and subsequent operations at approximately 794. Pentagon accounting has divided casualties between Operation Epic Fury and the overseas operations that followed it, including four American deaths moved from the original campaign category into the broader classification. The change lowered the number appearing under Epic Fury without reducing the actual number of Americans killed during the conflict. Taken together, the military toll

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see AMERICAN, page 11

EPA Repeals Federal Carbon Limits for Coal and Natural Gas Power Plants By Ellen Ward The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday repealed federal carbon-emission standards for coal and natural gas power plants, reversing one of the nation’s largest greenhouse gas regulations for electricity generation while advancing a separate regulatory action that could reshape the federal government’s authority over power plant carbon emissions for years to come. The EPA announced the September 14 action as federal energy officials gathered in Houston for a meeting of G20 energy ministers. The repeal eliminates standards adopted in 2024 under former President Joe Biden that established carbon dioxide requirements for existing coal-fired generating stations and certain new natural gas facilities. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has placed changes to federal energy and environmental regulations among the agency’s priorities under President Donald Trump. The administration maintains that the previous power plant standards imposed substantial costs on utilities, contributed to decisions affecting the continued operation of generating facilities and complicated development of additional electrical capacity as power demand accelerates across the United States. Monday’s decision reaches beyond revised emission limits or extended compliance schedules. EPA is withdrawing the greenhouse gas standards while pursuing a separate determination over whether emissions from fossil-fuel power plants meet the legal threshold for regulation under the Clean Air Act. That parallel action places both the existing rules and the federal authority behind future versions of those rules into contention. The 2024 regulations were established under Section 111 of the Clean Air Act, with requirements based on generating technology and the anticipated operating life of individual facilities. Coal plants expected to remain operational well into the next decade faced increasingly stringent

carbon requirements, while large new natural gas generating units were placed under federal performance standards. For some long-term generating facilities, the standards called for carbon reductions approaching 90 percent, with carbon capture and storage forming a significant part of the federal compliance structure. The Biden administration projected the regulations would prevent approximately 1 billion metric tons or more of greenhouse gas emissions through 2047. Those federal carbon requirements are now being removed from the power sector. EPA estimates its broader action could eliminate more than $300 billion in costs for the energy industry. The agency contends the repeal will leave electric utilities with greater flexibility to determine which generating facilities remain in service, where new capacity is constructed and which technologies receive investment as the country enters a period of substantially higher electricity consumption. That increase in demand is already influencing decisions across the American electrical system. Utilities are preparing for additional power consumption from data centers, artificial intelligence computing facilities, advanced manufacturing, residential development and other large users. Feder-

al energy officials have increasingly concentrated on maintaining dependable generating capacity while utilities and grid operators reassess projections that have changed considerably from the relatively modest demand growth experienced during portions of the previous two decades. Coal, once the dominant fuel behind American electricity production, has steadily lost market share to natural gas and renewable generation. Natural gas has simultaneously developed into one of the country’s principal electricity sources and is positioned prominently in utility proposals for new generating capacity. The administration argues that federal carbon requirements could accelerate coal plant retirements while increasing the expense and complexity of constructing new natural gas facilities. Industry organizations supporting the repeal maintain that retaining more generating resources can provide grid operators with additional capacity as electricity consumption expands. Environmental and public health organizations are preparing legal challenges, arguing that removal of the standards will permit greater greenhouse gas emissions from generating facilities capable of remaining in operation for decades.

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see EPA, page 11

By John Oliver Four nationally touring musicians will move through Grants Pass on consecutive September nights, putting two local venues on the fall concert calendar and pairing the second performance with a fundraiser for the Grants Pass Museum of Art. Cristina Vane and Madeline Hawthorne open the two-night run Wednesday, Sept. 23, at The Hivve, followed Thursday, Sept. 24, by The Rough & Tumble and Flagship Romance at the Grants Pass Performing Arts Center. The back-to-back bookings bring four working touring acts into the city within roughly 24 hours, spanning blues, folk, Americana, bluegrass influences and harmony-driven acoustic music. Vane arrives in Grants Pass with a career shaped by several corners of American roots music. A singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, she works across guitar, banjo, blues and old-time traditions and has progressed from performing on the Venice Beach boardwalk to an extensive national touring schedule. Her performance history includes appearances alongside or opening for Molly Tuttle, Sam Bush, Bob Weir and Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band. Vane has also shared a stage with Billy Strings during his String the Halls performances, placing her among a generation of musicians carrying traditional American sounds into contemporary touring circuits. Wednesday's concert pairs Vane with Montana-based singer-songwriter Madeline Hawthorne, whose music blends Americana, rock and roots influences. Hawthorne's 2024 album, “Tales From Late Nights & Long Drives,” grew from the experience of traveling, writing and performing across the country, giving the Grants Pass audience another artist whose catalog has been developed largely from life on the road. The Sept. 23 performance also reaches beyond the concert venue. One dollar from each presale ticket will go to A Greater Applegate, the nonprofit organization working on community projects throughout the neighboring Applegate Valley. Less than a day later, the city's live-music schedule shifts to the Grants Pass Performing Arts Center. The Rough & Tumble and Flagship Romance take over Thursday night's program for a performance benefiting the Grants Pass Museum of Art. Both duos have previously performed in Grants Pass and return with years of touring experience behind them.

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see TWO, page 13

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Wednesday, September 16, 2026

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OREGON Grants Pass Council Asked to Establish Leadership Limits for City Advisory Bodies By John Oliver A proposal submitted to the Grants Pass City Council would establish a two-year limit on consecutive service as chair of the city's boards, committees, commissions and task forces, creating a uniform leadership policy across municipal advisory bodies while leaving the terms of their individual members unchanged. Josephine County resident Toni Webb is asking councilors to direct city staff to prepare an ordinance allowing a member to serve no more than two consecutive one-year terms as chair of the same advisory body. Once those two terms are completed, the member would remain eligible to serve on the body but would have to wait two years before again becoming eligible for its chairmanship. The proposal is confined to leadership positions. It would not impose term limits on committee or commission members, alter the composition or size of an advisory body, shorten an appointment or displace anyone currently serving. Webb is also proposing that the ordinance operate prospectively, with chair service occurring before its effective date excluded from the calculation. The request would establish a common standard across a wide range of municipal advisory bodies whose responsibilities extend into transportation, budgeting, public art, historic preservation, parks, public safety, tourism, planning and urban forestry. Webb's memorandum identifies the Bikeways and Walkways Committee, Budget Committee, Committee on Public Art, Historical Buildings and Sites Commission, Parks Advisory Committee, Public Safety Advisory Committee, Solid Waste Agency, Tourism Advisory Committee, Urban Area Planning Commission and Urban Tree Advisory Committee, along with city task forces. While those bodies perform different functions, the proposed ordinance would apply the

same leadership restriction to each: two consecutive one-year terms as chair, followed by two years outside the chairmanship before that member could again hold the position on the same body. Webb's memorandum bases the request on the responsibilities entrusted to advisory-body chairs. Conducting meetings involves managing agendas, maintaining orderly discussion, recognizing members, navigating disagreement and moving proceedings toward decisions or recommendations. Her proposal would periodically place those responsibilities with different members while allowing experienced former chairs to continue participating in the work of the body. The two-year limit is intended to provide continuity without allowing the chairmanship to remain indefinitely with one individual. Webb's memorandum describes the first year as an opportunity to develop proficiency in conducting public meetings, with a second consecutive year providing time to carry ongoing work forward. The required two-year interval would then transfer those responsibilities to another member before a former chair could become eligible again.

The proposal also addresses succession within the city's volunteer advisory structure. Webb maintains that rotating leadership would give vice chairs and other members opportunities to acquire practical experience conducting public meetings, overseeing discussion and presenting the work of an advisory body to the City Council. Members who later move into other boards, commissions or public-service positions would do so with direct experience in municipal proceedings. Webb is asking the Council to establish the restriction through an ordinance rather than a City Charter amendment. Her memorandum cites Chapter III of the Grants Pass City Charter and the Council's authority involving boards and commissions as the basis for adopting a uniform rule without referring a charter change to voters. Terms and operating provisions for Grants Pass advisory bodies are established individually through their respective ordinances and resolutions. Webb's memorandum identifies the absence of a general citywide standard governing the duration of consecutive chair service as the issue her proposed ordinance would address.

The recommendation would not replace those individual provisions governing membership. Instead, it would overlay a single rule governing consecutive service in the chair position while preserving existing appointment structures for the people serving on those bodies. Webb also supplied examples from other Oregon municipalities. Lake Oswego's municipal code limits a member to two consecutive oneyear terms as chair or co-chair under its uniform provisions for advisory boards, committees and commissions. Ashland's policies governing advisory committees and commissions restrict consecutive annual terms for chairs and vice chairs. The memorandum also cites the League of Oregon Cities Municipal Handbook and its discussion of annual chair elections and restrictions on terms of service. Under Webb's proposed language, a member elected chair could serve a second consecutive one-year term before relinquishing the position. That person could remain fully involved as a member during the following two years and could subsequently become eligible to serve as chair again. No service completed before the ordinance became effective would count toward the limit. The memorandum is a request for Council action and does not alter existing city policy. Councilors would first have to decide whether to direct staff to prepare an ordinance. Any resulting legislation would then proceed through the city's ordinance process before a uniform chair limit could become part of Grants Pass municipal policy. If the Council ultimately adopts the framework Webb submitted, the tenure of committee and commission members would remain governed by their existing provisions. The change would apply specifically to who may occupy the chair and for how many consecutive years that person may hold the position.

Central Oregon Homelessness Falls 19 Percent as 1,800 People Move Into Permanent Housing By Ellen Ward Central Oregon has posted its first decline in homelessness in five years, with 1,800 people moving into permanent housing this year as the region recorded a 19.1 percent reduction in the number of people experiencing homelessness. The Homeless Leadership Coalition delivered the latest regional numbers last week before the House Interim Committee on Housing and Homelessness, detailing a shift from several years of rapidly increasing homelessness to a year in which the overall count moved downward. The decline follows an extended period in which Central Oregon communities struggled with rising numbers of people living without shelter, including children and families. Since 2022, the region has experienced some of the highest rates of unsheltered youth and family homelessness in the nation, while local organizations worked with limited shelter space, services and regional infrastructure. State funding expanded those efforts, allowing cities, counties, nonprofit organizations, churches and community providers to increase shelter and housing services while developing a broader regional network for moving people from homelessness into permanent housing. This year, 1,800 people made that move.

The result was a 19.1 percent decline across Central Oregon and the first regional decrease reported in five years. Before the turnaround, homelessness in the region had climbed dramatically, including periods when increases exceeded 89 percent annually, according to information presented to the committee. “This is what we want to see: our state investments making an impact and housing people in our communities,” committee chair Rep. Pam Marsh said. “I am enormously grateful to the local organizations, cities and counties, nonprofits, churches, and community volunteers who sustain these services and take care of our neighbors.” The figures presented in Salem also placed

continued shelter funding before legislators as Oregon begins looking toward future spending decisions. The Statewide Shelter Program supports shelter operations and services used by communities working with people who remain unhoused while permanent placements are pursued. Rep. Emerson Levy said Central Oregon’s reduction has been accompanied by continued demand for shelter and services, particularly among younger residents. “Central Oregon has seen tangible results, including a 19% reduction in homelessness in our region,” Levy said. “Maintaining support for shelter and services through the Statewide Shelter Program is vital to preserving these gains and ensuring

communities can continue responding effectively to local needs.” Children and teenagers remain part of that concern. Central Oregon’s experience with unsheltered youth and family homelessness has been one of the more difficult elements of the region’s housing crisis, putting pressure on shelters and organizations serving families while permanent housing is located. Rep. Jason Kropf said the housing numbers reflect work being carried out locally after state money reaches Central Oregon. “We are continuing to see progress on tackling homelessness in Central Oregon,” Kropf said. “We owe that progress to the people and non-profits in our communities who turn our state investments into more people housed.” The latest count does not mean homelessness has disappeared from Central Oregon. Shelters and service organizations continue working with people without permanent housing, and the region continues to face demand from families, children and adults needing shelter and assistance. What changed this year can be counted: 1,800 people entered permanent housing, and Central Oregon’s homeless population fell 19.1 percent after five consecutive years without a decline.

GRANTS PASS TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

RELENTLESS HEROES 13TH ANNUAL DEVASTATIONAL GOLF TOURNAMENT Saturday, September 19, 2026 Grants Pass Golf Club Shotgun Start • 9:00 A.M.

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES Support Southern Oregon veterans while showcasing your business to hundreds of golfers, families, and community members during one of Josephine County’s premier annual charity golf tournaments. • Sponsorships help Relentless Heroes continue providing emergency assistance and essential support to local veterans when they need it most. Your partnership directly helps fund programs that assist veterans facing unexpected hardships throughout Southern Oregon. • Businesses may also contribute raffle prizes, silent auction items, or other event donations to help maximize fundraising efforts. • Join the growing list of local businesses making a difference for those who have served our country. • Become a sponsor today and stand with our local veterans.

GOLFERS & TEAMS Gather your friends, coworkers, or family and register your team for a day of golf in support of Southern Oregon veterans. • Tw0-Person Team Entry: $250 • Enjoy a fun-filled day featuring golf, contests, raffles, silent auction opportunities, awards, food, and community fellowship while helping raise funds that stay right here in Southern Oregon. • Whether you’re an experienced golfer or simply looking to support a great cause, every swing helps make a difference. • Please remember: Collared shirts are required for all players. • Space is limited, so teams are encouraged to register early.

“EVERY VETERAN, EVERY DAY” Relentless Heroes is a Southern Oregon nonprofit organization dedicated to providing emergency assistance and support to veterans throughout our region.

For sponsorship information, player registration, or volunteer opportunities, visit:

www.RelentlessHeroes.org

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

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THE SOUTHERN OREGON GOVERNMENT WATCH EDITORIAL BY JAY MEREDITH, CPA | INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST

Former Josephine County Commissioners John West and Herman Baertschiger have become red herring specialists ACCORDING TO A GOOGLE AI SEARCH, red herring is a clue, statement, or piece of information that misleads, distracts, or shifts attention away from the central issue or important question. The same Google search says that the meaning of red herring as used in arguments and politics is as follows: Speakers use a red herring as a logical fallacy to bring up an off-topic point that changes the subject and avoids a tough question. Red herring is the first term that came to mind after I read the statements and arguments submitted to the Josephine County Voters Pamphlet for the upcoming general election by former Josephine County Commissioners John West, Herman Baertschiger, and also by other political allies of these two men. On the afternoon of Monday September 14th, the final Voters Pamphlet for the upcoming November General Election was placed on the County Clerk’s section of the Josephine County website. Printed Voters Pamphlets will begin arriving in the mail soon, and we’re only about a month away from ballots landing in local mailboxes. Former Commissioner John West, who was recalled by about 62% of those who voted in his December 2024 recall election, along with Herman Baertschiger, appear to have collaborated with a few other political allies (in my opinion) to place a total of nine arguments against the Sheriff’s jail levy renewal measure. As discussed in recent months, this levy renewal, if authorized by voters, would simply extend the property tax rate for jail and juvenile detention services for another five years at exactly the same property tax rate as it’s been for the last ten years. The levy currently in place expires next year, and by law local option levies in Oregon can be no longer than five years in term. Close to five years ago, Josephine County voters approved this levy renewal by a landslide vote of close to 66% yes. That’s about the highest percentage yes vote a Josephine County law enforcement-related property tax measure has ever received in modern times. It may in fact be the highest in modern times. After going without adequate jail services funding during the County’s financial crisis from 2012-2017 and not being able to hold many criminals accountable to the law, voters were solidly in favor of renewing this levy the last time around. John West was recalled as a County Commissioner less than two years ago and is now running in this upcoming election to get his commissioner seat back. Herman Baertschiger served as a Josephine County Commissioner from 2021 to 2024, regularly voted with John West, and according to the John West recall committee would have also likely faced a similar recall vote in 2024 had his term not been ending in 2024. Droves of local voters had one main overarching concern about John West and Herman Baertschiger back in 2023 and 2024. And that is, they ignored the will of the people in many ways. These two men are now ignoring the will of the people yet again, and in my opinion this is an attempt to get back in control of Josephine County government. John West, again in my opinion, is ignoring the will of the people by attacking a critical law enforcement funding measure that 66% of voters approved the last time it needed to be renewed by voters. West is also ignoring the 62% of voters that said he should be recalled as a Josephine County commissioner in December 2024. Former commissioner Herman Baertschiger

has spent thousands of dollars on a recent court case that unsuccessfully challenged the ballot title language for this levy renewal. And now Baertschiger spent even more money by submitting a voters pamphlet argument against the County levy renewal measure. And many of the arguments against the levy renewal measure submitted by political friends of West and Baertschiger used the same language that Baertschiger used in recent weeks on local radio talk shows when advocating against the levy. It’s interesting that Baertschiger has come out so strong against this jail-juvenile levy renewal measure since this is exactly the same tax rate that he approved for the ballot when he was commissioner five years ago during the last time this levy needed to be renewed by voters. Perhaps Baertschiger is upset about not being appointed as a temporary commissioner when there were two commissioner vacancies early in 2026. Or perhaps he wants his political buddy John West to get back into office. Or maybe it’s both. I can’t think of too many other logical reasons why these two men and their political allies would oppose critical law enforcement funding that two thirds of Josephine County voters were in favor of renewing the last time it needed to be renewed by voters. In my opinion, their current campaign against the jail-juvenile funding renewal is a red herring to make the current commissioners look bad and to try and work their way back into a position of power in the Josephine County courthouse. Measure 17-129 is the “Renewal of Current Five-Year Jail and Juvenile Local Option Tax.” “QUESTION: Shall Josephine County levy $0.93 per $1,000 assessed value for jail and juvenile detention operations for five years beginning 2027-2028? This measure renews current local option taxes. SUMMARY: This measure renews for five years a current local option tax at the existing rate of $0.93 per $1,000.00 of assessed property value. By law, the revenue from this measure would be used only for adult jail operations, juvenile detention operations, and administrative expenses.” The bottom line is that this levy would be the exact same property tax rate as it’s been for the last 10 years since this levy was first approved by voters. And it funds the exact same services, legally speaking. Baertschiger has tried to make the case that it’s not a renewal due to very minor language changes between the last renewal and the current renewal. His arguments are nothing but red herrings, and even the local circuit court judge agreed this is a simple “renewal” measure when Baertschiger challenged it in court. Current commissioners had a significant

amount of reasons why they would have been justified by increasing the tax rate during the current renewal cycle. But they didn’t…they left the tax rate exactly the same. And the commissioners even confirmed in a public meeting last week that there are no specific plans for any other related funding measures in the foreseeable future as long as voters renew this levy again. Property tax rates cannot be increased in Oregon jurisdictions without a vote of the people. But what we’re voting on this year is not a rate increase, despite voters pamphlet arguments by West and friends trying to convince you otherwise. Each and every one of the nine arguments opposed to this levy renewal in the voters pamphlet were authored by political allies of John West and Herman Baertschiger. One political ally submitted three of them, John West submitted two of them, and each of the authors are well known to be political friends of West and Baertschiger. One red herring is how much the levy is projected to bring in during the next five years versus what it brought in 10 years ago when voters first approved this same tax rate. As if 10 years of new property developments in the County and 10 years of inflation in assessed values is somehow a reason that we don’t need funding to operate the jail and juvenile detention anymore. Baertschiger’s argument tries to convince voters that this is a tax increase when it’s the exact same tax rate he himself approved for the ballot five years ago. Former commissioner Andreas Blech, one of the wealthiest individuals that lives in Josephine County and one of the largest property owners in Josephine County, repeated many of the red herrings mentioned by Baertschiger in his own argument submitted to the voters pamphlet. Blech ends his voters pamphlet argument with “JOIN US WITH A NO VOTE so that we can come up with a much more affordable solution,” despite this levy renewal measure having the exact same tax rate that it has had for the last ten years. I could literally write a book about the other red herrings present in the arguments against this jail-juvenile levy renewal ballot measure. But in summary fashion they include comments such as how much it will cost every man, woman, and child in the County, average income levels in Josephine County, buzz words such as burden on families and seniors, how much it costs per bed per day to operate the jail, and many other irrelevant red herring-type arguments. Recalled commissioner John West, who submitted two of the nine arguments against the levy renewal measure in the voters pamphlet, even presented several statements that he calls FACTS which in my opinion some are actually false state-

ments. West tries to make the false case that none of the funding from this measure will go to the Juvenile Justice program (which county officials say is a false statement by West and all one has to do is read the ballot measure to see this is a false statement). Throughout 2026 and in this voters pamphlet, recalled commissioner John West claims these law enforcement programs could be funded with a slightly lower tax rate by cutting the budgets in other departments and giving the funding to these programs. Except West keeps failing to provide any specifics of how he would recommend cutting budgets in order to accomplish this. And if West really did have a good viable plan to do this, he should have vocalized the plan months ago when current commissioners began deliberating on this year’s levy renewal process. In my opinion, this isn’t the first time John West and Herman Baertschiger have tried to “defund the police,” in a manner of speaking. After Josephine County voters approved a new Law Enforcement Service District for the Sheriff in 2023, this was supposed to provide enough funding for 27 additional staff members in the Sheriff’s office. The very next budget season, former Commissioners West and Baertschiger only allowed 5 newly funded positions in the Sheriff’s office. At one point during budget deliberations in 2024, John West advocated for giving the Sheriff only 3 newly funded positions. And so, in a snub to voters, West and Baertschiger only approved about 20% of the new positions that were promised to voters if they approved the law enforcement district. That year, close to $2 million of general fund money was taken away from the Sheriff’s budget as compared to the years before voters approved the law enforcement district. So, we voters began paying for a tax, but not receiving the services we were promised, and the “police” were defunded by about $2 million. And that’s the reason I personally joined the John West recall committee in 2024. I could not tolerate defunding the County police, so to speak. If you look at John West’s own candidate statement in this new Voters Pamphlet, West brags about adding $2 million to “County Reserves.” In my expert CPA analysis, the $2 million in additional County Reserves added in that next year had nothing to do with any sort of cost cutting measure approved by West or other commissioners. The $2 million had everything to do with ignoring the will of voters and defunding law enforcement by close to $2 million that budget year. We are not big fans of defunding the police here in Grants Pass and Josephine County. We appreciate our law enforcement, justice programs, and local fire departments. Public Safety and law enforcement levy renewals have traditionally been high percentage yes votes over the last 10 years in both Grants Pass and Josephine County. We don’t want to go back to the financial crisis days from 2012-2017 when we significantly defunded the police at the County level due to reductions in federal timber-related funding. Despite many reasons current commissioners had to increase the proposed tax rate during this renewal cycle, commissioners kept the rate exactly the same for this ballot measure. As stated in the arguments in favor of the levy renewal in the Voters Pamphlet, please join the Chamber of Commerce, Citizens for Responsible Government, and all three current commissioners who personally endorse voting YES for the Jail-Juvenile levy renewal Measure 17-129.

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Wednesday, September 16, 2026

GRANTS PASS TRIBUNE

NATIONAL Bob Mackie, the Man Who Dressed Generations in a Little More Magic, Dies at 87 By Ellen Ward Bob Mackie spent more than six decades making sure some of the world's brightest stars sparkled just a little brighter. The legendary American costume designer, whose extraordinary imagination dressed everyone from Carol Burnett and Cher to Diana Ross, Tina Turner and Elton John, died Monday in Palm Springs, California. He was 87. Mackie died from pneumonia, according to his publicist, leaving behind far more than closets filled with feathers, sequins, beads and rhinestones. His life's work became part of the visual history of American entertainment, an unmistakable collection of glamour, humor and theatrical extravagance that accompanied some of the most memorable performers of the past 60 years. Mackie never seemed particularly interested in making someone simply look nice. Nice was ordinary. He dressed people to make an entrance. Sometimes that meant Cher appearing beneath towering feathers and shimmering crystals. Sometimes it meant Diana Ross wrapped in glamorous theatrical elegance. Sometimes it meant Tina Turner taking command of a stage in a costume designed to move right along with her. And sometimes it meant Carol Burnett walking down a staircase wearing a curtain, complete with the curtain rod still stretched across her shoulders. That was the wonderful contradiction at the center of Mackie's career. He could create breathtaking glamour and then happily use those same talents to get a laugh. Born Robert Gordon Mackie in Monterey Park, California, in 1939, he grew up fascinated by the fantasy of Hollywood. He studied advertising and illustration at Pasadena City College and later attended the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles, eventually finding his way into the Hollywood costume departments he had once admired from afar. His career began quietly, with a pencil. Mackie worked as a sketch artist for some of Hollywood's most respected costume designers, including Edith Head and Jean Louis. In 1962, while working for Jean Louis, the young Mackie sketched a dress destined to become part of American history. It was the sheer, crystal-covered gown Marilyn Monroe wore to Madison Square Garden when she sang Happy Birthday to President John F. Kennedy. Mackie was barely beginning his career, yet his hand had already helped create one of the most recognizable dresses ever worn. Television soon provided a much larger canvas.

His early work included The Judy Garland Show and a professional partnership with designer Ray Aghayan. In 1967, Mackie and Aghayan shared an Emmy for their costume work on Alice Through the Looking Glass, an early indication that the young designer who had started by drawing other people's ideas was developing a style unmistakably his own. Then came Carol Burnett. Mackie joined The Carol Burnett Show and remained there throughout its 11 seasons, creating costumes for Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Tim Conway, Lyle Waggoner and the seemingly endless procession of celebrities who walked onto its stage. The pace was relentless. Musical numbers, comedy sketches and guest appearances demanded new wardrobes week after week. Mackie somehow managed to make beautiful clothes funny and funny clothes beautiful. His most famous example required an old curtain. For the show's celebrated Gone with the Wind parody, Went With the Wind!, Mackie designed an absurdly grand green curtain gown for Burnett. Rather than disguising where the material supposedly came from, he left the curtain rod sticking straight across her shoulders. Burnett descended the staircase, the audience saw the rod, and television history had itself a costume. The dress became so beloved that it eventually entered the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Mackie was simultaneously developing another partnership that would help define both his career and the appearance of modern celebrity. Cher and Bob Mackie seemed made for one another. Her fearlessness gave him room to experiment, and his imagination gave her clothes capa-

ble of keeping up with her. Together they created an astonishing succession of television, concert and red-carpet appearances built around feathers, beads, crystals, sheer fabrics, dramatic headdresses and silhouettes that could never be mistaken for anyone else's work. Their collaboration endured for decades. Mackie dressed Cher through different eras of television and music, from her early variety-show years through concerts and major public appearances. His work eventually earned Emmys connected to Cher: Live in Concert and Cher: The Farewell Tour. Yet Mackie's world was much larger than one famous partnership. Diana Ross wore Mackie. Tina Turner wore Mackie. Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, Mitzi Gaynor, Ann-Margret, Madonna, Dolly Parton, Whitney Houston, Pink and Elton John all became part of a remarkable collection of entertainers who trusted him with the way audiences would remember seeing them. Those relationships helped turn Mackie into something unusual in the costume world: a designer whose name became nearly as recognizable as some of the celebrities he dressed. Hollywood noticed the craftsmanship behind the spectacle. Mackie received three Academy Award nominations for costume design, for Lady Sings the Blues, Funny Lady and Pennies From Heaven. Television brought more than 30 Emmy nominations and nine wins. In 2002, he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame. And he kept going. Broadway eventually brought Mackie another of his profession's highest honors when he designed the enormous wardrobe for The Cher Show. The musical required hundreds of costumes spanning the different periods of Cher's life and career, giving Mackie the unusual assignment of revisiting a visual history he had personally helped create. In 2019, at nearly 80 years old, Bob Mackie won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design of a Musical. There was something beautifully appropriate about it. The young man who had once sat behind a drawing board sketching dresses for other designers was still being celebrated at the highest levels of his profession nearly 60 years later. His imagination also escaped the boundaries of Hollywood. Mackie developed ready-to-wear fashion and later became known to millions of collectors through his elaborate Bob Mackie Barbie dolls. The

dolls carried the same sense of theatrical fantasy as his stage costumes, often appearing in extravagant gowns, feathers, jewels and dramatic headpieces. For people who could never own an original Mackie costume, there was suddenly a tiny piece of his world sitting on a shelf. Time did surprisingly little to diminish the appeal of his designs. As younger generations of entertainers discovered Mackie's archives, clothes created decades earlier returned to prominent stages and red carpets. Miley Cyrus, Zendaya and Taylor Swift were among the contemporary performers who embraced his work. Zendaya wore vintage Mackie while honoring Cher at the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, placing another generation inside a design vocabulary Mackie had begun developing before she was born. His life was not without profound sadness. Mackie's marriage to actress Marianne Nicholson, professionally known as Lulu Porter, ended in divorce. Their son, Robert Gordon Robin Mackie Jr., who became a makeup artist, died in 1993. Ray Aghayan, Mackie's longtime professional and personal partner, died in 2011. Mackie is survived by a granddaughter and two great-granddaughters. Through those losses and the enormous changes that swept through entertainment during his lifetime, Mackie continued doing what he had wanted to do since he was young: draw, design and create. His career traveled through an almost unbelievable stretch of American popular culture. He had a hand in Marilyn Monroe's famous presidential birthday dress. He helped define the visual comedy of Carol Burnett. He dressed Cher through decades of reinvention. He created glamour for Diana Ross and costumes capable of matching Tina Turner's electricity onstage. He dressed Broadway, Hollywood and Barbie, then lived long enough to watch a new generation enthusiastically rediscover his work. The rhinestones were never really the whole story. Behind all that sparkle was an artist who understood performers. Mackie knew when a costume needed to be glamorous, when it needed to be outrageous and when it needed to make an audience laugh before a single word was spoken. He also seemed to understand something wonderfully simple about show business. There was already plenty of ordinary clothing in the world. Bob Mackie made sure the stage had something else.

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GRANTS PASS TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

GRANTS PASS TRIBUNE

NATIONAL Seven Months After Nancy Guthrie Vanished, Masked Suspect and Ransom Trail Remain at Center of Unsolved Abduction By Ellen Ward Seven months after Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Arizona home, the image at the center of the case remains hauntingly simple: a masked, gloved man outside the 84-year-old woman’s residence during the hours surrounding her disappearance. His identity remains unknown. Guthrie has never been found. No arrest has been announced. The disappearance of Guthrie, mother of television journalist Savannah Guthrie, began Jan. 31 after she returned to her Catalina Foothills home outside Tucson following dinner with family. Her garage door opened shortly before 9:50 p.m. and closed minutes later. When she failed to attend church the following morning, concern brought family members back to the house. By that afternoon, authorities were searching for her. The case quickly moved far beyond an ordinary missing-person investigation. Evidence inside and around the residence pointed toward an abduction, bringing the FBI into an investigation that would soon include ransom demands, DNA testing, neighborhood surveillance, recovered clothing and thousands of tips from across the country. More than seven months later, the trail has produced evidence but no resolution. Doorbell-camera footage provided one of the clearest glimpses of what happened around Guthrie’s home. A masked man approximately 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, with an average build, was recorded on the property wearing gloves and carrying a black Ozark Trail Hiker Pack backpack. The footage also captured efforts

to interfere with the camera, including vegetation apparently positioned to obstruct its view. The unidentified man remains the principal figure authorities are seeking in connection with Guthrie’s abduction. Another question has grown increasingly important: whether the person responsible arrived that night with prior knowledge of Guthrie, her home and its security system. Reports that the masked man had definitely been recorded at the residence on an earlier day were disputed by Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos. Subsequent examination of recovered doorbell footage, however, left open the possibility that two videos were recorded on different days. If confirmed, that chronology could place an unidentified man at the property before Guthrie vanished and provide evidence of preparation preceding the abduction. That possibility has pushed the search

deeper into the weeks before Jan. 31. Surveillance recordings from neighboring homes and properties have been examined for vehicles, pedestrians and other activity that could establish when the residence first attracted attention and how the person responsible entered and left the area. The physical evidence has been less decisive. DNA recovered during the investigation has undergone testing, but authorities have not announced a match identifying the masked suspect. Gloves discovered roughly two miles from Guthrie’s home initially drew attention before testing failed to connect them with DNA recovered inside the residence. A hair collected from the home was also examined without producing a useful forensic lead. Then came the ransom messages. One communication demanded $4 million in cryptocurrency for Guthrie’s return and threatened a higher price if payment was not made. Another later claimed she had died shortly after being abducted and had been buried outdoors. No body has been recovered, and authorities have not confirmed that Guthrie is dead. The messages opened another complicated front in the case as fraudulent ransom attempts became mixed with communications that authorities could not readily dismiss. Federal investigators determined that some messages were extortion scams, while others remained under examination as potentially connected to the kidnapping. Two messages were eventually released publicly in late July, not simply for what they said but for how they were written. Their vocabulary, phras-

ing and sentence patterns offered another potential route toward an identification if someone recognized the writing. Authorities also indicated that information contained in at least one communication corresponded with evidence associated with Guthrie’s home, increasing its significance to the investigation. Still, the case has not produced the name the public has been waiting for. The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and FBI continue working through surveillance recordings, electronic information, forensic evidence and tips while reconstructing the narrow period between Guthrie’s return home Jan. 31 and the discovery of her disappearance Feb. 1. Her medical circumstances have added urgency from the beginning. Guthrie has difficulty walking, uses a pacemaker and requires daily heart medication. The FBI continues to list her as a missing vulnerable adult and is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to her recovery or the arrest and conviction of the person responsible. The passage of seven months has changed the size of the investigative record, but not its central mystery. Somewhere between the camera outside Nancy Guthrie’s home, the unidentified man concealed behind a mask, the forensic evidence collected inside the residence and the ransom messages that followed is the answer authorities have been pursuing since February. For now, Nancy Guthrie remains missing, the masked man remains unidentified and one of the nation’s most closely followed abduction investigations remains without an arrest.

GRANTS PASS TRIBUNE

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

GRANTS PASS TRIBUNE

NATIONAL

American Casualties Rise and Oil Tops $100 From page 1 stands at 18 dead and hundreds wounded since the opening attacks in February. Iran’s losses have been substantially higher, although an authoritative nationwide count remains unavailable. Recent assessments have placed reported Iranian deaths above 3,500, with tens of thousands wounded. The figures encompass a conflict in which military personnel, security forces and civilians have been killed, while restrictions on independent access inside Iran continue to complicate efforts to establish a complete accounting. American military operations have inflicted extensive damage on Iran’s conventional forces, including missile systems, naval assets, air defenses and command infrastructure. Those battlefield gains have not produced a permanent settlement. Tehran continues to retain the ability to launch missiles and drones, threaten commercial shipping and exert military pressure through armed organizations operating elsewhere in the Middle East. Nowhere has that remaining capability become more economically consequential than the Strait of Hormuz. Before the war, approximately one-fifth of the world’s daily crude oil and liquefied natural gas supply passed through the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. Roughly 125 large commercial vessels normally traveled through Hormuz each day. That traffic has fallen sharply during the conflict, dropping into single digits on some recent days as vessel operators confront attacks, military activity, escalating insurance costs and the possibility of losing ships and crews. The disruption has returned crude oil to prices not seen before the conflict transformed Persian Gulf shipping. Brent crude has been trading above $105 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate, the principal U.S. benchmark, has climbed above

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$100. Prices have moved several dollars within individual trading sessions as military strikes, shipping disruptions and signs of possible diplomacy alternately tighten and calm the market. The pressure is no longer confined to Hormuz. Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, a 745-mile system capable of carrying millions of barrels of oil from fields near the Persian Gulf toward Red Sea export terminals, became increasingly important as shipping through Hormuz deteriorated. Saudi authorities reported that a drone attack originating from Iraq temporarily disrupted the pipeline, striking one of the region’s principal alternatives for moving crude without sending tankers through the contested strait. At the other end of the Arabian Peninsula, Iranaligned Houthi forces in Yemen have intensified operations around the Red Sea and Saudi Arabia. Their position near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait places another critical international shipping passage within reach of a conflict already constraining traffic through Hormuz. Saudi Arabia has sought additional American assistance, while Washington has provided intelligence and targeting support without launching another major direct U.S. bombing campaign against the Houthis. Iraq has also become increasingly entangled in the conflict without the Iraqi government itself becoming an American adversary. Iran-aligned armed groups continue to operate inside Iraq, U.S. military personnel remain stationed there and attacks launched from Iraqi territory have carried consequences across national borders. An American service member counted among the conflict’s dead was killed in Iraq during the controlled detonation of an Iranian drone. The widening battlefield has complicated an American campaign that began with clearly stated military objectives. Washington sought to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, dismantle

major ballistic-missile and naval capabilities, reduce threats against American forces and regional partners, protect international shipping and weaken Tehran’s ability to project military power through allied armed groups. Months of strikes have destroyed a substantial amount of Iranian military hardware without settling the political disputes that produced the confrontation. Iran’s nuclear program, ballistic-missile capability, petroleum exports, American sanctions, freedom of navigation through Hormuz and Tehran’s relationships with armed groups throughout the region remain central points of disagreement. Diplomatic contacts have continued alongside the fighting. President Donald Trump has said Iran wants an agreement with the United States, remarks that briefly eased oil prices after another sharp increase. Planned Gulf discussions involving Iran were postponed, however, while Washington and Tehran remained divided over the scope and sequence of negotiations. Iran has sought to connect negotiations over its nuclear program with the American naval presence and restrictions surrounding Hormuz. Washington has continued to place Iran’s nuclear activities near the center of any broader agreement. Those competing demands have prevented temporary reductions in fighting from developing into a durable peace. The economic consequences are reaching Americans thousands of miles from the battlefield. Sustained crude prices above $100 can filter through gasoline, diesel, aviation, agriculture, manufacturing and freight transportation, particularly when the increase is driven by the physical interruption of petroleum shipments rather than ordinary market fluctuations. Middle Eastern refined-fuel exports have also been disrupted, adding another source of pressure to international energy markets.

For the families of American service members, the war has already carried a cost measured beyond oil prices and shipping statistics. Eighteen Americans have been killed and hundreds wounded during a conflict that began with a named military campaign expected to cripple Iran’s ability to threaten the United States and its regional interests. American forces accomplished extensive destruction during Epic Fury, yet continued Iranian attacks and the movement of hostilities into surrounding countries have kept U.S. personnel in combat months later. Washington and Tehran both have powerful reasons to end the fighting. Iran has absorbed severe military losses, damage to infrastructure and continuing economic pressure. The United States is sustaining costly military deployments while absorbing casualties and confronting an energy disruption capable of reaching American consumers and businesses. Neither government has yet accepted the political and security terms necessary to turn military pressure into a lasting agreement. By Wednesday, the formal Operation Epic Fury campaign will have been over for more than four months. The war that followed it remains unresolved. American forces are still operating across the region, Iran retains the ability to retaliate, shipping through one of the world’s most important petroleum corridors remains severely constrained and oil is again trading above $100 per barrel. After nearly seven months of fighting, the question confronting Washington is no longer whether the United States can strike Iran with overwhelming military force. American forces have already demonstrated that capability. The unanswered question is how the United States converts those battlefield gains into an agreement that brings its service members home without leaving the same threats that sent them into combat in the first place.

EPA Repeals Federal Carbon Limits

Fossil-fuel power plants account for approximately one-quarter of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, placing electricity generation among the country’s largest emitting sectors alongside transportation and other major components of the economy. The legal battle developing around Monday’s decision could ultimately carry consequences beyond the immediate repeal. EPA is separately pursuing a regulatory finding addressing whether greenhouse gas emissions from fossil-fuel power plants contribute sufficiently to dangerous air pollution to satisfy the Clean Air Act requirements the agency considers necessary before regulating that source category. EPA has argued that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases released by American power plants represent one component of worldwide emissions and that emissions from the domestic power sector do not satisfy the statutory threshold necessary for the regulations previously imposed. Should that interpretation survive the federal rulemaking process and expected court challenges, a future administration attempting to restore comparable power plant carbon standards could encounter an additional legal obstacle. Rather than simply issuing replacement emission requirements, a future EPA could first have to reverse the agency’s determination concerning whether power sector greenhouse gases qualify for regulation under that portion of the Clean Air Act.

The dispute continues a lengthy legal contest over the reach of federal power plant regulation. In West Virginia v. EPA in 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court restricted EPA’s ability to use the Clean Air Act to reorganize electricity generation across the industry through the regulatory approach contained in the earlier Clean Power Plan. The Biden administration responded by developing its 2024 standards around emission controls and technologies applied more directly to individual generating facilities. The current administration is challenging both the necessity of those standards and the regulatory foundation supporting them, extending a broader change in federal greenhouse gas policy during 2026. Earlier this year, EPA revoked the 2009 Endangerment Finding that had served as a central scientific and legal foundation for federal greenhouse gas regulation of motor vehicles. Monday’s power plant action carries that regulatory approach into stationary electricity-generating facilities. The repeal does not erase the larger body of environmental requirements governing coal and natural gas plants. Generating facilities remain subject to other federal and state provisions regulating pollutants and plant operations, including requirements involving sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter and hazardous air pollutants. Those regulations operate through separate provisions of environmental law and are not automatically eliminated by repeal of the carbon standards.

The practical effect will also vary considerably by state. Some states maintain their own greenhouse gas requirements, renewable-energy programs, clean-electricity standards or statutory schedules governing fossil-fuel generation. Others rely more heavily on federal standards, regional electricity markets and utility planning decisions. The Pacific Northwest provides a timely example of how the national argument over generating capacity extends across state boundaries. Federal energy officials recently directed that a coal-fired generating unit at Washington’s Centralia facility remain available because of concerns over electrical reliability in the Northwest. Combined with Monday’s nationwide EPA decision, the action places the continued availability of coal generation within a larger federal effort focused on maintaining sufficient electricity supplies across regional grids. Oregon remains directly connected to those regional decisions despite generating policies that differ from neighboring states. Western utilities exchange electricity through an interconnected transmission system, allowing generating conditions in Washington, Idaho, Montana, California and elsewhere to influence power availability throughout the Northwest. Decisions involving the retirement, preservation or construction of major generating facilities can therefore carry regional consequences well beyond the state where a plant operates. The next contest will move through federal regulatory proceedings and into the courts. The repeal

will proceed through the federal publication process, while environmental and public health organizations are expected to challenge EPA’s action. The agency’s separate proceeding over whether power plant greenhouse gases satisfy the Clean Air Act threshold will follow its own regulatory course and could produce another significant round of litigation. Those cases will confront a question that has followed federal climate policy through several presidential administrations: how extensively the Clean Air Act authorizes EPA to regulate carbon emissions from the electricity industry. The answer will influence not only existing coal and natural gas plants but the regulatory conditions confronting utilities planning generating facilities designed to remain in service for several decades. Across the American power industry, those legal questions are arriving as utilities make some of their largest long-range generation decisions in years. Electricity demand is climbing, aging generating facilities are approaching retirement, new natural gas projects are being considered, data-center development is accelerating and states continue pursuing widely different energy policies. EPA’s September 14 action changes the federal rules governing those decisions. The resulting fight over carbon emissions, generating capacity and Clean Air Act authority now shifts to the courts, utilities and electrical grids where the next generation of American power production is already taking shape.

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Wednesday, September 16, 2026

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Wednesday, September 16, 2026

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COMMUNITY Relentless Heroes Sets 13th Annual Devastational Golf Tournament By John Oliver Golfers, veterans, local businesses and community supporters will gather at Grants Pass Golf Club on Saturday, September 19, for the 13th Annual Relentless Heroes Devastational Golf Tournament, a longstanding Southern Oregon fundraiser supporting veterans who encounter unexpected financial hardships. The tournament begins with a 9 a.m. shotgun start at the golf club, located at 230 Espey Road. Two-person teams will compete during a day that includes golf, contests, raffles, silent-auction opportunities, awards and food. Team registration is $250, collared shirts are required for players, and space is limited. Relentless Heroes has used the annual tournament to raise money for its veteran-assistance programs while providing businesses and residents with several ways to participate. Companies may sponsor the tournament, while businesses and individuals can contribute raffle prizes, silent-auction merchandise or other donations that supplement proceeds generated through player registration. The organization serves veterans throughout Southern Oregon, with assistance directed toward emergency expenses and other essential needs arising from unexpected financial difficulties. Its programs are intended to provide help in circumstances where a veteran needs immediate assistance and other available programs may not address the expense or provide resources within the necessary timeframe. Relentless Heroes traces its beginning to 2013 and later organized as a nonprofit dedicated to veterans. The Grants Pass organization is federally recognized as a 501(c) (3) military and veterans organization and has maintained its work in Southern Oregon through fundraising, donations, volunteer

5 DAY OUTLOOK SOURCE: WEATHER.COM

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THURSDAY participation and community partnerships. Its annual golf tournament has accompanied much of that history. The organization marked the tournament's 10th year in 2023, followed by its 12th event in 2025. Saturday's tournament continues that progression with the 13th annual gathering at Grants Pass Golf Club. Founder and president Eric Hennings has remained involved with Relentless Heroes throughout its development. Previous accounts of the organization's activities have documented assistance for homeless veterans and veteran families experiencing financial difficulties, while its current programs provide a way for veterans to request help directly from the organization. The tournament represents one portion of that year-round operation. Relentless Heroes also accepts donations, works with volunteers and maintains an assistance program for veterans facing circumstances that require financial support. The organization's continuing message, “Every Veteran, Every Day,” appears prominently with this year's tournament. For the business community, sponsorships provide another source of tournament revenue. Sponsorship contributions help fi-

nance the organization's emergency-assistance programs, while donated goods can be used for raffles and the silent auction. The combination allows fundraising to extend beyond the registration fees collected from golfers. The two-person format also keeps participation relatively simple. Friends, relatives, coworkers and other community members can register together, and the tournament is open to experienced golfers as well as recreational players participating primarily to support the veterans organization. After 13 annual tournaments, the Devastational has become a recurring September fundraiser for Relentless Heroes and its Southern Oregon veterans programs. This year's event again places the organization at Grants Pass Golf Club, with the morning competition and accompanying fundraising activities providing financial support for assistance delivered throughout the region. Registration remains available for two-person teams ahead of the September 19 tournament, with sponsorships and donated raffle or silent-auction items also being accepted as Relentless Heroes prepares for its 13th annual event.

Two Nights, Four Touring Acts Bring Americana and Folk Music to Grants Pass From page 1 The Rough & Tumble has built its sound around acoustic instrumentation, close vocal arrangements and narrative songwriting rooted in folk and Americana traditions. Flagship Romance likewise centers its performances on two-part harmony and acoustic arrangements, creating a bill constructed around musicianship and songwriting rather than largescale production. Proceeds from Thursday's performance will support the Grants Pass Museum of Art, connecting a touring concert with one of the city's established cultural organizations. The two September performances arrive during a fall calendar that is bringing a wider range of touring musicians through Grants Pass. Local concert promoters have increasingly worked with artists traveling the Interstate 5 corridor, where Grants Pass sits between larger performance markets in California and the Pacific Northwest. For musicians already moving north or south between tour dates,

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the city provides another stage without requiring a substantial departure from the primary West Coast touring route. That touring circuit intersects with a local music community that operates on a much smaller scale throughout the year, from openmic nights and brewery performances to theaters, community events and independent concert productions. Grants Pass musician Trevor Hanks represents one side of that local scene. His songwriting has traveled considerably farther than his hometown performances, with his music appearing in the television series “Tulsa King” and “The Rookie.” Hanks has continued performing locally while his recorded work has reached national television audiences. September's two-night run will not be the final appearance by touring musicians in Grants Pass this fall. Judy Collins is scheduled to perform Oct. 2 at the Historic Rogue Theatre as part of her farewell tour, bringing a career spanning more

than six decades of American folk music to downtown Grants Pass. A week later, the focus returns to regional performers when Hanks organizes the first Local Legends Music Fest at Weekend Beer Company on Oct. 9, assembling Southern Oregon musicians for a locally centered addition to the fall schedule. Before those October performances arrive, Grants Pass will have two consecutive September evenings devoted to touring folk and Americana music. Cristina Vane and Madeline Hawthorne begin the run Sept. 23 at The Hivve. The Rough & Tumble and Flagship Romance follow Sept. 24 at the Grants Pass Performing Arts Center, where the music will also serve as a fundraiser for the Grants Pass Museum of Art. For a city accustomed to seeing touring musicians pass through Southern Oregon on Interstate 5, four of them will be stopping to play before continuing down the road.

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