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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (June 24, 2015)
Comics! — 10B Faith Page — 8A Talking 'Timmy' — 7A Summer strides NOTICE: EARLY DEADLINES The Sentinel offi ce will be closed Friday, July 3 in observance of Independence Day. Early Deadlines for classifi ed ads, display ads, legal notices and editorial submissions will be July 2 at noon. Improvements abound for Lions, page 1B $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24, 2015 SOUTH LANE COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889 VOLUME 126 • NUMBER 52 King Estate to buy another lot in Industrial Park Also inside: City Council approves offer for lot adjacent to former Side Pocket building BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel I t looks like King Estate Winery’s plans to expand its operations into Cottage Grove will be more expansive than fi rst announced. At its Monday-night meeting, the Cottage Grove City Council quickly and unanimously ap- proved an offer from the Lorane- based winemaker to buy Lot 13 in the City’s Industrial Park, a lot situated across R Street from the 3.9-acre building — the for- mer Side Pocket Foods building — that the company announced it had purchased last week. King Estate offered $131,738 for the lot, an offer that pleased City Manager Richard Meyers, who said he had not been defi nitively told what the winery wishes to do with the additional space. (A representative of King Es- tate could not be contacted after the meeting and prior to press time Monday). Meyers did state that winery representatives had asked a lot of questions about the possibilities of the property, including whether a pipeline might be constructed over the road between the Side Pocket building and the new lot. Meyers said the purchase will take care of three years of debt payments on the Industrial Park; the purchase eased con- cerns about the need to make payments on the park, and in fact, an executive session was called early in the meeting to discuss King Estate’s offer due to the impact the purchase was expected to have on the City’s 2015-16 budget, which was ap- proved later Monday evening. The former Side Pocket build- ing — which has been shut- tered since its previous owner was convicted on charges of tax evasion — has been slated to become the headquarters of King Estate's Acrobat brand, a less costly offering than its signature wines but one that Northwest Area Manager Justin King called "a good bottle of juice to have on the table with- out stretching the budget." King added that Acrobat has been the "fastest growing brand in Ore- gon history" since his father, Ed King, introduced the label dur- ing the recession in 2008. Please see WINERY, Page 10A Speed limit sign Getting a reading Summer programs aim request starts to foster youth reading, page 6A council discussion See Jane clean up Many, including citizens present, believe speeding is a problem Rapier volunteers to tackle litter BY JON STINNETT AND MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel I n order to interview Jane Rapier, it is fi rst necessary to fi nd Jane Rapier — a task that can be surpris- ingly more diffi cult than one might imagine. Sure, many Cottage Grove resi- dents see the 76-year old frequently, and her efforts to clean up some of the community’s frequent targets for trash have led to more requests from locals to recognize her in her home- town newspaper than this reporter has witnessed in nearly a decade on the job. But it can nevertheless be tough to talk to somebody who re- fuses to sit still. “I just like doing things,” Rapier says. “When I’m not busy, I fi nd things to do.” For about two years now, one of Rapier’s favorite things to do has been to don an orange vest with her name emblazoned on the front, pick photo by Jon Stinnett up her trusty trash-grabber and a Jane Rapier picks up trash next to the Cottage Grove Connector. Rapier has been recognized by the City Council for her efforts. Please see JANE, Page 10A A citizen’s request for a number of speed limit signs in a Cottage Grove neighborhood touched off an extensive discussion at City Hall of the problem of speeding drivers and crosswalk safety Monday night. The lion’s share of a City Council meeting that also featured the adoption of the City’s 2015-16 budget came under an agenda item seeking to place eight speed-limit signs in the Douglas Ave./Lane Road area of Cottage Grove, and while city staff advised against installing the new signs, members of the Council and the public seemed to agree that speeding and crosswalk safety were issues that de- served a closer look. In his staff report, Public Works Director Jan Wellman told the Council that additional speed- limit signs in problem areas would do very little to curb speeding there. “Increasing the number of signs doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Wellman said. “I’m not downplaying the problem. We have speeding on every street in city, all the time, throughout Cottage Grove. But I think if we start reacting like this, approving extra stop signs without letting law enforcement know there’s a problem, it could set a bad precedent.” Playground pix New structure draws a crowd, page 12A Please see COUNCIL, Page 10A With new treatments on the horizon, Relay prepares to grow BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel A lice Knighton, a double cancer survivor, has at- tended every Relay for Life of South Lane County since the event began in 1997, includ- ing the 18th-annual event held Friday to Saturday at Lincoln Middle School. “It’s simply remarkable how hard the organizers and volun- teers work on this event. They put their hearts and souls into it year-round. It’s overwhelming how they honor us,” she said. Much has changed for can- cer patients in the nearly 20 years since Knighton partici- pated in the fi rst Relay for Life of South Lane County, which was then staged at the W.O.E. Fairgrounds. Investment by the American Cancer Society (ACS) in research has boomed to nearly $160 million per year, and the rate of survival for pa- tients with cancer has increased to 68 percent. But even as both those fi gures continue to climb, Knighton said she will keep coming to the annual event. “I almost view it as my re- sponsibility as a survivor to support the people who work so hard on this event,” she said. This year to date, Relay for Life of South Lane County has raised a little over $19,000, which is a bit less than a year ago. However, the organization has until Aug. 31 to reach its fundraising goal of $35,000. Participation at this year’s Re- lay was also less than last year, but event chair Gary Manly said that could have had some- thing to do with the coincidence of Father’s Day weekend. “The organization has hit a bit of a plateau, and we have to fi gure out how to break through and reach new heights,” said Manly, who is stepping down from his role this year. “It’s a good, family oriented event, and those that were there were very active and highly involved.” In addition to Manly, there will be new blood in the local ACS administration. Lori Allan, a long-time relay volunteer, will soon begin providing support to local organizers as the new community manager. “I’m very exited to get in- volved with the community, get a feel for its interests and, hope- fully, grow Relay for Life,” she said. According to Brenda Webber, Senior Manager for Relay for Life Oregon, there are several exciting developments in cancer research that could reinvigorate local relay chapters, including fruit fl y avatars, which allow re- searchers to develop more per- sonalized and effective care by testing different chemotherapies on fruit fl ies that are genetically identical to the patient; and there is a new treatment, currently in clinical trial, that is designed to stop the spread of breast cancer to the bones and organs. “We have a stack of research grants that are waiting to be funded,” said Webber, who noted that the new breast cancer treat- ment had been on a waiting list for several years before receiv- ing a grant. “The more we can maintain momentum, the more lives we’ll be able to save.” photo by Matt Hollander Cancer survivors lead the survivor's lap at the 18th an- nual Relay for Life of South Lane County, held Friday and Saturday at Lincoln Middle School. The event is looking to "reach new heights," according to its chair. Rain Country Realty Inc. N EW 830 S 7th St Clean, freshly painted, 3 bedroom, 1 bath on Quiet Street. New carpet, range, refrigerator and large fenced yard. Great home! RIA O T C VI N Big home, tall ceilings, character and charm. 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, corner lot, detached garage RV parking and more! UDLQFRXQWU\UHDOW\#JPDLOFRP CONTACT US www.cgsentinel.com On the Internet (541) 942-3325 By telephone (541) 942-3328 By fax cgnews@cgsentinel.com By e-mail P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 By mail Corner of Sixth and Whiteaker, Cottage Grove In person Brokers Laurie Phillip....................430-0756 Valerie Nash ....................521-1618 $209,000 $149,000 5DLQ&RXQWU\5HDOW\FRP Principal Brokers Teresa Abbott ..................221-1735 Frank Brazell....................953-2407 Lane Hillendahl ................942-6838 1104 W. Main +Z\ WEATHER CONTENTS HIGH LOW 86 52 Mostly Sunny Licensed in the State of Oregon Calendar....................................... 11B Channel Guide ............................... 5B Classified ads................................. 7B Obituaries....................................... 2A Opinion .......................................... 4A Public Safety .................................. 5A Sports ............................................ 1B 75 CENTS