W.O.E there!
The art of letting go
Coverage of Heritage
Fair on pages 11A, 1B
Farming may be diffi cult, but just try
walking away, page 6A
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24, 2016
SOUTH LANE AND NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
Code offi cer
tasked with
'zombie houses'
VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 10
Local woman
charged with
felony for
allegedly
striking child
What speed!
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
I
n her new position, Shauna Neigh is set to do
battle with Cottage Grove’s “zombies.”
Neigh, who also serves as the director of the Cot-
tage Grove Main Street Program, began a stint last
week as a code enforcement offi cer with the City’s
Planning Department. During the City’s 2016-17
budget process, city staff spoke of the need for a
code enforcement offi cer to tackle the problem of
“zombie houses,” homes mired in long-term vacan-
cies for which owners are not readily found.
Neigh will work to enforce city codes related
to the condition of those properties, City Planner
Amanda Ferguson said.
“We’re hoping we can be more consistent, less
reactive and more proactive with regard to code
enforcement,” Ferguson said. Currently, the City
only regularly enforces codes that deal with nui-
sance abatement such as those that require yards to
be mowed during the summer dry season. “Zombie
houses” are also dealt with on a complaint basis,
though the City often has few resources to compel
an absentee homeowner to comply with city codes.
“Now, we can start dealing with other issues,”
Ferguson said. “We’re hoping it can help encourage
other property owners to maintain their properties
as well.”
Ferguson also said that she hopes Cottage Grove
is seeing the end of the foreclosure crisis that crip-
pled the local economy beginning in 2008 and with
it the dwindling of the number of zombie houses it
created.
Going forward, Neigh will spend her mornings
working to see that city codes are upheld and her
afternoons promoting Cottage Grove’s downtown
business district for the Main Street Program.
Shauna Neigh
was hired
as the City's
new code
enforcement
offi cer last
week. Neigh
also serves
as Main Street
Program coor-
dinator.
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
A
photo by Greg Lee
Dachshund Jack-Patches (far right) sprints to the fi nish to win the fi nal race of Habitat
for Humanity's Wiener Dog Races on Saturday afternoon. Rounding out the top four
were Frankie (second from left), Daisy (second from right) and Hope (far left). The races
were moved to the W.O.E. Fairgrounds and held in conjunction wtih the fair this week-
end. More on the races and fair can be seen on page 11A.
25-year old Cottage Grove wom-
an faces a felony charge after po-
lice say she left bruises on a two-year old
child during an incident in late January.
Detective Doug
Skaggs said that
bruises on the
buttocks and legs
of the two-year
old were discov-
ered by a family
member of 25-
year old Tiffany
Nicole Roberts-
Larson. Skaggs
wrote that medi- Tiffany Roberts-
cal professionals Larson
later determined
that the injuries
were non-accidental. On Friday, Rob-
erts-Larson was arraigned in Lane Coun-
ty Circuit on one count of fi rst-degree
criminal mistreatment.
Please see ABUSE, Page 10A
Four more join City Council race
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
C
ottage Grove voters will elect a new may-
or and three new City Council representa-
tives this November, and recently, four more can-
didates threw their proverbial hats into the ring.
Current City Councilors Jake Boone, Jeff
Gowing and Mike Fleck have all fi led to run for
the mayoral seat currently held by Tom Munroe,
and the looming absence of Gowing at his cur-
rent Ward II position leaves that seat open this
fall. By the end of Monday, Bob Ehler, Rodney
Cimburke, Merlyn Adams and Henry Lancaster
had fi led to represent Ward II.
Ehler, a retired machinist, is no stranger to
public life in Cottage Grove; he currently serves
on the Planning Commission in addition to previ-
ous stints on the budget committees of the City of
Cottage Grove and South Lane Fire and Rescue.
Lancaster has also been a public presence of late,
representing the Youth Advisory Council at re-
cent council meetings. Lancaster also unsuccess-
fully campaigned for appointment to the at-large
council seat that was later appointed to Kenneth
Michael Roberts in the spring. In his fi ling, Cim-
burke listed his occupation as a "budtender" at
local dispensary Apothecaria and as a recorder of
minutes for government and other agencies.
Roberts has fi led to run again for the afore-
mentioned at-large seat, and he’ll now be facing
Ivan Del Sol for that position. Del Sol, a com-
puter programmer, fi led for the position on Aug.
15. Del Sol previously ran unsuccessfully against
Victoria Doyle for a City Council seat back in
2010.
Councilor Amy Slay appears to be running
unopposed for election to the Ward IV seat that
the Council appointed her to in 2015. Paperwork
was taken by someone interested in fi ling for the
Ward IV seat, according to City Manager Rich-
ard Meyers, though Meyers said that paperwork
was not turned in to the City by Sentinel press
time Monday. Two packets of paperwork were
also taken by individuals interested in running
for mayor, Meyers said, though those packets
had also not been returned. The deadline to fi le
for the Nov. 8 election was Tuesday, Aug. 23 by
5 p.m.
C ONSTRUCTION UPDATE
Work progresses at Coiner Park, new Arby's site by Walmart
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
N
ew construction can be counted
upon to come to the attention of
passersby, and the Sentinel regularly
fi elds questions about new projects
popping up in the area. These days,
two projects in particular seem to have
piqued public curiosity, and as such the
Sentinel offers this construction up-
date:
What’s happening
across from Walmart?
Doug Mortimore of Howling Coyote,
LLC, told the Sentinel late last week
that despite a “fairly slow process” of
acquiring permits to build on the lot
across Row River Road from Walmart,
crews can “go vertical” with construc-
tion in September in anticipation of an
early-December opening. With regard
to the current Arby’s location, Mor-
timore said that the building is being
offered for lease to other restaurants,
though no one has expressed interest
thus far. Rumors that the building was
set to host a return to Cottage Grove for
a Taco Time franchise are incorrect, ac-
cording to Mortimore. Mortimore built
the structure in the Bi-Mart shopping
center that currently houses Arby’s in
1989, the year he founded Howling
Coyote, though the building originally
hosted a Taco Time franchise. Arby’s
opened there in 2000; currently Howl-
ing Coyote operates fi ve Taco Time res-
taurants and three Arby’s restaurants in
the Eugene/Springfi eld area.
his company is looking forward to a
“smooth transition” from the current
Arby’s location on Gateway Blvd. to
the new one that’s currently under con-
struction.
“Some of the equipment can be
transported, but a lot of the specifi ca-
tions have been upgraded,” he said.
“The kitchen design has changed, and
the equipment and sizing are all differ-
ent. The way we make roast beef sand-
wiches hasn’t changed, but just about
everything else has.”
The new Row River Road Arby’s
location will be one of the fi rst new
prototypes for new Arby’s restaurants,
Mortimore said, of which there are
only about 100 already functioning na-
tionwide.
Mortimore said that some founda-
tion work is still happening at the Row
River Road site, adding that he hopes
Please see CONSTRUCTION, Page 10A
photo by Jon Stinnett
Foundation work continues at the future site of Cottage Grove's
new Arby's restaurant, which is eyeing an early Dec. opening.
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Principal Brokers
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Frank Brazell....................953-2407
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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
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Valerie Nash ....................521-1618
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Licensed in the
State of Oregon
CONTENTS
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Calendar....................................... 11B
Channel Guide ............................... 4B
Classified ads................................. 7B
Obituaries....................................... 2A
Opinion .......................................... 4A
Public Safety .................................. 5A
Sports ............................................ 1B
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