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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 2017)
City Beat — 5A New School at planning — 3A First CG baby of 2017 — 6A $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM WEDNESDAY, JAN.UARY 27, 2017 SOUTH LANE AND NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889 VOLUME 130 • NUMBER 26 Meet Harrison Elementary-AGAIN Homelessness: School board choose a familar moniker for the new school What's happening in Cottage Grove? The introductory installment of a series on the issues facing low-income and homeless individuals in Cottage Grove. BY CAITLYN MAY cmay@cgsentinel.com BY SAM WRIGHT swright@cgsentinel.com The people have spoken and the South Lane School Board of Directors has heeded the voices of the people and chosen a name for the new elementary school. But it turns out that it will only be the school that is new and not the name. Yes, with overwhelming results from the polls opened online, the school board felt compelled to vote for Harrison Elementary to be the name of the new school. The school district posted an online poll on their website that allowed people to cast votes among several options. Among other contenders were names like Covered Bridge Elementa- ry, Bridges School, Headwaters Elementary School and Krista Parent Elementary School. Here are the statistics that were con- densed by Communications Di- rector Garrett Bridgens: Harri- son Elementary, 1,621, all other names combined, 509. Combin- ing all the other votes for all the other names didn’t even come close to the amount of votes for Harrison. But board member Taylor Wilhour made a point that peo- ple were able to vote more than once, however Bridgens said that fact didn’t make much of a difference. “We could see the IP address- es, and even excluding those that voted multiple times, [Har- rison] would still be heavily fa- vored,” Bridgens said. Though the vote passed unanimnously by the school board to with Harrison Elemen- tary as the new name, it doesn’t mean every member was want- ing that selection. “We’re elected by the people to support a certain social con- tract,” board member Alan Baas added. Many other members had the same thought process. “I don’t necessarily support naming it Harrison but I do sup- port the decision of the people and I think it’s pretty clear,” Tammy Hodgkins said. Jerry Settelmeyer pointed out that while the whole building will be named Harrison that the other names (which despite the lack of votes, still got positive feed- back) could be used for differ- ent parts of the building. Other board members, such as Sherry Deurst-Higgins, shared support of carrying over the tradition. “I like Harrison and I think we should choose it,” Higgins said. And thus, with no oppos- ing votes, the name passed. The new elementary school was given the green light on de- velopment following the pass- See School pg.9 Chamber celebrates local businesses In the years following the Great Recession, states like Oregon have seen continued struggles of those categorized as low-income. Several factors contribute to homelessness in- cluding mental health and af- fordable housing inventories. Over the next few weeks, The Sentinel will explore several factors locally, reporting on lo- cal resources and efforts to stem the number of those that would qualify as homeless. Currently, under the McKin- ney-Vento defi nition, 100 stu- dents in the South Lane School District qualify as homeless; 3.75 percent of the students en- rolled in the district. The count began in September and will continue until May 15. Last year’s number for the same time period was 105. According to the McKinney-Vento represen- tative for the area, Brandi Bak- er-Rudicel, the number can go up by May but she does serve students beyond the deadline for the count. This year, she’s served 300 families with school supplies. Data determining if the num- For the 68th time, local businesses take home awards for service ber of homeless individuals has gone up or down since last year will not be available until the conclusion of the point-in-time count set to be conducted within the next few weeks. Volunteers visit home- less shelters, parks and other ar- eas that may house homeless in- dividuals and ask them a series of questions including the state of their homelessness, how long they’ve been in the situation and other health-related questions. Individuals self-report and are not required to show proof of any illnesses or other claims. “Homelessness defi nitions vary for different programs,” said Mike Fleck of Communi- ty Sharing; an organization in Cottage Grove that works with low-income and homeless indi- viduals providing meal boxes, clothes, laundry, housing as- sistance and other necessities. “McKinney-Vento, from my understanding, counts teenag- ers couch surfi ng but other pro- grams, it’s only if they are truly on the street.” The McKinney-Vento Act classifi es students as homeless if children are sharing a house due to loss of housing, eco- nomic hardship or are living in hotels, motels, trailer parks See Homeless pg.10 Sentinel named Bussiness of the Year BY CAITLYN MAY cmay@cgsentinel.com When Smith-Lund-Mills Funeral Chapel and Cremato- rium joined the Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce, yearly dues totaled $16. It was 1967. Fifty years later, the company joined several other local busi- nesses and movers and shakers at the 68th Annual Cottage Grove Chamber of Com- merce Awards and Installation Banquet on Saturday Night. Smith-Lund-Mills, which was credited with serving over 15,000 families in the local area, picked up an award for its 50 years with the chamber; a feat no other local business has achieved. When accepting the award, Doug Lund told the crowd, “The Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce to me, is a philanthropic octopus with arms reaching out everywhere. God bless Cottage Grove and the chamber.” The message was received to a standing ovation with the crowd decked out to the nines to celebrate the event and its red carpet theme. The armory was transformed into a Holly- wood ballroom while Master of Ceremonies Diana Knous of Pacifi c Power, lamented her inability to tell a joke but kept the crowd engaged throughout the four-hour banquet. While the majority of the event was dedicated to the presenta- tion of awards, it began with a transition from the current chamber board president to the 2017 president, Candy Solsby. Chamber Executive Director Travis Palmer presided over 2016 president Joe Raade’s exit saying, that while the chamber traditionally gifts the outgoing president with a clock to mark the time spent in the position, it wasn’t the case for Raade. “Anyone who’s ever been in Joe’s offi ce, the thing they will notice is, it’s full of clocks,” Palmer said. “So we mount- ed his gavel on the plaque instead.” New president Solsby took to the podium just before dinner, stepping into her new position and graciously accepting a faux gavel decorated in glitter and rhinestones. She told the crowd of her Cottage Grove roots; her mother a bank teller in the city and her father the former fi re chief. “I’m grateful they were my parents,” she said. “They taught me courage. The taught me kindness but growing up with a fi re chief had its chal- lenges. Nothing stayed plugged in and we couldn’t have can- dles in the house.” Now, mar- ried to the fi re marshal, Solsby drew the audience’s attention to the battery-operated candles on the table. “Cottage Grove is a friendly city,” she concluded. “I’m going to ask you to go against everything your parents told you and talk to strangers.” Solsby’s speech earned ap- plause that continued through- out the night as awards were presented and organization after organization made their case, laying out their service to the city. Teacher of the Year went to Kerry Clauson who thanked her See Chamber pg.11 CONTACT US WEATHER 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 The Cottage Grove Sen- tinel took home Business of the Year at the 68th Annual Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce Awards and In- stallations Banquet on Satur- day, Jan. 21. General Manag- er Gary Manly accepted the award on behlf of the staff saying the honor was a sur- prise and the Sentinel staff wouldn't let the community down. The Sentinel was one of four businesses up for the honor and one of 22 business- es that served as a table spon- sor for the event. The Cottage Grove Sen- tinel has been in operation under different banners since 1889. Manly said, "We are truly honored to be chosen as 2016 Business of the Year from a list of extraodinary nominees who are equally deserving." CONTENTS HIGH LOW 48 35 Calendar......................................... 3B Channel Guide Classified ads................................. 5B Obituaries....................................... 2A Opinion .......................................... 4A Public Safety .................................. 5A Sports ............................................ 1B Partly cloudy 1 Dollar Coffee with the Editor Every Tuesday 10 am @ Backstage Bakery Come chat about the community! S