Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Chronicle : Creswell & Cottage Grove. (Creswell, Ore.) 2019-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2019)
10 — THE CHRONICLE THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2019 FROM THE FRONT Fall concert features guest artist, student conductor At left, guest performer Doug Doerfert (left), director of instrumental ensembles at Lane Community College, performs “Blue Roses” with CHS Jazz Band 1 soloists Amy Myers and Gonzalo Cardenas during the CHS/CMS Combined Fall Concert on Oct. 15. At right, Lily Lamm (left) and Harmony Goodman solo with the CHS Concert Choir as the high school music program and middle school instrumental program held a Combined Fall Concert last week. PHOTOS PROVIDED/ALESHA CULP CERT continued from 1 Wood said that in the beginning, the program was challenging for her because it was focused on studying and PowerPoints, but when it came to the hands-on activi- ties such as creating a tourniquet or freeing people trapped in a building, it became more fun for her. The program serves patrons of Creswell and Cottage Grove areas, but is opening it up to homeschooled students and youths from Pleasant Hill. “Our goal is to educate volunteers in our area,” said Aaron Smith, SLCF&R division chief. “We at South Lane started this to help out with disaster preparedness in our commu- nity.” The idea for the program originally came from Creswell City Manager Michelle Amberg, who approached Smith as part of her master plan. “We’re really partners,” Amberg said. “I think it’s great. People need to understand that when a disaster hits they need to be prepared. CERT is a way to take what limited resources we have and make them stretch.” Amberg said that one of the cities she used to work for had an active CERT program, and she knew that people in Creswell were asking for one. After Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast, she read an article about how teenagers stepped forward and assisted in getting their neighbors connected with what the needed. “I thought, ‘Why not start a teen CERT?’” She said. “I talked with the chief and school, and both were supportive.” The CERT curriculum involves 25 hours of work over nine weeks, and it’s based on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). It focuses on a variety of units: search and rescue, disaster preparedness, implementation of training, first aid, medi- cal emergency, CPR, fire safety and disaster psychology. “Most of it is hands-off for them,” Smith explained. “They’re not going on a 9-1-1 call, but they’re coming in after the fact to assist. They supplement our first responders we have.” The number of participants depends on the amount of interest, but the first year the program had 12 teenagers and the second year they had six. Smith said he’s hoping the inclusion of Cottage Grove will bring in more participants. Along with helping the community, CERT hours go toward a student’s community service hours, and can be a “working job interview” for those who are interested in working in the field, Smith said. “We allow them to do ride-alongs to get a taste of the career,” he said, adding that “15% of the kids that sign up are going into a medi- cal field of some kind.” After the program, the participants are given a Go Bag, which has everything they need in case of an emergency. “These folks know how to help the neigh- borhood prepare, know first aid and have some limited search and rescue skills,” Amberg said. “So in a wide-scale emergency, such as an earthquake, they can help their neighbors.” Wood said she also received a map of her school, so she could plan a route out to help herself, other students and staff. She said that she is feeling more prepared in case an emergency ever does strike. “Especially with everything going on at schools with danger, it’s nice to have that skill set,” she said. Smith said that CERT trainees are taught to first help themselves, then their family, then their neighborhood and lastly go to the loca- tion of emergency operations. He said the biggest hurdle the program has is finding a communication method during the disaster, and there is consideration of using ham radio. “It’s just to offer that consistent volunteer training for community members to supple- ment professional responders in our area,” Smith said, “to prepare them for all those topics, disaster situations and preparedness response.” Amberg said she would like to encour- age people to get involved, because the more people involved the better the program can be. “Anybody who has the heart for helping out in an emergency – there are people it’s important to, and this is a way, if they want to be involved,” she said. “They have the train- ing we can rely on to put to use and know they want to be involved. Not everyone wants to do this, but if they do, it’s great to offer it.” For Wood, the knowledge she gained means she can be there for the people who matter most: “Feeling like being able to help protect people closest to you is really reward- ing.” BUSINESSES continued from 1 Locals bid farewell to Drumrongthai Café Spot owners Sumer and Ae Drumrongthai, of Eugene at 2 W. Oregon Ave. on Oct. 1. The Drumrongthais opened the cafe in February 2016 and offered Thai cuisine for lunch during the work week. The couple wanted to take a break from the business, Sumer said, but won’t leave Creswell hungry. Drumrongthai’s sister-in-law, P Noi, and niece, Onnalin, are opening a new Thai restaurant in the same location next month. The café will reopen under a new name, with a simi- lar menu and longer hours, Sumer said, and although the details are still being finalized, all chopsticks point toward a November opening. With lots of changes in the wind, former NuVo Salon owner Nancy Jones, a Springfield resident, said it was a good time for her to transition out of small-business ownership. NuVo Salon, formerly at 44 W. Oregon Ave., relocated on Oct. 1 to 240 W. Oregon Ave. Now called Beauty Boutique, there’s plenty of familiarity with the former salon. In the sale, the salon retained much of the NuVo clientele and staff, including a former employee who is the new owner. Jones is a private contractor at the boutique, working along- side much of the NuVo staff as she’s done for the past seven years. The new salon owner, Shannon Whitehead, 25, of Creswell, was hired by Jones in March as a nail technician at NuVo. When the opportunity arose, Whitehead’s entrepreneurial spirit led her to jump on the chance to run her own salon. Once the sale was final, Whitehead and her family gave the former Burlap & Lace space an extensive overhaul, she said, and managed to crank out renovations in under 30 days. Her vision was to grow the business by expanding services and creating an atmosphere of a cozy, relaxing and modern salon. The inside of the shop is painted in deep grays and blacks, keeping design simple and clean. The floorplan is open and gives space to each station. “We were outgrowing our space at NuVo,” Whitehead said, noting that their new location has four hairstyling stations, two upgraded manicure-pedicure chairs and an esthetician onsite. Whitehead is planning for a tanning bed, too, and said she keeps her sights on growing the business. The salon operates under similar hours as NuVo did, and even retained the same phone number. People can check out the salon at its grand opening, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2. It will be a “sip-n-see staff” event with hot cocoa, raffles and food. Filling up the corner of Oregon Avenue in NuVo’s absence is Pazzo. It’s the Italian word for “crazy,” and there will be nothing else like it in town, said owner and chef Scott Pisani, of Creswell. If Pisani’s name sounds familiar, it might be because his wife, Chelsea, owns and operates the Creswell Wellness Center a couple doors down in the same building. Pazzo promises an off-the-wall, quirky and fun new restau- rant style at 44 W. Oregon Ave. Pisani hopes it will be a place to sit and chat, eat well and wet your whistle. There will be a bar stocked with beer and wine, and several seasonal menus are in the works as Pisani maps out ingredients from within a 100-mile radius. The plan is to offer a variety of foods including Italian, Hawaiian, seafood, house-made fresh pasta and sauces, as well as pork chops. He plans to offer student specials, a happy hour menu and a to-go menu. Hefty renovations are underway to bring his vision to life. The walls have been painted a bright, burnt orange – a color he’s pulled from one of the paisley tattoos on his arm, he said. Pisani plans to keep the black-and-white checkered tiled flooring. The restaurant will seat 30 people, offer window seating onto a busy main drag, and have tables for two that can be joined together for bigger parties. Pisani said it will be a quaint and intimate setting – but that’s sort of the whole point. He wants to cultivate an engaging atmosphere for people to talk to one another, hear the local chatter and take a break from looking at their cell phones. During the week, Pisani expects Pazzo to be open for lunch, with extended dinner hours on weekends, and closed Sundays and Mondays. Pisani doesn’t have a definitive opening date, but said to “stay tuned,” with a wink and a smile.
