CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL January 7, 2015
3A
City Council meeting off
due to Ducks' title shot
P UCKER UP !
Visits to Cot-
tage Grove
by The Rep-
tile Man, aka
Rich Richey
of Colton, are
always a big
event, and on
Wednesday,
Dec. 31, a nice
crowd visited
the Cottage
Grove Library
to learn about
tortoises,
snakes and
lizards in a pre-
sentation that is
at once engag-
ing and infor-
mative. Here, a
monitor lizard
offers a kiss to
one library visi-
tor. Richey has
appeared at the
Library about
six times, ac-
cording to per-
sonnel there.
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
T
photo by Jon Stinnett
he Oregon Ducks completed a blow-
out 59-20 win over the Florida State
Seminoles in college football’s Rose Bowl
on Thursday, Jan. 1, and the next day, Cot-
tage Grove Mayor Tom Munroe exercised
a new power to give the City Council the
night off to enjoy the Ducks’ next game.
The Rose-Bowl win pits Oregon against
Ohio State in the National Championship
game on Monday, Jan. 12, and the Coun-
cil will be free to enjoy the game along
with other Duck backers. Prior to the Rose
Bowl, Munroe indicated that a Duck win
might necessitate the cancellation of the
Council’s Jan. 12 meeting, and on Friday,
that cancellation was confi rmed.
“I’ve contacted the other councilors,”
Munroe told the Sentinel by phone mes-
sage. “And not only because of the ball-
game, but the meeting is going to be can-
celled.”
Councilor Jeff Gowing has a new grand-
baby, the Mayor said, adding that incom-
ing Councilor Mike Fleck has been ill.
“The rest just want to see the ballgame,”
Munroe said. “We don’t have a whole lot
that night anyway, and what we do have
we can catch up on the twenty-sixth.”
The agenda for Jan. 12 would have in-
cluded the Mayor’s own State of the City
Address, in addition to the swearing-in
of Fleck, who takes over the at-large seat
from Victoria Doyle after a triumph in last
November’s election. Munroe said it will
be easy to add the items from that agenda
to the Monday, Jan. 26 meeting.
“We can get everybody sworn in and
sworn out,” he said.
Interestingly, Munroe used a brand-new
power given him by a new set of rules for
the City Council, rules that went into effect
hours earlier. In November, Cottage Grove
voters approved a new and revised charter
to guide city government, though the char-
ter referenced a set of council rules that
did not as yet exist. The Council worked
to draft those rules in time for the effective
date of the new charter, Jan. 1, 2015.
The Mayor utilized a section in the new
rules covering the cancellation of meet-
ings, which states, “if there is no business
to transact or a quorum of the Council can-
not attend and there is no urgent necessity
to have the meeting, the Mayor, upon rec-
ommendation of the City Manager, may
cancel the meeting.”
At its Dec. 1 meeting, the South Lane
School District Board of Directors pre-
emptively dealt with the possibility of a
Ducks’ Rose Bowl victory by moving its
Jan. 12 meeting ahead to Monday, Jan. 5.
Creswell Club reaches out to area adults, plans more happenings
Concerning
Creswell
News and notes from our neighbor to the north
I
t’s called the Over-40 So-
cial Club, though those un-
der that magic age are welcome
to come by the Creswell Com-
munity Center to check out the
club’s new expanded hours and
programming.
According to Creswell’s Sally
Jenkins, the Club started as the
Creswell Senior Center about
a year ago as a program of the
Creswell Library with City of
Creswell sponsorship. Aimed as
a place for “people to gather and
socialize,” the Club is open to all
adults every Thursday from 10
a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Community
Center, 99 South First Street in
Creswell (one block south of
City Hall). Currently all events
are free of charge.
Jenkins said the desire by the
Club’s leadership to “add struc-
ture” at the Senior Center led
to the expansion of offerings.
Originally, she said, attendance
started slow, but about a dozen
men and women now typically
show up for each event.
Beginning in January, the
Club will have classes in ba-
sic drawing and basic water-
color taught by Sue Whitacre
and beginning Tai Chi taught
by William “Bill” Kent. Those
who aren’t interested in classes
can work on one of the jigsaw
puzzles that’s constantly in the
works or play cards, chess or
other board games. Some visi-
tors bring needlework to keep
their hands busy while they
converse, Jenkins said.
“People can drop in and
out,” she said. “There’s al-
ways tea and coffee, and
often there are other refresh-
ments available.”
Kent is teaching a class us-
ing the book “Harvard Medi-
cal School Guide to Tai Chi,”
written by Peter M. Wayne.
Like Dr. Wayne, Kent stud-
ied medical Qigong and Yang
style Tai Chi. The book prom-
ises 12 weeks to a healthy body,
strong heart and sharp mind.
Tai Chi classes will be held on
Jan. 8 and 22, continuing Feb.
5 and 19, beginning at 11 a.m.
each time. The class should be
short enough that visitors can
also enjoy socializing before
and after.
Art teacher Sue Whitacre
writes: “I have journeyed as
an artist since early childhood.
I traveled through art school,
public school art teaching (K-
12), post-graduate art training,
teaching private art lessons,
conducting workshops on cre-
ativity, and developing my own
artistic expression throughout
the process. I am committed
to connecting people with their
creativity, and to providing ba-
sic tools for artistic self-expres-
sion.”
Beginning Drawing lessons
will be held Jan. 15 and Feb. 12
starting at 10 a.m. Beginning
Watercolor lessons will be Jan.
29 and Feb. 26, also starting at
10. Materials will be supplied.
Jenkins said future plans for
Creswell’s Over-40 Social Club
include having speakers on sub-
jects of interest to the communi-
ty, possibly on fraud prevention,
safety and security, cooking
for one, how to use your digi-
tal camera or other device and
more. Nature walks may also be
photo by Su Liudahl
Beginning watercolors has been a popular class for the
Over-40 Social Club, though visiting is also encouraged.
planned for nice weather.
The Over-40 Social Club is a
program of the Creswell Library
in collaboration with the City of
Creswell. Learn more about the
group on its Facebook page at
https://www.facebook.com/cre-
swellover40.