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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 2015)
Leadership cohort installs its fi rst free libraries Communities are invited to this weekend's grand opening BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel C ommunity leaders in Cottage Grove and Creswell have been gathering together for just over a year now, and this weekend, they’ll be invit- ing members of the community to see the results of that collaboration. Close to 40 members of the Ford Family Foundation’s newest leadership training cohort began coming together last January to learn how to become more effective leaders in their commu- nities. Throughout monthly meetings in the winter and spring of 2014, they worked to identify a project that could enhance the lives of those in Cottage Grove and in Creswell. From a list of over 60 project ideas came the eventual winner, Little Free Libraries of South Lane County, an ef- fort notably championed by the cohort’s youngest member, Cottage Grove High student Allie Harris, and its oldest, Don Strahan. Twelve free libraries will be installed at various locations through- out Cottage Grove and Creswell, for which planning, grant-writing and fundraising has been conducted by the group. The libraries are meant to foster healthy reading habits, in addition to community togetherness. The libraries will operate on the “take a book, leave a book” system, as members of the surrounding communi- ties trade reading materials at kiosks built by members of the cohort with help from students at Kennedy High School and designed by local artists. photo by Jon Stinnett On Saturday, about a dozen cohort Ford Family Leadership cohort members, from left, Marjory House, volunteers gathered at Stewart Park Rob Dickinson and Lanie Grace position the pole that will carry the at the corner of Eighth and Johnson Streets in Cottage Grove and White- Little Free Library to be located in Stewart Park. man Community Park at H and Birch new kiosks and the party planned this Whiteman Park at 11:30. There will be Streets in the Northwest Neighborhood Saturday, Jan. 24 that will serve as their food and drink offered, and guests are to install the fi rst two Little Free Li- grand opening and sorted through the welcome to bring a book (and perhaps braries at their new homes. Volunteers Libraries’ fi rst book submissions. take one) to begin the Libraries’ book- also canvassed the nearby neighbor- The celebration will begin at Stew- trading activities. hoods to let neighbors know about the art Park at 10 a.m. and will continue at New fi lm has a host of local connections 'Noble Fir,' fi lmed largely in CG, premiers in Oregon this weekend BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel I f the scenery doesn’t look familiar, perhaps the fi lmmakers will. This weekend brings the Oregon premier of a fi lm with a distinct Cottage Grove feel. Director Chris Graham of Last Light Pictures said he’s excited to welcome his new fi lm, “Noble Fir,” to Eugene’s Bijou Art Cinemas for a three-night premier, the latest in a yearlong series of engagements supporting the fi lm. “We’re working on getting a distribu- tion deal for the movie,” Graham said. “It’s running a series of small theaters, and of course we wanted to bring it back to where Please see FILM, Page 10A 3A Walmart jewel theft may be part of a string of incidents Similar thefts have occurred in Lebanon C ottage Grove Police are continu- ing their investigation into a rob- bery at the Cottage Grove Walmart store that they believe could be part of a string of related crimes along Interstate 5. Offi cer Jarrod Butler said a male and female suspect are sought in connection with the theft of about $2400 in jew- elry from the Cottage Grove Walmart at about 11 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 11. Butler said the suspects took advantage of light staffi ng at that hour and emptied a jew- elry case of its contents. Butler said there’s reason to believe the suspects may have been involved in a similar heist at the Walmart store in Lebanon, where jewelry of about twice the value taken in Cottage Grove was re- cently stolen in three incidents. “We have a picture of the suspects but no identifi cation,” Butler said. “It seems to be fi ltering south down I-5. I’ve been working with Roseburg police to see if they’ve had any recent thefts that might be similar.” A four-door white sedan, possibly an import, has been connected to the Cot- tage Grove incident, Butler said, though he added that outdoor surveillance foot- age of the vehicle was fuzzy. More information on the incident is being withheld due to the ongoing inves- tigation. Expansion of Baker Bay highlights County’s fi ve-year plan BY MATT HOLLANDER For the Sentinel A n expansion of the Baker Bay Marina is one of the largest proj- ects in the fi ve-year Capital Improve- ment Plan proposed by Lane County Parks. Offi cials estimate that it would cost $500,000 to update the facility and increase capacity from 26 to 70 slips. “The demand for more space at the marina is there,” said parks manager Mike Russell. “There is a waiting list of over 75 people, several of whom have been waiting for many years. We want to identify that in our capital im- provement program and work toward expanding the marina.” The draft of the proposed project, which can be found on the County’s website, has the Baker Bay expansion penciled in for 2016-17. However, the timeline for the project remains fl uid as the organization has yet to fi nd a source of funding. Russell said that he is hop- ing that it will be completed within the next fi ve years. One possible solution is a bond mea- sure, similar to the one that fi nanced an expansion of the Richardson Park Ma- rina at Fern Ridge Reservoir. “Bonds work very well with capac- ity-improvement projects,” said Rus- sell. “If you triple the size of the mari- na, those additional boat fees are going to help pay off the bond.” It currently costs $500-600 per sea- son to dock a boat at Baker Bay. Russell said that the Lane County Parks would also target grant opportu- nities, and he is optimistic that the proj- ect will be attractive to many funding organizations. Once a source of funding is located, Russell said that the project could be completed in four months or less. Overall, the program will be used to plan capital improvements to about a dozen parks in Lane County. Projects will improve the safety, utility and ef- fi ciency of existing facilities. The pro- gram will also further develop and add amenities that will improve the expe- rience for park users. The Parks Advi- sory Committee held a public hearing for the program at the start of its Jan. 15 meeting. However, there was no one there to provide testimony. Russell said that the lack of turnout was typical of recent years. “When we have proposed a specifi c project, or there is a signifi cant need in the community, a constituency typi- cally show’s up to get our attention,” he said. “There was a strong showing when the Richardson Park Marina ex- pansion was brought on the agenda, and that was part of how it got on the priority list and got funding.” There will be another opportunity for the community to provide input on the program when the Parks Advi- sory Committee presents the master plan draft to the Lane County Board of Commissioners in February or March. Sentinel fi le photo Plans for expansion call for an increase in capacity from 26 to 70 boat slips at Dorena's Baker Bay, which is operated by Lane County. Birch Avenue Dental Corps to improve Lakeside Park Park W. McClung, DDS • Tammy L. McClung, DDS Where dentistry is our profession but people are our focus WELCOMING NEW PATIENTS! Check out our exclusive Birch Avenue Dental Program that provides all the rewards of dental insurance without the headaches. For more information please call 541-942-2471 or visit us at www.birchavenuedental.com C hanges are coming to Lakeside Park, a popu- lar summer recreation area on the northwest shore of Cottage Grove Reservoir near Cottage Grove, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently announced. The Corps says it plans to remove old, deteriorating rest- rooms at the park and replace them with more effi cient vault- style toilets that aim to be easier and less expensive to maintain. Work crews will begin mov- ing equipment to the site on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and demo- lition of the old buildings is likely to begin that week. The Corps expects the entire project to be completed before the park opens in early May. Although the area of the park under construction is closed for the season, the boat launch and nearby parking area are open year-round. “Due to safety concerns, we are asking park visitors to avoid the work area during construc- tion,” said Park Manager Tami Schroeder. “We encourage people to use other areas around the lake for activities such as ex- ercising and dog-walking.” Replacing the current rest- room facilities with concrete vault toilets is expected to re- duce operation and maintenance costs and decrease stress on the aging water and sewage systems at Cottage Grove Reservoir. The new facilities will also better accommodate people with dis- abilities. This project is being funded through the Corps’ National Recreation Adjustment Plan, which supports local projects that promote effi ciency and sus- tainability while continuing to provide high-quality recreation opportunities. NRAP funding is awarded through a competitive process. The Lakeside restroom and Schwarz campsite projects were the top two projects of 37 submitted from the Corps’ Northwestern Division. Last month, the Corps an- nounced that the volunteer host campsite upgrades at Schwarz Campground would begin soon. That project has been delayed until late January or early Feb- ruary. st annual Every dollar donated to ShelterBox USA during the Show will be matched up to $10,000 by Show Management. Make your donation at the Eugene Delta Rotary exhibit with the actual emergency aid supplies & tent delivered to families worldwide who have lost everything during natural disasters and humanitarian crises. ShelterBoxUSA.org January 23-25 berg productions CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL January 21, 2015
