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.
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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
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January 23-25
berg productions
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL January 21, 2015