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CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL January 28, 2015 On the road — again Crash claims life of Dorena man Second book details 99's 'Folk History' BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel W hile it certainly has the ability to move people and goods from place to place, local author Josephine “Jo” Brew feels that Interstate 5 lacks much of the charm of its predecessor. “The freeway makes a point of not connecting cities,” Brew said. “You can go all the way from one end to the other and never be in one city.” For her newest book, Brew es- chews the Interstate in favor of the many cities along Highway 99, often stopping in lesser-known locales and even paying a visit to ghost towns along the way. But “Oregon’s Main Street: U.S. Highway 99, The Folk History” is about more than the cities that Oregonians call home. Instead, the book tells the history of the famed highway through the stories of those who lived there, stories that have thus far found an enchanted audience. “We’re delivering books to stores, and people seem to be en- joying them,” Brew said. “They like that there are short pieces that can be read one or two at a time, but a lot of people say they want to keep a copy, so they can follow the road.” Brew and family followed the road a lot during her early years. She attended high school in Ash- land, moving from north to south along 99 “as the road was built.” She’s lived and worked in Califor- nia, Grants Pass and has taught in Cottage Grove. These days, Brew’s work appears in a regular column in Creswell’s “Chronicle.” A clipping from a Chronicle col- umn that looked back on her early days in Ashland eventually formed the basis of her fi rst book. “I always enjoyed those little stories,” she said. For over four years, she dutifully interviewed, listened and copied them down, often with the need to verify his- torical details later on. Along the way, she talked with several fami- lies and often several generations of the same family. After amassing stories by visit- ing small museums up and down the Highway and accepting sub- missions from others with a story to tell, Brew felt she had a rough draft that was ready for an edi- tor. The book would tell the tales of Highway 99 in sections corre- sponding to maps that would also be included. Brew sent her early draft to Pat Edwards, herself a published lo- cal author of historical accounts such as “Sawdust and Cider” T courtesy photo Author Jo Brew spent four years compiling stories about life in the communities along Highway 99. and “From Sawdust and Cider to Wine,” which chronicle the history of the Lorane area. Right away, they zeroed in on a problem. “She said to me, ‘You have 845 pages,’” Brew said. “So eventu- ally we decided we would have to separate it into two books.” After some wrangling, it was decided that the stories Brew loved so well would comprise the fi rst book; “U.S. Highway 99: The Sto- ries,” which was released in 2013 with little fanfare or promotion. They then decided that Edwards would handle the historical details that populate “Folk History,” a his- tory again told with the voices of those who lived it. “Folk History” travels Highway 99 sharing stories along the way. In Cottage Grove, much attention is paid to the area’s pioneering tim- ber families, and the small com- munities of Saginaw and Walker also get a nod. Brew and Edwards started their promotional efforts at a presen- tation organized by the Cottage Grove Genealogical Society, which Edwards said drew a nice crowd. Many left with copies of both books, which are now often purchased as a set. “From hearing everybody’s re- actions to it, I’d say they’ve taken it very well,” Edwards said. “I was especially nervous about how his- torians would take it, but even they seem impressed.” Both books can be purchased at the Genealogical Society offi ce in the Community Center and at the Bookmine in Cottage Grove. Committee to discuss bond levy, replacing Harrison BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel S outh Lane School District of- fi cials have sought to replace the aging building that houses Har- rison Elementary School for some time, and a meeting scheduled this week should start the most in- depth conversation on how to make replacing Harrison a reality. Built in 1949, Harrison is one of South Lane’s oldest buildings and its second-largest elementary school. In December, South Lane Superintendent Krista Parent peti- tioned the School Board to create a committee charged with exploring the feasibility of a local tax levy that would raise funds to build a 2015 new Harrison, though Parent didn’t stop there. Many technological and facilities upgrades are neces- sary throughout the District, Par- ent said, and a bond to put before local voters may be the only way such upgrades could be fi nanced. At the Board’s Dec. 1 meeting, Parent read a draft ‘statement of purpose’ that charges the bond advisory committee with “review- ing and prioritizing the District’s facilities needs” and “conferring on recommendations regarding a bond for facilities upgrades.” Parent said those recommenda- tions could also potentially involve technology and security upgrades throughout the District, a new pool, baseball fi eld and perform- ing arts center. “We shouldn’t just call it the Harrison committee,” she said. “There are other possibilities that should be wide open. I don’t want to narrow the possibilities of things I think we won’t ever get without a bond. With regard to technology, the gap just gets wider and wider, and security in our facilities is just really not acceptable.” Applications for prospective members of the bond advisory committee have come in steadily, according to District spokesper- son Garrett Bridgens, who said the committee will likely consist of 10-12 district employees and a similar number of interested citi- zens. The committee is expected to tar- get an election scheduled for either May or November of 2016 to place the bond issue before voters. Par- ent explained that another aspect of the timing of a potential bond levy involves the expiration of a previous levy used to build the cur- rent Cottage Grove High School. The District recently restructured the bond it used to rebuild CGHS, and the rate taxpayers contribute to pay off that bond will drop sig- nifi cantly in 2017. Parent said that adding another bond at that time would not change overall the rate paid by taxpayers. The School District Bond Advi- sory Committee will meet Thurs- day, Jan. 29. he Lane County Sheriff’s Offi ce is crediting the driver of a tall truck with discovering the car wreck that claimed the life of a 75-year old Dorena man on Thursday. On Jan. 22, the Sheriff’s Offi ce received a report of a vehicle that was located 30-40 feet down a ravine off Row River Road between milepost 18 and 19. Accord- ing to Public Information Offi cer Carrie Carver, the ve- hicle was situated far enough down the ravine that it is unlikely that it would have been visible from a passenger vehicle; however, the community member reporting the wreckage was driving a commercial truck that sat far enough off the ground to provide visibility. When the vehicle was spotted, the community member called for help. It remains unknown at this time when the accident occurred or why the vehicle veered off the road. The driver, Robert Peck of Dorena, was found de- ceased in the vehicle. Peck was reported as a missing person on Tuesday, Jan. 20 by his caregiver. The Lane County Sheriff’s Offi ce will conduct a death investiga- tion in conjunction with the Lane County Medical Ex- aminer’s Offi ce. Flue fi re spreads to attic, displacing family Fire dept. offi cials still exploring why blaze spread W hat started out as a report of a fl ue fi re on Thurs- day escalated quickly for offi cials with South Lane County Fire and Rescue. Division Chief Joe Raade said the department re- sponded to a report of a chimney or fl ue fi re (a fi re in- volving the accumulated soot or creosote in a chimney) in the 1300 block of S. 8th St. across from Kennedy High School. “When we got there, we noticed that the outside of the fl ue was burning,” Raade said. “We opened the attic, and the whole attic had burned already.” The cause of the fi re is unknown, and Raade said fi refi ghters also wonder how the blaze could have trans- ferred from the fl ue to the nearby attic. Occasionally, he said, fi res escape a fl ue in which the inner jacket has decayed. “The homeowners are lucky to have discovered it when they did,” he said. “They were an hour or two from going to bed, and then things could have been different. Looking from the outside of the house, you can’t even really tell anything has been burned.” The fi re did considerable damage to the home, how- ever, and the Cascades Region offi ce of the American Red Cross reportedly assisted the family consisting of two adults, a child and a dog with temporary housing. 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