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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 2015)
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL February 4, 2015 3A Concerning Creswell News and notes from our neighbor to the north Creswell-area brothers make a bet on buffalo BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel At a farm a few miles north of Creswell, the next generation is betting on a new strat- egy, and right now, they’re betting big on the number 13. Thirteen, that is, as in the number of bi- son that have recently found a home at My Brothers Farm off Cloverdale Road, animals slated to form the cornerstone of a new way forward for brothers Taylor and Austin Lar- son, who, along with brother Ben, who helps out when he's home from college, are busy slowly assuming the management of parts of the 320-acre farm where they were raised. And their new herd fi gures heavily into their plans. “We’re trying to grow into the farm, to perennialize and diversify,” said Taylor Lar- son, “and the bison are playing a big role in that.” The new energy at the farm began to take shape in 2011, when Taylor Larson received a visit from his family while on a Peace Corps mission in the African country of Zambia. “People were scraping and hacking out of two inches of topsoil and were happy there, and it made me think of the rich topsoil back in the Willamette Valley,” he said. Slowly, the family began taking small parts of the farm out of a lease agreement with a very under- standable grass-seed farmer. The Larson brothers are currently man- aging about 50 acres of the farm, land that is transitioning from hosting rye grass and wheat to a plethora of crops such as hazel- nuts, hops and apples. The houses along Taylor Avenue east of Interstate 5 are served water by the Taylor Avenue Pump Station. This pump sta- tion has two alternating pumps that are cycled to produce water pressure for the houses in this area, which the City says are too high in elevation to receive adequate static water pressure from the Knox Hill reservoirs. One of the two pumps failed this Six cases help pack the docket BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel J photo by Jon Stinnett From left, Taylor and Austin Larson manage the herd of buffalo on their family farm north of Creswell. “These are all crops that grow well in the and are practically disease-free.” Willamette Valley,” Larson said. “We fi gured Bison are also naturally very aware of their we’d start with what wants to be here. We own dietary needs, Austin Larson said, and knew we wanted grazing, as it’s a big part aside from a steady supply of hay, require of a sustainable farm. We have a lot of land, relatively little labor compared to cattle. As and we wanted an animal that fi ts. Plus, we’d plains animals, they’re used to hanging out in rather eat bison.” wide-open spaces and don’t require shelter, Once roaming in vast herds that totaled calmly grazing through all types of weath- some 60 million beasts, bison were hunted to er. Aside from their proclivity for breaking near-extinction and much of their habitat was through fences and their dislike of being destroyed, with only a handful left in Yellow- separated, the Larsons say their small herd is stone National Park in the late 19th century. doing just fi ne. Private ranching, though, has been partly re- “We just try to keep them happy and keep sponsible for a dramatic recovery. the fence on,” Taylor Larson said. “That’s According to literature from Brown’s Buf- been our main concern, and they haven’t got- falo Ranch, “the buffalo is no longer a rare ten out yet.” and fragile national treasure. Rather, it is a The Larsons expect their young herd, an- fl ourishing breed that is becoming a region- chored by a shaggy, inquisitive bull named ally popular food source, the only wild ani- Mongo, to produce stock for the next 20 mal in the U.S. being pastured as a food ani- years. mal. Buffalo will eat all grasses and weeds, CITY BEAT: Taylor Avenue pump station repaired DUII cases keep courtroom full week and needed to be replaced. Since this entire pump station is scheduled to be replaced and combined with the Cottage Heights Pump Station in the near future, Cottage Grove Public Works purchased a lower cost replacement pump. The internal pump station plumbing had also deteriorated and needed to be replaced. The Pub- lic Works Utilities crew replaced pipes and fi ttings to accommodate the new pump and completed the installation this week. Both pumps inside the pump station create 115 psi, which translates to 60 psi at the house furthest up the hill. Author event Equipment sold The Cottage Grove Public Li- brary is excited to host an author event with Bonnie J. Olin, who will share her new book, "The Owyhee River Journals." Olin will also show a video of an expedition into Deep Creek and the East Fork of the Owyhee during the event, scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 6 p.m. in the Reception Hall at the Cottage Grove Community Center and Library building. Last Saturday, Public Works sold several pieces of equipmen, at Brasher’s Northwest Auto Auction that were worn-out and of no further use to the City. The items sold included a shipping container, a 1990 Ford Bronco, a Gorman-Rupp pump and a 1990 John Deere Tractor/Loader. The City netted $9,800 from the sale of this surplus equipment. udge Martin Fisher and Cottage Grove’s Municipal Court spent a signifi cant portion of Thursday morning’s proceedings addressing charges levied by local police against those suspected of driving under the infl uence of intoxicants. A total of six of the 22 defendants who appeared before Fisher in court were there in response to charges of DUII and the charges that accompanied each incident, including those related to driving violations such as failure to drive within the proper lane and failure to appear in court in response to a violation. The number of DUII cases was not particularly high for one Thursday morning, according to Court Clerk Shawna Bailey, who said many of the cases were holdovers from incidents occurring during the holidays. Still, two potential DUIIs were notable for the potential impact they could have for the accused. Thomas Kevin Scott appeared on DUII charges stemming from a Jan. 24 traffi c accident, Bailey said. Fisher originally informed Scott that what was believed to be his second conviction could poten- tially lead to a 14-day jail sentence. Later, however, it was discovered that Scott seemed to have two previous DUII con- victions in Texas — one in 1993 and a more recent conviction in 2008. The scenario for Scott then changed signifi cantly, as Fisher informed him that a third DUII conviction could lead to a mandatory lifetime suspension of his driving license, a $2000 fi ne and a 45-60-day jail sentence. Fisher put forth the sug- gestion that Scott enlist the services of legal counsel due to the severity of a possible third conviction, and Scott later appeared before Fisher in the company of Cottage Grove’s public defender, Ryan Gifford. Scott is scheduled to appear in Municipal Court again on March 5. A similar case came before Fisher minutes later, when Tres- velle Gray, 21, appeared on a DUII charge that appeared to be his second. Confusion between Fisher and interim prosecutor John Woodworth ensued, as it was discovered that Gray may also be facing his third conviction and similar penalties to those facing Scott. Gray will appear in Municipal Court again on March 5, though Bailey said she believes his fi rst DUII conviction was mistakenly listed twice — once on his criminal history and once on his driving record — which made it appear that he already had two convictions. In Oregon, a conviction on a DUII charge carries a mini- mum penalty of two days in jail or 80 hours’ community ser- vice, a $1000 fi ne, completion of a mandatory alcohol treat- ment program and a one-year driver’s license suspension. A diversion program that can potentially erase a DUII convic- tion from an offender’s record is available if the offender has no other DUII convictions in the past 15 years and the arrest didn’t involve a traffi c accident. Despite Oregon having some of the harshest DUII penal- ties in the nation, CGPD Commander Scott Shepherd said some offenders still refuse to change their ways. “Some lose their driver’s license, and it still doesn’t stop them,” Shepherd said. “There was a time when there weren’t a lot of alternatives to driving, but there are so many taxis available now — why take the chance?” Three common childhood dental health concerns When your baby’s fi rst teeth come in, everyone rejoices; it’s a sign that all is progressing as it should. But as your child ages, various dental concerns can come along as well. Some issues are genetic and will require orthodon- tic work a bit later on, but there are others you can pre- pare for right now. 1. BABY BOTTLE TOOTH DECAY Prevent early childhood caries, or cavities, by nursing or putting only mother’s milk and formula in your baby’s bottles. Don’t let your baby fall asleep with the nipple in the mouth; gently wipe your infant’s teeth with a sterile gauze pad be fore sleep time. 2. THUMB SUCKING Thumb sucking is gen- erally accepted to be a harmless habit in young children; sucking is a natural refl ex in babies, and for toddlers it is Douglas G. Maddess, DMD Brightening Lives One Smile at a Time Welcoming New Patients Call for an appointment today! 914 South 4th St. #' s douglasgmaddessdmd.com an effective self-soothing strate- gy. However, the American Dental Association says that thumb suck- ing after the age of four can affect the alignment of your child’s teeth and jaw. Talk to your pediatrician for advice about thumb sucking. 3. ACCIDENTAL TRAUMA TO THE TEETH A blow to the mouth, cheek, or jaw may cause damage to teeth above or below the gum line. Take your child to the dentist’s or to the hospital emergency room if a tooth is cracked or knocked out or if an object gets caught in the mouth or between the teeth. In the case of a knocked-out tooth, try to recover it and bring it to the dentist or hospital. Keep the tooth moist, ideally in the child’s mouth; if your child is old enough to not swal- low it, place it between the teeth and gums or in the gap from where it fell out. You can also place the tooth in a cup of milk. Shane Parsons, DMD New patients welcome 605 Jefferson Ave. • Cottage Grove Please call for an appointment. Hours: Monday-Friday, 8am-5pm Emergency appts. available daily www.shaneparsonsd md.com 541 942-9171 Brent Bitner, DDS Dentistry with Family in Mind C ALL U S T ODAY ! 541.942.7934 350 E. W ASHINGTON A VENUE • C OTTAGE G ROVE WWW.CGSMILES.COM
