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4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL February 11, 2015 O PINION Offbeat Oregon History When the rebel fl ag fl ew over Oregon soil BY FINN J.D. JOHN For the Sentinel O regon in general, and rural southern Oregon in par- ticular, has been referred to more than once as the “Dixie of the West Coast.” So perhaps it’s not surpris- ing that the only Confederate fl ag known to have waved in the northwestern quarter of the con- tinental United States during the Civil War fl ew proudly over the Beaver State, for a few weeks in 1862. Now, that “only fl ag” claim has to be qualifi ed a bit. The en- tire northwest quarter is rather a large patch, and plenty of emi- grant farmers, gold miners and ex-Army ruffi ans were sympa- thetic to the South’s cause; surely somebody, somewhere, hoisted the stars and bars over a shoddy Jackson County prospector’s cabin or loathsome San Francisco waterfront fl ophouse. But if anyone did, he or she kept it quiet enough to avoid the intervention of federal troops. Not so the fearsome Kentucky natives who had settled in the tiny town of Smithfi eld (now called Franklin), just south of Cheshire on old Territorial Highway. The good people of Smithfi eld were surrounded and outnum- bered, and they knew it. But they were a proud, fearless bunch, and not a Republican or pro- Union Democrat among them. They were well supplied with the long-barreled fl intlock rifl es with which their fathers had helped win the Revolutionary War, and they had somehow also gotten hold of a small cannon. They de- termined, in the summer of ‘62, to do their bit for the old southern homeland, come what might. So they set to work. The men found a tall, straight fi r tree, which they felled, peeled and hauled to the town’s general store. The women labored over a com- munity sewing project: a massive Confederate battle fl ag, the “Stars and Bars.” Then they mounted the pole before the store, ran the fl ag up to the top, and let it billow in the soft summer breeze. Now, this was not exactly an act of quiet rebellion. Smithfi eld owed its regional prominence and prosperity to the stagecoach line that ran up and down the Territo- rial Highway. Dozens of travelers passed up and down that high- way every week en route to or from hamlets like Elmira, Veneta, Crow, Lorane and west Eugene, via Junction City. One can only imagine the shock of these passengers as the stage pulled up before the Smith- fi eld General Store and they saw a giant rebel fl ag fl apping in the breeze, its fl agpole surrounded by grim-faced expatriated Southern- ers with rifl es ready to defend it. Word fl ew around Lane County like a summer zephyr: There was open rebellion brewing at Smith- fi eld! What was to be done? Staunch Unionists in Eugene were outraged. They did not, however, feel outraged enough to brave those grim-faced Smith- fi eld sharpshooters in an attempt to do something about it. So in- stead, they complained bitterly to every authority they could reach: the sheriff, the state legislature, and yes, the federal government in Washington, D.C. The sheriff was the man ev- eryone was looking at, but he showed little inclination to risk his life and those of his deputies on a hopeless assault on such a fearsome foe. So the fl ag contin- ued to fl y. A few weeks later, one of the Smithfi eld rebels was caught in Eugene trying to buy supplies and arrested and lodged in a jail- house. Word spread quickly, and a lynch mob soon had assembled to lay siege to the jailhouse. But the rebel, who had hidden a tiny penknife somewhere on his per- son, put up such a ferocious fi ght that vigilante justice was delayed long enough for the sheriff to ar- rive with a posse, and soon the mob was dispersed. And still that fl ag fl ew, proud and rankling over the Long Tom River, visible for miles from ev- ery oncoming stage. It fl ew there, proud and defi ant, until a day in late August, when something rather remarkable hap- pened — another “fi rst and only” for the Beaver State. On that historic day, the Mc- Cornack family had just settled down to supper at their farm on Elmira Road, just outside Eu- gene, when to their astonish- ment a large detachment of fed- eral troops — blue-coated United States Cavalry offi cers and men — fi led up to the farmhouse in two columns, which split apart and fl owed around the farmhouse and outbuildings. Soon the whole spread was surrounded with a cordon of several hundred armed men. Two offi cers then approached the farmhouse, and family patri- arch Andrew McCornack — no doubt more than a little nervously — came to the door to see what they wanted. The offi cers were gracious and Please see OFFBEAT, Page 5A School Board refuses to listen re: drug testing A s we all know — or ought to know by now — in August of 2014 the South Lane School Board, in fl agrant vio- lation of Oregon Department of Education standard 581-022-0413, voted to adopt a drug-testing policy that targets exclusive- ly those students so active and involved in their own education as to choose to par- ticipate in extracurricular activities. At every board meeting at which the Board and the Superintendent expect community members to speak against this policy, coaches and other staff trot up and perform little speeches in favor of man- datory and random student drug testing. Misleading language is used, such as “I have buried many kids because of drugs.” Untrue. What causes the deaths of high school students (they aren’t “kids”) in Cottage Grove is predominantly alcohol, which the board has specifi ed that CGHS will NOT be testing for. Adding injury to the insult of the un- ethical and possibly illegal adoption of this policy, students who participate in athletics this year have been pulled out of their classes and even yanked out of class while taking their fi nals, in order to pee in front of Principal Udosenata, the school nurse, or who knows who. It seems that some parents think that should a student fail the drug test, the dis- trict would help parents with the cost of retesting and the intervention programs that would be required for the student to continue to participate in athletics, etc. NOT SO. The policy states clearly that it is the parents’ responsibility to pay for the thousands of dollars such intervention programs cost. The members of Community United for Sensible Policy (CUSP) proposed an opt-out clause that should have been able to satisfy everybody. The members of CUSP were even willing to overlook the original breaches of ethics and standards from which the drug testing policy was born. But the Board refused to even put the option up for a vote. The Board and the administration of CGHS have refused to listen to any of the many well-reasoned arguments against their policy. They have refused to take any notice of the majority of stud- ies that refute the effectiveness of student drug testing. They have refused to heed the statements of the many organizations concerned with the welfare of minors that stand fi rmly against mandatory/ran- dom student drug testing. And the board in particular has shown no inclination whatsoever to want to conform to Oregon Department of Education standards or to the ethical standards that should be ex- pected of an elected body that represents the public. Citizens of Cottage Grove, please take note: school-board elections are in June. Five of the seven current school board members are up for re-election. If you put any value in the constitutional rights of parents to control and guide their children’s education, run for the school board. If you value the rights of parents to decide who can watch their children pee and who has access to the bodily fl uids of their children, run for school board. If you value students’ rights to obtain a full and well-rounded education without hav- ing to submit to warrantless searches and seizures, please, run for the school board. If any voters in this district value your pri- vacy and your rights and wish to protect them from government over-reach, please consider running for the South Lane School District Board. The deadline for fi ling as a candidate for the school board is March 19. There is a $10 fi ling fee — or you can skip fee if you fi le “by petition” with 25 signatures from registered voters in the school dis- trict. By Lokiko Hall, member of CUSP: Community United for Sensible Policy One in fi ve young adults has hypertension BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD For the Sentinel M any people believe that it is normal for blood pressure to rise as we age, but this is not true. Cultures whose diet does not contain excessive added fats, animal protein and salt, and is high in fresh, whole plant foods do not experience the age-related increase in blood pressure that we see in the West- ern world. These age-related el- evations in blood pressure are not related to age itself – instead $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM 116 N. Sixth Street · P.O. Box 35 · Cottage Grove, OR 97424 ADMINISTRATION: JOHN BARTLETT, Regional Publisher SPORTS DEPARTMENT: MATT HOLLANDER, Sports Editor............541-942-3325 Ext. 204 • sports@cgsentinel.com GARY MANLY, General Manager...................541-942- 3325 Ext. 207 • publisher@cgsentinel.com ROBIN REISER, Sales Representative.........541-942- 3325 Ext. 203 • robin@cgsentinel.com PATRIC CARLILE, Sales Representative.........541-942- 3325 Ext. 213 • patric@cgsentinel.com CUSTOMER SERVICE CARLA WILLIAMS, Office Manager..........541-942-3325 Ext. 201 • billing@cgsentinel.com LEGALS......................................................541-942-3325 Ext. 200 • legals@cgsentinel.com GRAPHICS: RON ANNIS, Graphics Manager NEWS DEPARTMENT: JON STINNETT, Editor..............................541-942-3325 Ext. 212 • cgnews@cgsentinel.com (USP 133880) The Cottage Grove Sentinel is published every Wednesday in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Our offices are located at 116 N. Sixth St., P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. Subscription Mail Rates in Lane and Portions of Douglas Counties: One Year (auto pay):............ $34.50 One Year (manual pay):....... $36.15 One Year (e-edition only):.... $33.55 10 Weeks (auto pay):...........$8.55 10 Weeks (manual pay):......$9.10 Subscription Mail Rates Out of County: One Year (auto pay):............ $44.25 One Year (manual pay):....... $46.35 One Year (e-edition only):.... $43.00 10 Weeks (auto pay):...........$11.00 10 Weeks (manual pay):......$11.70 In foreign countries, postage extra. Subscription rates are subject to change upon 30 days’ notice. Periodicals postage paid at Cottage Grove, Oregon. Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. Local Mail Service: If you don’t receive your Cottage Grove Sentinel on the Wednesday of publication, please let us know. Call 541-942-3325 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Advertising ownership: All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by the Cottage Grove Sentinel become the property of the Cottage Grove Sentinel and may not be reproduced for any other use without explicit written prior approval. Copyright Notice: Entire contents ©2014 Cottage Grove Sentinel. they are due to the cumulative destructive effects of a poor diet and insuffi cient exercise on the circulatory system over years and years. Hypertension (blood pressure of 140/90 or higher) is on the rise – between 1996 and 2006, hypertension prevalence in the U.S. increased by 20 percent. In 2011, the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health re- ported that 19 percent of young adults (24 to 32 years old) have hypertension. Plus, more than half of these individuals were unaware that they had high blood pressure. This is mark- edly higher than previous esti- mates. This will only progress as they continue to harm their blood vessels with salt and pro- cessed food. If almost one in fi ve already has blood pressure higher than 140/90 by age 32, imagine the health risks that are in store for this generation. First of all, the risk of death from heart attack and stroke begins to increase when blood pressure climbs over 115/75. Plus, high blood pressure is an important risk factor for hemorrhagic stroke, kidney disease, stomach cancer, dementia, osteoporosis, harden- ing of the arteries, arrhythmia, blindness and enlargement of the heart. Many people in this age group, who were born between 1976 and 1984, have grown up on diets made up primarily of processed foods and fast food, and this study revealed that their bodies are already show- ing signs of the damage. If they do not change their habits, they will be prescribed medication that they will have to take for the rest of their lives to control their blood pressure. But this will not remove the cause of the problem and will put them at risk for harmful side effects. And their poor lifestyle habits will continue to cause worsen- ing of their cardiovascular dis- ease. Of course, this outcome is avoidable with lifestyle chang- es. This generation of young adults can enjoy a long, healthy life without blood pressure-low- ering medication by starting to follow these guidelines now: How to reduce blood pressure naturally: Avoid salt. A population- wide 1200 mg/day decrease in sodium consumption has been estimated to reduce coronary heart disease cases by 60,000, strokes by 32,000, and heart attacks by 54,000 each year. Salt infl icts damage unrelated to blood pressure too. Avoid added sugars. Minimize caffeine and alcohol. Focus preferably on plant pro- tein rather than animal protein. Get plenty of minerals, phyto- chemicals and antioxidants by eating primarily whole plant foods. For example, fl avonoids from berries have a blood pressure-lowering effect, and nuts can promote proper blood pressure regulation. Also, a diet high in fruits and vegetables is consistently associated with healthy blood pressure levels in observational studies. Exercise regularly and vigor- ously. Follow high nutrient diet and achieve a healthy weight. Dr. Fuhrman is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat to Live and Super Immu- nity, and a board certifi ed family physician specializing in life- style and nutritional medicine. Visit his informative website at DrFuhrman.com. Submit your questions and comments about this column directly to news- questions@drfuhrman.com. Letters to the Editor policy The Cottage Grove Sentinel receives many letters to the editor. In order to ensure that your letter will be printed, letters must be under 300 words and submitted by Friday at 5 p.m. Letters must be signed and must include an address, city and phone number or e-mail address for verifi cation purposes. No anonymous letters will be printed. Letters must be of interest to local readers. Personal attacks and name calling in response to letters are uncalled for and unnecessary. If you would like to submit an opinion piece, Another View must be no longer than 600 words. To avoid transcription errors, the Sentinel would prefer editorial and news content be sent electronically via email or electronic media. Hand written submissions will be accepted, but we may need to call to verify spelling, which could delay the publishing of the submission.
