Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2015)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL February 18, 2015 Fire destroys Dorena residence K ENNEL Continued from page 1A A fi re at a home in the 30000 block of Row River Road destroyed the home and displaced its occupant Saturday. The oc- cupant was reportedly uninjured, accord- ing to South Lane Fire & Rescue's Joe Raade, who said the fi re occurred outside his District's boundaries. On Monday, Chief John Wooten said that the District did send fi re units when it learned that the resident had re-entered the building and become trapped but called off those units when he was found outside unharmed. "The issue of unprotected lands is state- wide, and previous efforts to resolve it by incorporating...areas into fi re response districts has failed due to the issues re- garding taxes," Wooten wrote. photo by Helen Singer H ASKELL Continued from page 1A Lane School District to get the new high school built.” Over the years, Haskell has had both fans and detractors, perhaps most notably related to a 2006 City Council decision to expand the Cot- tage Grove Speedway, a decision lat- er overturned by a state review panel that found bias on the part of Haskell and Councilor Pat Patterson in favor of the expansion. “I’m proud that I was able to help save the racetrack,” he said last week. “It cost me a lot of clout and was con- troversial, and I’m aware that there’s now a state law named after me.” Throughout his tenure, Haskell said he was proud when he could agree to disagree with his opponents. “I recognized early on that it’s my job to represent 10,000 people,” he said. “We’re all human beings, and we have to work together. I wouldn’t let things offend me, because it’s never personal.” Life took a dramatic turn for Haskell last fall, when he received a diagnosis of Stage 4 pancreatic can- cer. He was given a matter of months to live and quickly closed up his shop in preparation for what was to come. “When I found out I had to close the shop quickly, I was trying to fi g- ure out how to say ‘Thank You’ for the support of the offi cials I served with and to City staff,” he said. “I would have no accomplishments without their help and generosity.” Haskell said he doesn’t have a “bucket list” of sorts to accomplish with what time he has left. “I’ve shot my biggest bucks and caught my biggest fi sh,” he said. “I’ve had more enjoyment than one person should have. I am a wealthy man.” C ORE Continued from page 1A ing schools (and students, in- directly) is counterproductive amid so many concerns and mis- conceptions about the scores. It’s certainly possible that Cottage Grove is a microcosm of that discontent. “I’m not too sure what to think of it,” said Cottage Grove High School junior Jayden Tucker. “I’ve heard so many things about it, but I still don’t know what’s going on. I’ve heard that the teachers aren’t sure what it is, and we’re getting what we know from them.” One of the lighting-rod is- sues of Smarter Balanced is that it will supplant the graduation requirement formerly served by the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS). While comparable in function, there are signifi cant differences between the two tests: Under OAKS, which will continue to be the test for social science subjects, all questions were multiple-choice; questions had only one correct answer; results were instantaneous, and students could take the assess- ment up to twice a year. In contrast, the Smarter Bal- anced Assessment is partly multiple-choice with extended response sections; some ques- tions have more than one right answer; the results are gener- ated over weeks, and students have one opportunity to pass. Educators unanimously agree that Smarter Balanced is more rigorous than OAKS, and it’s reasonable to expect that fewer students will pass. However, those students could satisfy the essential skills for gradua- tion requirement through other means, such as work samples, SAT or ACT scores. After nearly a decade of 11A OAKS, the current juniors are expected to be the most sensi- tive to the differences of Smart- er Balanced. These students will receive a cut-score equiva- lent between the two tests, and freshmen and sophomores will receive graduated cut scores as they transition to the new test over the next three years. However, South Lane assis- tant superintendent Kyle Tucker (no relation to Jayden) believes that the changes may not be as signifi cant as some have ar- gued. “Nothing has changed; the state has always had standards of what kids need to know. What has changed is the align- ment,” he said. Cottage Grove High School math teacher Sarah Cunning- ham agreed that the older stu- dents would probably notice the increased rigor of classes (Algebra 1, for example, now When serious illness or injury occur, our complete Emergency Department is ready. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the Cottage Grove Community Hospital Emergency Department offers exceptional emergency care close to home. With state-of-the-art monitoring, imaging and digital technology, specially trained physicians, RNs and EMTs, and unmatched commitment to our community, we care for every body. Every day. In every way. peacehealth.org/cottage-grove includes quadratics) but that the younger students won’t know any different. While Common Core does not dictate curriculum or teach- ing methods, teachers have had to implement new assignments to help students prepare for Smarter Balanced. Some South Lane parents have said it has been challenging to help their children through these unfamil- iar concepts, such as justifi ed answers. “Common Core is horrible,” said Smiley Glenn. “I can’t help my fi fth-grade daughter in math because I don’t understand it. I can show her in 10 seconds how to fi nd an answer the way I learned it, but she has to show her work. It does not make the least bit of sense to me.” The transition to Common Core dates back to 2008 summit of governors and state school chiefs, in which they concluded “We now have the luxury of holding onto them a little bit longer, to hold out hope that somebody might come forward and claim their dog,” Gagner said. Gagner added that those seeking to retrieve a dog can now do so 24 hours a day, seven days a week, where previously it would have only been possible during the vet clinic’s business hours. Police are charging a $20 impound fee, in ad- dition to $5 a day to lodge a dog at the impound kennel. Where offi cials at Forest Valley would previously have vaccinated impounded dogs automatically, Gagner said that in the event of an impound, police will fi rst check to see if that dog is licensed in the City. If not, the owner will be issued a citation for having an unlicensed dog, which carries a $50 bail. If an owner can provide proof of a rabies vaccination before the court date for the citation, a dog license will be issued at a $10 cost (for an altered dog; a license costs $20 for a dog that has not been fi xed) and the citation will disappear. “The goal is to get dogs licensed so we can more easily return them to their owners,” Gag- ner said. Last year, 132 dogs were licensed in Cottage Grove, though police know that num- ber is only a fraction of the dogs living here. In 2014, police impounded 108 dogs, with 86 requiring lodging at Forest Valley. Once a dog has been impounded, police will post information on radio station KNND, in ad- dition to the Cottage Grove Police Facebook page, which is linked to the City website. “The point is to make it less expensive and reunite dogs with their owners,” Gagner said. “We’ll see how it works out.” that U.S. schools had set their standards in reading, math and writing too low for students to succeed in college and compete in a global economy. Oregon was one of the fi rst states to adopt the new standards, and it was eventually joined by more then 40 other states. In order to measure how well schools are teaching to Com- mon Core, Smarter Balanced emerged as the universal test of choice. “We all agree that raising ex- pectations is a good thing for college and career readiness,” Cunningham said. “If people have questions they should call and ask instead of making as- sumptions.” However, it’s likely that an entirely new set of standards will evolve before most people get a grip on Common Core. Cunningham said it is at least the third set of standards in 10 years of teaching. Tucker also expects to see more changes but can’t predict what those will be. “Just look at how technology has impacted education. When I was in school we had fancy typewriters, and we now are us- ing iPads in a lot of our class- rooms,” he said. TOO LATE TO CLASSIFY Help Wanted WHOLESALE NURS- ERY hiring drivers, plant- ers and order assembling people for the spring season. Email your resume to lhpapps@gmail.com Find Local Businesses. ,QWURGXFLQJWKHQHZHVWZD\WR´QGWKH Find Local Businesses. businesses that mean the most to you. ,QWURGXFLQJWKHQHZHVWZD\WR´QGWKH businesses that mean the most to you. www.shoppelocal.biz www.shoppelocal.biz Find GREAT MONEY SAVING COUPONS from local businesses Cottage Grove 1SJNBSZ$BSFt*NBHJOH4FSWJDFTt1IZTJDBM5IFSBQZt&NFSHFODZ 0VUQBUJFOU.FEJDBM.BOBHFNFOUt%JHJUBM.BNNPHSBQIZ $PUUBHF(SPWF$PNNVOJUZ.FEJDBM$FOUFS 7JMMBHF%SJWF$PUUBHF(SPWFt Sentinel Shoppe™ is a trademark of News Media Corp.
