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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2015)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL February 18, 2015 This South Lane School District bus sus- tained heavy damage in a crash outside Dorena Thursday afternoon. photo by Jon Stinnett Bus accident sends student to hospital BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel The ride home from school turned scary for students and a bus driver from Dorena School Thursday afternoon. Personnel from South Lane School District said about 25 students were on board the bus that left the school headed southbound when a northbound Dodge Ram pickup driven by 49-year old Johnnie Sayles reportedly crossed the centerline and careened down the left side of the bus. Division Chief Joe Raade of South Lane County Fire and Rescue later surmised that the bus driver may have corrected the ve- hicle’s route toward nearby homes and the Row River by instead hitting a tree by the roadside. Raade said that one girl who was riding on the bus was taken to the hospital to be evaluated for a potential head injury; Raade said paramed- ics didn’t transport anyone else from the scene, including Sayles, who was also unhurt. Sayles’ truck continued traveling down the guardrail for what appeared to be a half-mile from the crash site. The bus and pickup both sustained extensive damage. The Lane County Sheriff’s Offi ce joined South Lane Fire and an offi cer from the Cottage Grove Police Department at the scene, where a second bus eventually arrived to take students home after the crash. Sgt. Carrie Carver of LCSO said that Sayles was later given a citation for driving under the infl uence of intoxicants. She said that Sayles was cooperative with po- lice following the crash. 3A Presentation, exhibit to focus on history of Applegate Trail BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel O n June 5, 1846, a group of Oregon settlers based in Dallas set out to fi nd a south- erly route to the new territory that could bypass many of the dangers they’d encountered on the Oregon Trail three years prior. The group, which nota- bly included Jesse and Lind- sey Applegate, Levi Scott and others, spent three and a half months plotting the trip to Fort Hall, Idaho, later convincing a wagon train of settlers to return on their new route. It was a de- cision and a journey that would shape much of Oregon’s history (and particularly the history of this area) thereafter, and one that will serve as the focus of an exhibit and presentation on the Applegate Trail at the Cottage Grove Library. Back in 1996, Cottage Grove’s Joann Skelton was one of a co- alition studying and interpreting the historical signifi cance and offi cial route of the Applegate Trail, and in 1995, the facts Skelton and others uncovered helped set the record straight on its route in time for the 150th anniversary of the trail’s begin- nings. Skelton’s fi ndings became a presentation before the Cot- tage Grove Historical Society in 1995, a lecture entitled “Not an Easy Road,” a fact Skelton stressed often while discussing the trail. “People only used the trail for two years, basically,” Skelton said. “In those days, the Oregon Territory was jointly occupied by the U.S. and the British. The fi rst group of leaders knew that, if war broke out between the two countries, the main fort, Fort Vancouver, was held by the British and they would need a way to get out of this area. They also knew that a route from the south might convince more set- tlers to come out here. The road was almost as bad as the one they’d come over on, but that may be beside the point.” By the time the settlers had reached Martin Creek just south of Cottage Grove, they were powerfully hungry, Skelton said, and no doubt a little miffed at the work that had been necessary to get them there. The Applegates would go on to settle near Yon- calla, and their home served as a stopping point for future settlers thereafter. Among that fi rst group of northbound settlers was James Chapin, who would do his part to found Cottage Grove in later years, in addition to a host of names that are now common- place in Eugene (Charnelton, Blair, Hewland). The route the Applegates founded later be- came the route followed by Highway 99 and later Interstate 5, though some historians (par- ticularly those in Polk County, according to Skelton) preferred to name the trail after Levi Scott. In the mid 90s, Skelton and other researchers also helped es- tablish the fact that there were in fact two routes of the Applegate Trail — one that came through Cottage Grove and another more westerly route through present- day Lorane. Their research was able to convince the U.S. Na- tional Parks Service of the his- torical signifi cance of both parts of the trail. Skelton will elaborate much more fully on the Applegate Trail at a Historical Society pre- sentation this Saturday, Feb. 21 at 10 a.m. at the CG Community Center. A kickoff for the His- torical Society exhibit featuring the trail will follow on Monday, Feb. 23 from 6-7:30 p.m. at the CG Library. The Society’s Holli Turpin said the exhibit will in- clude several trail maps, back- ground information and biog- raphies of notable early settlers. The exhibit will be on display through March. Lockdown drill tests preparedness of CGHS staff, students BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel J ust before 10 a.m. Thurs- day, a loud alarm pierced the otherwise calm morning air at Cottage Grove High School. Instantly, teachers, students and administrators sprung to action — teachers shepherding students into classrooms be- fore locking their doors tight; students hustling to the room they’re supposed to occupy and administrators communicating with radios to try to keep track of them all. Several students un- fortunate enough to fi nd them- selves outside their classrooms instead made a trek outside the school building while members of the Cottage Grove Police Department swept the halls in search of trouble. A few minutes later, it was all over, and school offi cials gath- ered with police to talk about the school’s performance in a drill designed to test Cottage Grove High School’s response to a potential school shooting or other such catastrophe. “The kids know where they’re supposed to go in a lockdown drill,” explained Athletic Direc- tor Dave Presley, who also orga- nized the exercise. “We’ve done drills before that assumed that the situation was already con- tained, and the students knew to stay in the classroom and away from the door, but we also know that most incidents reportedly happen during passing periods, so we wanted to know the pro- cess for that situation.” Presley said he thought the exercise went well, and Cor- poral Conrad Gagner of CGPD agreed. They pointed out that teachers locked their doors as instructed and after a certain amount of time had passed would not open them for any one, not even tardy students. One student, they pointed out, was in an upstairs bathroom when the alarm rang out, and several more made their way outside to the front of the build- ing in a group. School offi cials pointed out that, during a potential school shooting, the second-safest place to be is in a locked class- room, with outside the building being the best option. Com- mander Scott Shepherd said it took about 3-4 minutes to get all the students there Thursday, calling the morning’s exercise a “good fi rst drill.” Shepherd cautioned, though, that students who left the building could not necessarily expect to see blink- ing police lights as guides, as police would likely arrive in un- marked cars and would be too preoccupied with nullifying the threat indoors to gather students or secure a perimeter. Shepherd also noted the importance of conveying a sense of urgency to the student body about taking such a drill seriously. Superintendent Krista Parent said South Lane School District is working on a common pro- tocol for lockdown situations throughout the District. She said similar drills take place at all district schools. On Thurs- day, school offi cials and police discussed the next possible drill, which may not be scheduled and announced quite as thoroughly as last week’s exercise. Gagner said school shoot- ings remain “at the forefront of people’s minds” because they can happen anywhere. He said law enforcement offi cials have gone from a mindset of gath- ering forces outside a building before venturing in — a sort of SWAT-team mentality — and sending police in immediately to try and neutralize a threat that can quickly turn deadly. Gagner said Cottage Grove Police are as “ready as we can be” to respond to such a situation. 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
