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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 18, 2015)
2A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL February 18, 2015 O PINION LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Gun takeaway (State Senator) Floyd Pro- zanski wants to take your guns away. His bill will do nothing to drop gun crime; do not go by this gun bill if it passes. It says that if you or I want to share any gun with a family member or friend you have to have a background check on that per- son, which will do nothing to reduce crime. Gun control is a gun takeaway, period. One by one, the jackbooted thugs will come to your home and take them, or anywhere you are with guns. The danger to our freedom is right here in our country. Do not let anyone take your guns. If you do, you will have no freedoms. Some people have to stop voting for the left-wing nut- jobs; Democrats are no longer what they used to stand for, and people who don’t believe in our Constitution should leave. Mike Ritter Cottage Grove To the Cottage Grove City Council: Nine months ago, when details of the downtown “refi nement” plan became public knowledge, Friends of Main Street (FoMS) began an effort to preserve the historic ambiance of our home- town while still improving the functionality. FoMS is a group of residents who care about where we live and have every right to petition our governing offi cials. Indeed, it as our ob- ligation. FoMS priorities were and still are: Leave Opal’s park as-is and improve maintenance issues Save as many of the viable shade trees on Main that do not compromise structures. Fix the sidewalks as soon as possible and immediately mark the pedestrian obstacles until re- pairs are made. Make a better plan for safe bi- cycle passage into and through downtown. (bike lane and/or better signage). Repeal or rewrite the con- fl icting ordinances that relates to tree ownership, maintenance and liability. None of these points have Offbeat Oregon History Cow Creek Canyon train robbers weren’t afraid to blow stuff up BY FINN J.D. JOHN For the Sentinel D arkness had fallen in Cow Creek Canyon, in the re- mote fastness of south Doug- las County, on July 1, 1895. It was just after 10 p.m., and the northbound California Express No. 15 was winding its way through the hairpin turns along the mountainside. Suddenly the black night was lit up with a brilliant fl ash as a big explosion thundered out from beneath the front wheels. Engineer J.B. Waite instantly slammed on the brakes. But he was more concerned than fear- ful. A big explosion under the wheels of a locomotive was, at that time, not particularly un- usual. It usually meant there was a disabled train on the tracks, somewhere in the blackness just ahead, and its crew had set a “torpedo” on the track to warn oncoming traffi c, to prevent a deadly crash. It did seem like rather a big torpedo, though. In fact, the ex- plosion had been so big it had disabled the pony truck at the front of the engine. And even more strangely, as the train ground to a halt, two more big explosions rang out — one at the back of the train, and anoth- er at the front. Answers weren’t long in pre- senting themselves — in the form of a trio of masked men with drawn revolvers. The train was being robbed. been adequately addressed, if at all. FoMS presented many docu- ments with alternatives for review and consideration, in- cluding an arborist report and a petition with over 1300 sig- natures saying “Save the Park, Save the Trees.” Does this count as much as the 70 people at the fi rst meeting who, seem- ingly, set the city’s priorities for the entire effort? After so many meetings, there are still many still unanswered questions: What or who is the driving force behind widening the side- walks? Of the people present at the fi rst planning sessions (including their on line poll) a comparatively small number thought wider sidewalks were a good idea; nor have there been any letters or voices at public meetings supporting the con- cept. What is the plan for the Main St./Highway 99 intersection? What will happen to the parking spaces on that block? Vehicles already have problems making that corner. If the eight feet of proposed “furniture zones” were removed from the plan it would mean eight additional feet of safety for shared travel lanes (or per- chance, a bicycle lane?) it would One of the trio — a tall, cool fellow wearing a white hat with a buckskin band and a thin fabric mask over his face — stepped forward to explain the evening’s program to Waite and his fi re- man, Everett Gray. They’d start off by relieving the express car of all its valuables, of course, as per the usual routine. The lead robber would accompany Waite and Gray to the express car, where they would help encour- age the clerk to open the door. The express clerk, though, was no fool. All the explosions had told him clearly enough that something was wrong. So he’d hastily opened the lock- box, taken most of the valuables out, and hidden them in a dark corner of the car. And when the robbers demanded entrance, he let them come right in. Dismayed by the lack of ac- tion in the lockbox, the robber demanded that the clerk open the big express safe. When told that the clerk didn’t have the also mean we could save some trees. As a fi nal vote draws nearer, the question at hand is: Does public input count for any- thing in this city? What does it take to infl uence the city’s plan? Would 2000 signatures be enough? Would 2500 do it? Or is it a futile effort? We have always tried to work with the City in our effort and particularly want to thank the City Manager, the Fire Chief and the City Engineer for their cooperation. We continue to strive to make the plan look less like a Fake Victorian Theme Park and more like our hometown. combination, he pointed his re- volver at the clerk’s head. “I’ll give you just fi ve minutes to open that safe,” he growled, in a distinctive musical baritone voice. “Well, you are simply wasting time,” the clerk shot back, no doubt trying not to look at the yawning gun muzzle that was being presented for his inspec- tion. “The combination is not given me, because of such oc- currences as this. So if you are going to shoot if I don’t open it, you are wasting time to wait fi ve minutes.” “You’re hot stuff, ain’t you”’ the outlaw grumbled. But he held his fi re. Next they moved on to the mail car, the clerk in which had to be threatened with dynamite before opening up. He, too, had fi gured out something was wrong, and had hidden the valu- able registered mail in numer- ous caches all over the car. Only three remained, and these the robber promptly appropriated. Then the robbers, with their hostages, moved through the cars robbing the occupants, each in turn. “Remain perfectly quiet, gentlemen,” the baritone-voiced robber would boom out as they entered each car in turn. “If I am hurt, you’ll all go too. I have a dozen men outside loaded down with dynamite.” Peering out the windows into the blackness, the occupants could see two of the “dozen” robbers outside, watching them and occasionally lighting off a stick of dynamite to demon- strate they meant business. At the back of one car, they found Klamath County Sheriff A.A. Fitch, and robbed him of his Colt revolver. At the sleeper cars, the Baritone Bandit made his way down the aisle boom- ing out, “Lady or gent?’ and if a woman was inside, he left her alone. “Got any money?” he asked one passenger. “A little,” the man replied. “Well, keep it,” the robber said. ‘You look like a hard- working man, and I guess you need it.” Most of the passengers didn’t get off so easy, though. After the passengers were all robbed, the bandits returned to the front of the engine. The en- gineer and fi reman were ordered into the express car; the robbers shot out the train’s powerful carbide headlamp; and then they melted away into the night. The next day, the railroad an- nounced a reward of $2,000 for the arrest and conviction of each of the robbers. That was a lot of money in 1895, and it had its in- tended effect — several posses soon were in play, most of them heading out toward likely es- cape routes in hopes of catching the bad guys trying to leave. But one posse in particular ing women how much weight they had gained during adult- hood, they asked women in their 50s what size skirt they wore at age 25, and what size they wear now. They found that an in- crease of one size (e.g., size 8 to size 10) over the course of 10 years produced a 33 percent in- crease in the risk of postmeno- pausal breast cancer. In this study, skirt size was a better pre- dictor of breast cancer risk than BMI, implying that visceral fat could be especially hazardous. Another study evaluated waist circumference and BMI, and concluded that excess weight increases risk regardless of body shape. A third study measured fat mass in different parts of the body. In this study, fat mass in the abdominal area, in each leg and in the whole body were all associated with increased breast cancer risk, though the abdomi- nal area was associated with the greatest increase in risk. The overall message from this research is that although viscer- al fat may be especially danger- ous, excess fat, no matter where it is on the body, increases the risk of breast cancer. Obtaining and maintain a favorable weight and a healthful, nutrient rich diet is not merely for looking good and feeling well, it is im- perative for your future health. Maintaining a healthy weight throughout adulthood is one of the most important preventive measures women can take to re- duce breast cancer risk. A diet of high-nutrient foods fi ghts breast cancer from all angles, helping to prevent weight gain while also keeping insulin levels in a healthy range and providing anti-infl ammatory and anti-can- cer phytochemicals. We can win the war on breast cancer right now and save mil- lions of women’s lives. Not with more research for new drugs, or with wearing pink for “breast cancer awareness” but instead with a change in the way Ameri- cans eat. This needs to happen right now across America, and you can help yourself and oth- ers. To learn more about breast cancer prevention, read my book, Super Immunity, which gives the full scientifi c details to enable women to achieve dra- matic protection. B.J. Jones Cottage Grove Please see OFFBEAT, Page 6A Body fat, hormones and breast cancer BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD For the Sentinel O besity is a known risk factor for breast cancer. Excess weight increases the risk of being diagnosed with breast can- cer and is associated with higher grade tu- mors and poorer sur- vival after diagnosis. Body fat is now recognized as more than just extra stored en- ergy; it is an active endocrine organ. Fat tissue produces hor- mones and other chemical mes- sengers that affect other areas of the body and promote cellular events leading to chronic dis- eases like heart disease, diabe- tes and cancer. Fat tissue, since it produces estrogen, increases the body’s exposure to the hormone. More body fat means higher estro- gen levels, and weight loss is known to decrease circulating $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM 116 N. Sixth Street · P.O. Box 35 · Cottage Grove, OR 97424 ADMINISTRATION: JESSICA BAKER, Publisher..............................942-3325 Ext. 207 • publisher@cgsentinel.com SPORTS DEPARTMENT: JERRY THOMPSON, Sports Editor...................942-3325 Ext. 204 • sports@cgsentinel.com ROBIN REISER, Executive Assistant.................942-3325 Ext. 203 • robin@cgsentinel.com CUSTOMER SERVICE CARLA WILLIAMS, Office Manager.................942-3325 Ext. 201 • billing@cgsentinel.com GARY MANLY, Sales Manager..........................942-3325 Ext. 202 • gmanly@cgsentinel.com NEWS DEPARTMENT: JON STINNETT, Editor......................................942-3325 Ext. 212 • cgnews@cgsentinel.com LEGALS.............................................................942-3325 Ext. 200 • legals@cgsentinel.com GRAPHICS: RON ANNIS, Graphics Manager (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: Six months ..................................................................$21 One year .....................................................................$32 Two years ....................................................................$60 Senior citizen ..............................................................$24 Rates in all other areas of United States: Six months, $24; one year, $41; two years, $70. In foreign countries, postage extra. estrogens in women. Higher cu- mulative estrogen exposure is another known factor linked to increased breast cancer risk. Es- trogen fuels the growth and pro- liferation of breast cancer cells, and weight loss is hypothesized to reduce the ability of tumors to grow. Estrogen is not the only hormone involved in the rela- tionship between obesity and breast cancer. Excess fat also leads to insu- lin resistance, and high insulin levels also fuel cancer cell pro- liferation. High levels of insulin in the blood are thought to be the reason that diabetes increas- es cancer risk. Also, levels of circulating free IGF-1, another hormone associated with in- creased cancer risk, tends to be higher in obese subjects. Leptin, another hormone produced by fat tissue (which is higher in those who are overweight), also promotes proliferation of breast cancer cells. With obesity, there is a reduction in the hormone ad- iponectin produced by fat cells; adiponectin normally enhances insulin sensitivity. Excess fat tissue also promotes a state of infl ammation in the body, and many fat-produced infl amma- tory molecules promote the sur- vival, growth or proliferation of cancer cells or promote cancer indirectly by increasing estro- gen synthesis. Gaining weight during adult- hood, even in small, gradual amounts, adds up over time to increase risk. One study evalu- ated weight gain starting at age 20, and concluded women who gained approximately one pound per year (based on change in BMI) had an 88 percent increase in breast cancer risk in their 50s compared to women whose weight remained stable. Impor- tantly, the researchers noted that this amount of weight gain was common; more than half of the women in the study had gained that much weight since their 20s. Although there is agreement that weight gain increases risk, studies are now beginning to ask whether abdominal obesity is more dangerous than overall obesity when it comes to breast cancer. In the context of diabe- tes and cardiovascular disease, there is evidence that visceral fat—the fat around the organs in the abdominal area—is more pro-infl ammatory and confers greater risk than subcutaneous fat. Early data had associated waist to hip ratio—an indicator of abdominal obesity—with in- creased risk of breast cancer. In one recent study, instead of ask- Dr. Fuhrman is a #1 New York Times best-selling author and a board certifi ed family physician specializing in life- style and nutritional medicine. Visit his informative website at DrFuhrman.com. Letters to the Editor policy No subscription for less than six months. 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 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 ©2010 Cottage Grove Sentinel. 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