4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL March 25, 2015
O PINION
Full agreement or no, it's time
to pass the Refi nement Plan
BY JON STINNETT
Sentinel Editor
O
n Monday evening, the Cottage
Grove City Council cast its fi rst vote
in favor of the Main Street Refi nement Plan,
a comprehensive blueprint for re-envision-
ing downtown Cottage Grove between its
historic buildings.
The Refi nement Plan has been a part of the
public discourse in Cottage Grove for some
time; the Council began combing through
the two-inch thick document containing the
plan and the appendix of all public testimo-
ny pertaining to it at an introductory work-
session on Feb. 2. The fi rst opportunity for
a governing body to examine the plan came
last year for the Cottage Grove Planning
Commission, which extended a public hear-
ing to allow all interested citizens a chance
to make their opinions known, then recom-
mended adoption of the plan to the City
Council while suggesting a few changes.
Taken together with the three public meet-
ings that began in December of 2013, the
meetings and recommendations from a
group of stakeholders including downtown
business owners, meetings organized in op-
position to the plan by a group known as
“Friends of Main Street” and a lengthy pub-
lic hearing at the Council’s Feb. 23 meeting,
and it’s clear that the Refi nement Plan has
seen as much public scrutiny as any docu-
ment developed by this community in recent
memory.
Yes, it seems everyone has an opinion
regarding the Refi nement Plan, and most
who have chosen to comment have shared
grievances or concerns with specifi c issues
the plan attempts to address, issues such as
whether or not to widen sidewalks and re-
duce the width of travel lanes; what to do (or
not) about the trees lining Main Street and
whether to attempt a redesign of All-Ameri-
ca City Square (which the plan recommends
tabling for a later date.)
Few involved, however, appear ready to
support the plan in its entirety and in its cur-
rent form. Councilor Heather Murphy stated
as much recently.
“I have heard very little consistency with
regard to the entire plan,” Murphy said, later
adding that the plan is “not in any way going
to please everybody.”
It was disheartening to hear Murphy say
these words, true as they may be, as some-
one who’s followed the formulation of the
plan from the outset and understands the
countless hours that went into crafting it.
The notion that members of this community
could come together and hammer out a plan
that no one involved can enthusiastically,
wholeheartedly support casts quite a bit of
doubt on the ability of a group of people to
get together to hash out a vision for their
own future.
And yet support the Main Street Refi ne-
ment Plan we must, and for much the same
reason: It is our plan, developed by us, for
us and our successors, the generations that
will one day call Cottage Grove home, and
it addresses problems in just about every-
one’s favorite part of our fair City that have
required solutions for too long.
Yes, the plan was partially developed be-
fore some community members had the op-
portunity to (or for whatever reason, chose
to) weigh in. Yes, it was drafted with the
aid of consultants living far away in exotic
Portland. Yes, it’s likely that everyone with
a vested interest in the plan’s outcome can
fi nd something in it they dislike.
But by now, it’s diffi cult (at least for me)
to believe that those with grievances about
specifi c aspects of the plan that they have
not yet aired in public have anyone to blame
but themselves. The public process that led
to this plan may have started slow in terms
of inclusiveness, and it may have dwelt
heavily on some aspects to the detriment of
others (talk of little besides the ornamental
street trees served to distract many from the
more pressing safety issues at hand, in my
humble opinion). Still, the process has over
time grown to include the effort and opin-
ions of hundreds of well-meaning members
of this community, and there has been give
and take from just about all of them.
In a town as opinionated, as proud and
involved in its own well being as Cottage
Grove, it is as diffi cult for this reporter to
envision a blueprint for the future of down-
town Cottage Grove that we all can enthu-
siastically agree upon as it is to imagine a
realistic way to involve more of our citizens
in a heartfelt, productive discussion of that
future. Journalists often hear laments from
both sides of planning processes that nei-
ther side — planning offi cials or the general
public — participates in full, productive co-
operation with the other, and these laments
are often true. But somewhere in the forma-
tion of the Main Street Refi nement Plan, it
became obvious, at least to me, that the op-
portunities for participation and cooperation
from all sides of the process have been more
than adequate to help advance the goal at
hand — a safer, more inviting and structur-
ally sound downtown Cottage Grove.
Should we not act and approve a plan for
refurbishing Main Street, the consequences
could be unfortunate. Without a plan to en-
hance Main Street, repairs to Main Street
and its sidewalks (which are sorely needed)
would likely need to be fi nanced by the City
without any outside help, or the City could
require downtown property owners to fund
the repairs of the sidewalks in front of their
businesses. Without a comprehensive plan
for a construction process that it seems must
necessarily be comprehensive in many ways
(it’s foolish, at least to me, to imagine rip-
ping up and rebuilding Main Street without
simultaneously addressing the sidewalks,
utilities and street trees it intertwines) we
run the risk of having to dismantle improve-
ments we’ve already made in order to make
others in the future.
The Main Street Refi nement Plan is not
perfect by a long shot, but decisions reached
by consensus seldom are, and the plan can
certainly be modifi ed in the long run-up to
the future date at which construction begins.
We owe it to ourselves right now to gather
up the fruits of our cooperation and produce
a document that can effectively help guide
our tomorrows.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Food is key
The 'Bend Bulletin' headline
read: 'Redmond aims to revitalize
Mid-Town'. The story said, 'the
city wants to revitalize the central
part of town into a district where
young and old can enjoy trendy
restaurants, small retail shops and
cafes...'
Dick Robertson, owner of a local
coffee company, said that restau-
rants, whether cafes or upscale
bistros, would be key to garnering
attention for that part of the city.
"People are drawn to food," said
Robertson. Let me add drink.
The suggestion here is to occupy
all vacant space on Main and side
streets with bars, cafes, diners,
grills, bistros, buffets, lounges,
Offbeat Oregon History
Coast Guard ‘Sand Pounders’ kept
Oregon coast secure
BY FINN J.D. JOHN
For the Sentinel
D
uring the summer of 1942, the sleepy and ob-
scure West Coast state of Oregon suddenly re-
alized that if Imperial Japan should make any military
moves against the continental states, it would be in the
very front line.
In that summer, the enemy was actually off the Or-
egon coast — sinking merchant ships, shelling Fort
Stevens and dropping bombs on the hills near Brook-
ings in an attempt to start a forest fi re.
Oregonians could be excused for wondering what
might have happened if the submarine that caused
all that havoc had, instead of heaving to and lobbing
shells, simply slipped quietly into some obscure little
inlet and sent a few dozen Japanese soldiers ashore.
What could stop them?
It was a fair question, and one that had the military
authorities in Salem and Washington, D.C., very wor-
ried. They were especially concerned after an incident
on the shore of Long Island, just a few days before
the shelling of Fort Stevens, in which an unarmed
Coast Guardsman stumbled across a landing party of
Nazi saboteurs disembarking from a submarine. These
turned out to be the fi rst of several landing parties
sent here in a campaign by Berlin to salt the Eastern
Seaboard’s industry with German spies landed in the
middle of the night from submarines.
The answer to this new threat came a month later,
when the U.S. Coast Guard launched the Coast Guard
Beach Patrol — which quickly became known as the
museums, taverns, galleries, brew
pubs, restaurants, nightclubs,
sandwich, donut and coffee shops
plus an ice cream parlor.
Then watch downtown once again
become fun-fi lled and action-
packed.
Bob Hardy
Cottage Grove
“Sand Pounders.”
The Sand Pounders patrol was staffed with recruits
drawn largely from the Midwest and from east of the
Cascades — horse country. That’s because, as anyone
who’s ever strolled an empty Oregon beach knows,
walking isn’t the optimal way to cover distance on the
beach. That’s especially the case if you want to bring
with you one of the giant 35-pound “portable” radio
transmitters that were then the state of the art. So right
from the start, the Sand Pounders were envisioned as
a mounted service wherever geography would permit
it.
They had to wait for horses to be supplied by the
Army, but by late 1942 the animals had started to
arrive. Trained patrol dogs were already being add-
ed to the patrols, and so by the end of the year, the
Sand Pounders had grown into the form they’d take
throughout the early war years: Pairs of Coast Guard
guys, both packing .38 revolvers and Reising M50
submachine guns, usually mounted, one with a back-
pack radio transmitter — doggedly making their way
along the beach in the teeth of every kind of weather
the Oregon Coast can supply, eyes peeled for any sign
of Japanese marauders.
The Coast Guard also built a series of watchtow-
ers, similar to the one behind the Yaquina Bay Light
in Newport, from which Coasties watched the river
entrances 24 hours a day.
The Sand Pounders had trouble at fi rst getting the
authority they needed to do their job — authority
to order people off certain beaches and to prosecute
those who defi ed their orders. The commanding gen-
eral of the Western Defense Command refused out-
right to grant them authority to do more than report
stuff. Finally, in late summer of 1943, the governors
Please see OFFBEAT, Page 9A
Soups — essential for a high-nutrient diet
BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD
For the Sentinel
S
oups, along with salads,
are an essential part of a
high-nutrient (Nutritarian) diet,
and for good reason. Vegetable
and bean soups and stews are
nutrient-rich, fl avorful and easy
to prepare. They can be served
as a complement to a meal or
as the cen-
terpiece.
Soups can
easily be
cooked in
bulk to pro-
vide several
days’ worth
of leftovers,
convenient
to have on hand at home or to
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
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take along to work or school.
Soups and stews are warming,
satisfying and satiating and
can widen your nutrient diver-
sity. They can be made from a
variety of fresh, frozen or even
leftover ingredients and allow
for experimentation in a pot,
pressure cooker, slow cooker or
even right in a Vitamix or other
high-powered blender.
Since soups are gently cooked
with a liquid base, nutrients are
retained and some are made
more absorbable. Many nutri-
ents, like niacin, folate and a
range of minerals, are water
soluble. Normally, with water-
based cooking, like boiling, wa-
ter-soluble nutrients are leached
into the cooking water and dis-
carded. However, with soups,
the liquid and the water-soluble
nutrients are retained and con-
sumed.
Cooking soup heats, mois-
turizes and softens vegetables
and beans, which dramatically
increases the potential digest-
ibility and absorption of the
nutritious compounds contained
within them. Recent studies
confi rm that the body absorbs
more of the benefi cial anti-can-
cer compounds, carotenoids
in particular, especially lutein
and lycopene, from cooked
vegetables as compared to raw
vegetables. Scientists speculate
that the increase in absorption
of these antioxidants after cook-
ing may be attributed to the de-
struction of the cell matrix or
connective bands to which these
compounds are bound.
Additionally, cooking veg-
etables in soups breaks down
the cellulose within them and
alters the plants’ cell structures,
which facilitates digestion. This
way of cooking also prevents
foods from browning and form-
ing toxic compounds, like acryl-
amide, which is formed in dry,
high-temperature cooking, like
baking, frying and grilling, and
is a potential carcinogen or can-
cer-causing agent.
For superior nutrition, become
an expert at making great soups.
Make your soups with some
of the G-BOMBS, like greens,
beans, onions and mushrooms,
which are some of the most nu-
tritious foods on the planet and
combine so well in a big pot for
a super nutritious and savory
meal!
Start your soups with a base
of water and fresh vegetable
juice, like carrot, celery or to-
mato juice or a no-salt-added
vegetable broth, with less than
200 mg of sodium per cup.
Next, add some dry beans, as
they take the longest to cook.
Then, add some onions, leeks
or other members of the Allium
family, leafy green vegetables,
other vegetables that you have
on hand, and some herbs, spices
or fruits like parsley, black pep-
per or lemon.
Be sure to include some cru-
ciferous vegetables into the mix,
such as kale, bok choy or cab-
bage. Chop or blend most of the
vegetables before adding them
to the pot to form organosulfur
compounds in the onions and
isothiocyanates (ITCs) in the
cruciferous vegetables, which
are very important disease-fi ght-
ing phytochemicals.
To make a creamier soup
and add another layer of fl avor
blend some nuts into the soup.
Cook a large pot of soup at least
once a week and store leftovers
in individual containers, in the
refrigerator for fi ve days or lon-
ger in the freezer. Be wary of
commercially available canned
soups, as they are often high in
sodium.
Quick, hot, tasty and nutrient
dense—soups in all of their va-
rieties are a great way to experi-
ence the pleasures of the Nutri-
tarian diet.
Dr. Fuhrman is a #1 New York
Times best-selling author and a
family physician specializing in
lifestyle and nutritional medi-
cine. Visit his informative web-
site at DrFuhrman.com. Submit
your questions and comments
about this column directly to
newsquestions@drfuhrman.
com. The full reference list
for this article can be found at
DrFuhrman.com.
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