More I-5 work — 3A
City Beat — 5A
Talking Toureen
Leash-training humans — 7A
page 1B
Years after a stellar high-school
career, Lion's legacy lingers
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2015
SOUTH LANE COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
VOLUME 126 • NUMBER 40
Also E-cig law also adds to buildings' no-smoking barrier
inside:
Smokers must be 25 feet from entrances,
exits, windows, air intakes
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
A
law recently passed by
the Cottage Grove City
Council puts restrictions on the
use and sale of electronic ciga-
rettes within the city limits, but
the law includes restrictions that
may also affect smokers of old-
fashioned tobacco products.
The law, passed by the Coun-
cil at the end of February, bans
the sale of electronic smoking
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Armory's designs
approved, page 3A
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One of everybody's
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devices to those under 18 and
their use by those under 18; it
prohibits the sale of those de-
vices or liquids in a self-service
display or the distribution of
free samples and requires that
retailers check the identifi cation
of those believed to be under 18
who wish to purchase them.
The law also subjects e-ciga-
rettes to the same requirements
of the Oregon Indoor Clean Air
Act that currently govern their
tobacco counterparts, in addi-
tion to increasing the distance
a smoker of any device must
maintain from the entrances and
exits to a business, an open win-
dow or ventilation system intake
from 10 to 25 feet.
The Council decided to in-
crease the acceptable smoking
distance from exits and entranc-
es during a lengthy discussion
on e-cig regulations, though the
change of distance itself came
about with very little discussion.
The new regulation took effect
one month after its passage, on
March 23, and has already made
it diffi cult for some city staff to
fi nd a legal place to smoke out-
side City Hall.
“You’d have to be 25 feet
away from the building in gen-
eral,” said City Manager Rich-
ard Meyers, who explained that
the open windows and entrances
around City Hall make it a tough
place to legally smoke near these
days. Meyers said smokers will
likely have to walk all the way
to the sidewalk to light up.
The responsibility for enforc-
ing the new distance limit falls
to the Cottage Grove Police
Department, whose Chief Mike
Grover recently reached out
to offi cials in Corvallis, a city
with a similar 25-foot smoking
Boating
accident
claims life
of CG man
City moving water
line to make way for
trail undercrossing
Thomas Whiting, 56,
died when his boat
overturned Saturday
County hopes to build bike,
pedestrian bypass under Row River
Road by end of summer
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
T
Family and friends mourn the
loss this week of a 56-year old Cot-
tage Grove man who perished when
the fi shing boat he occupied with
his nephew capsized at the mouth
of the Rogue River.
Laurie Colton said Monday that
her son, 36-year old Charlie John-
son, and brother-in-law, Thomas
Whiting, made frequent trips to
Gold Beach over the years to fi sh
in the ocean beyond the bar. On
Saturday morning, she said the pair
observed the scene at the bar for a
long time before proceeding toward
the ocean.
About 300 yards before reach-
ing the bar, Colton said, a wave
courtesy photo
Relatives say Charlie Johnson (left) and his uncle, Tom Whit-
ing, were very close. The two were aboard an 18-foot boat
when it capsized near the mouth of the Rogue River Saturday.
grabbed the estimated 18-foot boat
and fl ung both men into the water.
“It was open; there were no
waves at that point or they would
never have tried it,” Colton said.
Sheriff John Ward of the Curry
County Sheriff’s Offi ce said wit-
nesses to the accident called 911
to report it at 7:38 a.m. Ward said
via press release that three sheriff’s
deputies were nearby at the boat
barn at the Gold Beach airport and
responded to the scene.
“The bar was breaking halfway
across from the south side, and
there were six to 10-foot swells on
the north side,” Ward wrote, adding
that the deputies came into contact
with Johnson, who was holding
Please see WHITING, Page 11A
Cafe Sheilagh closes after
12 years in Cottage Grove
Owner plans to retire,
spend more
time with family
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
A
barrier around its buildings, for
advice on enforcement. Grover
said Monday that CGPD will
enforce the law on a complaint
basis; breaking it subjects one to
a fi ne not less than $100 but not
greater than $500.
Meyers said the City Coun-
cil may explore an additional
ordinance in the future to out-
line regulations for those local
businesses that have built desig-
nated smoking porches for their
patrons, structures that comply
with the state’s 10-foot limit
but not Cottage Grove’s 25-foot
limit.
gift from family has become an
early retirement present for one
longtime Cottage Grove restaurateur.
Sheilagh Earnest has offered cuisine
at her restaurant, Café Sheilagh, in two
local locations for 12 years, though she
planned to retire this June, when the
mortgage on her home was due to be
paid off.
Earnest said, however, that family
members recently fi nished the payoff for
her, and she promptly responded by re-
tiring a little early. Thus, Café Sheilagh
has been closed since the fi rst part of
March.
“I had a restaurant in Cottage Grove for
12 years, and I loved it,” she said. “Not
everyone gets to have a job that they’ve
wanted forever. I was very happy.”
Earnest came to Oregon in 1982 and
operated a food cart and catering busi-
ness in Eugene, hosting events at the
Hult Center and Cuthbert Amphithe-
ater, among other venues. The fi rst Café
Sheilagh in Cottage Grove occupied a
building at Sixth and Main Street for fi ve
years before giving way to the Fleur de
Lis Bakery. Café Sheilagh then moved to
its most recent location on Highway 99.
“I’ll still be operating a booth at the
Country Fair, and I’ll still be doing pri-
vate catering,” Earnest said. “I want to
thank the people that have supported me;
I’m very grateful for your business.”
photo by Jon Stinnett
Earnest said she’s personally called Sheilagh Earnest closed up her restaurant off
several of her “regulars” to let them Highway 99 at the beginning of March.
know about her closing.
he Cottage Grove City Council found itself gath-
ered at an unusual time of day for the recent award
of a bid to relocate a city water line.
The Council met at noon on Monday to award the
$39,003 bid to H&J Construction for the relocation of
a line that runs under Row River Road from the City’s
water treatment plant to Schwarz Park. The need to
move the line stems from an upcoming project spear-
headed by Lane County’s planning department to build
an undercrossing of the popular Row River Trail that
will take the trail under Row River Road. The County
partnered with the Bureau of Land Management, which
oversees the trail, to seek solutions to the danger at the
intersection of the road and trail, the site of two recent
cyclist fatalities.
City Manager Richard Meyers said Monday that the
water line is buried about four feet deep in the County’s
right-of-way and would be in the way when the County
began construction of the culvert that will eventually
house the undercrossing. The water line will be moved
around the crossing about 25 feet away and will then be
buried at an 18-foot depth, a depth Meyers said is too
great for city crews to handle themselves.
Meyers said the City was notifi ed of a short timeline
to move its water line due to the timeline of the under-
crossing construction. The line must be moved by the
end of April, Meyers said, though he added that offi -
cials with H&J said the job shouldn’t take more than
a week. A short closure of the Row River Trail may be
necessary, and the Sentinel will work to update readers
regarding any potential closure.
The County is hoping to have the undercrossing at
Milepost 4.0 of Row River Road constructed by the
end of the summer. Its transportation supervisor, Lydia
McKinney, said the project has been in the design phas-
es throughout the winter and is very close to going out
for a bid.
McKinney said the “stars aligned” to get the under-
crossing approved and built on a short timeline and that
she’s excited for construction to begin.
“We were able to secure federal funding through a
partnership with the BLM and were able to partner with
the City of Cottage Grove and local citizens to fi nd solu-
tions that everyone seemed to like,” she said. The proj-
ect is expected to cost $1 million.
McKinney said the County hopes to build the under-
crossing at the end of this summer, adding that it aims
to keep Row River Road open, though fl aggers at the
intersection may be necessary. A closure of the trail may
also be required.
Rain Country Realty Inc.
W
NE
1908 E. Whiteaker
Log Cabin on nearly an
acre of lawns, gardens
and flowers. County
says it’s 4 bedrooms
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in the back yard!
U
Q
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29 acres with large
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In person
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$154,900
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