Radio CoGro — 6A
Aprovecho garden party — 6A
OSP to Creswell?— 10A
Clawson
resigns
Victory
relocates
Girls' basketball
coach moving on,
page 1B
Country Church fi nds
a new home, page 8A
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22 2015
SOUTH LANE COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
Council adopts
plan to protect
drinking water
VOLUME 126 • NUMBER 43
Open house slated
to review
transportation plan
T
S WING YER PARTNER !
Collaboration with stakeholders,
informational signage suggested
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
T
he most effective and effi cient way to en-
sure the quality of a drinking water supply
is to protect its source, according to consultants
that presented a plan to protect Cottage Grove’s
water supply before the City Council at its Mon-
day, April 13 meeting.
Public Works Director Jan Wellman told the
Council that two student interns have worked
through the Community Development Depart-
ment to draft a drinking water protection plan over
the past two years. The plan was presented to the
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality,
Wellman said, which suggested the further step of
outlining an implementation strategy to actively
protect the watershed that supplies the City with
its drinking water. Grant funding was procured to
develop the strategy, which calls for coordinated
efforts by the agencies that act as stakeholders in
the watershed for its fi rst phase; the second phase
aims to involve local landowners in restoration
and protection efforts.
Wellman told the Council that such a plan is
important for good customer relations among the
City’s water customers, adding that the City should
also fi nd itself higher on priority lists of projects
to protect the watershed and be eligible for lower
rates on loans that could be used to implement the
plan’s protection strategies.
Guy Sievert and Alex Sifford, consultants with
E-Systems Services, were on hand to outline the
plan for the Council, which approved the plan’s
passage unanimously. Sifford told the Council that
the plan would save the City money in the long
run.
“Protecting a 371 square-mile watershed sounds
like a big task, but it has been done and can be
done again,” he said.
Sifford pointed out that the Row River water-
shed is actually composed of two systems — the
Row River itself and Mosby Creek — that provide
water for the City’s treatment facilities and cus-
tomers. Stakeholders that could potentially be in-
volved in protection strategies include the Bureau
of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, Wey-
erhaeuser, the Army Corps of Engineers, Dorena
Hydro, LLC and a collection of private landown-
ers.
Sifford said E-Systems Services met with each
stakeholder to hear their individual concerns,
though he added that the only stakeholder with the
“primary responsibility for drinking water protec-
tion” is the City of Cottage Grove.
“If anybody in the basin should be motivated to
do this, it’s you,” Sievert said.
Sievert suggested that the City not wait for other
agencies to act to protect drinking water. He said
some of those agencies are involved in protection
projects already and that common ground can be
found with most of them.
“Start getting buy-in from groups and residents
now; we think you’ll fi nd there’s a lot of it,” he said.
E-Systems Services championed the idea of a col-
laborative of stakeholders that could have annual
meetings to keep issues involving drinking water
protection on the local radar. The group also rec-
ommended signage at key locations reminding
the public that their actions upstream have a pro-
nounced effect downstream.
Sifford also pointed out that some communi-
ties have managed to attach their drinking water
concerns to legislation such as that currently being
Please see PLAN, Page 12A
photo by Jon Stinnett
Smiles adorned the face of every square dancer at London Grange Sunday, where
a dance was held to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of Cottage Grove's Boots
and Sandals Square Dance Club.
he City of Cottage Grove's Planning
Department will host an open house to
familiarize the community with projects that
might fi nd their way into the City's Transporta-
tion System Plan on Tuesday, April 28 from
5:30- 7 p.m. in the back room of Stacy's Cov-
ered Bridge Restaurant, located at 401 E. Main
St. downtown.
The City has billed the event as an opportunity
for interested citizens to hear about road and
other projects planned "to meet the needs of
Cottage Grove through 2035" and to add their
opinion regarding priorities for the City's trans-
portation systems.
"We have identifi ed an initial list of projects
and strategies. Now we want to hear if these
projects address the transportation issues that
matter most to you," says a brief on the proj-
ect's website, located at cottagegrovetsp.org.
The website points out that there have been
several studies conducted and changes to Cot-
tage Grove that may impact its planning, add-
ing that "the updated plans and land uses will
be factored into the development of the future
needs of the transportation system in 2035."
Square Dance Club marks anniversary School Board
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
L
ucille Lusk had a mes-
sage to share at the Lon-
don Grange on Sunday after-
noon.
“You can put in the paper
that square dancing did not
die,” Lusk said, and with the
size of the crowd gathered at
the Grange as evidence, it was
obvious that the last original
member of the Boots and San-
dals Square Dance Club knew
her stuff.
The Club celebrated its 62nd
birthday Sunday, and its mem-
bers were joined by about 40
dancers from groups through-
out the region, who formed six
full squares at the climax of a
dance that packed the fl oor at
the Grange.
“It’s wonderful,” said Dennis
Chapman of Boots and San-
dals. “I had no idea if we’d get
fi ve people or 500. Everybody
seems to be enjoying them-
selves, including some people
we’ve never seen here before.”
Chapman said there are still
about eight active members of
the Boots and Sandals club,
which until a few years ago
danced at the Square Dance
Barn on 10th Street in Cottage
Grove. Needed repairs have kept
the barn from hosting dances,
though its recent purchase by
Faye Stewart and efforts at a
remodel aim to bring dancing
back in the near future.
Chapman said dancers from
about eight clubs in the Eu-
gene area helped fi ll the fl oor
at the Grange, which plans to
host more dances in the future.
Caller Lenny Ludiker kept the
dances coming, as dancers
promenaded and allemanded
the afternoon away.
“It’s just wonderful to be out
and dancing,” said 83-year old
Lois (last name withheld by
request) of Creswell, who re-
counted tales of square dancing
at state and national events in
the 1970s. Lois said she’s re-
cently gotten back into square
dancing — which she pointed
out is the national folk dance
and the offi cial dance of 19
states — after a hiatus.
“It keeps your mind work-
ing,” she said, “and once you
know how, you can go any-
where and dance with a good
group of people. I’ve never met
anybody square dancing that’s
not a nice person. That’s the fun
of it — you put on your western
clothes and just go dance.”
Art Walk features Bookmine's 40th
C
ottage Grove Art Walk
kicks off its 2015 season
with the theme “Spring Awaken-
ings” this Friday, April 24 from
6-8 p.m.
This month, the Art Walk
committee is excited to an-
nounce that the Bookmine’s 40th
Anniversary celebration will be
happening during Friday’s Art
Walk. Founders Gail and Birdy
Hoelzle opened their iconic store
downtown in April of 1975, and
they'll have lots of stories to
share at Art Walk.
Presenting artists at Art Walk
include:
Delight: Noelle Ervin — Vin-
tage buttons and feathers made
into earrings and hairpieces
Apple Pie Antiques: Cassady
Gruelle — Wood fi red pottery
The Bookmine fi rst opened
in a storefront across from
its current location in 1975.
with an emphasis on tableware
and teaware; Randy Deering
— New Watercolors.
Coast Fork Feed and Brewsta-
tion: Alex Ihnat — Paintings and
Mixed Media, Music by Guitar
Recovery Project and Flies with
Honey.
Bookmine: James Cloutier
— Cartoonist/author; 40-year
retrospective; Mary Grace play-
ing the Harp.
Kalapuya Books: Laurell
Reynolds — Mixed Media
In Front of Pandora’s Box:
Marilyn Wilber, Antt Farm Tex-
tiles
Imagine It Framed: Delena
Aseere Britnell — Mixed Media
Art.
The Crafty Mercantile: Lon-
don School Artists; Crafty Kids
Special Art Walk Workshop
(Free).
Opal Center for Arts and Edu-
cation: Hollie D. Owen- Mixed
Media, Fabric, Collage; Sharon
Patrice Propst — Watercolors.
Victoriana: Robert Steinhilber
— Cartoon Artist; Janice Meis-
ner — Organ Music.
election draws
a crowd
Nine candidates have fi led;
forum set for next week
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
C
ottage Grove’s Blackberry Pie Society
will host a forum next week to introduce
the public to the candidates for South Lane
School Board in the May 19 election, and with
a crowded slate of candidates and timely school
district issues making recent headlines, it’s cer-
tain there will be plenty to talk about.
Nine candidates will vie for four open seats
on the Board, and many of those hopefuls have
indicated that they’ll attend the BPS forum,
which is scheduled from 6–8 p.m. Thursday,
April 30 at Bohemia Elementary School, lo-
cated at 721 South R Street.
Current Board Chair Tammy Hodgkinson
will run unopposed for another four-year term
at Position 1, and Hodgkinson said the strong
slate of candidates speaks to a broader charac-
teristic of Cottage Grove.
“We’ve got a great district and a lot of people
that are truly engaged with what’s going on,”
she said. “It’s great to see that there are people
who want to take part.”
Hodgkinson said she wouldn’t be surprised
if the implementation of full-day kindergarten
throughout the District came up in the conversa-
tion due to opinions she’s already heard on the
topic. Others believe that a prospective bond to
replace the Harrison Elementary building will
elicit responses.
In addition to Hodgkinson, current board
members vying for reelection are Merlene
Martin, who will face off against newcomer
Cirila Appellof at Position 3, and realtor/prop-
erty manager Darin Hemenway, who will run
against Tony (Lyman) Appellof and Gary Mort
at Position 7. Information fi led by Cirila Ap-
pellof indicates that she’s a stay-at-home mom
Please see FORUM, Page 6A
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