8A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL May 6, 2015
T REES
BOND COMMITTEE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Continued from page 3A
have recently removed their
trees. They cited extensive dam-
age to the sidewalks surround-
ing the trees, in addition to dam-
age to the foundations of their
buildings, as their reasons for
removal. Ferguson said the City
was aware that Solesbee wanted
to remove the tree in front of the
bank but was asked to wait until
the MSRP could be completed.
Solesbee said he he's wanted to
take the tree out for two years
but was asked to wait, adding
that seeing Rosenthal take her
tree down helped convince him
not to wait any longer.
“I think a number of them
have been waiting for the out-
come of the plan, and a number
of others have already expressed
interest,” Ferguson said.
The fate of the trees colored
public input into the Refi ne-
ment Plan almost from the start
and helped galvanize efforts
against its approval. The origi-
nal draft of the plan did not in-
clude trees, but a change was
made to stipulate that the trees
should be removed in order of
need and replaced over time.
The plan was approved by the
City Council last month, but a
group of petitioners is currently
seeking to gather signatures to
place the plan before voters in a
September election. They have
until May 13 to gather a total of
478 signatures.
Several downtown business
owners will have little trouble
acquiring approval to remove a
tree, according to City Manager
Richard Meyers, who explained
that an arborist’s report sought
out to develop the Refi nement
Plan indicated that about 20
of the 40-plus trees needed to
come out. The City says those
property owners need only write
a letter requesting approval to
remove their tree.
Meyers said Solesbee was
the fi rst owner to request such
approval months ago and only
received it recently, stating that
the City needed the extra time to
to hammer out the terms of what
the property owner would agree
to do after the tree came down.
The City will place wine bar-
rels over the stumps of the trees,
Meyers said.
Rosenthal did not submit a
letter requesting approval, Mey-
ers said, and she has reportedly
been cited into municipal court
on charges stemming from the
improper removal of her tree.
Under city codes, business
owners are responsible for
the trees and sidewalks front-
ing their businesses, which has
irked some downtown business
owners. On Monday, Schweitzer
called the trees a “complete
safety hazard,” stating that it has
already cost extensive repairs to
the roof on the adjacent building
and caused several people to trip
on cracked sidewalks.
“The City is supposed to be
helping downtown business
owners, but it’s all been a hin-
drance,” Schweitzer said.
Meyers, though, bristled at the
suggestion that business owners
downtown shouldn’t be held re-
sponsible for tree and sidewalk
maintenance.
“The ordinance doesn’t dif-
ferentiate between commercial
and residential,” he said. “Resi-
dential owners are responsible
for their sidewalks and trees
in the planting strip, so why
do downtown business owners
think their responsibility ends at
the end of their building?”
South Lane County Fire & Rescue is looking for
interested Fire District residents to serve on a Capital
Equipment Bond Committee. Committee members
will work with Fire District staff in analyzing Fire
District needs, then prepare a recommendation to the
Fire Board. Anyone interested should submit a letter
of interest that includes a brief description of their
background and why they believe they should be
appointed to the Bond Committee. Letters of interest
must be at the district offi ce at 233 E. Harrison in
Cottage Grove no later than 5:00 pm May29th, 2015.
BOND COMMITTEE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Senior Day
May 11th
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F ORUM
Continued from page 1A
Krista Parent —who was
present at the forum.
“The relationship needs to be
collaborative and cordial, but
board members should not rely
on the district and the superin-
tendent as their only sources of
information,” said Gary Mort, a
longtime educator at Lane Com-
munity College. “I feel that the
school board has a responsibil-
ity to the public fi rst and that
relationship has broken down in
recent years.”
Candidates were asked for
their opinions on the prospec-
tive bond levy to replace Har-
rison Elementary and address a
yet-specifi ed list of other issues
in the District.
Jerry Settelmeyer, a retired
South Lane teacher and admin-
istrator who is competing with
Ben Price and Nevin Beckes for
PLUS GET AN EXTRA
5% OFF ALL APPLIANCES
an open position, praised the dis-
trict for its foresight of forming
the bond advisory committee,
even if the process was started
a few years late. He offered his
support for the bond, saying that
problematic facilities make it all
the more diffi cult for teachers to
educate their students.
One of the items that could
be included on the bond levy is
a renovation or replacement of
the pool. The infrastructure of
the facility is failing but it re-
mains to be seen if the district
can support day-to-day opera-
tions without a long-term part-
nership with the city.
Tammy Hodgkinson, a former
kindergarten teacher who is run-
ning unopposed for reelection,
reminded those in attendance
that no South Lane student has
drowned since the district intro-
duced swimming lessons, and
keeping the pool open is criti-
cal to the board’s motto of ‘kids
come fi rst.’
The school board became the
target of intense scrutiny last
year when it implemented a
mandatory drug testing policy
for student-athletes. Many who
opposed the policy felt that the
school board acted too swiftly
and didn’t solicit enough feed-
back from the community. Dur-
ing her response to a question on
this process, Martin acknowl-
edged that the School Board
could have gone about it differ-
ently but added that its members
are elected to make tough deci-
sions, and she has no doubts that
the policy was made in the best
interests of district students.
While there wasn’t a rebuttal
element of the forum, Mort and
Appeloff said that the policy
lacked support of research, and
Price expressed his frustration
that an issue centered on athlet-
into rewriting the TSP.
Since the TSP was originally
developed, the Urban Growth
Boundary has also been ex-
panded to the southwest to in-
clude approximately 241 acres
of primarily industrial and com-
mercial lands on both sides of
Highway 99, near the southerly
interchange with Interstate 5.
These identifi ed growth areas
will be incorporated into travel-
demand forecasts.
According to the City, the
TSP has become outdated in
other key areas such as bike and
pedestrian safety.
The updated TSP will also
refl ect new or amended federal,
state and local, plans, policies
and regulations.
Ferguson expects there will
be another open house held in
late June; however, it has not yet
been scheduled. She anticipates
that public hearings will start
sometime between late October
and late November, with a goal
for adoption by next spring.
“We are still in the early
beginnings of public involve-
ment,” she said. “The document
is constantly being updated, and
we encourage all feedback, even
if your thoughts are refl ected in
the plan; it lets us know we’re
on the right track.”
Ferguson added that she has
heard many concerns about
maintenance of current infra-
structure; however, she stressed
that the TSP is about addressing
gaps in the current system and
draws from a separate pool of
funding.
Those seeking more infor-
mation on the Cottage Grove
Transportation Plan may visit
cottagegrovetsp.org
rine. Its identity remains a mys-
tery to this day.
We’ll talk about the other
three Oregonians involved in
the Doolittle raid in next week’s
column.
Oregonian archives, 1942; doo-
littleraider.com; “Doolittle Raid
Fact Sheet,” National Museum
of the Air Force, 4-17-2015;
Cain, Allan. “Pendleton Field,”
Oregon History Project, ohs.
org, 2005.)
ics, rather than education, at-
tracted so much attention.
Another controversial topic in
education, though certainly not
exclusive to South Lane, is the
Smarter Balanced assessments,
which test student competency
in the Common Core standards.
Beckes, an employee of Wey-
erhaeuser, said that he is con-
cerned that the tests have been so
negatively received, pointing to
a rash of student opt-outs across
the state, but he also believes
that the School Board should let
the process play out.
Darin Hemenway, who is
running for position seven, was
not present, and Tony Appel-
off withdrew from the election
prior to the forum. Appeloff said
that he and Mort, both running
for position seven, share similar
views and that it would be coun-
ter-productive to run against
each other.
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P LAN
Continued from page 1A
including improvements to
sidewalks, crosswalks and bike
lanes.
The other key areas of the plan
include Row River Road be-
tween the I-5 northbound ramps
and the Currin Connector, and
Main Street between Highway
99 and Gateway Boulevard.
Ferguson said that one of
the challenges to creating this
plan is predicting the amount of
available funds over the next 20
years.
The current TSP was adopted
in 2008, and since that time sev-
eral studies and plans have been
completed including the Cot-
tage Grove Development Code,
the 2037 Vision and Action Plan
and the Economic Opportuni-
ties Analysis. The updated plans
and land uses will be factored
O FFBEAT
Continued from page 7A
service; he was commissioned
a second lieutenant a year later
in 1940.
After the raid, Holstrom stayed
in the China theater, command-
ing the 11th bomb squadron. Af-
ter the war, he was assigned to
Strategic Air Command, where
he fl ew every multi-engine jet
bomber the SAC deployed: B-
45s, B-47s, B-52s and B-58s.
He also commanded the 43rd
Bomb Wing, the fi rst supersonic
bombardment group, before his
retirement in 1969.
Holstrom died in 2000, one
of the most decorated alumni in
Oregon State University history.
His awards include the Silver
Star, Legion of Merit, two Dis-
tinguished Flying Crosses, fi ve
Air Medals and two Commen-
dation Medals.
And on one of those Air Med-
als hangs an interesting tale.
Holstrom is the pilot who, while
stationed in Pendleton, bombed
a target that may have been
a Japanese submarine off the
mouth of the Columbia River on
Christmas Eve, 1941. According
to the recommendation for the
air medal, Holstrom came unex-
pectedly across a surfaced sub-
marine while fl ying low over the
water. Ordering his bombardier
to get ready, he fl ew a low-level
run over the sub, and the bom-
bardier dropped three bombs on
it. The resulting explosion oblit-
erated the submarine and nearly
knocked Holstrom’s B-25 out of
the sky.
However, according to his-
torian Bert Webber, Imperial
Japanese Navy records after the
war say nothing of this subma-
(Sources: Portland Morning
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Shady Oaks Plants & Produce
Girls Just Want to Have Fun!
Giggles – Grins – Fine Wine – Food – Friends
CHICK’S NIGHT OUT
Friday May, 8th 5:30-Dark
Get out of your coop and come “Free Range”
Dinner served from 6:00-7 with shopping and live music By the Fret Boys
We have a fun filled evening lined up just for the girls. Husbands are more than welcome.
Enjoy some pampering, relax to music, have dinner in the garden and indulge in a bottle
of wine from Saginaw Vineyards while lounging among the lovely flowers and plants.
Then shop for Mother’s Day with a wide array of vendors to top off the evening
We have many vendors who have arranged to stop by.
We will offer Door Prizes. (Must be present to win)
Dinner will be served in the garden under the Shady Oaks.
Dinner - pasta with a variety of sauces, salad and a dinner roll.
Beverages: Tea, lemonade and coffee. Cost will be $12.00 including your beverage.
Scruptious desserts will also be available to purchase separately.
Hope to See You here.
