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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (June 10, 2015)
City Beat — 9A Nonprofit talk — 8A Summer schedule — 6A Standout seasons Borigo, Presley named Sentinel's Athletes of the Year, page 1B $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2015 SOUTH LANE COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889 VOLUME 126 • NUMBER 50 C LASS OF '15 Social media causes waves at Council meeting Also inside: BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel F or nearly two hours on Monday night, discussions at the Cottage Grove City Council meeting steered clear of the contro- versial May 26 budget meeting and subse- quent social media fallout. But while the proverbial elephant in the room was not offi cially on the agenda, sev- eral councilors alluded to the topic during their open-comment session, and a heated exchange between Councilor Kate Price and Mayor Tom Munroe erupted over their dif- fering views on the role of social media in city government. Councilor Price said that while people are more inclined to be hostile on social media due to its anonymous nature, it’s a place where the City needs to have a presence. “The ways that people communicate are changing,” she said. “And we can do a better job of reaching out and drawing people into our conversations.” Mayor Munroe then reiterated his long- standing position against using social media as a city communication tool and took a shot at Councilor Price for the disgruntled com- ments she posted to Facebook following the May 26 budget meeting. “With all of half truths and misinforma- tion, it creates more problems than it’s worth, and I hope the city is never on Face- book. I also think that anybody who has been voted into a public offi ce should have the sense to not call out staff that work for you,” he said. Other councilors redirected the discussion back to business items before the argument could become more hostile, but it seems as though social media will continue to be a hot-button issue. In her report to the City Council, City Attorney Carolyn Connelly said she had prepared a brief presentation on the use of social media by city governments, but for lack of time she suggested that a later Please see COUNCIL, Page 10A Homefront photo by Matt Hollander Graduating seniors of Cottage Grove High School are congratulated by faculty as part of the graduation ceremonies held Saturday at Herald White Stadium. More coverage of local graduation ceremonies can be found on page 11A in this edition. National Guard pitching in on the play- ground, page 3A Budget approval vote ruled insuffi cient BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel A meeting of the City of Cottage Grove budget committee that ended before some of the committee’s members thought it should have was scheduled for another round last week after it was discovered that the vote to approve the budget was insuffi cient. The committee met at 6 p.m. on Tues- day, May 26, and began by establishing an 8 p.m. adjournment time that eve- ning. City Manager Richard Meyers then led the committee through a sum- mary of each fund included in the mas- sive budget document. The 8 p.m. dead- line approached before the committee had fi nished a line-by-line analysis of the document, though a motion brought forth by former mayor Gary Williams and seconded by Councilor Garland Burback to approve the budget passed by a 6-5 margin. City Councilors and budget com- mittee members Jake Boone and Kate Price objected to the proceedings, and Boone’s desire to place a dicussion of the budget fi asco on the agenda for the Monday, June 8 City Council agenda unearthed a rule that proved the 6-5 vote was invalid. “Jake (Boone) wanted an item placed on the agenda Monday to try and fi gure out for next year how to give people a better chance to speak,” said Cottage Grove City Recorder Trudy Borrevik. “But when we looked at the rule, we noticed that the budget has to be passed by a majority of the committee mem- bership, not just a majority of those in attendance.” The budget approval vote took place without the participation of absent com- mittee members Mike Fleck, Heather Murphy and Chris Holloman, and an approved budget would have required ‘yes’ votes from the majority of the en- tire 14-person committee — eight votes in all. And so the committee was sched- uled to gather again on Tuesday, June 9. And with the buzz from the last meeting still fresh in the minds of many, it seems certain that a larger crowd of onlookers will be there to view the proceedings. Summer Sun Cottage Grove boasts a packed schedule for 2015, page 6A Change afoot for Bohemia principal, A Primary Connection Jackie Lester will take new P-20 position, while A Primary Connection moves to local LCC campus BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel T he bustle of a school year near- ly completed makes it seem like everyone at Bohemia Elemen- tary School is on their way someplace else, and on Friday morning, Princi- pal Jackie Lester makes her way to- ward an eclectic group gathered in the library. Lester is checking in on Anna Ma- ria Dudley and the English Language Learners, a group of 14 families whose children (and often, the parents themselves) are busy learning English as they adapt to a new community and a new school system. Spanish is the most comfortable language for many of the families, though South Lane School District has also worked to adapt recently to help provide a tran- sition for an Indian family that speaks primarily Punjabi, recent arrivals from Guatemala who speak Mam, an indigenous Mayan language, and Mixteco, a language spoken in the Oaxaca region of Mexico. Many of these families access ser- vices through A Primary Connection, the South Lane Family Resource Center that offers programs including family support, child development and domestic abuse prevention from its headquarters in a room at Bohe- mia. On Friday, the group gathered to hear about many of these services, including the changes expected for A Primary Connection in the coming year. Lester herself will also adjust to change next year; she’ll be stepping down as Principal at Bohemia and taking the brand-new position of P- 20 Coordinator. She’ll be tasked with helping to improve the connections between South Lane School District and the community partners that of- fer services to families in the District before they reach school age and af- ter they leave South Lane, and Les- ter said she’s thrilled that A Primary Connection will fi nd a new home on Cottage Grove’s Lane Community College campus next fall. “The District has had the services of A Primary Connection for almost 25 years; it may be the longest-oper- ating family resource center in Ore- gon,” Lester said. “Its director, Peggy Lintula, has helped train and establish other family resource centers.” The center used to operate fi ve days a week, offering services such as well-baby checkups and visits from nurses with the health department. Now, budget constraints mean the Please see P-20, Page 10A photo by Jon Stinnett Anna Maria Dudley (standing at left), Lise Colgan (next to Dudley) and Bohemia Principal Jackie Lester visit with the English Language Learn- ers at the school on Friday. Rain Country Realty Inc. UC D E R E PRIC ED 33985 Witcher Gateway Holy Cow or lots of them. Over 80 acres, huge home with extended family possibilities, barns trees and wildlife. UC D E R E C PRI ED Historic Building with high visibility. Living quarters or office upstairs and many possibilities for the business downstairs. $669,900 5DLQ&RXQWU\5HDOW\FRP www.cgsentinel.com On the Internet (541) 942-3325 By telephone (541) 942-3328 By fax cgnews@cgsentinel.com By e-mail P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 By mail Corner of Sixth and Whiteaker, Cottage Grove In person Brokers Laurie Phillip....................430-0756 Valerie Nash ....................521-1618 $125,000 UDLQFRXQWU\UHDOW\#JPDLOFRP CONTACT US Principal Brokers Teresa Abbott ..................221-1735 Frank Brazell....................953-2407 Lane Hillendahl ................942-6838 301 First St. Drain +Z\ WEATHER CONTENTS HIGH LOW 82 49 Partly Cloudy Licensed in the State of Oregon Calendar....................................... 11B Channel Guide ............................... 4B Classified ads................................. 6B Obituaries....................................... 2A Opinion .......................................... 4A Public Safety .................................. 5A Sports ............................................ 1B 75 CENTS
