COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL June 10, 2015
Social media helps
nab suspects
On the
homefront
C
National Guard aids
playground installation
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
F
or its fi rst offi cial trip back to Cottage
Grove since moving to new headquar-
ters in Springfi eld, the U.S. Army National
Guard’s 2-162 Battalion spent the past week
working to fulfi ll a different kind of mis-
sion.
The Battalion called the Cottage Grove
Armory home until 2009, and many of its
members returned from a deployment to Af-
ghanistan just a few weeks ago. But begin-
ning last Tuesday, troops lent a hand to help
erect a playground structure at Bohemia
Park, and the progress of the installation
effort in one week was diffi cult to miss by
press time Monday, when the playground
could be glimpsed rising high above the
nearby restroom facility.
Second Lt. Jeff Kincaid of 2-162 said the
move is part of an effort originating from
the upper levels of command to concentrate
more on local projects following a decade
marked by overseas deployments.
“They want to get back to the roots of the
National Guard with stateside-based proj-
ects,” Kincaid said as soldiers carried pieces
of the new structures — one intended for
children aged 2-5 and another for kids ages
5-12 — into place. The troops helped out
until Sunday, and Dennis Bleser, the lead
installer for Playcraft Systems, designers of
the play structure, said the site had seen a
photo by Jon Stinnett
Dennis Bleser of Playcraft Systems checks the level of playground beams at
Bohemia Park as soldiers with the National Guard move more beams into place.
remarkable transformation in that time, par-
ticularly with the soldiers’ help.
“It’s like having your own little hill of
ants,” said Bruce Stewart of the Bohemia
Foundation, owners and builders of Bohe-
mia Park and its new play structure.
Stewart’s son, Faye, called the National
Guard’s help a “blessing in disguise,” add-
ing that he had originally spoken to Cot-
tage Grove City Manager Richard Meyers,
who helped make the connection with the
Guard.
“Three days later we had a full crew out
there,” he said. “Seeing it from Main Street,
I was very impressed. It should be a lot of
fun, and there are a lot of kids that are anx-
ious about it being fi nished.”
The kids shouldn’t have to wait too long,
Stewart said, to begin tromping around on
Nordin appointed to LTD board
A recent press release from the
Lane Transit District announced that
Oregon Governor Kate Brown has
appointed Cottage Grove business-
man Don Nordin to the Lane Transit
District Board of Directors. Nordin
was tapped to replace former LTD
Board member Michael Dubick and
will represent LTD subdistrict 3 in
southeast Eugene and southern Lane
County.
Nordin is the owner of Equinox
Industries, a pioneer in the fi eld of
convertible human powered trailer
systems. These specialized bicycle
trailers change into a stroller, jog-
ging cart, ski sled, kayak carrier or a
garden cart.
Nordin is a graduate of the Univer-
sity of Wyoming and a former Peace
Corps volunteer. He has served
on a variety of boards, including:
the National Peace Corps, Cerro
Gordo Cooperative, Cottage Grove
Planning Commission, and Cottage
Grove Community Sharing. Don is
no stranger to LTD. He has served
on the District’s budget committee
for the past six years and played a
leadership role in the expansion of
LTD services to Cottage Grove in
the late 1990’s.
Nordin offi cially joined the LTD
Board this month, and his term will
run through December of 2019.
the park, which boasts ramps for disabled
access. He said the project is set for comple-
tion on June 17 and that the play structure
will be usable immediately.
Also in the plans for Bohemia Park is a
60-foot fl agpole that’s scheduled to be in-
stalled in the next few weeks, and three new
tables and new benches are also on the hori-
zon, according to Stewart.
The playground carries a $240,000 price
tag, and Stewart said donations from the
Barker Foundation, Weyerhaeuser, Sen-
eca Lumber, Murphy Plywood, the Oregon
Community Foundation, Norm Wildish and
Starfi re, in addition to aid from the Cottage
Grove Community Foundation and Rotary
clubs helped cap off fundraising to get the
structure built.
Popular CBS program features
Aprovecho Research Center
C
ottage Grove's Aprovecho Research Center is no
stranger to the public spotlight, and its efforts to
build effi cient, clean-burning stoves for the millions
worldwide who still cook on an open fl ame recently
garnered more nationwide attention.
It's been featured in the "New Yorker" magazine, and
director Dean Still has had the opportunity to meet
with Hillary Clinton and Britain's Prince Charles.
Recently, Aprovecho and Still were also featured
recently on CBS Sunday Morning in a segment called
"Designs for Better Living," which can be viewed at
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/designs-for-better-liv-
ing/.
"Forget iPhones and sports cars -- this is light, where
there wasn't any before. It's design that truly makes a
difference," the announcer reads during the segment.
ottage Grove Police say
they’ve reached out to
the public online with satisfying
results lately.
Commander Conrad Gagner
said a comment from a local
resident who follows CGPD’s
activities online recently noted
that the department’s Facebook
page had become overrun with
information about lost dogs that
police have been housing at the
new kennel by the city shop
as they search for their own-
ers. Gagner said he decided to
change it up a little and posted
surveillance footage of two sus-
pects wanted in connection with
a June 1 theft at Walmart.
“We put the picture up, and
we had a positive ID within fi ve
minutes,” he said. “It was unbe-
lievable.”
Police later arrested Billy
Wells and Erica Farmer on
theft charges; Gagner said the
pair allegedly were witnessed
changing price tags on items
to attempt to purchase them at
a discount, after which Wells
allegedly left the store with a
backpack full of items.
Gagner also recently reached
out to Facebook users regarding
Cottage Grove Police say
the suspects in a June 1
theft at Walmart were iden-
tifi ed within minutes after
these surveillance photos
were shared online.
the information available at cri-
mereports.com, which plots the
locations and other information
about crimes committed and
reported by police agencies. A
search of local incidents in the
Cottage Grove area showcased a
large collection of thefts at press
time Monday.
City says tree removal not
necessary at Birch and Q
O
ffi cials with the City of
Cottage Grove’s Planning
Department say the construc-
tion of access to a home near
the corner of Birch and Q
streets in Cottage Grove’s
Northwest Neighborhood won’t
necessitate the removal of a
large cedar tree nearby.
Recent online activity indicated
the concern of some residents
that the construction to build
out Birch St. — which current-
ly ends at an empty lot at the
intersection with O St. — to its
intersection with Q St. would
mean the end of the large tree.
But City Planner Amanda Fer-
guson said that the City will be
building a 20-foot fi re lane for
access to a nearby house.
“The tree is partially in the
right-of-way,” Ferguson said.
“But we don’t have to remove
the tree just to get fi re access
for the house.”
Ferguson said the continuation
of Birch St. to Q St. has been
“plotted out for decades.”
“It’s just one house there that
currently needs legal access,”
she said. “Most of the other
access comes from the alley
behind the street.”
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