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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2015)
Water rate website — 4A Wings & Wheels — 3A Traditional 4th Picnic — 6A Some sunset! photo by Paul Henrichs Hot, humid weather meant late-evening clouds and spectacular sunsets in the Cottage Grove area throughout the weekend, and with triple-digit temperatures forecast this week, it's a good bet that sundown will continue to be a magical time. $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 2015 SOUTH LANE COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889 VOLUME 127 • NUMBER 1 Also Round two of heat wave forecast inside: Lightning has already started fi res, and more could be on the way BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel E xtreme heat baked much of Oregon over the week- end, and with three-digit tem- peratures in the forecast again this week, Cottage Grove resi- dents will again be seeking a respite from the blazing sun. Vets collection Library donation tells veterans' stories, page 3A The Weather Underground website, which keeps track of weather utilizing local stations, recorded highs of 98 degrees both Friday and Saturday, tem- peratures more than 20 degrees above normal for this time of year. Forecasts again call for highs approaching 100 degrees beginning Thursday, continu- ing a pattern that has already sparked wildfi res in several lo- cations throughout the state. South Lane County Fire and Rescue Division Chief Joe Raade said that fi refi ghters con- tinue to be concerned about dry- er-than-usual temperatures this early in the summer following a winter that never was. “We’re concerned about the dryness, but we’re more con- cerned about the weather this weekend, with thunderstorms, no rain and temperatures ap- proaching 100 degrees, weather that’s expected to trickle into next week,” Raade said Friday. Those concerns became valid with the start of many fi res over the weekend. The Oregon De- partment of Forestry issued an update of fi res started on lands it manages on Monday, stating that the agency and its partners “are managing fi re conditions usually experienced in late July or early August.” Lightning What now? A look at what recreational marijuana legalization will (likely) mean for Oregon and Cottage Grove BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel C New game gets a go in CG, page 1B Please see FIRE, Page 11A Price steps down as councilor BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel In a pickle sparked the 700-acre Harper Complex Fire near John Day, and the Sugar Loaf Fire was reported Saturday burning in grass and timber in central Or- egon on Bureau of Land Man- agement land nine miles north of Dayville. The ODF reports 74 lightning-caused fi res so far this year, though that number is dwarfed by the 233 fi res report- edly caused by humans. ottage Grove and the rest of Oregon awoke to a new reality today, Wednesday, July 1, the fi rst day adults over the age of 21 have been able to legally possess and use marijuana for recreational purposes. Oregon voters approved Measure 91, which legalized recreational weed, back in November. The measure that set the deadline for legalization, though many other details are still up in the air, as the state legislature is still ham- mering out specifi cs of the new legislation. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission has been charged with implementing the system that allows marijua- na to be legally grown, bought and sold, and in response to myriad questions about that system once legalization takes effect, the OLCC has published a website, www.whatsle- galoregon.com, that touches on many of its basics. Put simply, possession is legal for those over 21, though it is illegal to use the drug in public. Adults can possess up to eight ounces of usable marijuana in their homes and up to one ounce outside the home, and they can grow up to four plants at home out of view of the public. Driving un- der the infl uence of the drug remains illegal, and marijua- na can’t be legally bought or sold for recreational purposes until retail shops open, though the Oregon legislature may allow medical marijuana dispensaries to start selling rec- reational pot on Oct. 1 of this year. Marijuana can be given away or shared between adults. So what does all this mean for Cottage Grove? The use and possession of mari- juana by adults over age 21 became legal July 1, though some questions about what legalization may bring have yet to be answered. The Cottage Grove City Council fi nds itself one vote short following the recent resignation of Councilor Kate Price, who has represented Ward IV for 2 ½ years. Price made an announcement last week via Facebook that she and husband Ben Price “have decided to move our growing family to Eugene.” “We would have liked to stay in Cottage Grove but were unable to fi nd a house that suited our needs,” she continued. Price said Monday morning that there doesn’t seem to be that much housing available in Cottage Grove anyway, and for her to continue to represent Ward IV, she would have to fi nd a suitable home in about a square-mile of territory on the southeast end of town. The Ward takes in residents living south of Madison Ave. and east of Highway 99. Price said the decision will not affect either of the two businesses she or her husband operate in town — Any- time Fitness and Hard Knocks Brewing. Price said she gave the City notice that she would be resigning effective July 1, and she said she’s already heard “quite a lot of response” from those who may be interested in representing the ward. “A couple people have been interested, which is great because we’ve had trouble Please see PRICE, Page 12A Please see POT, Page 8A Undercrossing at Row River Road/Trail progressing Box culvert to be installed this week BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel T photo by Jon Stinnett Workers with Weitman Excavation have cleared the old asphalt of Row River Road and plan to install a box culvert Wednesday. he relationship between one of Cot- tage Grove’s most popular tourist attractions and its main county roadways is changing in earnest this week. Lane County Planner Lydia McKin- ney said late last week that site prepara- tion work for an undercrossing that will bring the Row River Trail — a bike trail that leaves Cottage Grove before skirt- ing Dorena Reservoir on a 34-mile loop — under Row River Road has been going on for some time now. On Friday, work- ers with Weitman Excavation said they’ll be installing the box culvert that forms the tunnel under the road today (Wednes- day, July 1). “They’re working concurrently on both intersections,” McKinney said. “We ex- pect to have the project complete by the end of the summer. That doesn’t mean there defi nitely won’t be complications, but we’re hoping to be done by the end of July or early August.” The death of cyclist and former Cot- tage Grove High School counselor Mi- chele Portmann at the intersection in a 2011 collision with an automobile prompted Lane County, which oversees Row River Road, to team up with the Bureau of Land Management, caretakers of the Row River Trail, to explore safety measures at the intersection at Milepost 4 where Portmann and another cyclist, Claude Weimer, lost their lives (Weimer was killed in a crash there in 2007). The BLM subsequently applied for and received a $1 million Federal Lands Access Program grant to build the un- dercrossing, which was approved after a round of public meetings. McKinney said the County is not an- ticipating any road closures related to the construction project. Workers have already paved a bypass of the road under which the undercrossing will travel, she said, and trail users are currently using an “at-grade” crossing built to accom- modate equestrian trail users, who had earlier indicated that their horses would not like to travel underground via the un- dercrossing. McKinney cautioned drivers and trail users to be cautious in the work area, which currently has a 35 mile-per-hour speed limit. Rain Country Realty Inc. Principal Brokers Teresa Abbott ..................221-1735 Frank Brazell....................953-2407 Lane Hillendahl ................942-6838 "WISHING YOU A SAFE AND HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! FROM YOUR FRIENDS & NEIGHBORS AT RAIN COUNTRY REALTY, INC." Brokers Laurie Phillip....................430-0756 Valerie Nash ....................521-1618 Licensed in the State of Oregon CONTACT US 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 WEATHER CONTENTS HIGH LOW 97 62 Sunny Calendar....................................... 11B Channel Guide ............................... 5B Classified ads................................. 7B Comics......................................... 10B Obituaries....................................... 2A Opinion .......................................... 4A Public Safety .................................. 5A Sports ............................................ 1B 75 CENTS
