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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 1, 2015)
4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL July 1, 2015 O PINION Councilor's website an excellent account of water rate structure BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel “ Everything is more complicated than you think.” Cottage Grove City Councilor Jake Boone said he had many ideas for changes that could be made to city gov- ernment during his time as a freshman councilor. Some of those ideas con- cerned the rate structure for the City’s water, sewer and wastewater systems, which have again become a hot topic and a source for local grumbling af- ter the Council approved a cumulative increase of about 26 percent in those rates by 2022 during the adoption pro- cess for the 2015-16 budget. But soon after delving into the issue himself, Boone recognized that there are details of the system that “don’t come out in any form of short conver- sation” about the City’s water rates, and after engaging with the public on Facebook and answering lots of ques- tions recently about the rate system, Boone has taken it on himself to col- lect the information on his own web- site, jakeboone.net. It’s a well-reasoned, well-written perspective on water rates and one that’s worth checking out even for those with a pretty good handle on the sub- ject, and its style is pure Jake Boone, a style many have come to know through his seemingly tireless interactions with the public online. Those interested in knowing why their water costs so much (and will soon cost more) can begin their explorations under the aptly titled heading “Why does water cost so much?” “It seems like I get more water-re- lated questions than almost any other subject (except maybe for “how tall are you?”),” Boone writes. “Therefore, I’m going to try to share what I know about the topic…” In his writings, Boone also outlines some of the ideas he harbored about the system early on: “When I was fi rst elected to the City Council, one of my priorities was to get rid of the (Middlefi eld) golf course, because I couldn’t see any reason why a municipality should own one in the fi rst place,” he writes. “I was rapidly shown the error in my thinking, howev- er; if we sold off the golf course, we’d lose the assurance that we’d be able to continue discharging wastewater there, and we’d end up having to build that expensive cooling tower. I think we’re better off with the golf course.” He also outlines the current conun- drum the City Council fi nds itself in with regard to the rising costs of a sys- tem that will require about $19 million in repairs in the near future: “It appears that our choice, realisti- cally, isn’t between ‘do we raise the rates or not?’; it’s between ‘do we raise the rates a moderate amount now, or do we kick the can down the road and make a future Council raise the rates massively in the future?’” Boone said he hasn’t seen any “push-back” from city staff regarding his recent online work, which he said allows him the “space to delve into the details” of the water system. In con- trast, City Manager Richard Meyers said the website is a good thing, espe- cially since Boone is among those who recently approved the rate hikes. “They don’t want to raise rates any- more than anybody else does,” Meyers said of the City Council. “But at least we’re being responsible about it now.” Boone agreed. “If we could, we would certainly keep the rates low,” he said. “But this is one of the many situations where we’re just not looking at what we want to do. We’re trying to fi nd the ‘least worst op- tion.’” Please see WATER, Page 11A Offbeat Oregon History Cursed or not, S.S. Rosecrans was an unusually unlucky ship BY FINN J.D. JOHN For the Sentinel T he steamship Rosecrans didn’t have a colorful witch’s curse laid upon her at launching, nor a colorful nick- name like “The Ship of Romance and Death.” But she more than made up for that defi ciency with body count. By all accounts, the Rosecrans was a remarkably un- lucky vessel. The Rosecrans was a big ship for her time, having been built in 1884 in Glasglow, Scotland. She was 335 feet long, 38.2 feet wide, and 2,700 tons in gross displacement. She was built for the Union Castle passenger line, christened the S.S. Meth- ven Castle and put on the mail- packet run to South Africa. The Rosecrans had a fairly unremarkable career until she came to the Pacifi c Coast after being bought up by the Associ- ated Oil Co. of San Francisco and converted to a tanker. The fi rst misfortune that be- fell her was when, in March of 1912 while battling through CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS Cottage Grove City Hall: 942-5501. www.cottagegrove.org/ Cottage Grove Mayor Tom Munroe: 942-5501. Cottage Grove City Councilors: Mike Fleck, At Large: 942-7302 Heather Murphy, At Large: 942-3444 Lane County Commissioners: Faye Stewart, East Lane Commissioner Lane County Public Service Building 125 East 8th Street Eugene, OR 97401 Phone: (541) 682-4203 Fax: (541) 682-4616 Oregon State House of Representatives: Jake Boone, Ward 1: 653-7413 Jeff Gowing, Ward 2: 942-1900 Garland Burback, Ward 3: 942-4800 a heavy gale 22 miles north of Santa Barbara, she was tossed broadside onto the rocks; two mariners died in the wreck and subsequent evacuation of the ship. Heroic salvage efforts en- sued, and it almost seemed a miracle when the Whitelaw Salvage Company managed to get the Rosecrans off the rocks and up to San Francisco, where a 25-foot gash in her hull was repaired. But it’s hard to see this success as anything other than a misfortune. It sealed the fate of 33 men, including the Rosecrans’s captain, Lucien F. Johnson. All of them had less than a year to live. As if to drive home the point that the Rosecrans’s time was come, disaster struck again just Rep. Cedric Hayden (REP) District: 007 900 Court Street NE Suite H-288 Salem, OR 97301 six months later, when a fi re broke out while oil was being loaded aboard at Gaviota. The ship was nothing more than a gutted-out hulk after the fi re had run its course. Again, the unlucky old vessel was salvaged and rebuilt. But the third time is the charm — or, as the case may be, the hex. The Rosecrans’s third cata- strophic wreck in a single year was to be its last. It happened in January of 1913, when the ship was en route to Portland with 19,000 barrels of crude oil aboard. Everything went smoothly on this, the Rosecrans’s fi nal voy- age, although when the big ship arrived off the north coast of Or- egon a 60-knot gale was blow- ing out of the southwest. By itself, the storm wasn’t a Phone: (503) 986-1407 Fax: (503) 986-1130 Email: rep.cedrichayden@state.or.us Oregon State Senate: Sen. Floyd Prozanski (DEM) District: 004 900 Court Street NE Suite S-319 Salem, OR 97301-0001 Phone: (503) 986-1704 Fax: (503) 986-1080 Email: sen.fl oydprozanski@state.or.us real threat to a big steamship like the Rosecrans, as it might have been to an old-fashioned sailing barque or steam schoo- ner. But it made the situation that followed a great deal more complicated — lethally so — as the wee small hours of Jan. 7 ticked by and the Rosecrans steamed slowly northward at what her skipper thought was a safe distance from land. According to the recollec- tions of one of the survivors, quartermaster John Slinning, the steamer passed what Capt. Johnson thought was Tilla- mook Rock Light a few hours before dawn. By this time the storm was pounding the seas with thick, heavy rains, and the lights weren’t always visible, but presently the captain saw what he took to be the Cape Disappointment Light off the starboard bow and another one south of it, which he believed was the North Head Light. He couldn’t make out the Columbia River Lightship, but he appar- ently attributed that to the thick weather. He was wrong. The lightship wasn’t out of position, nor was it invisible in the rain. It was the Rosecrans that was out of posi- tion. Its crew thought it was well offshore — fi ve or 10 miles, be- yond the reach of trouble — but in fact, it was just a mile or two from the beach. They hadn’t seen the lightship, because the Rosecrans had sailed between it and the shore. Nobody had been looking off the port side of the ship. Why should they? There Please see OFFBEAT, Page 5A Links between animal protein, IGF-1 and cancer BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD For the Sentinel M ost people are aware of the connections between red and processed meats and cancer—that there is convinc- ing evidence that these danger- ous foods are a cause of colon cancer. In addition, cooking any meat at high temperatures (for example, grilled or fried chick- $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM 116 N. Sixth Street · P.O. Box 35 · Cottage Grove, OR 97424 ADMINISTRATION: JOHN BARTLETT, Regional Publisher.............................. GARY MANLY, General Manager................942-3325 Ext. 207 • publisher@cgsentinel.com ROBIN REISER, Sales Repersentative...............942-3325 Ext. 203 • robin@cgsentinel.com E. SCURRY ELLIS, Sales Repersentative......... 942-3325 Ext. 213 • esellis@cgsentinel.com MELISSA WARE, Inside Sales Repersentative......... 942-3325 Ext. 203 SPORTS DEPARTMENT: MATTHEW HOLLANDER, Sports Editor...................942- 3325 Ext. 204 • sports@cgsentinel.com CUSTOMER SERVICE CARLA WILLIAMS, Office Manager.................942-3325 Ext. 201 • billing@cgsentinel.com LEGALS.............................................................942-3325 Ext. 200 • legals@cgsentinel.com NEWS DEPARTMENT: JON STINNETT, Editor......................................942-3325 Ext. 212 • cgnews@cgsentinel.com GRAPHICS: RON ANNIS, Graphics Manager (USP 133880) en) forms carcino- genic com- pounds such as heterocy- clic amines, which con- tribute to cancer risk. However, animal foods such as non-fat dairy products, egg whites and fi sh are considered healthful by most people. It not yet widely recognized that foods such as these, since they are so high in animal protein, may also contribute to increased cancer risk. When we consume too much animal protein, the body in- creases its production of a hor- mone called IGF-1, (insulin- like growth factor 1). IGF-1 is one of the body’s important growth promoters during fetal and childhood growth, but later in life IGF-1 promotes the ag- ing process. Reduced IGF-1 signaling in adulthood is asso- ciated with reduced oxidative stress, decreased infl ammation, enhanced insulin sensitivity and longer lifespan. In contrast, IGF-1 has been shown to pro- mote the growth, proliferation and spread of cancer cells, and elevated IGF-1 levels are linked to increased risk of several cancers. Several observational studies have suggested that high circulating IGF-1 may translate into promotion of tumor growth in colon, prostate and breast tis- sue. Which foods raise IGF-1? Since the primary dietary fac- tor that determines IGF-1 levels is animal protein, the excessive meat, fowl, seafood, and dairy intake common in our society elevates circulating IGF-1. Re- fi ned carbohydrates, like white fl our, white rice, and sugars can also raise IGF-1 levels, because they cause rapid increases in in- sulin levels, leading to increases in IGF-1 signaling. In fact, IGF- 1 signaling is thought to be a major factor in the connection between diabetes and cancer. It is the amino acid distri- bution of animal protein that sparks IGF-1 production. For this reason, isolated soy protein, found in protein powders and meat substitutes, may also be problematic because the protein is unnaturally concentrated and its amino acid profi le is very similar to that of animal pro- tein. How can we keep IGF-1 in a safe range? Reducing IGF- 1 levels by dietary methods is now considered by many sci- entists to be an effective cancer prevention measure. Minimiz- ing or avoiding animal protein, isolated soy protein and refi ned carbohydrates can help to keep our IGF-1 levels in a safe range. Green vegetables, beans and other legumes, and seeds are rich in plant protein and they have cancer-preventive, not can- cer-promoting properties. For optimal cancer protection, veg- etables, beans, fruits, nuts and seeds should comprise the vast majority of our calories. Dr. Fuhrman is a #1 New York Times best-selling author and a family physician specializing in lifestyle and nutritional medi- cine. Visit his informative web- site at DrFuhrman.com. Submit your questions and comments about this column directly to newsquestions@drfuhrman. com. The full reference list for this article can be found at DrFuhrman.com. 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