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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 8, 2015)
! d e d n u o r G So long, Civic Hot July! Recounting a glorious baseball summer, page 1B Lookout tower closed due to 'structural defi ciencies,' page 3A Events abound during CG's busiest month, page 6A $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM WEDNESDAY, JULY 8, 2015 SOUTH LANE COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889 Also inside: VOLUME 127 • NUMBER 2 Arby's moving to new Row River Road location Wildwood warning BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel T he site of recent construction off Row River Road across from Cottage Grove’s Walmart store is set to become the new location of the local Arby’s restaurant, the franchise’s owner confi rmed last week. Eugene-based businessman Doug Mortimore of The Howling Coyote, Inc., said the current Arby’s will be moved to the new lot and will be one of the fi rst restaurants in the U.S. to feature the brand-new Arby’s “inspire” building prototype. “We are planning to begin construction in Septem- ber and hope to be open in January, 2016,” Morti- more wrote via email. Mortimore built the structure in the Bi-Mart shop- ping center that currently houses Arby’s in 1989, the year he founded Howling Coyote, though the build- ing originally hosted a Taco Time franchise. Arby’s opened there in 2000; currently Howling Coyote operates fi ve Taco Time restaurants and three Arby’s restaurants in the Eugene/Springfi eld area. City Planner Amanda Ferguson said the City has taken part in pre-application meetings with Morti- more and expects building permit applications for the new Arby’s in the near future. Construction crews are currently working on water lines and other under- ground amenities there, she said. Ferguson added that the City also expects permits for another restaurant at the old Arby’s location in the near future, but Morti- more wrote that it was “premature to comment” on potential plans for that site. County hopes signage can make popular site safer after recent fatalities Offi cial Grover's been watching the jumps for a quarter-century, page 3A BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel Visitors from locales throughout Oregon and beyond gathered at Wildwood Falls southeast of Cottage Grove over the long Independence Day weekend, and many took the opportunity to plunge 15 or so feet into the wa- ters of the Row River from the basalt cliffs that form several segments of the falls themselves. The Row is relatively placid at Wildwood this year following a dry winter and the early start of summer, and of the few I asked, not one of the visitors from out of town claimed to know anything about the loss of life that has occurred there recently. But if offi cials with Lane County have their way, the lack of knowledge about the danger there will end soon. On Sunday, May 31, Sidney Anthony Nelson III, a 19- year old student at the University of Oregon, became the most recent fatality at Wildwood Falls after he jumped from the cliffs and failed to surface. Nelson was the sec- ond swimmer to perish there in less than a year; on July 1, 2014, 16-year old Scott Alexander Smith of Aloha did not emerge from the waters beneath the falls after * City Beat — 5A * Quake? What quake? — 3A * News from beyond — 9A Garbage Service discontinues rural recycling 'Simple economics' cited after disposal costs jump Please see WILDWOOD, Page 10A BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel photo by Jon Stinnett Above: A Wildwood Falls visitor jumps from its cliffs into the Row River. The visitor and many oth- ers said they didn't know the falls had been the site of recent drownings. Band director Larsen leaving Cottage Grove High BY MATT HOLLANDER The Cottage Grove Sentinel A fter 10 years of leading award-winning music pro- grams at Cottage Grove High School, David Larsen is leaving to become the Director of Instrumen- tal Studies at Spokane Falls Com- munity College. “It has always been a career goal of mine to transition to the college level,” he said. “It won’t be vastly different — I’ll still be directing bands, but it still feels like a major change.” Larsen began teaching at Cot- tage Grove in 2006 while he was fi nishing up a masters program in jazz composition at the University of Oregon. Not a stranger to the community, Larsen had already be- come acquainted with several Cot- tage Grove students through private lessons. He had also worked in the Cottage Theatre. Prior to Larsen’s arrival, there had photo by Kim Larsen Cottage Grove High School music director David Larsen (saxophone) plays along with students Matthew Goes (key- boards), Alistair Gardner (drums), Jacob Marsh (bass) and Liam Onatis (guitar). After 10 years at Cottage Grove, Larsen is leaving to pursue an opportunity at Spokane Falls Commu- nity College. been a bit of turnover at the music director position. George Hutto was in the middle of his second year at Cottage Grove when he developed an illness and could not continue teaching. Thankfully he knew of Larsen and recommended him for the position. The school granted Larsen an emergency teaching cre- dential. “We were very fortunate that Da- vid was available to begin teaching,” said CGHS theatre director Janet Rust, who has worked with Larsen during his entire tenure at the high school. “In addition to the music department, he’s been invaluable to the theater, and he’s helped with music and sound at many events. He will be missed.” At fi rst, Larsen, who was then 25, came on as a long-term substitute teacher, but by the end of that fi rst year he had decided that Cottage Grove was where he wanted to be. “I was very content with what I was doing,” he recalled. “I was proud of what I was doing, and thankful for the opportunity to work hard. I knew that it would be a great training ground for my future ca- reer.” Please see LARSEN, Page 10A R ural residents living near Cottage Grove re- ceived a notice last week from Cottage Grove Garbage Service indicating that this will be the last week the company will be picking up recyclables at their homes. The reason, according to manager Tim Alverson, is one of “simple economics.” Alverson said that, in the “not too distant past,” the Garbage Service was being paid $42.50 a ton for “commingle,” the mixture of paper products such as telephone books, magazines, tin, plastic and other materials picked up in 14-gal- lon tubs at homes in the Cottage Grove area. Within the last six months, he said, the formula changed, and Alverson said the Garbage Service is now pay- ing $35 per ton to Eugene-based Ecosort — a small- er subsidiary of Sanipac, which is in turn owned by Waste Connections, a globally traded company — to take the recyclables. “It’s basically cheaper to haul the stuff as garbage than it is to take it to the processor,” Alverson said. “Nobody wants it, and I asked a lot of questions without getting a good answer as to why.” Alverson said the dramatic reversal took place in less than a year, and a recent announcement that the price per ton went from $25 to $35 per ton made the discontinuation of recycling service for rural cus- tomers immediately necessary. “We’re mandated by state law to provide recycling service to the municipality of Cottage Grove, but we’re not compelled by statutes to provide the Please see RECYCLING, Page 11A Principal Brokers HOME Teresa Abbott ..................221-1735 Frank Brazell....................953-2407 Lane Hillendahl ................942-6838 Home is where your journey begins. Brokers Ron Schneider..................521-8713 Laurie Phillips ..................430-0756 Valerie Nash ....................521-1618 L ET R AIN C OUNTRY R EALTY I NC . HELP YOU TAKE THE FIRST STEP . 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 91 55 Sunny Licensed in the State of Oregon Calendar....................................... 11B Channel Guide ............................... 5B Classified ads................................. 7B Obituaries....................................... 2A Opinion .......................................... 4A Public Safety .................................. 5A Sports ............................................ 1B 75 CENTS
