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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 22, 2015)
Gold Rush recap, page 1B A close one — Slabtown prevails in Feud contests, page 10A $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2015 SOUTH LANE COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889 VOLUME 127 • NUMBER 4 Tragedies on the area's roadways Lives shattered in multiple accidents BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel T raffi c accidents have wrecked automobiles and lives on several local road- ways in the Cottage Grove area in the past week and a half. The third weekend in July has traditionally been a time of high call volume, said South Lane County Fire and Rescue Division Chief Joe Raade, who said he was still surprised at the above-average number of incidents on local roads lately. “There’s not a real common denominator that we can see,” Raade said. “It was certainly chaotic there for a while.” It’s a phenomenon that ap- parently reaches past the southern Willamette Valley, as Oregon State Police Sgt. Greg Gilbert said Monday that mul- tiple incidents have also kept fi rst-responders busy in the northern part of the state. Sunday that the cyclist may have failed to walk his bicycle across an intersection that had been busier than usual due to the Bohemia Mining Days celebration nearby. Branstet- ter could not be reached by the Sentinel Monday, but Com- mander Scott Shepherd said the identity of the cyclist was being withheld due to the on- going investigation into the incident. “We’re continuing to inves- tigate whether the bicyclist or the motorist may have been at fault,” Shepherd said, adding that CGPD hopes to interview witnesses to the crash. Raade said that South Lane Fire also responded to a sec- ond accident Sunday at the intersection of Highway 99 South and Treadwell Road in- volving a motorist striking a juvenile on a skateboard. The involved motorist remained at the scene, but the skateboarder did not, Raade said, and a sub- sequent search for the juvenile was unsuccessful. Bicyclist struck in downtown Friday- intersection evening crashes at Raade reported Monday that Gowdyville Road, a man on a recumbent bicycle was struck in the crosswalk at CG Reservoir the corner of 10th and Main streets in downtown Cottage Road Grove Sunday afternoon. The accident occurred at about 1 p.m., and the bicyclist was transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center for possible fractures. Cottage Grove Police Offi cer Shawn Branstetter told the Eugene Register-Guard A single-vehicle accident on Cottage Grove Reservoir Road late Friday evening drew South Lane fi rst responders to the area near the Pine Please see CRASHES, Page 9A At left: Michelle Crocker (far left) and Jordan Beswick perform the 'Toy Symphony' with the Eugene Sympho- ny's Randy Larson and Ron Bertucci. Above: Old Glory is raised above the park by members of the VFW, Ameri- can Legion and National Guard. photos by Jon Stinnett Symphony's sweet for large park crowd BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel G uests young and old packed the grass and bleachers — installed just for the occasion — at Bohemia Park on a beauti- ful Monday evening, and the Eugene Sym- phony, in town for the fi rst time ever and kicking off it 50th anniversary season, gave the large gathered crowd a little bit of ev- erything. The program, which also included the raising of the fl ag on its new 60-foot pole, was a greatest-hits compilation of sorts, featuring familiar movie themes and the un- forgettable majesty of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture." The orchestra, some 70 musicians strong, would include Cottage Grove's Mayor, Tom Munroe, among a host of guests to perform the "Toy Symphony," and Conductor Danail Rachev, striking a relaxed tone in a white : d e r a p e r p g n i m Beco As talk of 'The Really Big One' heats up, City sets August date for Emergency Fair BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel C ottage Grove City Plan- ner Amanda Ferguson insists that the city’s planning department was working to host an Emergency Fair before emer- gency preparedness became the hottest topic in the Pacifi c Northwest. The combination of a magni- tude 4.2 earthquake that shook local residents awake on July 4 and the publication of a “New Yorker” article entitled “The Really Big One” — an article detailing the destruction that will most likely follow a large- magnitude quake along the Cascadia Subduction Zone in the ocean off the Pacifi c Coast — has many considering disas- trous scenarios. On Saturday, Aug. 15 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., the City will co-host an Emergency Preparedness Fair at the Cot- tage Grove Community Medi- cal Center helipad at 1515 Vil- lage Drive, an event that is open to the public. The City says the Fair will present residents with an opportunity to meet the fi rst responders and state, county and local groups dedicated to the community’s preparedness and safety. Festival hailed as success despite temperatures, controversy BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel A little heat, a little controversy and a lot of action — such was the scene at the 56th annual celebra- tion of Bohemia Mining Days, a cul- tural festival aimed at recognizing the Cottage Grove area’s mining heritage, which took over the town’s Coiner and Bohemia parks and brought scores of visitors to town over the weekend. Temperatures found the triple dig- its for the festival’s climax on Satur- day, but organizers say the heat didn’t cause any major incidents and didn’t seem to discourage decent crowds from attending the event. Controver- sy surrounded one festival vendor’s wares, which consisted mainly of the photo by Jon Stinnett Confederate fl ag and varying versions Cottage Grove's Maeve Dahlen has her likeness rendered by an thereof (see a more in-depth story artist at the 56th Bohemia Mining Days Friday afternoon. surrounding the fl ag controversy on page 8A), but aside from that incident were 69 vendors at the festival, which the fi rst year in a while that Bohemia and a few small glitches, the festival has housed up to 80 vendors in past Mining Days has entered the festival went well, according to BMD Board years) and added that patrons seemed season “in the black” with regard to mostly content as well, with no ma- its fi nances, which Johnson and oth- President Eric Johnson. Johnson said the Festival’s vendors jor “brawls or unseemly behavior” ers hope indicates that the festival has seemed “happier than usual” (there to report. He added that 2015 was weathered the fi nancial diffi culties polo shirt, even joined in the wackiness, donning a camofl auge hat and performing on a duck call. Rachev kept up a warm rap- port with the audience throughout the hour- plus show, a free event purchased by the Faye and Lucille Foundation and the City of Cottage Grove. Afterward, Rachev praised the Bohemia Park venue and said he'd be happy to return to Cottage Grove for a fu- ture performance. that have clouded its planning efforts for the past few years. Cindy Weeldreyer, publicity coor- dinator for BMD, said that based on feedback she received at the festival’s information booth, a new cultural stage and Kids’ Zone, in addition to the Bohemia Saloon — an attraction aimed at patrons under age 21 — were welcome aspects of the festival. The Passport to History program and the Bohemia Express train, which shuttled guests to various attractions at the festival, were also hailed as successes, Weeldreyer said. With regard to “The Feud” — the continuation of the historic feud be- tween members of the Slabtown and Lemati communities — contest orga- nizer Jake Boone said a “very close contest” was only decided in the late hours by donations on Saturday eve- ning, donations that gave Slabtown (the west side of Cottage Grove) a narrow 209-201 victory. “Whatever else happened, I con- sider this weekend a success,” Boone, a noted Slabtowner, quipped at Sun- day’s closing ceremony. “We’ve been developing this event before the recent events,” Ferguson said. “I’ve been plan- ning this ever since I knew we were going to have four interns in our department, and every- body’s very excited. It’s a topic we’ve been talking about here at the City for a long time. Most people don’t think a high-mag- nitude earthquake will hit us anytime soon, so a little public- ity is a good thing.” Ferguson said a lot of resi- dents have asked about emer- gency preparedness lately, and several are asking their city Much more from BMD inside: Festival features In-depth analyses of BMD highlights, page 8A Games, contests See who competed and who prevailed, page 10A Parade pix Cottage Grove on parade, BMD style, page 11A Rain Country Realty Inc. Principal Brokers Teresa Abbott ..................221-1735 Frank Brazell....................953-2407 Lane Hillendahl ................942-6838 "#$%&' (&&)((* 131 CHAD DR. 830 S 7TH 1500 HARVEY OPEN 2 Bedroom & study, 2 bath. Golf Course community. Price Reduced $189,900 3 bedroom, 1 bath fresh and clean big fenced yard price reduced $144,900 Brokers Laurie Phillip....................430-0756 Valerie Nash ....................521-1618 Open and Spacious 5 bedrooms, 2 baths corner lot. Price reduced $178,000 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 79 51 Sunny Please see FAIR, Page 9A Calendar....................................... 11B Channel Guide ............................... 5B Classified ads................................. 6B Obituaries....................................... 2A Opinion .......................................... 4A Public Safety .................................. 5A Sports ............................................ 1B 75 CENTS
