COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL July 22, 2015
Williams sentenced
on sex abuse charges
Firefi ghters sworn
in, promoted at
SLFR ceremony
Grandmother also arrested in
relation to case
BY MATT HOLLANDER
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
O
n Thursday, South Lane County Fire
and Rescue (SLFR) welcomed and rec-
ognized eight employees to the organization
and to new positions within the organization.
Justin Baird was promoted to division chief;
Aaron Smith was promoted to captain; Jason
Gilberts, Tim Heuser, Doug Lyda and Joey
Parsons were promoted to engineer positions,
and Mike Dunn-Bernstein and Tanner Conner
were sworn in as fi refi ghters.
Tessa and Cliff Horton were also sworn in
as volunteers.
Thursday’s ceremony, which took place at
the Cottage Grove station, is seen as just the
latest sign of the organization’s improved sta-
bility and fi nancial health since the merger of
the Cottage Grove, Creswell and South Lane
Rural fi re districts in 2003.
“It’s a big deal to be hiring and promoting
employees,” said Fire Chief John Wooten.
“And so it’s very important to host these cer-
emonies, which are open to the public, so that
people can see what we are doing with their
fi nancial support.”
As a result of the hiring and promotions,
SLFR added a full-time fi refi ghter and a full-
A
photo by Matt Hollander
South Lane County Fire and Rescue promoted several of its own during a
ceremony at its board meeting Thursday night, a meeting that also included the
swearing-in of new fi refi ghters and volunteers.
time paramedic and increased its service foot- a year ago.
Next on SLFR’s checklist is a potential bond
print by 12 hours per day. The new staff also
allowed the organization to shift three posi- levy to replace an aging fl eet of engines and
tions to the Creswell station, which will dra- apparatuses. The District has not been able to
matically increase service in the northerly area purchase a new vehicle since 2003.
“It’s all coming together; one thing at a
of the district.
“When you can have more people stepping time,” said Wooten. “We’ve made a lot of prog-
into upper-leadership roles, that usually means ress toward securing the fi nancial future of the
you will be able to retain people for a long district. Now we just have to demonstrate to
time, and that’s very exciting for the SLFR the voters that new vehicles are a valuable in-
culture,” said Wooten, who was hired just over vestment.”
Water levels still support boating at Baker Bay
Harms Park ramp,
though, was closed
this week
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
W
ater levels in many of
Oregon’s reservoirs are
dangerously low following a dry
winter, spring and early summer,
but a news release from Lane
County’s Parks Department last
week sought to alert boaters that
such is not the case at two Lane
County parks.
Parks Manager Mike Russell
wrote that Baker Bay at Dorena
and Fern Ridge Reservoirs “have
suffi cient water levels for boaters
to launch and are expected to have
usable boat ramps through July
3A
and into August.”
“Spending time on and in the
water is such a big part of summer
for many Lane County residents,
especially in this hot weather,”
Russell wrote. “We’re glad to see
that boaters will be able to keep
enjoying Dorena and Fern Ridge
reservoirs for the next several
weeks, along with all the swim-
mers and picnickers.”
According to the County, at
Fern Ridge Reservoir, the current
water level on Thursday was 370.5
feet, with full pool considered to
be 373.5 feet. The reservoir is ap-
proximately six inches lower than
it was in mid-July last year.
At Dorena Reservoir, Russell
wrote that the current water level
late last week was 825.5 feet with
full pool considered to be 832 feet.
This means that the reservoir is
approximately nine inches higher
than it was in mid-July last year.
“At the beginning of the year,
there was a concern we wouldn’t
have enough water, because other
lakes were really low,” Russell
later said. “We’re on a pretty good
schedule to see the typical draw-
down of water by the Corps of En-
gineers by the end of September.”
The Army Corps of Engineers
manages water levels at the Wil-
lamette Valley’s major dams and
reservoirs, while Lane County
oversees operations at Baker Bay
Park at Dorena Reservoir and Fern
Ridge Reservoir. Russell said that,
in times of extremely low water,
the boat ramps at Dorena “end up
on the ground,” stressing again
that this is not the case this year.
Russell said both Dorena and
Fern Ridge have been quite busy
so far this year, with many boat-
ers and swimmers who may previ-
ously have recreated at Fall Creek
near Dexter instead making the
trip down to Cottage Grove. On
Monday, Christie Johnson of the
Corps of Engineers confi rmed
that the Corps has closed the ramp
at Harms Park due to low water
there. Corps spokesperson Scott
Clemans stated, though, that lev-
els at the county-managed Baker
Bay are still about 65 feet above
their useful minimum.
Lane County urged that boaters
should check current lake levels
against the depth needs of their
vessels. Links to the Army Corps
of Engineers’ water level data and
information about Lane County
Parks marinas can be found at
http://bit.ly/1DjjTnb.
23-year old Cottage Grove man was sentenced to
fi ve years in prison Friday on rape and sodomy
charges following a guilty plea earlier last week in Lane
County Circuit Court, and the man’s
grandmother has also been arrested
in connection with the case, a Lane
County District Attorney reports.
Brandin Michael Williams pleaded
guilty to four counts of rape and two
counts of third-degree sodomy, the Eu-
gene Register-Guard reported, in con-
nection with relationships Williams
had established with at least three un-
Brandin
derage girls. Deputy D.A. Erik Has-
Michael
selman told the Register-Guard that
Williams
Williams targeted girls in middle and
high school, adding that the victims in
the case were 13 or 14 years old at the
time.
The Cottage Grove Police Depart-
ment began investigating Williams last
spring. On Monday, Detective Carlos
Jones of the Cottage Grove Police De-
partment said that Williams used Face-
book to contact the victims through
Mable Ann
“friends of friends and acquaintances.”
Young
Jones said Williams was able to go un-
noticed by parents of the victims when
he stayed overnight and for part of the next day at one of
the girls’ homes.
“He confessed to relationships with three girls, and two
of the victims were cooperative,” Jones said. “We have
reason to believe there were other victims, but they were
uncooperative as well.”
Jones said Williams was “not the typical person” that CG
Police encounter with regard to sex abuse charges.
“He was careful about getting acquainted with the vic-
tims and fostering an ongoing relationship,” he said. “It
demonstrates the effort he was willing to put into this.”
Williams’ grandmother, Mable Ann Young, has also been
arrested in connection with this case on charges of witness
tampering after she allegedly contacted one of its victims
and urged her to change her story.
Jones said Williams’ case is part of a recent uptick in per-
son-to-person crimes witnessed by CGPD recently as op-
posed to a more traditional prevelance of property crimes
such as theft.
“I’m not sure what the nexus is for that now, but in real-
ity we may just be scratching the surface of the number of
potential perpetrators that may be out there,’ Jones said.
Douglas G. Maddess, DMD
FAMILY AND GENERAL DENTISTRY
Brightening Lives One Smile at a Time
See our new website:
douglasgmaddessdmd.com
e
v
i
t
o
m
o
Aut
s
e
i
t
l
a
i
c
e
S p
PRACTICING THE ART OF TRANSMISSION REPAIR SINCE 1991
Manual & Automatic Transmission Repair
Tune ups
30-60-90K Services
Brakes, belts, hoses and cooling system
services
Muffl ers & Custom Exhaust
Drive-train repair such as clutches, u joints
and differentials
All makes and models.
MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE AFFORDABLY
WE LIVE IN THE SAME TOWN WE WORK IN
“ NO MONKEY BUSINESS!”
www.automotivespecialties.biz
DUSTIN TULLAR & RUSS OWENS
541-942-8022 • COTTAGE GROVE