COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL July 29, 2015
Manager says undercrossing
project is ahead of schedule
Lake's lower,
but it's still
drawing visitors
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Cottage Grove Lake is about
47 percent full following a
dry winter and summer
T
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
T
here’s plenty of action on the north
side of Cottage Grove Reservoir this
time of year, particularly on weekends, as
swimmers, boaters and fi shermen ply the
waters to cool off or land a lunker.
Travel away from the dam, however,
and it’s a different story — long, grassy
stretches of bare land there are criss-
crossed by incoming water that forms a
stream through a dry fi eld. A dry, warm
winter and spring have left Cottage Grove
Lake and many local reservoirs with a
lot less water than is typical this time of
year.
Christie Johnson of the Army Corps
of Engineers, which manages Cottage
Grove and Dorena Reservoirs, said that
the Corps plans to keep fl ows out of the
dam at CG Reservoir the same, and with
so little water coming into the lake, its
levels are bound to fall lower than they
photo by Jon Stinnett
Dry land is plentiful on the back side of Cottage Grove Reservoir.
already have.
The Corps said that Cottage Grove Lake
began the 2015 recreation season about
seven feet below its maximum capacity.
On Friday, the reservoir was about 47
percent full, which is about 16 feet below
its maximum conservation pool. Johnson
said the lake will likely continue to fall to
about 25 feet lower than the typical depth
for this time of year by Labor Day.
The lack of water, though, apparently
hasn’t done much to hamper recreation at
the reservoir, which is still boasting full
campgrounds and lots of day-use visitors.
And it likely won’t curb much boating
activity, either, as the Corps said the low-
water boat ramp at Lakeside Park is us-
able down to the lake’s lowest depths.
“We still have lots of visitors, but we
haven’t been overwhelmed by them,”
Johnson said.
Please see LAKE, Page 10A
he construction of an un-
dercrossing that will bring
the popular Row River Trail under
Row River Road is proceeding and
is about a month ahead of sched-
ule, the project’s manager said last
week.
Evan Koepford of Weitman Ex-
cavation said that while a piece of
the box culvert that will form the
underground tunnel for the under-
crossing broke in transit, delaying
its installation by a week, the un-
dercrossing is still scheduled to be
completed by mid-August.
The death of cyclist and former
Cottage Grove High School coun-
selor Michele Portmann at the in-
tersection in a 2011 crash helped
prompt Lane County and the Bu-
reau of Land Management to ex-
plore safety issues throughout the
trail, and a federal grant funded the
construction of the undercrossing.
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
O
courtesy photo
Kevin Peschel jokes around with
nieces Aislynn and Irelynn Quatier.
Peschel was killed in a motorcycle
accident on Tuesday, July 21.
hood, and he recently worked as a sound
engineer at Sam Bond’s Garage and other
Eugene venues.
Peschel was killed on Tuesday, July
21 when his motorcycle collided with a
dump truck near Dillard Road in Eugene,
the Oregon State Police reported. Peschel
was riding his Suzuki motorcycle when
the truck turned into his path. He collided
with the front corner of the truck and was
seriously injured. Peschel succumbed to
his injuries at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart
Medical Center in Springfi eld. Police say
no citations have been issued and that
the driver, 29-year old Adam Metteer of
Springfi eld, is cooperating with an ongo-
ing investigation. The crash was the sec-
ond motorcycle fatality to affect Cottage
Grove in a week — 32-year old Daniel
Asquith was killed in an accident at the
Gettings Creek rest area on Tuesday, July
14.
Peschel is survived by his wife, Heidi,
of Sacramento, Calif., his mother, Nan-
cy, of Dorena, brothers Bill Baker, Dale
Baker and Rhiney Allen Peschel of Cot-
tage Grove, Dennis Peschel of Missoula,
Mont., sisters Linda Basler of Hayden,
ID, Patty Rivera of Yakima, Wash., Amber
Quatier of Cottage Grove, Heather and
her husband Jeff of Adelaide, Australia
and several nieces and nephews.
HISTORIC DOWNTOWN COTTAGE GROVE 4 TO 9 PM
Koepford said that the major
components of the undercrossing
have been installed, and soil has
been backfi lled around the box cul-
vert. About a month of electrical
work remains, he said, much of it
to install an advanced illumination
system at both milepost 4.0 and 5.4
of the trail. The “fl ashing beacon”
system is designed to alert drivers
to the presence of a pedestrian in
the intersections with lights that
fl ash in sequence the closer a trail
user gets to the intersection, Koep-
ford said.
Paving at the site is expected to
occur early next week, after which
the detours around the project site
will be removed. The following
week will bring more electrical
work and the paving of the trail as
it approaches the crossings at Mile-
post 4.0 and 5.4.
“The completion date of the proj-
ect is Sept. 30, so even with the de-
lay, we’re still about a month ahead
of schedule,” Koepford said.
A week after festival,
BMD board looks ahead
Memorial pays tribute to motorcycle accident victim
ver the weekend, friends and fam-
ily paid tribute and said goodbye
to a Dorena man killed last week when his
motorcycle collided with a dump truck.
Kevin Peschel grew up in Dorena and
graduated from Cottage Grove High
School in 1991. On Sunday, his loved ones
gathered in Crow for a memorial service
for a man that was described as selfl ess
and always ready to lend a hand.
“He was so tied to the community, such
an incredible person,” said friend LaDon-
na Hale. He was the most giving person
you would ever meet. If you needed any-
thing, he would stop what he was doing
immediately to help out.”
Peschel’s sister-in-law, Amber Quatier,
said the 43-year old was especially kind
to her children.
“He was my kids’ everything,” she said.
“He taught them how to ride a bike, how
to do everything.”
Quatier said Peschel was also well
loved in Eugene’s Whiteaker neighbor-
3A
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
A
week after the dust settled
on the 56th annual Bohemia
Mining Days festival, the event’s
board of directors met Thursday to
assess BMD’s past and future.
That future will include stronger
language in its rulebook that aims
to allow the festival to more closely
control the merchandise sold dur-
ing BMD, its board president, Eric
Johnson, said last week.
The controversy surrounding a
vendor’s booth that sold numerous
Confederate fl ags at last weekend’s
festival prompted the board to in-
clude a “family festival clause” that
aims to specify what vendors can
and cannot sell at future festivals,
Johnson said, adding that vendors
who choose not to comply with
the new guideline will be asked to
leave Bohemia Mining Days.
The festival will also work to plot
a new way forward after its coor-
dinator, Nancy Glines, accepted a
full-time position with St. Vincent
De Paul shortly before this year’s
event. Aside from a two-year run
by Alan Payment, the festival has
operated under a new coordinator
each year since longtime coordina-
tor Sharon Jean left the post after
the 2009 festival, a 10-day extrava-
ganza celebrating BMD’s 50th an-
niversary and the anniversary of
Oregon’s statehood.
Johnson said the board has not
yet named a new coordinator but
said that the festival’s current pub-
licity coordinator, Cindy Wheel-
dreyer, has indicated her interest.
The Bohemia Mining Days board
may also be interested in a current
grant-writing effort to fund an ex-
ecutive director position that could
oversee several of Cottage Grove’s
regular and annual events, includ-
ing BMD, the Concerts in the Park
series, the Oregon Covered Bridge
Festival and others.
“Having someone involved in all
of these events all year long might
be the only feasible way,” Johnson
said. “Having a part-time coordina-
tor has led to continual burnout.”
You Can Help
Cottage
Grove
Kids!
Celebrating in conjunction with the Mayor's Convention, this
Friday, July 31st Art Walk has extended hours and additional
historical activities will be going on throughout Main St.
Peruse art, enjoy refreshments and live music. Free Event.
ARTIST LISTING
Apple Pie: Chris Doyle - Beautiful
Unique Necklace and Earring Set;
Sally Schwader - Landscape Oil
Paintings
In Front of Bohemia Rose/Buster's:
Mike McIntosh - Extreme Metal
Werx
Delight: Open
Big Stuff: Open for dinner
Axe & Fiddle: Open for dinner,
Live music
Kalapuya Books:Candee Brennan -
Ceramics and paintings
Coast Fork Feed & Brewstation:
Live music
Analog Barbershop: Open
Imagine It Framed: Danielle Brown
Photography
Timeless Treasures: Open
The Crafty Mercantile: Fyona Rose
- Whimsical Jewelry; Noelle Ervin
- Vintage Buttons and Feathers
Earrings and Hair Accessories
Opal Center for Arts & Education:
Movie, Animal House
Victoriana's: Live music by Corwin
Bolt & The Wingnuts
Stacy's Covered Bridge: Open for
dinner
Bookmine : Basket Cases, Pine
Needle Baskets; Eve Pierce, Au-
thor; Kathy Kingsbury, Author; Tao
Orion, Author
In Front of Pandora's Box: Marilyn
Wilber - Antt Farm Textiles
Portrait Artist, James Hodson set
up on Main St
Volunteer as a
Court Appointed
Special Advocate
A rewarding, professional volunteer opportunity
in 10-15 hours a month helping Cottage Grove
foster children to stay safe and healthy.
Cottage Grove training begins this fall,
with applications due by August 11th.
Visit www.casa-lane.org.
A powerful voice
for abused kids