Shark rewrites history
Beyond the war on invasives — 3A
Creswell solar — 6A
Backpack blitz — 8A
Pirate-hunting ship makes a name for itself,
page 4A
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2015
SOUTH LANE COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
VOLUME 127 • NUMBER 6
Oregon's mayors converge
on Cottage Grove
Also
inside:
Conference draws about 70 municipal
leaders and their guests
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
T
he chances of encountering visitors
with prominent roles in other Or-
egon communities were quite good over the
weekend, as mayors of about 70 municipali-
ties gathered en masse in Cottage Grove for
the Oregon Mayors Association’s annual
conference.
Mayors from communities large and
small, from Eugene to Myrtle Creek and
many in between, gathered with their guests
for an action-packed weekend that included
many of the sights, sounds and distinctive
attractions of Cottage Grove, in addition to
the OMA’s regular business meetings.
The weekend for many of the mayors and
their guests began Thursday with three types
of golf at Cottage Grove’s disc golf course
and Middlefi eld Golf Course. Tours of the
Dorena Dam hydroelectric project and Pa-
cifi c Yurts occupied much of Thursday af-
ternoon. Friday morning brought the offi cial
photo by Jon Stinnett
Springfi eld Mayor Christine Lundberg and Creswell Mayor Dave
Stram work together to determine when the Bookmine was built
for a scavenger hunt held as part of Friday's Super Art Walk.
Please see MAYORS, Page 12A
Fire restrictions to
remain in place, at
least for now
Super Art Walk
Fire!
Douglas County
battles blazes, page 6A
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
C
ooler weather following a period of stifl ing
heat won’t change the recent fi re restrictions
put in place by South Lane Fire and Rescue Chief
John Wooten, a South Lane employee said Monday.
On Thursday, Wooten responded to a closedown
order from the Oregon Department of Forestry that
invoked a fi re precaution Level 4, which states that
“no activities are permitted at any time on all lands”
protected by ODF’s Western Lane Forest Protection
District.
Wooten explained via press release that, due to cur-
rent weather conditions and in an attempt to bring the
entire South Lane District into a similar level of fi re
protection, he had issued restrictions in the District ef-
fective from 1 p.m. Thursday until conditions change
substantially for the better.
“There is to be no fi re at this time,” Division Chief
Justin Baird said of the restrictions on Monday. “You
can’t have a fi re in a campground. You can use a gas
barbeque grill as long as it’s sitting on a concrete sur-
face, and yards that have been irrigated and are still
green can be mowed.”
Yards that have gone dead and dried out, however,
are not to be mowed, Baird said. The restrictions in
full read:
“1. No open fl ames are allowed out of doors, in-
cluding no campfi res, warming fi res, cooking fi res
or ceremonial fi res. Fires are prohibited at all camp-
grounds and other sites with developed fi re pits. Gas
powered barbeques are allowed, but are restricted to
use on hard, non-fl ammable surfaces such as patios
and driveways or green irrigated lawns.
2. No power equipment such as mowers, chain
saws, stump grinders, etc. may be operated on or near
dry grass, brush, or trees at any time, EXCEPT that
mowing of green, irrigated lawns is allowed.
3. No smoking outside of buildings or vehicles in
any area with dry grass, brush or trees.
4. No operation of welding or metal cutting equip-
ment out of doors in any area with dry grass, brush
or trees.
5. All logging operations, including power saws,
cable yarders, and tractor/skidder, feller-buncher, for-
warder or shovel logging operations are prohibited.
6. All construction operations involving dozers or
graders are restricted to streets or roads, developed
building sites or other areas of non-fl ammable sur-
faces.
7. Any other spark-emitting operation not specifi -
cally mentioned is prohibited out of doors.”
Please see ORDER, Page 11A
Will to win
photo by Matt Hollander
Dawson's focused in
the tropics, page 1B
Cheyenne Jensen admires an oil painting by local artist Steve Cooley during Friday's Art Walk.
With expanded hours and several additional displays and activities for the Oregon Mayor
Association's conference, the monthly event was billed as a 'Super' Art Walk by city leaders.
Wanted Cottage Grove man remains at large
Police say Sebastian Bivens eluded them on two
separate occasions over the weekend
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
A
search for a subject with an
outstanding warrant issued
by Cottage Grove Police brought
troopers with Oregon State Police
to the London Road area south of
town twice over the weekend.
Cottage Grove Police have had
numerous contacts with 25-year old
Sebastian Bivens of Cottage Grove,
according to Offi cer Jarrod Butler.
Butler said that Bivens was captured
with considerable effort in January,
and police have been trying to bring
him in since a warrant for his arrest
for possession of methamphetamine
was issued earlier this summer.
On Friday and Saturday evenings,
Butler said CGPD was contacted by
Oregon State Police to assist in a
pursuit of Bivens on London Road.
(Bill Fugate, OSP’s Public Infor-
mation Offi cer, did not respond to
numerous calls requesting informa-
tion for this article.)
Butler said that OSP’s recent at-
tempts to arrest Bivens have begun
with a traffi c stop and continued
with a pursuit. Bivens was report-
edly alone in a vehicle that was
pursued by police on Friday eve-
ning, a chase that ended when the
suspect stopped (or crashed) the car
and disappeared into a wooded area
nearby. A similar chase on Saturday
reportedly also involved a female
passenger, Butler said, but ended
with the same result.
“He drives to a spot where he
thinks he can ditch the car and puts
it into a tree or something else,”
Butler said before adding that he’s
unsure why Bivens would head to-
ward London.
“It’s common that he has a cell
phone with him that he then uses
to call friends and see where police
are set up to try and get him,” Butler
said.
Butler described Bivens as “not
a fun individual” and said that
CGPD’s 41 contacts with him since
2006 have involved assault, stran-
gulation and other charges. He said
it has taken three offi cers to bring
in the six-foot, three-inch tall Biv-
ens on previous occasions, when
pepper spray and tazers have also
been put to use. He said Bivens also
“runs like a gazelle.”
In addition to the outstanding
warrant for methamphetamine pos-
Sebastian Bivens
session, Corporal Conrad Gagner
said Bivens will also face felony es-
cape and eluding an offi cer charges
if he’s brought to justice.
Rain Country Realty Inc.
R
D
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6 flat acres of hay
and creek
frontage – Big
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1.5 bath reduced
to
R
ED
EDUC
Principal Brokers
Teresa Abbott ..................221-1735
Frank Brazell....................953-2407
Lane Hillendahl ................942-6838
532 Harlan, Drain
Large, peaceful
home on over 1/2
acre. 3 bedroom, 2
bath farm house.
Reduced to
$349,500
Brokers
Laurie Phillip....................430-0756
Valerie Nash ....................521-1618
$149,500
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
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Calendar....................................... 11B
Channel Guide ............................... 5B
Classified ads................................. 7B
Obituaries....................................... 2A
Opinion .......................................... 4A
Public Safety .................................. 5A
Sports ............................................ 1B
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