COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL August 5, 2015
Chapman named
Granges' outstanding
volunteer
L
ondon Grange’s Dennis
Chapman was recently
honored with the Oregon State
Grange Volunteer of the Year
Award at the Oregon State
Grange 142nd annual session
in Pendleton. Chapman re-
ceived the award following a
statewide nomination process
from about 5000 grange mem-
bers statewide. He received the
award from Eva Frost, Com-
munity Service Involvement
Director for the Granges.
A frequent volunteer for
many Grange events and other
organizations, Chapman has
been a member of the London
Grange for 62 straight years,
and he is currently involved in
teaching chess at two elemen-
tary schools. Chapman is also
president of the Boots and
Sandals Square Dance Club
and president of the Emerald
Square Dance Center. He is
the Grange representative to
the Western Oregon Exposi-
tion Fair board and has spent
many hours volunteering on
behalf of the fair.
Chapman is also president
and coordinator of the Old
Schoolmates group of those
who have graduated from Cot-
tage Grove High School 50 or
more years ago. He helps with
upkeep and is a member of
the Cottage Grove Genealogi-
cal Society and the Historical
Society, is a church greeter and
usher and assists with Commu-
nity Sharing’s annual holiday
boxes program.
Police searching
for missing Cottage
Grove woman
Sondra (Sandra) Knapp hasn't been
seen since July 24
C
courtesy photo
Longtime London Grange member and contributor Den-
nis Chapman receives the Volunteer of the Year Award
from Grange Community Service Involvement Director Eva
Frost at the Oregon State Grange gathering in Pendleton.
Cottage Grove author pens book that aims
to redefi ne battle against invasive plants
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
B
lackberries,
Scotch
Broom, English Ivy
— they’re plants with quite
different characteristics, but in
these parts, where they’re re-
ferred to as “invasive species,”
a battle rages with both private
and industrial landowners fi ght-
ing to reclaim lost territory from
plants that seem determined to
keep it for themselves.
A new book from a Cottage
Grove-based author, though,
hopes to redefi ne the battle
against
Oregon’s
invasive
plants. Tao Orion’s “Beyond
the War on Invasive Species:
A Permaculture Approach to
Ecosystem Restoration,” was
recently released by Chelsea
Green Publishing, and accord-
ing to the company, the book
“offers a much-needed alterna-
tive perspective on invasive spe-
cies and the best practices for
their management based on a
holistic, permaculture-inspired
framework.”
Orion, who is also a co-owner
of Resilience Permaculture De-
sign, LLC, said her work as part
of a Lane County Public Works
effort to restore a wetland made
her aware of “just how much
herbicide” is often used to re-
claim land from invasives.
“As an organic farmer myself,
I was shocked as I discovered
how entrenched the mental-
ity behind this was, so I started
looking more in-depth and real-
ized there needed to be a more
holistic approach,” Orion said.
The typical practice, under-
taken by agencies that aim to
restore land to its “native” state,
involves bulldozing the land,
spraying it with herbicides,
seeding it with native plants and
spraying herbicide again to con-
trol invasives in perpetuity. But
as Orion states, the very idea of
land “restoration” is ill-defi ned.
“There’s a question of ‘what
do we go back to?’” she said.
“Pre-colonization by white set-
tlers has been the ideal, but ev-
erything that had been changed
by human hands prior to that
has not really been taken into
account. That’s why the concept
of invasive species is so limited,
and there’s even a lack of an
objective scientifi c defi nition of
the term.”
Orion said that her research
pointed out that invasives are
a vehicle of ecological change
and succession, and she believes
that they are one more chapter
in the evolution of a place and
its organisms.
“The concept of invasive spe-
cies is fl awed, because most of
these species exist here as relics
of our cultural practices,” she
said. “I’m trying to expand the
picture, to offer solutions with-
out the use of chemicals. Native
species are great, but I don’t
think we’re treating them like
we want them to stay here.”
Orion said she’s gotten lots of
positive reviews for the book so
far.
“I felt like I had to write it,”
she said. “Now I feel like peo-
ple that are concerned about the
topic can look at the references
I’ve laid out, because there’s a
lot of information there.”
“Beyond the War on Inva-
sive Species” can be purchased
at Kalapuya Bookstore and the
Bookmine in Cottage Grove.
Orion could be seen promot-
ing the book at the Bookmine
for Art Walk, and she will host
a presentation and book sign-
ing at Cottage Grove’s Healing
Matrix Thursday, Aug. 6 from
6:30-8:30 p.m.
ottage Grove Police are
seeking the public’s help
to locate a Cottage Grove wom-
an who has been missing since
July 24.
Commander Scott Shepherd
said
that
48-year
old Sondra
(Sandra)
Kay Knapp
left Cottage
Grove in a
green1993
four-door
Volvo sedan with Oregon li-
cense plate WBU030 on Friday,
July 24 en route to Salem to vis-
it her son, who is in the Oregon
State Penitentiary. Shepherd
said Knapp and the two friends
that accompanied her were sup-
posed to return home that eve-
ning but have not been seen
since. Family have received two
text messages, Shepherd said,
but he added that the messages
cannot be defi nitively credited
to Knapp herself.
Shepherd said Knapp’s cell
phone was “pinged” on Sat-
urday and appeared to be in a
parking garage at the corner of
10th and Oak streets in Eugene,
though Knapp’s vehicle was not
at the location and the phone is
believed to have subsequently
been turned off.
Police say Knapp may be
in the company of 42-year old
William Amos, who has an ex-
tensive criminal history includ-
ing resisting arrest, kidnapping,
weapons and sex offenses. They
add, though, that Amos is not
wanted at this time and that he
is only a person of interest in
Knapp’s disappearance.
Knapp is described as a white
female with brown hair and hazel
eyes. She stands fi ve feet, seven
inches tall, weighs 190 pounds
and was last seen wearing blue
jeans with “sparkly gems.” She
has a tattoo on her left shoulder
that has a heart with “Bentley
Cuddy” written on it, according
to CGPD. They ask that anyone
with information on Knapp’s
whereabouts contact them at
541-942-9145.
Interstate rollover
sends driver to hospital
A
rollover crash involving
a truck and trailer on In-
terstate 5 just south of Cottage
Grove Sunday evening sent its
driver to the hospital with minor
injuries and stalled interstate
traffi c for about two hours.
According to a dispatcher
with Oregon State Police, the
driver of a pickup truck and
trailer (described by Cottage
Grove Police, who assisted
with the crash and subsequent
traffi c control efforts, as a 3/4-
ton pickup towing a large “toy
trailer”) began to fi shtail around
5:45 p.m. Sunday. The vehicle
entered the highway shoulder,
where its driver was unable to
regain control and the truck and
trailer fl ipped.
According to OSP, the truck’s
trailer came to rest blocking
both lanes of I-5 at milepost 173.
The driver, identifi ed as 41-year
old Justin Mundell of Eugene,
was taken to Riverbend hospi-
tal with minor injuries. Jarrod
Butler with the Cottage Grove
Police Department said that lo-
cal police were charged with re-
routing interstate traffi c through
Cottage Grove for about two
hours until the wreckage could
be cleared.
Cottage Theatre presents
2015
A musical patchwork of pioneer life
August 14, 15, 16* • 20, 21, 22, 23* • 27, 28, 29, 30*
*matinee
Quilters
By Molly Newman & Barbara Damashek
Music and Lyrics by Barbara Damashek
Based on The Quilters: Women and Domestic Art
by Patricia Cooper & Norma Bradley Allen
Directed by Eliza Roaring Springs
Music Direction by Catricia Mayhue
Get serious about your
outdoor power equipment!
• Saws
• Trimmers
• Blower Vacs
• Accessories
Special Exhibit:
Cottage Quilts:
Piecing Together Our Past,
sponsored by:
3A
Easy S
ta
User F rting
rie
Long L ndly
asting
Come see our selection!
(541) 942-1301
a collection of historic quilts on display
at the Cottage Grove Museum
throughout August.
6RXWKWK&RWWDJH*URYH
&
Museum Hours (free admission):
Thursday 4–6 pm, Friday & Saturday 1–6 pm,
Sunday 1–4 pm. 147 N. H Street.
& Equipment Rental
(541) 895-4166
6RXWK0LOO6W&UHVZHOO
0RQ6DWDPSP6XQGD\DPSP