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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 2015)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL August 12, 2015 First-ever Emergency Preparedness Fair happens Saturday Habitat homeowners pay off the note BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel F ree and clear — it’s the goal of anyone working to pay off a mortgage, and for one Cottage Grove couple, the goal became a reality late last month. On Saturday, July 25, current and former board members with Cottage Grove Area Habitat for Humanity joined James LeVar and Corinne Si- monsen, the owners of the eighth house built by Habitat in this community, for a mortgage-burn- ing ceremony to celebrate the paying-off of their debt on their 16th Street home. LeVar and Si- monsen became the fi rst Habitat homeowners to own their home “free and clear” after paying off the balance of their mortgage earlier this year. Also present at the ceremony was Sunny Ken- nedy, president of the Habitat board during the time of James’ and Corrine’s selection process and house building, and Stephen Kneller, the Eugene-based general contractor who served as the general contractor for the construction of the home back in 2005. Habitat Executive Director Linda Oxley said the couple’s ownership of the home is part of “the ongoing vision of Habitat for Humanity to provide a ‘hand up’ not a ‘hand out’ to families to own their own simple and decent home.” LeVar was fi rst informed by letter that he had been selected to partner with Habitat to build his three-bedroom home in 2000, and in the ensu- ing years, Oxley said he volunteered more than 500 hours of “sweat equity” toward building the home himself. The home was the fi rst built by BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel C courtesy photo James LeVar of Cottage Grove burns the promissory note for the mortgage on his home, the eighth planned and built by Cottage Grove Area Habitat for Humanity. Habitat to be entirely accessible and customized to the needs of its owner, LeVar, a paraplegic who lost his legs in a car crash in southern California before moving to Oregon. Of LeVar, Oxley said, he “has a wonderful spirit and is a hard worker in everything he does.” “James and Corinne proudly maintain their home and beautiful yard and gardens, having been selected at least twice in the last several years, as ‘Yard of the Week’ by the Sentinel,” she wrote. “Habitat gave James a great opportunity,” said Simonsen, who stated that a former Habitat board member who has since passed on, Camy Walters, was instrumental in LeVar’s selection. “The experience was quite wonderful,” she said. “Unfortunately, we’ve since lost some ter- rifi c people that were instrumental and great to work with.” Simonsen said the couple decided early on to get right to work paying off their debt. “We decided from the get-go that these homes are interest-free, but they’re not free,” she said. “So we started doubling down on the house pay- ments to return that money to Habitat so they could go forward building other homes.” Fire District exploring bond for new equipment BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel S outh Lane County Fire and Rescue came into being when the Cottage Grove and Creswell fi re departments merged in 2003. The District’s equipment, however, is older than the District itself. South Lane Chief John Wooten said that the District’s “entire fl eet is aged out,” and a com- mittee has been formed to explore the option of a bond levy to replace it. “There’s been no new equipment purchased since the formation of the District,” Wooten said. “The only new equipment is a new engine at the Creswell station that was an insurance replace- ment when the old one burned up.” Wooten said that continuing to use aged equip- ment may affect the District’s ISO rating, which helps determine insurance rates for residents in the District. A lower rating may correspond to higher rates. The District is looking to replace fi ve pieces of equipment — two fi re engines, an aerial and two tenders, Wooten said. “The engines age out every 25 years, but the guidelines from the National Fire Protection Agency say that they should not be in front-line service for over 15 years,” he said. “When you try to comply with those guidelines, it puts you in a different place fi nancially. These days, just one engine costs $400,000, and an aerial is about $1 million.” Newer equipment, Wooten said, features op- tions such as passenger restraints and collision avoidance features not found on older apparatus. “The amenities, I’m not interested in,” he said. “The biggest risk I see is if our gear doesn’t have Please see BOND, Page 11A photo by Sam Wright Offi cials with South Lane County Fire and Rescue say their equipment pre- dates the founding of the District in 2003. ottage Grove is set to host its fi rst Emergen- cy Preparedness Fair this Saturday, Aug. 15, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., a fair that will take place at the helipad at PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Commu- nity Medical Center. Last month’s Independence Day earthquake cen- tered near Walterville paired with an eye-opening article from the “New Yorker” magazine about the possibility of a high-magnitude quake from the Cascadia Subduction Zone to put disaster prepared- ness in the Pacifi c Northwest spotlight. City leaders, though, say they’ve been working on disaster preparedness scenarios for some time, and they plan to introduce the fi nal draft of their new Emergency Operations Plan to the City Coun- cil this fall, according to City Planner Amanda Fer- guson. First, though, comes the fair, which will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and include demon- strations and interactive displays with many of the agencies and organizations that will respond to an emergency in southern Lane County. “This family-friendly event will have lots of hands-on, fun, educational activities that teach you how to ensure your family is prepared for the worst,” according to a recent press release. “Activi- ties will include: prizes and games, helicopter and fi re truck displays, hands-on fi re extinguisher train- ing, a disaster obstacle course (for all ages), a disas- ter wheel, Sparky the Fire Dog, an electrical safety panel and more. Partners for the event include: Life Flight, South Lane County Fire and Rescue District, Lane Coun- ty Emergency Management, Cottage Grove Com- munity Development and Emergency Management, Cottage Grove Community Hospital, Peace Health Medical Services, Lane County Public Health, Pa- cifi c Power, EPUD, StoveTec, NW Natural and the Oregon National Guard. According to a trailer developed by the City to promote the event, the fair will include a natural di- saster obstacle course and decontamination booth. LifeFlight will also offer a look at one of its heli- copters. Activities for many of the event’s partners will take place in an air-conditioned tent. A raffl e will be held for a 72-hour disaster preparedness kit, and a “disaster wheel” meant to test locals’ knowl- edge of natural disasters will also be available. The trailer video is available on Youtube at: https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wm8swt3S4Xg&feat ure=youtu.be. 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 E R O T S E R NOW OPEN EVERY SATURDAY T UESDAY -S ATURDAY 10 AM -4 PM We need volunteers for the ReStore ~ a few hours each month! Will you help? Habitat Offi ce and Warehouse 2155 Getty Circle ~ Unit #1 Special Exhibit: Cottage Quilts: Piecing Together Our Past, sponsored by: 3A a collection of historic quilts on display at the Cottage Grove Museum throughout August. Museum Hours (free admission): Thursday 4–6 pm, Friday & Saturday 1–6 pm, Sunday 1–4 pm. 147 N. H Street. in the Cottage Grove Industrial Park South on Hwy 99 past the High School S N O I T A DON S AL WAY ! ME O C L E W Call 541.767.0358 for more information Email info@habitatcg.org
