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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 2015)
- e f l g h e t g s t . t - n e l t h s e o - p - e e t , r e e r r - . t r y , t t y e m e e - s o y t n n s City Beat — 5A Pope's visit — 3A Comm. briefs — 6A Capone takes race by a landslide, page 3A $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 SOUTH LANE COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889 VOLUME 128 • NUMBER 14 Shooting injures deputy, suspect eludes police for hours BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel A Lane County Sheriff’s Dep- uty is recovering this week following a Friday-evening alter- cation between the department and a 38-year old Cottage Grove man, who was found hours later with his own gunshot wound and a dog bite from the incident. On Friday just before 8 p.m., Sheriff’s Deputies say they respond- ed to a possible shots-fi red call near Milepost 3 on London Road in the Cottage Grove Lake area. Once on scene, deputies encountered a male subject armed with a fi rearm, who immediately fi red on and struck one deputy. The suspect — later identifi ed as Carlos Roa of Cot- tage Grove, fl ed the area, initiating a search that found police blockad- ing the intersection of London Road and Cottage Grove Reservoir Road. Personnel with the Cottage Grove Police Department, Florence Police Also inside: Department, the Bureau of Land Management and the Lane County District Attorney’s Offi ce assisted at the scene, and it would be over six hours before Roa was located nearby, with a gunshot wound and a bite from a police dog. Following Please see ROA, Page 10A Carlos Roa Fire District bond set for Nov. 3 election M AGIC M OON Sunday evening's eclipse of the Supermoon drew locals from their homes just after dusk. It's a phenom- enon that's not scheduled to occur again until 2033. South Lane Fire and Rescue hopes to raise $2.6 million to purchase new trucks BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel Our Kids Book spurs local changes, page 6A S outh Lane County Fire and Rescue Chief John Wooten said Monday that he’s hear- ing “nothing but support” from locals regarding the District’s attempt to secure bond funding to replace much of its aging fl eet, and in just un- der fi ve weeks, it will be known whether that support will translate into yes votes at the ballot box on Nov. 3. Bond Measure 20-237 aims to raise $2.6 mil- lion to replace fi ve of the District’s vehicles at a rate of $.30 per $1000 of assessed property value for local taxpayers. The District’s Board of Directors recently voted to fast-track the bond process, Wooten said, knowing that South Lane School District is planning to seek its own bond to replace Harrison Elementary School in May of 2016. If approved, the Fire District plans to use bond revenue to purchase a ladder truck, two fi re engines and two water tenders. Wooten said the District is currently looking at a ladder truck that can possibly be purchased for around $800,000, though they can cost up to $1.2 mil- lion. New engines start at about $380,000, he said, and water tenders are comparably priced. Wooten said that the District is “being con- servative” while it explores its purchase op- tions, adding that new emissions standards and safety features make fi re equipment more costly than it has been in previous years. “It’s the stuff that’s included now that wasn’t on these trucks 25 years ago that makes them photo by Bruce Kelsh Ten-year CGPD vet dismissed, under investigation by FBI and U.S. Atty. Phil Beach investigated for violating evidence procedures BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel A 10-year veteran of the Cottage Grove Police Department is under investigation by federal agen- cies for alleged violations of the de- partment’s evidence/property handling procedures. In a Friday press release, Interim Police Chief Scott Shepherd wrote that Phil Beach, who was hired in a full- time capacity by CGPD in 2005, had been suspended in June of this year af- ter Shepherd was notifi ed of the viola- tion. Then-Commander Shepherd and Commander Conrad Gagner initiated Please see BOND, Page 10A an investigation of the incident after they were notifi ed of the possible vio- lation on May 27, the release stated. On Monday, Shepherd said that the violation “probably does have a crimi- nal component,” adding that the foun- dation for Beach’s termination and the subsequent investigation is evident, though he declined to elaborate on the nature of the allegations, citing the on- going investigation. Cottage Grove Police handed their investigation over to Oregon State Po- lice on June 23. Beach was terminated on July 15, and Gagner said the pro- cess that allows an offi cer to appeal a suspension led to the delay in Beach’s termination. “It was clear from the beginning that this was going to be a criminal case,” Gagner said. On Aug. 18, CGPD learned that the Lane County District Attorney’s Of- fi ce had forwarded the investigation to the United States Attorney’s Offi ce and the Federal Bureau of Investiga- tion. Shepherd said he didn’t believe that Beach’s alleged actions posed a direct danger to the citizenry of Cot- tage Grove. “His ethics were in question, and that’s why he can’t be a police offi cer here,” Gagner said. Drummer coming West Africa's Sylla to teach skills, culture in CG, page 9A School District prepares Harrison bond for May election BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel L ast spring, the South Lane School District Board of Directors voted to pursue a 25- year, $29.8 million bond levy to replace the aging Harrison Elementary building and ad- dress other areas of need in the District. Today, planning for the bond process continues in ear- nest and includes the formation of committees dedicated to de- sign planning and the campaign for voter approval of the bond. Built in 1947, the District has sought to replace the Har- rison building for some time, and a large advisory committee met over the spring and winter months to outline its recommen- dations, which in- cluded the duration of the bond and priori- ties for the use of rev- enue gen- Architect Mike erated by Gorman is a the bond CGHS gradu- b e y o n d ate, and Gor- what it man attended would cost Harrison to build the School. new school building. Initial estimates sug- gest that it would cost $21.2 million to construct and furnish a new elementary school. While the amount of funding for other projects would ultimately be de- termined after the new school is completed, the bond advi- sory committee estimated that it would take just under $8 million to address the other top priori- ties, which included upgrading the Warren H. Daugherty Aquat- ic Center, replacing several ath- letic fi elds and upgrading tech- nology and security throughout the School District. After reviewing requests for proposals from the architects that submitted their qualifi ca- tions, the District’s design plan- ning committee has chosen an architect with local connections to spearhead planning efforts. Mike Gorman, a Cottage Grove High School graduate and mem- ber of its Athletic Hall of Fame, was originally involved with the planning to build the current Bohemia Elementary building, and as a child Gorman attended the same Harrison Elementary building he hopes to help re- place. He has recently served as the principle architect for the construction of a 700-student elementary school in Crook County. The District faces a March of 2016 deadline to get the bond measure on the ballot for the May of 2016 election. Super- intendent Krista Parent said the School Board analyzed lots of data regarding placing the bond on the ballot in the spring or fall election next year. “We had to choose one, but we haven’t fi led yet,” she said. “We could still change our mind.” Parent said a recent develop- ment in Salem has the District feeling hopeful about its pros- pects. Approved by the Oregon legislature, Senate Bill 447 provides $125 million in match funding for bonds that school districts can secure in the May of 2016, November of 2016 or May of 2017 elections. Eligi- bility for the matching funds is determined by the percentage of students in a district that qualify for free or reduced lunches, and applications are processed on a fi rst-come, fi rst-served basis. Parent said the bill could po- tentially provide $4-8 million in matching funds for the Harrison bond. “We think the timing is really right for this,” she said. District representatives re- cently met with the architects from Bend-based BLRB Archi- tects for most of a full day to tour Harrison and other facilities including Delight Valley Head Start and Al Kennedy Alterna- tive High School, Parent said. Members of the two bond ad- visory committees have commit- ted to an ambitious schedule of meetings to outline plans for the potential new Harrison building, with meetings scheduled at least twice a month until March. The District has scheduled a community meeting/school board worksession to discuss the bond in depth on Monday, Oct. 19 beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the school district offi ce on Adams Ave. Rain Country Realty Inc. N EW 122 N. M Street Cute, tiny Studio with 3 car detached garage and private fenced yard! Price is not firm so make an offer and see! 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