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4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL October 21, 2015 O PINION New fl eet can improve ISO rating, homeowners insurance premiums S outh Lane County Fire and Rescue formed a Bond Committee to explore and discuss the issuance of a general obligation bond appear- ing on the ballot for the Nov. 3 election. If approved, the bond provides an estimated $2.6 mil- lion to purchase and upgrade the current fl eet, which has an aver- age age of 24 years. Measure 20-237 will cost Dis- trict patrons $30 per $100,000 of assessed property value for 5.5 years. This means that if your house is worth $250,000, you would contribute about $75 a year for 5.5 years to upgrade the fl eet, providing improved fi refi ghter safety, citizen safety and community risk reduction. The National Fire Protection Association, which sets the stan- dards for fi re apparatus, provides that fi re apparatus should be re- moved from service at 25 years of age. The majority of our front line fl eet is aged out or will age out very soon. The costs asso- ciated with keeping the current fl eet in service are over $70,000 a year. This is money that can be saved every year to provide for planned fi re truck replacements, which we are fi nancially unable to do now. A new fl eet will provide for reduced carbon emissions and fuel effi ciencies not possible now. Those who would like more information can visit the SLFR website at www.south- lanefi re.org. Those who would like a presentation made to a group can call our offi ce at 541- 942-4493 or send us an email. Based on scenarios we have run in cooperation with area in- surance providers, we are con- fi dent in saying these scenarios provide a positive result in po- tential annual premium savings, should our ISO rating improve. A major piece of this would be gaining the full point values as- sociated with a new fl eet. What we discovered in our re- search is that even one point can make a difference in an ISO rat- ing changing from our current 5/9 to a 4/8 or even a 3/7. These changes correlate to increased point values for new apparatus. The proposed bond costs for a $200,000 home are $60 a year for 5.5 years. If you saved $300 a year on home/property insur- ance costs from an improved ISO rating, you could still have $240 left in your pocket in an- nual savings resulting from an improved ISO rating. These are scenario based estimates and every property is different. apart. It set neighbor against neighbor and ruined many friendships — all in the name of intolerance, hate, and most of all, hypocrisy. When they were defeated they slithered away back into their caves, only to reappear when tragedy struck. Is Mr. Jenkins trying to re-start that culture war? Mr. Jenkins' article is not only incoherent, but it goes against all the Christian principles that he espouses. He holds up Sher- iff John Hanlin as a hero. This so-called law enforcement of- fi cer stated that he will enforce only the laws that he determines to be following his interpreta- tion of the Constitution. So we have an anarchist sheriff who is obviously not a Constitutional scholar (as Obama is) spouting off treasonous beliefs, and yet he attracts fans. Toward the end of Jenkins’ diatribe he puts across his im- mense self-satisfaction by brag- ging how he worked in stress debriefi ngs at a high school shooting and being a “chaplain” at Ground Zero. He is a fan boy of the Republi- can Party that has accomplished zero in making our country bet- ter — a party that espouses mas- sive hate for immigrants, the LGBTQ community, and people who do not embrace the hereti- cal “Gospel of Prosperity”. The rise of the Christian Taliban is both shocking and sad. I travel all around the world holding dialogues with many people. The most often asked question is “What is wrong with America?” The follow-up ques- tions are about guns, the tea bag- gers, Trump, and the tolerance of our children being murdered by guns. Of course then comes universal health care, which we lack, and the Republican obses- sion with a woman’s uterus. We must purge this poison that is sickening our country. It is not liberalism that is the en- emy but the people who want to “take our country back” to the 1950s. These people are hell-bent on destroying the so- cial fabric of our country and howl war cries as they succeed. They do not want progress and growth; they want destruction. They are yearning for the “end of days”. They are a cult of death. In the 45 years of my daily Buddhist practice I vowed to alleviate human suffering. My mission is to have people live the happy lives that they de- serve. Yes, and I have made this world a better place. Offbeat Oregon History it a marvelous coincidence, and it became the basis for a great friendship. daughter of another offi cer. Both of them were part of a group of recruiters barnstorming New York trying to enlist volunteers for the war. When Thomas and Mandana were married, it was before the full regiment, and they exited the ceremony be- neath an arch of crossed sabers. The two of them then plunged into action — he fi ghting with his regiment, and she helping in an auxiliary role; she insisted on accompanying him in the fi eld. Thorp was captured in the battle of Trevelyan Station, but in the POW camp he made such fi ery patriotic speeches that the reb- els decided he was a security threat and transferred him to a POW camp in Charleston; while en route, his guards fell asleep, so he leaped off the speeding train into the blackness without. Landing by sheer good fortune without being injured or killed, he then traveled back through hundreds of miles of enemy ter- ritory to rejoin his regiment. At the end of the war, Thorp was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General by brevet (which means, essentially, that his title got a promotion but his paycheck did not; he remained a colonel in all but name). After the war, the Thorps headed west. They farmed and ranched in Michigan and Ari- zona before coming to Newberg in the early 1890s when their two children enrolled in Pacifi c College (now George Fox Uni- versity). By the turn of the cen- tury, they’d settled in Corvallis, where Thorp met the former enemy who was to become his great friend: The Reverend Dr. J.R.N. Bell. Black mission fi gs are pur- ple-black in color and have the sweetest taste of all types of fi gs. Mission fi gs are named for the Franciscan missionaries who planted them in California in the 1700s. Calimyrna fi gs are a pale yellow-green color. These fi gs originated from Turkey and are now grown in California. Black mission and Calimyrna are the most common varieties of culti- vated fi gs. Brown turkey fi gs are a light- er purple than black mission fi gs with hints of yellow-green and brown. There are about 60 different varieties of fi gs grown through- out the United States today. Like other high-nutrient fruits, fi gs are rich in fi ber, minerals, and polyphenol antioxidant compounds; eating fi gs has been shown to increase the an- tioxidant capacity of the blood, which could help to prevent oxi- dative damage in the body. Figs, similar to beans and oats, are notably high in soluble fi ber, a nutrient with cholesterol-lower- ing properties. Soft fruit with sap coming out of the end opposite the stem means it is ripe and has a high sugar content. Because they spoil quite easily, refrigerate them as soon as they ripen. It is so much fun to grow your own fi gs, as they are easy to grow almost anywhere in the United States if you have any space in your yard or on a bal- cony. All you need to do is plant them in a big pot with good wa- ter drainage and if you live in the northern states, just wheel the potted trees into a garage or shed between Thanksgiving and April 1. You can trim them back before the winter so they easily BY JOHN WOOTEN FIRE CHIEF, SOUTH LANE COUNTY FIRE AND RESCUE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR A shameful article I am writing in response to the publication of an ‘article’ in the Oct. 14 edition of the Cottage Grove Sentinel by Jim Jenkins. After reading it I felt shocked and physically ill. It defi es all common sense and so- cial responsibility that the editor chose to publish this hit piece. If the citizens look back at our recent history in Cottage Grove, back in the 90s they will recall the rise of a toxic and hate- ful group called the “OCA”. Mr. Jenkins was a party to this hate group. This collection of “Christians” in their witchhunt for gays and other unsuitable humans had torn Cottage Grove A tale of two heroes of two different Civil Wars BY FINN J.D. JOHN For the Sentinel O n July 28, 1915, one of the heroes of the Ameri- can Civil War was laid to rest in a grave in Crystal Lake Cem- etery in Corvallis. The life story of U.S. Army General Thomas Thorp had been a remarkable one. But nothing it contained was too much more remarkable than the story of that funeral service. Presiding over it was one of Thorp’s best friends, a Methodist minister and fellow Civil War veteran named John Richard Newton Bell — J.R.N., as he was called by nearly ev- eryone. Bell was a Confederate vet- eran — a Virginian by birth. When Thorp had arrived in Cor- vallis 15 years before, he and Bell had quickly found each other — the Civil War veterans of both sides formed a sort of informal brotherhood in every community at that time. So, of course, Thorp and Bell started reminiscing about battles they’d been involved in, cross-refer- encing their memories to see if they might have been in the same fi ghts. They quickly realized that, in fact, they had. In a pitched bat- tle late in the war, the regiment Thorp commanded — the 1st New York Dragoons — had ac- tually captured Bell and hauled him off to a prisoner-of-war camp. The two of them had never actually met in person on the battlefi eld — it would have been a bit odd for that to have happened, given that Bell was a private soldier and Thorp was a full-bird colonel in charge of the regiment that had captured him. But both men considered The Civil War hero: Blue vs. Gray The fi rst half of Thomas Thorp’s life was utterly domi- nated by the U.S. Army. But, although both his grandfathers had fought in the Revolutionary War, he clearly wasn’t envision- ing a military career for himself until the rebellion broke out. When it did, he was close to graduation from Union College in Schenectady. Leaving his classes behind, he raced to join the Army. He was appointed a captain in a regiment of volun- teer infantry and fi nished up his college work in the fi eld; his de- gree was conferred on him while he was with his regiment. He also was married before his regiment; in 1862, while re- covering from a battle wound, he met Mandana Major, the Steve Thoemmes Cottage Grove Help pass 20-237 The ISO, or the Insurance Service Offi ce, is the group that The Civil War hero: Beavers vs. Ducks J.R.N. Bell was just 16 when the Civil War broke out, but he was already a college student — studying theology at Wytheville College in Virginia. When the shooting started, he, like Thorp, rallied to his local fl ag; but un- like Thorp, he entered the ser- rates our Fire District. If we do not keep up our standards, the ratings will go against us, and our homeowners’ insurance will probably go up. It comes down to a choice of paying more for homeowner in- surance or passing Bond Mea- sure 20-237. I for one would rather pay a short-term bond measure and have a better-rated fi re depart- ment than pay more to the insur- ance companies. The only thing we would have to show for paying more to them is a bad rating and more profi ts for them. Tom Munroe Mayor of Cottage Grove vice as a plain Confederate pri- vate. Bell saw plenty of action; he took a bayonet through the shoulder in a Union charge at Cold Harbor and fought in 32 battles. By the time he was cap- tured by Thorp’s regiment, he was a seasoned veteran. Even so, Thorp may have saved his life on that battlefi eld: of the original 86 members of his company, only himself and three other men survived the war alive and physically intact. After the war, Bell took a job teaching school to raise tuition money to fi nish his degree; while there, he met and married his wife, fellow teacher Marga- ret Kirk. Once he’d graduated, he was ordained a Methodist minister and, after a brief as- signment in Arkansas, found himself embarking on what would be a 50-year career in Oregon — starting with the Southern Methodist Church in Ashland. Bell fi nally settled in Corvallis Please see OFFBEAT, Page 8A Going nuts for fi gs BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD For the Sentinel M any Americans are only familiar with dried fi gs, but fresh fi gs are a delicious treat available in the summer and fall seasons. Figs are com- monly grown throughout the Mediterranean region as well in $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM 116 N. Sixth Street · P.O. Box 35 · Cottage Grove, OR 97424 ADMINISTRATION: JOHN BARTLETT, Regional Publisher.............................. GARY MANLY, General Manager................942-3325 Ext. 207 • publisher@cgsentinel.com ROBIN REISER, Sales Repersentative...............942-3325 Ext. 203 • robin@cgsentinel.com E. 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No subscription for less than Ten Weeks. Subscription rates are subject to change upon 30 days’ notice. All subscritptions must be paid prior to beginning the subscription and are non-refundable. Periodicals postage paid at Cottage Grove, Oregon. Postmaster: Send address changes to P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. Local Mail Service: If you don’t receive your Cottage Grove Sentinel on the Wednesday of publication, please let us know. Call 942-3325 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Advertising ownership: All advertising copy and illustrations prepared by the Cottage Grove Sentinel become the property of the Cottage Grove Sentinel and may not be reproduced for any other use without explicit written prior approval. Copyright Notice: Entire contents ©2015 Cottage Grove Sentinel. the south- ern part of the United States. Figs were eaten by the Sumerians as early as 2900 BC, and fi gs were one of the earliest culti- vated fruits, eaten in Ancient Greece and Rome. Figs origi- nally came to the Americas from Spain in the early 1500s, and by the 1800s there were many va- rieties growing in California. A fi g is actually not a fruit at all, but a fl ower inverted into itself; the small seeds found inside the fi g are the true botanical fruit. Figs range in color from pale yellow to brown to purple. These are a few of the common fi g va- rieties that you might encounter throughout the season: fi t indoors and use the cuttings to start another tree. This way you can have as many fi g trees as you want in a few seasons, from buying just one tiny sprig of a tree. Dr. Fuhrman is a #1 New York Times best-selling author and a family physician special- izing in lifestyle and nutritional medicine. His newest book, The End of Dieting, debunks the fake “science” of popular fad diets and offers an alternative to dieting that leads to permanent weight loss and excellent health. Visit his informative website at DrFuhrman.com. Submit your questions and comments about this column directly to news- questions@drfuhrman.com. The full reference list for this article can be found at DrFuhrman. com. Letters to the Editor policy The Cottage Grove Sentinel receives many letters to the editor. In order to ensure that your letter will be printed, letters must be under 300 words and submitted by Friday at 5 p.m. Letters must be signed and must include an address, city and phone number or e-mail address for verifi cation purposes. No anonymous letters will be printed. Letters must be of interest to local readers. Personal attacks and name calling in response to letters are uncalled for and unnecessary. If you would like to submit an opinion piece, Another View must be no longer than 600 words. To avoid transcription errors, the Sentinel would prefer editorial and news content be sent electronically via email or electronic media. 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