S ALUTE TO V ETERANS — C
New wellness clinic — 3A
SPORTS — B
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2015
SOUTH LANE COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
VOLUME 128 • NUMBER 20
ELECTION
A
HERO'S
WELCOME
Voters
Cottage Grove veterans board an
Honor Flight to visit war memorials
in Washington, D.C.
approve
fi re levy
BY JON STINNETT
Cottage Grove Sentinel
“I
’m no hero…”
Patients that Bob Grimes helped mend
while he served as a surgical technician in the
U.S. Air Force at Denver’s Lowry Field dur-
ing World War II (and others) might tend to disagree, but
there’s little doubt that Grimes and two fellow World War
II veterans from Cottage Grove — Leonard Waitman and
Jack Gates — received a hero’s welcome at every step
along their recent journey to Washington, D.C.
Grimes, Waitman and Gates were three of the most
recent veterans to journey to the nation’s capitol as part
of the Honor Flight program, which takes veterans on a
whirlwind trip to visit the capitol’s war and other memo-
rials.
“We just went, and went, and went,” said Waitman.
“Every time we offl oaded, there were people honoring us
— teachers with schoolchildren, a squad of state troopers
at the Portland Airport.”
Waitman said the small children who appeared at
airports and elsewhere during the trip made a special
impression on him, particularly the small boys of about 5
years old in sailor suits who saluted and offered a proud
“thank you for your service.”
A total of 43 veterans made the trip to D.C., with the
Cottage Grove vets’ journey organized by South Wil-
lamette Valley Honor Flight, which funded the trip and
provided volunteers at no cost to the veterans.
New ladder truck and other
fi re apparatus to be acquired
BY SAM WRIGHT
Cottage Grove Sentinel
The South Lane County Fire and
Rescue’s Measure 20-237 was passed on
Wednesday, Nov. 4. The measure was
voted for the district to issue general ob-
ligation bonds not exceeding $2,605,000,
funding that would upgrade and repair a
lot of Cottage Grove’s fi re equipment.
The vote saw 3,847 votes for yes and
1,995 votes for no (63.61 percent vs.
36.39).
SLCFR plans to purchase one ladder
truck (or quint), two structural fi refi ght-
ing engines and two water tenders (or
heavy brush engines). Fire Chief John
Wooten said the department was in much
need of a new ladder truck, as some of
the equipment had exceeded its life span
by 25 years.
“The next step will be deciding which
manufacturer will build the fl eet,” Woo-
ten said. This decision is one that will
take time, as the department wants to get
the most out of the funding.
The department also said that updates
will be provided on their website and
social media pages on the progress of
obtaining their new fl eet.
Please see LEVY, Page 5A
Please see FLIGHT, Page 11A
courtesy photos
World War II veteran Bob Grimes (above) of Cottage Grove
visits the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., during the
recent Honor Flight program, which takes veterans on a
trip to see the capitol's war and other memorials. Fellow
veterans and Cottage Grove residents Leonard Waitman
and Jack Gates (at right) also made the trip.
Many happy
returns
This spring marked the
fi rst signifi cant return
of Chinook salmon in
their spawning stage in
the Mosby Creek, Coast
Fork and Row River ar-
eas. Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife fi rst
began reintroducing the
young fi sh in 2012.
2015 fi nds Chinook salmon coming back to Coast Fork
courtesy photo
BY JON STINNETT
Cottage Grove Sentinel
A group that began a jour-
ney of hundreds of miles in the
Coast Fork of the Willamette
River as fi ngerling Chinook
salmon started returning to the
area in earnest this past spring,
to the apparent delight of local
anglers and wildlife and habi-
cycle, according to Jeff Ziller,
fi sheries biologist with the Or-
egon Department of Fish and
Wildlife.
“We had spawning fi sh in
Mosby Creek, the Coast Fork
and the Row River,” Ziller
said. “The fi shery is actually
doing pretty good. We heard
of anglers catching limits at a
number of locations.”
tat restoration agencies.
The Oregon Department of
Fish and Wildlife began in-
troducing salmon smolts in
various locations in the Coast
Fork beginning in 2012 with
the goal of establishing a vi-
able fi shery there, and the
spring of 2015 marked the fi rst
signifi cant return of the fi sh in
the spawning stage of their life
Fish and Wildlife fi rst be-
gan reintroducing young Chi-
nook smolts in local rivers in
the spring of 2012, releasing
213,000 young fi sh at that time,
followed by close to 300,000
fi sh in 2013 and 207,000 fi sh
in the spring of 2014. Similar
numbers of smolts were due to
be released there in the spring
of 2015, but a lawsuit alleg-
ing that ODFW was releas-
ing too many salmon into the
McKenzie River, coupled with
fears regarding the viability of
spillway gates at the Leaburg
Dam upstream of the hatchery
that raises the fi sh, led to their
early release last December.
After their release, the salm-
on undertook a journey of over
300 miles — 20 miles of the
Row River to the Coast Fork,
186 miles from the Coast Fork
to the mouth of the Willamette
River and 100 more miles to
the ocean.
They likely spent time in
the Gulf of Alaska near British
Columbia, Ziller said. Some
Chinook returned to the Coast
Please see FISH, Page 10A
Rain Country Realty Inc.
...Would like to take time to thank the Men, and Women
of the Armed Forces, and their families, who have kept our country safe.
Please have a safe holiday while remembering those
who fought and are still fighting for us.
Principal Brokers
Teresa Abbott ..................221-1735
Frank Brazell....................953-2407
Lane Hillendahl ................942-6838
Brokers
Laurie Phillip....................430-0756
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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
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Corner of Sixth and Whiteaker, Cottage Grove
In person
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Calendar....................................... 11B
Channel Guide ............................... 4B
Classified ads................................. 6B
KidScoop ..................................... 12A
Obituaries....................................... 2A
Opinion .......................................... 4A
Public Safety .................................. 5A
Sports ............................................ 1B
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