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4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL December 2, 2015 O PINION Council meetings don't guarantee a back-and- forth, but they're still worth attending BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel A s a communicator in Cottage Grove who works to bring the news and events of this com- munity to its weekly newspaper, I commonly hear a lament from the public that their govern- ment is not of- ten responsive to their needs and concerns. Similarly, the other side of the equation also holds true — local leaders researching an is- sue and the consequences of actions that could be taken to resolve it of- ten feel that the public is not truly engaged in the process to the extent that it could be. The situation illustrated itself dur- ing the Monday, Nov. 23 meeting of the Cottage Grove City Council, where, during a time devoted to public comment for items not on the evening’s agenda, a group of citi- zens inquired as to why a fl ag is not fl own at the Cottage Grove Library. Following their comments, many of these residents left the Council chambers, some seemingly disgust- ed with the lack of attention paid to their concerns, and in most cases long before City Manager Richard Meyers addressed the issue during an agenda item devoted to com- ments from the City Manager. By this time, several topics had been discussed in detail. Meyers told the Council and all present that the City has been searching for a proper place to erect a fl agpole at the Community Center for some time, particularly since a pole had been donated for that pur- pose back in 2007. Meyers said the City did not want to lose valuable parking spaces at the Community Center to accommodate a fl agpole, and he added that, as the building was formerly a Safeway store, the City still does not know the sche- matics of the utilities that could be located under the parking lot. Discussion involved the possibility of a pole to be located in an adja- cent courtyard, and Councilor Mike Fleck said he’d like to see that pos- sibility revisited during the City’s budget process. Still, the exchange, or lack of one, illustrated a key component that those who do not regularly attend Council meetings may not realize or fi nd satisfying. Before the public comment period, Mayor Tom Mun- roe read (and always reads) a state- ment pointing out that the Council will not engage members of the pub- lic with regard to their comment on items not on the agenda that night but will take those comments under advisement. In short, this means that citizens who bring an issue they care about to the City Council can’t expect a back-and-forth, human style discussion of that issue at the time they bring it forth. It’s not my place to defend or condemn this system or to lay blame on either side, but it’s easy to understand why this isn’t a perfect scenario, particularly among parties who need so badly to communicate and who (I believe) genuinely care about the future of this community. But as a regular attendee at Coun- cil meetings, I also believe that the members of this City Council are responsive to the concerns brought to them by their constituents. Or, as Mayor Munroe pointed out later, “You may not get what you want right now, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to work on it.” In the end, it would be a sad thing if citizens who genuinely sought to become involved in the political process were put off of their desire to weigh in simply by the structure of meetings of the Cottage Grove City Council. It would also be won- derful to have more free-fl owing, town hall-type meetings at which citizens could be heard and interact with their representatives. Until the situation changes, how- ever, I’d urge all involved to con- tinue to examine the issues with an open mind and participate in the decision-making process whenever and however they can. In an imper- fect system, it may also require per- sistence to see change through to its conclusion. Unfathomable sacrifi c- es have been made throughout past generations to give us the right to be heard and to affect change, and we owe it to future generations to exer- cise those rights. CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS Cottage Grove City Hall: 942-5501. www.cottagegrove.org/ Cottage Grove Mayor Tom Munroe: 942-5501. Heather Murphy, At Large: 942-3444 Lane County Commissioners: Oregon State House of Representatives: Jake Boone, Ward 1: 653-7413 Faye Stewart, East Lane Commissioner. Lane County Public Service Building Rep. Cedric Hayden (REP) District: 7 900 Court Street NE Suite H-379 Salem, OR 97301 Phone: (503) 986-1407 Fax: (503) 986-1130 Email: rep.cedrichayden@ state.or.us Jeff Gowing, Ward 2: 942-1900 Cottage Grove City Councilors: 125 East 8th Street Eugene, OR 97401 Phone: (541) 682-4203 Fax: (541) 682-4616 Garland Burback, Ward 3: 942-4800 Mike Fleck, At Large: 942-7302 Amy Slay, Ward 4: 541-942-5501. Offbeat Oregon History The all-night municipal gunfi ght of the frontier town of Ione BY FINN J.D. JOHN For the Sentinel P lenty of Oregon towns have been the scene of Old West-style gun- fi ghts during the frontier era, but very few of them have ever hosted one in which nearly everybody in the town par- ticipated. The tiny town of Ione, in northern cen- tral Oregon, is one that has. The occasion of Ione’s experiment in mixing a gunfi ght with a block party (“two great tastes that taste great to- gether”?) was the arrival on the scene of a local troublemaker named Charles Earhart. Earhart was well known to the citizens of Ione. At various times a wheat farmer and a saloonkeeper, he was also an ex- convict, having just been pardoned out of the joint six months earlier on charg- es stemming from a drunken shooting spree in Ione. He was one of those fel- lows who’s perfectly nice until he takes a drink — but after that, watch out. That night, his boilers were well stoked — and he was on the town to settle a score. Before his jail stretch, when he was keeping his saloon in town, he’d boarded with a woman named Mary Granger. He and Mrs. Granger appar- ently got along too well for the tastes of her husband. Whether there was any- thing to be jealous of or not is unknown, but Mr. Granger was confi dent enough in his conclusions that he moved out, taking the couple’s two sons with him and leav- ing three daughters — ages 10, 13 and 14 — with her. The couple had a fourth daughter as well, who had married a man named Henry Clark and left the nest. Months went by. Earhart went to prison, served a year and a half, was par- doned by the governor, and moved back to town. Mary Granger left her boarding- house business and took a job as man- ager of the Ione Hotel. And then, in late June of 2009, she offered Earhart a job on her staff. When news of this job offer reached the ears of Henry Clark and his wife, the two of them confronted Mary and de- manded that she fi re Earhart and remove her other daughters from his infl uence. News of this interference reached Earhart’s ears on Thursday, July 2. He apparently stewed on it for a day; but Friday night found him in a more pro- active mood. “Early Friday evening, Earhart began to tank up, and at dusk went down to the hotel conducted by Mrs. Granger,” the Heppner Gazette reporter wrote. “Upon meeting the woman in front of the hotel on the sidewalk, a quarrel ensued. The quarrel, after reaching the warm stage, was taken up by Henry Clark.” Clark was, of course, just the man Earhart wanted to see, and he pulled a big knife out of his pocket with which to continue the conversation — escalat- ing the imminent confl ict from fi sts to knives. Clark responded by escalating things a bit more — with a revolver. Mary Granger jumped between the two men, trying to hold Clark, who fi red over her shoulder at Earhart. Then, shaking free, he ran to the street and fi red three more shots after the fast-retreating ex- con. All were clean misses. But Earhart didn’t scare that easy — not, at any rate, when drunk. Running to Walker’s General Merchandise store, he kicked out the plate-glass front window and ducked into the building, making for the gun counter. He was looking for a Winchester rifl e with which to continue the arms race with Clark. Luckily for everyone involved, he couldn’t fi nd the rifl es in the dark. But he did fi nd a dandy double-barreled shotgun, and grabbing a couple boxes of shells (loaded, in another stroke of luck for all involved, with No. 1 birdshot) he headed for the door, bashing the lock off with the butt of the shotgun to let him- self out. Then he struck out for Clark’s house. Nobody was there. But on his way back to town, Earhart met Clark with an- other man. Leveling the shotgun at them, he ordered them to climb over a nearby fence, and as they did so, he pumped a charge of bird shot into Clark’s back. Luckily for Clark, it didn’t penetrate enough to infl ict more than a painful fl esh wound and knock him off the fence, where presumably he had the good sense to not move. Meanwhile, Ione residents who’d seen or heard the burglary at Walker’s store had reported the situation to the town marshal and sheriff’s deputy. Soon vir- tually every man in Ione was excitedly (and, in most cases, drunkenly; after all, it was Friday night) hurrying home, arm- ing himself, and presenting himself for service on a posse. The offi cers were gathering and instructing the excited members of the still-growing posse on the main street in town, apparently un- aware that their quarry was sitting qui- etly on the steps of the drugstore next to a friend whom he’d forced at gunpoint to accompany him. Finally, Earhart looked over at his friend, remarked that it was his turn to make a move and started up the street. The movement caught someone’s eye, and a shout went up from the posse: “Stop right there!” Earhart’s reply was two quick blasts from the shotgun as he took to his heels, heading for the far side of a blacksmith’s shop; the path before him was lighted by the muzzle fl ashes of at least a dozen posse members’ rifl es and pistols, but somehow none of the bullets hit him, although one did graze his back. As he ran, Earhart tripped over an elderly hobo, who had spread his bed- roll out between two houses. The hobo raised his head, trying to see what had happened — and a member of the posse, seeing him there and thinking Please see OFFBEAT, Page 8A Eight steps to reducing cholesterol naturally BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD For the Sentinel A lmost 50 percent of American adults have to- tal cholesterol levels above 200 mg/dl, plac- ing them at risk for car- d i ova s c u - lar disease — elevated cholesterol is one of the most important risk factors for heart disease. Elevated cholesterol is also as- sociated with increased risk of several cancers. A high-nutrient diet is by far the most effective method of reducing cholesterol while avoiding side effects. A di- etary intervention study using my recommended eating style found that LDL cholesterol was reduced by 33 percent in just six weeks. Similar six-week interventions using low-fat veg- etarian, Mediterranean or other diets have not been nearly as ef- $ 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. fective. Statin drugs are also not as ef- fective for reducing cholesterol as an excellent diet coupled with exercise. After six weeks of taking cholesterol-lowering statin medications, cholesterol levels decreased by 26 percent — almost as much as a high nutrient diet, but statins have harmful side effects compared to the healthful benefi ts of a high nutrient diet. Statins are as- sociated with liver dysfunction, acute renal failure, cataracts, diabetes and impaired muscle function. In contrast, not only will a high nutrient diet lower cholesterol, it will also decrease heart disease risk by improving other factors such glucose lev- els, blood pressure, infl amma- tion and body weight. The safest and healthiest strategy for reducing choles- terol and preventing future heart attacks and strokes starts with eating a high nutrient, veg- etable-based diet with plenty of raw and cooked vegetables. In particular, follow these eight simple rules to maintain healthy cholesterol levels and to protect against heart disease: 1. Eat at least one cup of beans every day. Beans are packed with resistant starch, sol- uble fi ber and phytochemicals, which help to lower cholesterol – a pooled analysis of 10 trials found that consuming beans regularly signifi cantly reduced total and LDL cholesterol. Plus, a 19-year study found that peo- ple who eat beans at least four times a week have a 22 percent lower risk of heart disease than those who eat beans less than once a week. 2. Eat at least one ounce of raw nuts and seeds daily. When eaten regularly, nuts not only reduce total and LDL cho- lesterol but also aid in weight control, reduce the glycemic load of the diet, and they reduce heart disease risk by 35 percent. Nuts and seeds have a variety of heart healthy nutrients, includ- ing plant sterols, antioxidants, minerals, and arginine. Include walnuts in your diet for their omega-3 and other heart protec- tive benefi ts. 3. Eat one large green salad each day, and include raw on- ion. Higher leafy green and cruciferous vegetable intake is linked to lower risk of heart dis- ease. 4. Eat steamed green veg- etables with every lunch and dinner. Recent research sug- gests that phytochemicals from green vegetables can turn on the body’s natural antioxidant and anti-infl ammatory protection mechanisms. 5. Include tomatoes/tomato sauce, berries and/or pome- granate in your diet daily. The antioxidants in berries and pomegranates, such as antho- cyanins and punicalagin, are especially effective in improv- ing both LDL and HDL cho- lesterol. Many observational studies have made a connection between higher blood lycopene (the signature carotenoid of the tomato) and lower risk of heart attack. 6. Have 1 Tbsp. of ground fl ax or chia seeds plus a DHA supplement each day. Flax- seeds contain the benefi cial omega-3 ALA, lignans, fl avo- noids, sterols and fi ber. Clinical trials show that daily fl axseed consumption reduces total cho- lesterol by 6-11 percent. Chia seeds are also rich in ALA and fi ber, and taking a DHA sup- plement ensures adequacy of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, because conversion of ALA to DHA and EPA varies greatly among individuals. 7. Avoid refi ned carbohy- drates and added oils. Pro- cessed foods are full of these calorie-dense, nutrient-poor in- gredients that promote weight gain and increase heart disease risk. 8. Minimize animal prod- ucts to less than fi ve percent of total calories per week. If you have heart disease or signifi cant- ly high cholesterol, avoid ani- mal products altogether. Higher animal product consumption is linked to increased heart disease risk. Dr. Fuhrman is a #1 New York Times best-selling author and a family physician specializing in lifestyle and nutritional medi- cine. Visit his informative web- site at DrFuhrman.com. Submit your questions and comments about this column directly to newsquestions@drfuhrman. com. The full reference list for this article can be found at DrFuhrman.com. 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