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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 9, 2015)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL December 9, 2015 Cottage Grove Retrospective A look back at Sentinel stories from 40 and 60 years ago POLICE BLOTTER Cottage Grove Police Department 24- Hour Anonymous Tip Line: 767-0504 Nov. 30 Suicidal Subject, Washington Pl. A caller advised that her 34 year old son wants to harm himself. The son has threatened to do so in the past but has not mentioned a specifi c method. The son suffered from liver problems and depression. The caller was advised of pos- sible resources in the area for assistance and was offered a courtesy ride to the ER for a voluntary evaluation. The sub- ject said that he would rather have his mother take him. First Annual Christmas Opening Dec. 8, 1955 Can it! Dec. 11, 1975 Until 4 p.m. tomorrow (Friday), students at Lincoln Junior High School will be collecting canned food for the fi re department's Christmas food basket program. The effort will end tomorrow night when the class that collects the most food and money will receive a trophy during an 8 p.m. dance at the school's multipur- pose room. Picture features: Theresa Tobiasson, Jay McBee and Patci Palmer. CITY BEAT Sockball Fight To celebrate the arrival of winter the Cottage Grove Youth Advisory Council in coordina- tion with the Cottage Grove Main Street Program will be holding a “Sockball Fight” in the Cottage Grove Armory on Friday, Dec. 18 from 5:30-7 p.m. Those interested can participate in the Sockball Fight two ways: By donating new socks in one of the Sock Collection boxes at City Hall, the Community Center or area schools. Once donated, the YAC will prepare the socks to be used as a part of the Sock- ball Fight. After the Sockball Fight the socks will be donated to local organizations to distrib- ute to those in need. The second way to participate is to come to the Sockball Fight Crowds of men, women, and children (mostly children) gather around Santa during Cottage Grove's fi rst annual Christmas Open- ing. Mr. Claus arrived in town Friday night riding the engine of an SP train, was placed aboard Cottage Grove's fi retruck, paraded down Main and is shown here stopping to hand out goodies to the kids. 5A Disturbance, Pritchett Pl. A caller reported that a female by the name of “Danielle” was inside her residence and engaged in a verbal dispute and refusing to leave after being asked to do so. Other subjects in the house included four small children and Danielle’s husband. She confi rmed that her weapons are locked in a safe and others are not armed to her knowledge, and there was no indication of alcohol or drugs. Offi cers contacted the involved parties, and the family was given a courtesy ride to Relax Inn. Intoxicated Subject, Pink House A person reported of an intoxi- cated male inside the location becoming a problem in the dining area. Offi cers contacted the subject inside the location and gave him a courtesy ride to his mother’s residence, where he was released. Theft, Main St. A caller reported the theft of a Yamaha single stroke outboard motor with an unknown serial number from his boat parked on the back of the property. The incident occurred sometime between Nov. 26 and Nov. 30, there is currently no suspect in- formation. The motor is valued at $6,000. Dec. 1 Assault, Main St. A caller advised that she witnessed a male and female appear to assault approximately an eight year old juvenile in the pharmacy area of the store. The caller also advised the child had massive welts and marks on his arms. When she confronted the parents, she was advised to mind her own business. Selections from the City of Cottage Grove's Friday Update at the Armory. A Sockball Fight is essentially a snowball fi ght using balled up socks instead of snowballs. The YAC is plan- ning several different types of games and will also have divi- sions to separate little children from larger youth. Spectators will be welcome to watch the Sockball Fight. However, there are no guaran- tees that a stray sock won’t get into the spectator area. The Sockball Fight is being held to provide more activities downtown and provide some entertainment for kids while parents can shop downtown. Variable frequency drive repairs The City says that both its Row River Water Treatment Plant and Wastewater Treat- ment Plant are experiencing problems with certain vari- able frequency drives (VFDs), which are used to control the speed at which an electric mo- tor or pump operates. They are energy saving devices that also prolong the life of motors and pumps by allowing for soft starts and stops and controlling running speed. At the Wastewater Treatment Plant, the VFD that controls one of the large 75-horsepower infl uent pumps failed this week and needed to be replaced. The Ctiy said the cost of the replacement VFD was just shy of $9,000. At the Row River Water Treatment Plant, the VFD that controls a 100-horsepower membrane feed pump is fault- ing. Electricians are currently troubleshooting the VFD to determine the cause of the problem. This electrical analy- sis should determine if the VFD can be repaired or if it will need to be replaced as well. Nathaniel died a week later, probably of an infection. Dur- ing that time, he gave some fair- ly damning testimony against Charity and denied all claims of spousal abuse. In the wake of the act, the community was shocked and outraged, and prosecutors threw the book at both Charity and Mary Ann, the eldest daughter. Once the Lamb children started testifying about Nathaniel’s cru- elty, though, that attitude soft- ened from cold righteousness to a kind of miserable sympathy. Mary Ann’s trial was fi rst, and she was quickly acquitted of all charges, but Charity proved a tough one for judge and jury alike. What she had done did not qualify under any then-ex- isting legal defense. It was sort of self-defense, but not really; he’d been sitting at the dinner table when she did it. It was kind of like insanity, but that didn’t fi t either; she was clearly not a lunatic. Her defense attor- neys made things worse by try- ing, ridiculously, to claim she’d intended only to stun Nathaniel with the ax rather than kill him. In the end, the verdict was for second-degree murder, a charge which carried a sentence of life in prison. The prosecution had been hoping for fi rst-de- Holiday event at the Library Friends of the Cottage Grove Public Library will host a holiday celebration on Monday, Dec. 14 at 6:30 p.m., which will include storytelling with “Mrs. Claus” as well as ginger- bread man decorating Book Club for Kids The Cottage Grove Public Library will host its Book Club for kids, known as “Behind the Pages,” on Saturday, Dec. 19 from 2:30-3:30 p.m. The club is meant for kids ages fourth to sixth grade. Meetings are the third Saturday of each month, and this month, the group will be discussing “A Long Way From Chicago” a book by Richard Peck. Guests can still join in the fun even if they have not read the book. Corps of Engineers Dam Tabletop Exercise The Emergency Manager, How- ard Schesser, and City Planner Amanda Ferguson attended the US Army Corps of Engi- neers dam tabletop exercise and dam safety presentation. The USACE made a presenta- tion on their Willamette Valley operations, dam safety program and dams in Lane County. A tabletop emergency operation exercise was held using a late- spring fl ooding scenario on the Middle Fork of the Willamette River from Oakridge through Dexter. Participating in the exercise were Emergency Managers from Lane County, Eugene, Springfi eld, Cottage Grove, McKenzie Willamette Hospital, Peace Health and the Univer- sity of Oregon. Other participants included the Lane County Sheriff Floodplain manager, Fleet manager, and Facilities Supervisor; Lane County Public Health; Oregon Department of Forestry, Lane Fire Authority, Lowell Fire Department, Central Lane 911 Center & Sheriff’s Offi ce Dispatch; Lane County GIS and EWEB. O FFBEAT Continued from page 4A And so, when the family was gathered around the table for dinner and Nathaniel was happi- ly talking about the hunt, Char- ity excused herself and stepped away from the table, as if to see to something on the fi re. Then she returned with an ax — and let him have it. She hit him twice with it. Even then, Nathaniel was still 6 alive, on the fl oor, screaming, covered with blood. Her ax head had gone two inches into his brain, but the wound hadn’t been immediately fatal. Charity promptly fl ed the house, closely followed by Mary Ann. She made her way to a neighbor’s house a half-mile away, and they let her spend the night; meanwhile, Dr. Presley Welch came to do what he could for Nathaniel. -day weather forecast THURSDAY Dec. 10 FRIDAY Dec. 11 38° | 45° 38° | 44° Rain Poss. Showers SATURDAY Dec. 12 SUNDAY Dec. 13 e v i t o m o Aut s e i t l a i c e Sp 37° | 45° 33° | 43° PRACTICING THE ART OF TRANSMISSION REPAIR SINCE 1991 Rain Rain MONDAY Dec. 14 TUESDAY Dec. 15 33° | 43° 33° | 43° Poss. Showers Poss. Showers B4UBIDIBRNORBLOAWAYCZIA Manual & Automatic Transmission Repair Tune ups 30-60-90K Services Brakes, belts, hoses and cooling system services Muffl ers & Custom Exhaust Drive-train repair such as clutches, u joints and differentials All makes and models. gree murder, which would have meant the gallows. Sobbing and clutching the baby who would shortly be tak- en away from her, Charity Lamb was remanded to the primitive territorial prison, where she was for many years the only female inmate. Eventually she was sent to the insane asylum on what today is Hawthorne Street in Portland, where occasional visi- tors found her quietly knitting, apparently contented with her life there. She died in 1879 at the age of about 65. It would be many years before spousal cruelty became a recog- nized legal defense in murder cases. But the extreme discom- fort with which the judge and offi cers of the court looked on as Charity’s case was unfurled before them showed clearly that such a thing was needed, and may have had something to do with some other high-profi le murder cases in Oregon — pos- sibly including that of Mary Leonard, who went on after her acquittal to become the fi rst li- censed female attorney in both Washington and Oregon. (Sources: Lansing, Ronald B. “The Tragedy of Charity Lamb, Oregon’s First Convicted Murderess,” Oregon Historical Quarterly, spring 2000; Clark, Malcolm Jr. Eden Seekers: The Settlement of Oregon. Boston: Houghton Miffl in, 1981) Finn J.D. John teaches at Or- egon State University and writes about odd tidbits of Oregon his- tory. For details, see http://fi nn- john.com. To contact him or suggest a topic: fi nn2@offbe- atoregon.com or 541-357-2222. For life insurance, call a good neighbor. Matt Bjornn ChFC, Agent 1481 Gateway Blvd Cottage Grove, OR 97424 Bus: 541-942-2623 matt@bjornninsurance.com Call me and I’ll help you choose the right life insurance for you and your family. We put the life back in life insurance. ™ MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE AFFORDABLY WE LIVE IN THE SAME TOWN WE WORK IN “ NO MONKEY BUSINESS!” www.automotivespecialties.biz DUSTIN TULLAR & RUSS OWENS 541-942-8022 • COTTAGE GROVE State Farm Life Insurance Company (Not licensed in MA, NY or WI), State Farm Life and Accident Assurance Company (Licensed in NY and WI), 1311000 Bloomington, IL
