School Zone: Bond conversation
Kindergarten Round-up
LMS gets a facelift
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27, 2016
SOUTH LANE COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
VOLUME 128 • NUMBER 31
Former cop pleads guilty to Gamez killing Also
Jenny Gamez had previously lived with a
foster mother in Cottage Grove; Steven
Zelich will be sentenced March 30
T
he former Milwaukee po-
lice offi cer accused of kill-
ing a 19-year old Cottage Grove
woman in 2012 and dumping
her body in a suitcase along a
Wisconsin highway pleaded
guilty Monday to the crime, the
Associated Press reports.
Steven Zelich was sched-
uled to go to trial on Monday,
though a plea deal was instead
announced. He reportedly pled
guilty to fi rst-degree reckless
homicide with the use of a dan-
gerous weapon and hiding a
corpse. He is also charged with
killing 37-year old Laura Simon-
son, whose body was reportedly
found in a suitcase along the
same Wisconsin highway.
The Associated Press report-
ed that the District Attorney in
Kenosha County, Wisconsin,
Michael Gravely, will seek the
maximum 75-year sentence at
Zelich’s sentencing on March
30. The plea deal means the
original sentence of life without
parole will not be sought. Zelich
had previously told authorities
he picked Gamez up at the Mil-
waukee airport and drove to a
hotel, where they played a sex
game that involved him chok-
ing Gamez. He lost control and
choked her until she died, ac-
cording to information fi led in a
criminal complaint.
Gamez had previously stayed
in the care of Lorraine Ericksen
of Cottage Grove, who served
as her foster mother.
Gamez graduated from Al
Kennedy Alternative High
School in 2010, then started
school at Lane Community
College. At the time her body
was found in June of 2014,
Ericksen told the Sentinel that
the Department of Human Ser-
vices had closed Gamez’ case,
at which time she moved out of
her home.
“It was a puzzle to fi gure
out what had happened to her,”
she said, “and now we know
why. We’re fi nding out the hard
way.”
(Ericksen could not be con-
tacted by Sentinel press time
Monday for this story.)
Back then, Ericksen said that,
after Gamez’ fi rst year at LCC
ended, she and some friends
from Eugene decided to go to
California. She had been talk-
ing about pursuing a career in
forestry, Ericksen said, before
deciding to do a little traveling.
“I didn’t think anything of it,”
Ericksen said. “She was a pretty
independent person.”
Gamez was also one of Erick-
sen’s “favorite kids.”
“I always said I wish I had a
houseful of Jennies,” she said.
“When she was with me, she
went to school and got straight
A’s. She was involved with the
Kiwanis and Bohemia Mining
Days. She kept herself pretty
busy.”
inside:
On the Carousel
Downtown deli open
for business, page 3A
C ITY C OUNCIL
Council votes in
favor of tobacco
license ordinance
Another approval is still needed for the
ordinance to pass
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
The Faz visits
T
he Cottage Grove City Council voted 6-1 in favor of
creating a licensing program for the City’s tobacco re-
tailers before a packed crowd Monday night, though the ordi-
nance to establish the program differed from one the Council
had previously considered.
Early in 2015, offi cials with the Lane County Health De-
partment approached the Council to seek its participation in
a licensing program the County had created that was in place
only in the unincorporated areas of the County, asking that
Cottage Grove and other municipalities adopt the same pro-
gram. The Council liked some aspects of the program and
in fact spent much of last year implementing many of them,
including banning the sale and use of e-cigarettes to and by
minors; increasing the acceptable distance from a building
that one must stand to smoke from 10 to 25 feet and most
recently banning the use of tobacco products in city parks.
Back in November, county health offi cials again petitioned
the Council to adopt the retail tobacco licensing program.
Please see TOBACCO, Page 7A
DeFazio talks
tranportation, page 3A
photo by Jon Stinnett
Kenneth Michael Roberts is sworn in by Cottage Grove City Attorney Carrie Con-
nelly at the start of Monday's City Council meeting.
Roberts appointed to at-large position
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
“
Those were some good
interviews, folks.”
Cottage Grove Mayor Tom
Munroe exclaimed as much
when addressing the members
of the City Council Monday
evening. A worksession dedi-
cated to interviewing candi-
dates for appointment to the
at-large position vacated by
Councilor Heather Murphy in
December was held prior to
the Council’s regular meeting,
and Munroe would later echo
sentiments expressed by other
councilors regarding the
Please see ROBERTS, Page 7A
Power of prayer
Mission unites CG
man, Jamaican
woman, page 8A
Fire District achieves improved ISO classifi cation
Chief credits improvement to passage of
bond levy, says fi re insurance premiums
could decrease for local property owners
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
A
change in classifi cation
for the local fi re district
could mean big insurance sav-
ings for property owners in the
District.
South Lane County Fire and
Rescue announced that, effective
April 1, the Insurance Services
Offi ce (ISO) Public Protection
Classifi cation for Cottage Grove
and Creswell will change from
a Class 9 to a Class 4 in areas
outside the city limits of those
communities and from a Class
5 to a Class 2 within their city
limits.
The Public Protection Classi-
fi cation Program is one of ISO’s
programs that provides informa-
tion to insurance companies re-
garding property/casualty risk;
PPC reviews the Fire District,
water department and dispatch
center capabilities.
On Monday, Chief John Woo-
ten said the improved classifi ca-
tions stem largely from a local
option levy approved by voters
in 2012, a levy that secured full
staffi ng levels throughout the
District, in addition to a levy ap-
proved last fall to purchase up-
graded equipment.
“Without the levy, we
would’ve had to cut half our
workforce,” Wooten said. “The
ISO rating would’ve gotten
worse, because it’s tied to staff-
ing levels. Without the levy, this
improvement would not be hap-
pening. Even so, the improve-
ment is even better than we
hoped for.”
Last week’s press release
stated that, historically, com-
munities strive for a Class 1
rating, which was achieved by
only 60 departments nationwide
in 2014. Currently, SLFR said,
only 1060 departments in the
U.S. hold a Class 2 rating, and
there are 24 such classifi cations
in Oregon currently.
Wooten said the change, par-
ticularly in the rural areas of the
District, could mean big savings
on fi re insurance premiums.
“Going from a 9 to a 4 in the
rural areas is huge,” he said.
“There are a lot of factors to
consider, but it should effect
everybody’s bottom line.”
On Monday, Darla Avery of
Payne West Insurance in Cot-
tage Grove concurred.
“In working up some quotes,
it does give a couple hundred
dollars back to someone who
had a Class 9 rating before,”
Avery said. She pointed out that
many factors affect fi re insur-
ance rates — whether a home or
other building is built of wood,
how old the building is, etc. Still,
she pointed out that a quote for
her own rural home reduced her
rate from $805 per year to $668
relative to the improved rating.
“Oh my gosh, yes, people are
going to see a huge difference,”
she said.
Avery recommended that
property owners contact their
insurance companies to see if
their rates may improve under
the new classifi cation, in addi-
tion to checking for any other
changes.
“It’s a good idea to go over
your coverage and see if you’re
properly covered,” she said.
Wooten said the savings in
insurance premiums for some
property owners could poten-
tially be greater than the in-
crease in taxes brought about by
the recent levies to support fi re
operations.
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WEATHER
CGHS player takes
fi rst at South Eugene
tourney, page 1B
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Calendar....................................... 11B
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Obituaries....................................... 2A
Opinion .......................................... 4A
Public Safety .................................. 5A
Sports ............................................ 1B
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