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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 2016)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL February 3, 2016 Cap gun prompts school suspension For all abilities T he Cottage Grove Police Department said a student was removed from a Cottage Grove High School classroom on Friday after its School Resource Offi cer received a report that a male student had made threats toward the school and the student possessed a cap gun. A staff member during the school’s third period reportedly notifi ed Offi cer Charlie Martin of the situation, after which CGPD said that Martin and Offi cer Tami Miles responded to the student’s DanceAbility teaches dance to promote artistic expression for all BY SAM WRIGHT The Cottage Grove Sentinel I f you’re like most of us, you often fi ght the dilemma of having an ir- resistible urge to dance and a hindering lack of confi dence to do so. Those with physical disabilities may also be afraid to explore their dancing potential. But an in- ternational company that has recently ar- rived in Cottage Grove has presented an opportunity to the people of this town to do just that: learn to dance to the best of their ability. DanceAbility International is a com- pany that teaches people, able or disabled, to use improvisational dance to promote artistic expression. It operates around the world in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Asia and Europe, and since early January, the company has opened classes in Cot- tage Grove, presented by a professional dancer from Eugene, Jana Meszaros. Meszaros has a Bachelor’s of Arts in Dance from the University of Oregon and has taught movement, dance and theatre to all ages in various studios around Oregon. Her work has been presented in Califor- nia, Eugene and Gold Beach. During the class, Meszaros guides participants through creative movement games and activities that “build camara- photo by Sam Wright Jana Meszaros begins her class with warm-up activities in a circle, with each participant presenting their own jive to go along with their name. derie, physical awareness and expressive capabilities.” DanceAbility focuses on the inclusion of all: experienced dancers without dis- abilities are welcome along with those with disabilities. The classes are separated into two groups every Monday. From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. is the youth class, where non-dis- abled siblings of participants with disabil- ities are encouraged to join. From 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., the adult class takes place. So far, there have been no participants signed up for the youth class, but Meszaros hopes to put on a show in Cottage Grove to pro- mote the class and get kids interested. As for the adult class, attendance varies between six to eight people. “This type of teaching is less about do- ing it right and more about expression through movement,” Meszaros said. The 10-year dancing coach discussed the ben- efi ts of teaching and attending a class such as this. “It’s very empowering for all of us,” she said. “It’s a much freer environment that I get to facilitate and they [the participants] get to make their own choices.” Meszaros runs a program called Breiten- bush Contact Jam where dancers improve their contact technique. There, she met representatives of DanceAbility, whom she “hit it off” with and who offered her a position as a teacher for DanceAbility. The class will have two sessions this year (for adult and youth classes). The fi rst session started Jan. 11 and will go to March 14, where the class will hold an open house on their last day to show fam- ily and friends the activities done in class. Session two will begin two weeks later on March 28 and will go until June 6. Bachelder pens fi rst novel 'The Wish and the Waterfall' is the fi rst in a multi-volume series BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel S ometimes all it takes to see a project through is the proper encouragement. Family, friends and co- workers may recognize Cot- tage Grove’s Ken Bachelder from his years as an employee at Weyerhaeuser or his bass guitar stylings for longtime local stalwart band Windy 3A Ridge (now known as The Ridge.) But Bachel- der recently found the time to in- dulge in Ken another of Bachelder his pas- sions and realize a dream many years in the making. Bachelder, always a vora- cious reader, has been a fan of adventure and fantasy novels for decades, and he said he’s been working on his own con- tribution to the fantasy genre for 25 years. Writing classes at Lane Community College and through publisher Mc- Graw/Hill helped him work on the novel, though work and Please see WATERFALL, Page 11A Beds for Freezing Nights location in a classroom and re- moved him without incident. Offi cers confi rmed the student possessed a toy “cap gun”. Ac- cording to staff at the high school, the student is currently suspended and will not return to school un- less it is determined that he is no longer a threat to the school, stu- dents or staff. Police said Offi cer Martin will complete an investigation of the incident, though no criminal charges are anticipated as a re- sult. Police unable to determine source of shots/explosions T he Cottage Grove Police Department said it was un- able to determine the location or cause of a series of shots or ex- plosions heard throughout much of Cottage Grove on Saturday evening. A volley of several rather evenly spaced booms could be heard ringing out through town at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, which prompted several calls to police dispatchers. The department’s press log in- dicated two calls from the Row River Road area in town in re- sponse to the shots and fi ve de- scribing “possible shots fi red or illegal fi reworks” from locations including near the Cottage Grove Goodwill, N. 16th and Ostrander, the bike path near Safeway and the North Eighth St. area. Interim Police Chief Scott Shepherd said CGPD used the calls to trace the possible location of the sounds to the area behind Safeway near Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, though an “extensive canvass of all areas mentioned” turned up few results. “We sent offi cers to the area several times, but there was no indication of what the sounds were,” Shepherd said. “Such loud, purposeful booms may not be related to gunshots and might be more the result of the purpose- ful explosion of gases or some- thing else.” Downed tree cancels Head Start O ffi cials with Head Start of Lane County said a downed tree that fell on the agen- cy’s headquarters at the former Delight Valley School in Sagi- naw prompted the cancellation of classes on Monday. High winds and rain report- edly brought down the tree, Head Start reported on Saturday. Class- es were cancelled for students, though staff reported to work as usual on Monday. No injuries were reported. Head Start Operations Director Charleen Strauch told the Eugene Register-Guard that the tree dam- aged the school’s roof and the underside of a covered walkway, adding that there was no observ- able damage to classrooms there. Head Start has operated from the former Delight Valley School since a budget shortfall prompted the closure of the school by South Lane School District in 2010. 69 Flights // 1,311 Steps // 788 ft. Vertical Elevation Come Support your South Lane County Thank you! Fire & Rescue Stairclimb Team says “warm hearts, warm beds on freezing nights” Cottage Grove’s own overnight warming shelter . . . to all our generous donors and volunteers who have made it possible to provide a safe, warm place for people to come indoors during the coldest nights of the winter. Since our fi rst ac va on seven years ago, we have brought more than 200 people in out of the cold. We are open when temperatures fall to 29 o F. or less, from November 15 through March 31. For more informa on or to volunteer, please check our website at www.freezingnights.com. New volunteers are always welcome! Sunday, February 7 8-10am @ Dutch Bros. 1534 Gateway Blvd. 11am-1pm @ Safeway 1500 E. Main St. Your Stairclimb Team will be working out at these locations for your donations. Come support us as we train and raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. To make a donation visit www.fi refi ghterstairclimb.org • Click Donate • Search for “South Lane County Fire and Rescue” using the TEAM TAB local 851