Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 2016)
Opal Center offers 'Parallel Lives', page9A Lent draws churches together, page 8A Slow Ponies channel a wistful era, page 3A $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2016 SOUTH LANE COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889 School Board passes resolution for bond to build new Harrison BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel T he South Lane School Board voted unanimous- ly Monday night to place a $35,950,000 bond levy before voters in the May 17, 2016 elec- tion, with funds to be utilized to replace the aging Harrison El- ementary School building; up- grade safety, security and tech- nology throughout South Lane School District; tackle deferred maintenance projects and reno- vate the Warren H. Daugherty Aquatic Center. Superintendent Krista Parent told the Board that the bond’s planning committee worked to keep the property tax rate of the bond below $2 per $1000 of assessed property value for local homeowners, after learn- ing during previous efforts to pass a bond to replace Cottage Grove High School that such an amount was most likely to gain the support of voters. First on Monday evening, though, came a review of the planning process that’s led to the bond recommendation, and Mike Gorman and Greg Mc- Cracken of BLRB Architects, the fi rm hired to shepherd the early planning and design pro- cesses, were on hand to provide specifi cs. Parent stated that a bond ad- visory committee of about 50 individuals began exploring the O N H UMAN O RIGINS olice are still on the look- out for the suspect in a pur- suit that spanned two counties and enlisted the help of several agencies on Tues- day, Feb. 16. T h e Douglas County S h e r i ff ’s Offi ce an- nounced that it was William Dee involved Spain in a vehicle pursuit that began at about 8:15 a.m. on Territo- rial Highway and ended at the Riverwood Mobile Home Park in Creswell, though the chase ended without the apprehension of the suspected driver, William Dee Spain, 33, of Cottage Grove, who Sheriff’s Offi ce spokesper- son Dwes Hutson said was still at large by Sentinel press time Monday. The morning of the incident, a deputy was reportedly check- ing on a reported suspicious ve- hicle in the 1000 block of Ter- ritorial Highway in the Curtin area when he came across two Also inside: possibility of a bond to replace the Harrison building and make other upgrades about a year and a half ago. After the School Board approved an initial rec- ommendation to pursue the bond in May of 2016, a plan- ning committee has met several times to begin setting priorities for the bond. Parent added that the District is scheduled to be- gin screening six applicants for the project’s general contractor this week. According to documents pre- pared by the District, rough cost estimates of the project are: On to State! Wrestlers shine at District meet, page 1B New Harrison School on old CGHS campus: $18,921,100 Safety and security upgrades district-wide: $1,485,813 Deferred maintenance projects: $2,300,443 Network and technology upgrades: $1,250,000 Pool facility improvement: $2,920,129 Early learning center: $1,073,775 Kennedy High relocation: $412,000 Harrison property reuse: $513,455 Other costs: $6,173,285 Project contingency: $900,000 photo by Jon Stinnett Paleoanthropologist Briana Pobiner (in purple) offers tips on teaching human evolution to a group of educators at the Smithsonian traveling exhibit. Crowds fl ock to origins exhibit BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel E The presentation offered ad- ditional details regarding each Please see BOND, Page 11A vehicles and several subjects. The subjects dispersed, and the deputy attempted to stop one of the vehicles, a white 1994 Hon- da Accord. The deputy pursued the ve- hicle north on Territorial High- way through Lorane and then onto Hamm Road. Near Cre- swell, police said the vehicle hit spike strips that had been set by Oregon State Police Troopers. Shortly after the car hit the spike strips, the pursuit was terminat- ed. Troopers located the vehicle, unoccupied, about an hour later at the trailer park south of Cre- swell. Spain is wanted on charges of Eluding, Reckless Driving, Recklessly Endangering and Driving While Suspended. Po- lice said Spain also has a felony warrant for parole violation out of Douglas County. He is de- scribed as fi ve feet, 11 inches tall and weighing 165 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. Those who may have informa- tion as to Spain’s whereabouts are asked to contact their local law enforcement agency or call the Douglas County Sheriff’s Offi ce at 541-440-4471. Fun Fly arly in his presentation before a packed house at the Cottage Grove Community Center, paleoanthropolo- gist Dr. Rick Potts asked the question that’s central to the Smithsonian Institute’s traveling exhibit: What does it mean to be human? Hands in the audience shot up immediately; one person stated that the capacity for abstract thought is the key to humanness. Another posited that a sense of humor makes us stand out. Yet another answer involved our ability to ask ‘Why?’ For Potts, the question and its responses served as the starting point for a conversation about the origins of Suspect in chase remains at large P VOLUME 128 • NUMBER 35 Please see EXHIBIT, Page 11A RC aviation enthusiasts gather at Armory, page 3A photo by Bruce Kelsh Dr. Rick Potts, paleoan- thropologist and curator of the Smithsonian Institute’s Human Origins Exhibit spoke to a capacity crowd Wednesday evening at the CG Community Center. Body of missing CG man identifi ed BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel T he coordinator of the Lane County Sheriff’s Offi ce Search and Rescue team con- fi rmed late Monday that the hu- man remains discovered follow- ing a search in the Brice Creek area southeast of Cottage Grove last week indeed were those of a Cottage Grove man that had been missing since September. A vehicle found on a remote road on Sunday, Feb. 14 led po- lice and later Search and Rescue to the remote location. That day, the Cottage Grove Police De- partment received a report that a white Chevrolet Blazer with Oregon license plate #285GAH had been located in the foothills approximately 25 miles south- east of Cottage Grove, off of Brice Creek Road. The report- ing person indicated that the ve- hicle was unoccupied and cov- ered with leaves. Additionally, he said the windows were down John Jarrell and the vehicle’s interior was very wet. Police said the vehicle matched the description of that reportedly in the possession of John Jarrell, who was reported missing by his fi ancé on Sept. 30, 2015. Cottage Grove Police De- partment personnel reportedly responded to the vehicle’s loca- tion and verifi ed the vehicle was Jarrell’s. “We think it’s been there the whole time,” Detective Doug Skaggs of CGPD later indicated. “It was on a spur off a spur of a logging road; there was nothing else around it, and there were no recent tracks.” Just two days prior, Interim Cottage Grove Police Chief Scott Shepherd stated that there had been no new information to aid in the search for Jarrell, though a call for information that could aid in the search was again distributed to media out- lets. On Monday, Search and Res- cue Coordinator Tim Chase confi rmed that an autopsy had positively identifi ed the remains as belonging to Jarrell, adding that the manner of death was determined to be a self-infl icted gunshot wound. Following the discovery of the vehicle, Lane County Search and Rescue was contacted, and due to darkness the decision was made to have Cottage Grove Police Department secure the scene and remain with the vehi- cle overnight, while Search and Rescue personnel were contact- ed and prepared to begin search- ing the following morning. Lane County Search and Rescue organized and began a search of the area on Feb. 15, including the deployment of a cadaver dog, but throughout the day was unsuccessful in lo- cating Jarrell or any additional evidence. Police said the team returned the following day and continued the search, this time focusing on a different area of the forest. At about 2:30 p.m., the Cot- tage Grove Police Department received notifi cation from Lane County Search and Rescue that a deceased person had been lo- cated in a heavily forested area on a hillside about a mile from the vehicle. Lane County Search and Res- cue secured the scene while de- tectives from the Lane County Sheriff’s Offi ce responded to conduct the death investigation. Rain Country Realty Inc. PE G NDIN 505 Gateway Cute and freshly refurbished with new carpet and paint. 3 bedroom and one bath! $134,900 SO G N I M CO ON OW! L L O F O T PRISE SUR Principal Brokers Teresa Abbott ..................221-1735 Frank Brazell....................953-2407 Lane Hillendahl ................942-6838 2 bedroom, 1 bath single level stick built home garage/shop and huge yard. Broker Valerie Nash ....................521-1618 $140,000 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 By mail Corner of Sixth and Whiteaker, Cottage Grove In person WEATHER CONTENTS HIGH LOW 59 43 Partly Cloudy Licensed in the State of Oregon Calendar......................................... 3B Channel Guide Classified ads................................. 5B Obituaries....................................... 2A Opinion .......................................... 4A Public Safety .................................. 5A Sports ............................................ 1B 1 Dollar