COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL March 2, 2016
Trial ends in conviction on
charges related to bar brawl
Early learning
center renamed
for founder
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
A
'Peggy's Primary Connection'
honors Lintula
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
photos by Bruce Kelsh
M
any of the details surrounding the South
Lane School District’s plan to rebuild
Harrison Elementary School are still up in the air.
But one aspect of the plan was made certain by
the School Board at its fi rst meeting in February.
That night, the Board voted unanimously to
change the name of A Primary Connection, the
family resource center that has served area fami-
lies since 1991, to “Peggy’s Primary Connec-
tion” for founder Peggy Lintula.
A Primary Connection offers programs that
emphasize family support, child development
and domestic abuse prevention. Lintula was in-
strumental in starting the program in 1991 and
was recently on hand to celebrate its 25th anni-
versary and a move to the Lane Community Col-
lege campus in Cottage Grove.
But Lintula is currently losing a battle with
cancer, and as such the Board, led by Jerry
Settelmeyer, voted hurriedly to change the cen-
ter’s name to “Peggy’s Primary Connection.” At
its Feb. 22 meeting, the Board was able to view a
mockup of what a new logo for the center could
look like, a logo prepared by BLRB Architects.
Parent said she plans to show the logo to Lintula
herself on Friday.
The resource center is planned for inclusion in
its own wing of the new Harrison building next to
its kindergarten classrooms in drawings prepared
by the architects.
3A
Above: Superintendent Krista Parent
unveils a potential "Peggy's Primary
Connection" logo for the School Board.
Below: Lintula reads to a group of stu-
dents recently.
fter close to three hours of
deliberations on Thurs-
day, a six-person jury found a
Cottage Grove man guilty on
charges related to an altercation
at a downtown bar last August.
Roger Benjamin Miller was
found guilty of Assault IV,
Strangulation, Physical Harrass-
ment, two counts of Disorderly
Conduct, Interfering with a
Peace Offi cer, Resisting Arrest
and Failure to Appear in Court.
Miller, who was represented in
court by attorney Jacob Dan-
iels, will be sentenced in Cot-
tage Grove Municipal Court at
1 p.m. this Thursday.
Cottage Grove Prosecutor
John Woodworth called several
Cottage Grove police offi cers
to testify to the actions of Mill-
er and Jeremy Burnes on the
night of Aug. 22, 2015, when
a bouncer working at the bar at
El Tapatio restaurant reportedly
attempted to stop a visibly in-
toxicated Burnes from drinking
and removed his beer from him.
During testimony last week,
the bouncer stated that after be-
ing cut off, Burnes told him he
had to say goodbye to a friend,
at which point he walked to the
back of the bar and punched the
DJ there. In the ensuing melee,
Miller reportedly grabbed and
placed another individual in a
chokehold, after which he and
Burnes left the bar.
Offi cer Matt Walker and
Reserve Offi cer Steve Sher-
win responded to the incident,
followed by Corporal David
Burgin, and much testimony
centered around the actions of
Burnes and Miller when police
attempted to question them in
the Cottage Grove Community
Center parking lot after leaving
El Tapatio. Offi cer Walker testi-
fi ed that Burnes became compli-
ant and sat on the curb but Miller
continued to struggle with Bur-
gin, pushing Burgin back into
his patrol vehicle; Walker said
Miller only complied with po-
Area man held on
multiple charges
The Cottage Grove Police Depart-
ment was advised on Tuesday, Feb.
23 that a wanted subject from Cot-
tage Grove had been booked into
the Lane County Jail.
lice orders after Walker pointed
his taser at Miller and indicated
that he planned to use it.
Daniels would argue that
“something doesn’t pass the
smell test” with regard to po-
lice accounts of their encounter
with Miller, adding that Miller
could only be responsible for
“applying the amount of force
necessary to pull somebody off
his friend.” The jury disagreed.
Burnes had reportedly pled
guilty previously to charges
related to the incident and was
sentenced to 36 months’ proba-
tion and 14 days in jail. Miller’s
trial began early Thursday and
concluded at about 8 p.m.
Judge Martin Fisher said this
was the fi rst trial in Cottage
Grove Municipal Court since
Jan. 28 of this year. Trials here
are rare and tend to “come in
shifts,” Fisher said, with seven
occurring last year and none in
2014, though he said he expects
cases to go to trial this month
and in April.
A dispatcher at CGPD said that
local police have had over 270 con-
tacts with 21-year old Dillon Privitt,
who was booked on a Municipal
Court warrant last week on charges
of attempting to elude a police of-
fi cer in a vehicle, reckless driving
and two counts of failures to appear
in court. Bond was set at $100,000.
Dillon Privitt
Safe Families for Children program to launch in Cottage Grove
Armory to host fi rst local event
on Saturday, March 5
C
hristians As Family Ad-
vocates (CAFA), a non-
profi t organization commit-
ted to making a safer place for
children, will be celebrating the
launch of its fi rst Safe Families
location in Lane County at the
Cottage Grove Armory on Sat-
urday, March 5 from 1-3 p.m. at
an event open to the entire com-
munity.
Organizers say the event will
be a celebration, a time of infor-
mational sharing and also a lo-
cation where families can drop
off household items for the Safe
Families program. Local pastors
from the Cottage Grove area
will join together in a ribbon-
joining ceremony to symbolize
that they and the community are
joining together to support Safe
Families for Children.
According to Angela Ard of
CAFA, Safe Families for Chil-
dren is a community-based
network designed to support
struggling families who need to
temporarily place their children
in a safe place outside of their
home. The Safe Families model
relies on the networks and ac-
countability that exist in church
communities to support families
in crisis. Church members from
participating churches volunteer
to become a trained safe family,
while other volunteers can con-
tribute meals, babysitting time
and fi nancial resources so that
the child is fully covered during
their stay.
“The beautiful thing is that
everyone can help in one way
or another. We all want to make
a safer place for children, but
E
R
O
T
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sometimes we just don’t know
how. With Safe Families, every-
one can play a role,” said Ard,
the director of Safe Families in
Lane County at CAFA.
The program works to pro-
vide a chance for parents to get
back on their feet offering re-
spite before the parent is pushed
into a place of possible neglect.
Parents experiencing a tempo-
rary crisis can arrange for their
children to stay with a “Safe
Family” while they address the
issues that led to their situation.
Children in these situations of-
ten suffer neglect or abuse and
some eventually are removed
from their home and are placed
in state custody. The idea with
Safe Families is that these chil-
dren with temporary needs don’t
get placed with the state.
There are currently 78 ac-
tive sites in more than 28 states
across the United States alone,
and Ard said this has also be-
come a global movement with
sites now in Canada and the UK.
Safe Families partners with host
agencies, local churches, minis-
tries, as well as community and
government agencies to inter-
vene in the lives of children and
families that could otherwise be
forgotten. Cottage Grove will
be the fi rst Safe Families site in
Lane County.
In early 2015, CAFA hired
Ard as the SFFC Lane County
Program Director and began
to focus efforts on introducing
Safe Families to Cottage Grove.
Community members in sur-
rounding areas have quickly
become interested as well, with
churches in Eugene, Springfi eld,
Junction City and Oakridge ea-
ger to get on board.
Those seeking more infor-
mation about CAFA can visit:
http://cafaweb.com .
MARCH MADNESS
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