10A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL March 16, 2016
O FFBEAT
G OALS
Continued from page 5A
Continued from page 1A
purchases on the ballot this No-
vember, a move that Councilor
Mike Fleck said he could sup-
port if the tax didn’t disadvantage
businesses here in relation to other
communities.
Meyers also put forth the notion
of amending the City’s charter to
put the City in fi rst position for
any liens it levies against the own-
ers of decrepit properties or, as he
called them, “limbo houses.”
“People get up and leave, and as
soon as they walk away, nobody is
responsible for the house,” Mey-
ers said. “The bank doesn’t have
it back yet. The property owners
usually disappear. What can we
do? Some of these houses, people
are now living in, but we can’t
kick somebody out because no-
body told us they’re trespassing.”
Meyers said some communities
have a restriction that if there’s no
water or sewer running to a resi-
dence, the City can declare a nui-
sance, asking the Council if they
wanted to explore that notion.
With regard to road mainte-
nance, the City’s gas tax receipts
barely fund basic maintenance,
let alone major overhauls, and the
Council seemed to support a bond
levy to repair some of the City’s
nastiest examples, such as South
Sixth St., which was mentioned
more than a few times. The City’s
fi ber optics network was put forth
as an area that could benefi t from
expansion, and Councilor Jake
Boone said such an upgrade should
appear near the top of the list.
“Fiber is our best chance of
changing our town from a used-
to-be timber town to a town with
more entrepreneurship,” Boone
said. “The sooner we start, the
sooner we can get there. If we can
be the fi rst ones to complete our
system, we can get all the business
that could come with it.”
Fleck said he approved the idea
of bonding for road repairs and
letting the voters decide if they
supported the bond.
“We put out for a bond, and if
they turn it down, it’s their choice,”
he said.
Near the close of the meeting,
Meyers asked for still more clari-
fi cation.
“I’ve got priorities all over
the board here. What are the top
ones?” he asked.
Councilor Kenneth Michael
Roberts said that he favored more
police patrols to address a rise
in crime. Councilor Jeff Gowing
advocated public safety above all
else, while Burback reiterated his
backing for fi ber optics and road
improvements. Councilor Amy
Slay said she wished to fund road
improvements and address the
community’s “limbo houses.”
a liaison between the community
and law enforcement and distrib-
uting crime prevention material.
In addition, block captains would
work with coordinators to orga-
nize meetings, notify members of
events and serve as a community
resource.
“We’re here to help you get it
off the ground, but it’s up to you
guys and the people who couldn’t
attend tonight to make it work,”
Slay said.
During a more informal ques-
tion-and-answer session, resi-
dents asked about the connection
between drug use and criminal
activity, with Shepherd respond-
ing that many property crimes are
motivated by drug use. Shepherd
said those who suspect drug activ-
ity among their neighbors are en-
couraged to observe and report all
useful information.
Shepherd said he would like
to revitalize CGPD’s reserve of-
fi cer program and invited those
interested to schedule a ride-along
with an offi cer.
Shepherd said he would love
to work with a higher budget and
hire more offi cers but it likely
won’t happen, adding that the
help of local residents could help
fi ll the gap.
“Under a model like this, we
think there might be an opportu-
nity to have a better chance of fol-
low-up, of linking certain crimes
together,” he said.
Many residents spoke of what
they see as a pattern of brazenness
by the local criminal element,
which involves acts such as peo-
ple casing neighborhoods in broad
daylight and stealing items from
front porches.
“You can’t believe the people
you see wandering around at
night,” one attendee said.
“I had my front porch light on.
They snuck through that front
gate, all the way onto the front
porch,” said another.
Shepherd said such activities
also confound law enforcement.
“As frustrated as you folks are,
we experience those same frustra-
tions,” he said.
Those interested in more in-
formation on Cottage Grove’s
emerging community awareness
program can contact Slay at coun-
cilorslay@cottagegrove.org.
M EETING
Continued from page 1A
from individuals that seemed
intent on taking matters into their
own hands.
“I saw things getting a little bit
out of control,” she said. “I saw
comments that honestly scared me
as much as what’s going on. But
we can’t have that; it makes us
both victims and villains.”
In his comments, Shepherd re-
iterated that he hoped volunteers
would be willing and could be
most useful by observing and re-
porting any suspicious activity to
law enforcement.
“I support the idea that all of
these eyes and ears are able to
supply the police department with
information that will help us ad-
dress a crime that has happened or
is happening. That helps give us
some investigative opportunities.
But I don’t want people to take
enforcement into their own hands.
That’s a big concern of mine,” he
said.
Slay advocated a network or-
ganized around Cottage Grove’s
ward system that includes ward
coordinators tasked with maintain-
ing a list of participants, acting as
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attendant and eventually a communicant was
gained in this way.”
Other itinerant men of the cloth found it con-
venient to cooperate with the proprietors of the
more secular temples at which frontiersmen
were wont to worship: saloons. Another future
Episcopal bishop, Ethelbert Talbert, built a
church in Murray, Idaho, right next door to the
local saloon. Both buildings were quite fl imsy
and very close together, so the prospect loomed
of noisy barroom activity disrupting services.
Fortunately, the Rev. Talbert got along very
well with the publican next door and soon had
worked out an arrangement: At the time for
services on Sunday morning, the saloonkeeper
would close up shop for two hours. “That’s all
for now, gents,” he’d holler. “Let’s all step over
and hear the Reverend talk!”
Out the door and around the corner would
go the crowd of day-drinkers to sit down in the
pews next door and soak up some religion be-
fore returning to resume their celebrations.
“Many of the fellows fresh from their drinks
were hardly able to realize just where they
were,” Talbot later recalled.
On one particular occasion, Talbot selected a
sermon on the parable of the Pharisee and the
Publican – a gracious nod to his saloonkeeper
friend next door.
“I proceeded to condemn the pride and
self-complacency of the Pharisee, and, in cor-
respondingly strong language, to praise the
publican for his humility and self-abasement,”
Talbot said.
But it soon became clear that one of his au-
dience members – one of the saloon patrons
who’d come next door when the bar closed –
was not having any of it. As the sermon contin-
ued, he glared fi ercely, then started muttering
angrily to himself as his fellow congregants
eyed him nervously. Finally he leaped to his
feet, apparently able to take no more.
“Tha’sh all wrong,” he yelled resentfully,
and would have continued, but the other bar
patrons – perhaps pleased to have an opportu-
nity to leave the church without offending the
keeper of the only saloon in town – leaped to
their feet and hustled him, still incoherently
protesting, out the door.
Back in the saloon, everything became clear.
The disruptive day-drinker was a hard-core
Democrat, and all the praise of the ‘Publican
Party without so much as a nod to the Dem-
ocrats had simply been more than he could
take.
Of course, it was all well and good for an
Episcopal pastor to make friends with the sa-
loon keeper. For preachers of denominations
with less worldly attitudes toward Demon
Rum, that sort of thing would have been un-
thinkable.
Legendary Methodist circuit rider James H.
Wilbur – better known as Father Wilbur – rath-
er set the tone for his denomination’s attitude
in the Umpqua gold fi elds in the 1850s, during
the California gold rush. Wilbur was leading a
team of Methodist ministers holding a week-
long revival event of sorts for nearby miners
and had attracted a considerable crowd. This
crowd had, in turn, attracted the attention of a
duo of itinerant liquor peddlers. These two gen-
tlemen had a wagon loaded with distilled spir-
its and a big tent they’d pitch beside it, forming
a portable saloon; the wagon sides would serve
as the bar. Like modern “tailgaters” partying
in the parking lot at a Beavers game, they now
came and set up this booze wagon as near to
the revival tent as they dared, ready to slake the
miners’ always-prodigious thirst.
You can imagine how this went over with the
Methodists.
The men of the cloth tolerated the interlop-
ers for several days, putting up with the nearby
whoops and howls of drunken revelry during
services in hopes that the booze-wagon soon
would move on; but fi nally, several days into
the revival, things came to a head.
The event that set it off was a gang of drunk-
en miners, fresh off the wagon, who decided to
attend services. At the back of the congrega-
tion, they started laughing and disrupting the
meeting. Finally Father Wilbur could take no
more.
“Sing something,” he muttered to the other
preachers. “I’ll be right back.”
Slipping out the back of the meeting, Wilbur
made his stealthy way to the booze wagon. He
caught its two proprietors alone and complete-
ly unawares.
Fired up with righteous wrath, the good pas-
tor seized a bottle of whiskey and, using it as
a club, set about getting the local earthworms
drunk as skunks. Shards of glass fl ew; cheap
whiskey and rum spattered everywhere. The
two liquor peddlers, belatedly realizing they
were under attack, leaped upon Wilbur; but
Wilbur was a very large and powerful man,
and more than a match for two half-drunk li-
quor men even when he was not animated with
a spirit of crusading fury. They didn’t have a
chance.
Wilbur didn’t stop swinging until he saw
that every bottle had been broken. Then, bleed-
ing from several cuts infl icted by fl ying glass,
he ordered the two liquor men to pack up and
move on (which they meekly did, on the spot),
and returned nonchalantly to his congregation
– where, his face and shirt smeared with blood,
he fi nished his sermon as if nothing had hap-
pened.
(Sources: Wells, Lemuel H. A Pioneer Mis-
sionary. Seattle: Progressive Publishing, 1930;
Kennedy, G.W. The Pioneer Campfi re. Port-
land: Marsh Printing, 1913)
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