COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL April 13, 2016
O N THE S QUARE
All-Amer-
ica City
Square
will be the
subject
of public
meetings
on May 17
and May
24.
Sentinel fi le photo
City plans meetings re: downtown park
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
T
he City of Cottage Grove will join a
handful of local organizations next
month to discuss the potential solutions to
issues at All-America City Square down-
town.
City Planner Amanda Ferguson an-
nounced by press release that the City has
received a grant from the National Park
Service and State Historic Preservation
Offi ce to conduct a community planning
project for All-America City Square, lo-
cated at the corner of Seventh and Main
streets, this spring.
An open house is scheduled at the Cot-
tage Grove Armory from 6-8 p.m. on
Tuesday, May 17, an event that aims to
“gather ideas on needed park improve-
ments and uses so we can sustain the park
for future generations,” the release stated.
The following Tuesday, May 24 from 6-8
p.m., the Armory will host a design char-
rette facilitated by landscape architect Da-
vid Dougherty from DLA Inc. to pursue
design changes to bring about those im-
provements.
A charrette is an interactive planning
session where citizens, designers and oth-
ers collaborate on a vision for a project. It
provides a forum for ideas and gives im-
mediate feedback to the designers.
Ferguson said that the Cottage Grove
Garden Club, Sustainable Cottage Grove,
the Economic and Business Improvement
District and the Cottage Grove Main Street
program are all joining in this effort.
“We all love the All-America City
Square. But it is almost 10 years old. We
want to fi nd out what concerns people
have and what issues have surfaced since
the square was created,” Ferguson wrote.
“We have heard concerns expressed over
the fl ag stone fl ooring, traffi c fl ow, safety,
lighting, use, signage, maintenance, etc.
What are your concerns? What would you
like to see change? What would you like
to see stay the same?”
Ferguson said the goal of the meetings
is to eventually produce design drawings
that the City could use to apply for a grant
by this July to renovate the park, adding
that the City doesn’t expect to make “huge
changes” to improve conditions there.
The square at Seventh and Main be-
came the subject of much public interest
in 2007, when the EBID gained momen-
tum and funds for a complete redesign
there. At that time, the location, known as
Opal Whiteley Park by many due to the
iconic mural that overlooks the square,
consisted of a more modest grass-covered
park maintained by various locals. An at-
times contentious public process preceded
the park’s overhaul, which was designed
by local architect Marston Morgan to in-
clude a replica of a tower that was used by
early Cottage Grove fi refi ghters, and a re-
naming in honor of Cottage Grove’s status
as an All-America City. The new park was
dedicated in August of 2008.
Later, issues of vandalism in and behind
the park’s restrooms, along with loitering
and drug activity, prompted the City to re-
move the picnic tables there and block off
its electrical outlets in 2012.
The City began deliberations on the
Main Street Refi nement Plan, a compre-
hensive plan to redesign downtown Cot-
tage Grove, in 2014, and the plan included
a revamped All-America City Square as
the centerpiece of a “festival square” con-
cept to open up the square and encour-
age more public use. Public scrutiny of
the concept, however, led the City to re-
move plans regarding the square from the
MSRP, which now only includes a direc-
tive that the square be examined for a pos-
sible future redesign.
“The Main Street Refi nement Plan ba-
sically punted the issues on All-America
City Square,” Ferguson said. “We would
love to address the issues there before
funding is found for construction on the
refi nement plan.”
3A
Dorena-area dispute
leads to shooting
T
he Lane County Sheriff’s
Offi ce has yet to update
its announcement regarding a
dispute involving a shooting it
says occurred on Monday, April
4 at approximately 11:26 a.m.
In a press release prepared by
Detective Sgt. Carl Wilkerson
(who could not be contacted by
Sentinel press time for this ar-
ticle) the Sheriff’s Offi ce said it
responded to the 39000 block of
Brice Creek Road in the Dorena
area regarding a report of a dis-
pute involving a shooting.
The Sheriff’s Offi ce received
additional information a woman
was reporting she had been in
a dispute with her husband and
she shot him. The man left the
location with another party and
was subsequently transported
to the hospital. The woman re-
mained on scene and awaited
Sheriff’s Offi ce contact.
The Sheriff’s Offi ce said the
man was subsequently admitted
to the hospital for treatment of
his wound(s). Following the in-
cident, the Sheriff’s Offi ce said
that no one has been arrested in
response and that the investiga-
tion is continuing.
Earth Day bash to
feature family fun
C
ommunity organizations
plan to join with the
public on Saturday, April 23 to
commemorate Earth Day.
The Urban Forestry Commit-
tee, Coast Fork Willamette Wa-
tershed Council, City of Cottage
Grove and the First Presbyterian
Church Earth and Social Justice
Committee will welcome the
community for a celebration is
designed to educate all ages on
environmental awareness and
community forestry.
The event aims to offer fun
for the whole family, including
live music, local food vendors,
a kids’ arts and crafts area, face
painting, prize giveaways and
demonstrations. Booths on site
will feature agencies, organiza-
tions or individuals who have a
positive Earth Day message to
share with the community.
“Come discover the important
work many in the community
are doing in order to increase
awareness, and to promote and
protect our treasured natural
resources,” said a recent press
release.
The 2016 Earth Day Celebra-
tion will take place at Coiner
Park, located across from Safe-
way on E. Main Street in Cot-
tage Grove. The event begins at
10 a.m. and wraps up at 4 p.m.
It is free and open to the public,
and all ages are welcome.
Sheriff's Offi ce
warns of telephone
warrant scam
T
he Lane County Sheriff’s
Offi ce announced that
it has learned that community
members are again receiving
calls saying they have warrants
out for their arrest for missing a
court date. The callers are de-
manding to have money sent to
clear the warrant.
These calls are a scam, LCSO
said, adding that community
members should hang up im-
mediately and not engage with
the caller.
“The Lane County Sheriff’s
Offi ce does not make phone
calls to community members
regarding warrants and would
never ask a community mem-
ber to purchase ‘cash cards’ to
pay fees,” said a recent press
release. “If you are the victim
of a phone scam and have lost
money as a result of the scam,
please report it to your local law
enforcement agency. If you did
not send any money, you do not
need to call and report it.”
Below are some tips to de-
crease your chances of becom-
ing a phone scam victim:
Never provide personal in-
formation to callers, including
your name, address or banking
information.
Be aware of callers who are
unprofessional, pushy, or use
scare tactics such as threatening
arrest if payment is not made.
Callers asking for payment
through wire transfer, cash cards
such as green dot cards, or other
non-trackable methods are signs
of a scam. Legitimate govern-
ment agencies will not ask you
to provide payment using these
methods.
Do check the caller’s infor-
mation. If they claim to be from
a law enforcement agency or
other governmental agency, call
the publicly listed phone num-
ber for that agency to verify the
caller’s authenticity.
The local bank that gives you the world.
Open a Banner Bank Connected Checking account and
use any ATM in the world, with no fees. See what true
community banking can do for you.
Community members can
also report fraud to the Oregon
Attorney General’s Consumer
Hotline by calling 1-877-877-
9392.
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