4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL April 27, 2016
O PINION
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Of ‘death and taxes’
I have lived in Cottage Grove since 1997.
In that time, I have seen my property taxes
increase 102.2 percent, an average of 6.61
percent per year. With the proposed “Har-
rison Elementary Bond,” I have computed
they will rise approximately 9.1 percent this
year and for the length of the obligation. As
time goes on, there are certain to be further
increases to fund public projects. It’s really
nice to have a brand-spanking new school for
the kids. However, one may wonder how the
young, struggling families will be able to af-
ford the continually upward-spiraling proper-
ty tax burden. A linear increase is yielding to
an asymptotic to the y-axis increase, which is
devastating to those who just purchased their
fi rst home.
They have “added” the “old” CGHS bond
into this new bond, making it diffi cult to com-
pletely understand exactly how much addi-
tional money will be required per thousand of
assessed value. Perhaps it would be prudent
to pay off existing obligations (bonds) instead
of “kicking the can down the road,” increasing
the duration of the obligation. If the measure
fails, it will be due to the poorly structured and
confusing language contained therein. An eth-
ical and effi cient way to accomplish a large
and expensive project of this nature is to fund
it separately from all else with a clear cost-
analysis and EXACT increase in dollars per
thousand of assessed value. We taxpayers are
confused enough as it is.
Greg Vaughan
Cottage Grove
Chamber backs bond
measure
The Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce
asks that you join us in voting YES on Ballot
Measure 20-240. Replacing the current Har-
rison School is a win for kids and Cottage
Grove.
The current facility was built in the 1940s
and doesn’t have the electrical system neces-
sary to support modern teaching tools. Com-
puters and other electrical presentation de-
vices are diffi cult to use when there are only
one or two electrical outlets in a classroom.
For our school children to receive the educa-
tion they need to prosper as adults, we need to
make sure they are exposed to and use modern
technology.
The Harrison facility was not built to house
the number of kids attending Harrison current-
ly. The school bond will also provide for nec-
essary safety upgrades to all school facilities.
These safety upgrades will make our schools
more secure and ensure that when kids are in
school, they can focus on learning.
The bond will also help remodel the School
District swim pool. Without a doubt, having
the pool has prevented kids from drowning
in our local lakes and rivers. Every student in
our school district is provided swim lessons
and learns basic self-rescue skills during their
time as an elementary and middle-school stu-
dent. The pool is also a community resource
for users of all ages, offering many diverse
programs.
The time is right to pass the bond, as the
State of Oregon may provide millions of dol-
lars in matching funds. These matching funds
will mean our tax dollars will go even further
in making our schools safer. If we pass the
bond, the new bond will include the current
bond for the construction of the high school.
This means no new taxes for South Lane tax-
payers; we will just continue to pay the same
rate as the current bond for additional years.
A yes vote is a win for all South Lane resi-
dents.
Joe Raade
2016 President
Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce
Measure much needed
On May 17, South Lane School District
voters will be asked to approve Bond Mea-
sure 20-240 to pay for replacing Harrison Ele-
mentary School and updating school facilities
throughout the district.
In addition to replacing the school, the pri-
mary goals of the bond measure are to improve
safety and security at each district school, up-
date the technology used for student learning
and safety and extend the life of school facili-
ties, including the swimming pool.
Harrison, built in 1948, was designed for
125 students but currently has an enrollment
near 450 students. The new Harrison will be
built for 600-plus students and include ade-
quate parking and outdoor play space that the
current site cannot accommodate.
The district wide safety and security needs
are especially important. Law enforcement
offi cials have determined a number of issues
that need to be addressed to better protect our
students and staff. All schools in South Lane
would have their fi re and security systems up-
dated with Bond Measure 20-240.
Replacing leaky roofs, upgrading plumbing
and electrical systems and replacing outdated
heating and ventilation systems, along with
much needed renovations to the pool, will ex-
tend our investment in our schools and in our
children.
The bond combines the remaining debt for
CGHS and the new bond into one amount.
The new combined levy rate is estimated to be
$1.90 per thousand of assessed property val-
ue. Also, with the passage of the bond, South
Lane School District will be eligible for $4
million additional funding from the state.
Many members of our community have in-
vested time and personal fi nancial contribu-
tions in this effort to educate district voters on
the merits of our much-needed bond measure.
Please join me and vote “yes’ on Bond Mea-
sure 20-240 on May 17.
Judy Cunningham
Cottage Grove
Bond ratings?
If it is not too much to ask, then why does
not the school board of district 45J provide
the voters of the bond ratings from Moodys,
Fitch and Standard and Poors the ratings on
this proposed $39.5 million bond issue? It is
a real hassle to create accounts for each one.
Just go ahead and try.
I want ratings. No ratings = NO on 20-240!
It is that simple. Are these good bonds or
are they junk bonds?
Charles Ames
Cottage Grove
Encourage kids to explore
imagination in the garden
BY KYM POKORNY
OSU Extension Service
W
hen grubby little hands
grip your pant leg as you
head for the garden, put them in
the soil and they may dig up a life-
time of learning and pleasure.
“One of the keys to getting kids
interested in gardening is to get
them engaged,” said Joy Jones,
Oregon State University Exten-
sion Service master gardener co-
ordinator in Tillamook County.
“Let them explore what catches
their attention, especially small
children.”
Stimulating a child’s imagina-
tion can be as simple as fi lling a
dishpan with dirt, passing them a
hand lens and letting them delve
into the world that lives under-
ground, she said. If it’s gross, so
much the better.
“They love that,” she said with
a laugh.
When teaching kids about gar-
dening, Jones watches them blos-
som.
“We started a summer day camp
about 20 years ago when there
were kids interested in gardening,
but no one was interested in be-
ing a 4-H club leader,” said Jones,
who is also the county 4-H youth
program leader. “Some of those
kids went on to careers in horticul-
ture.”
Projects vary, but a favorite is
starting a miniature salad garden in
a cedar box they build themselves.
The kids plant fast-growing greens
and perhaps onions and short car-
rot varieties, which are ready to
harvest just in time to enter in the
August county fair.
Dish gardens are popular, too.
Jones said to think of a theme and
go for it. One year she used blue
bowls with seashells, whitewashed
sand and succulents to make an
ocean-themed
mini-landscape.
This year they’ll make a forest
with dinosaurs.
“The kids have things they’ve
made that they’re proud of and can
take care of and share with other
people,” she said. “And it’s not
overwhelming.”
The benefi ts of teaching children
to garden are well documented. If
they learn to grow their own fruits
and vegetables, they’re far more
likely to eat them. And it gets them
outside away from their phones.
“I read recently that working in
the soil releases a feel-good hor-
mone,” Jones said. “Getting kids
out working in the soil, unplugged
for a while, feeling and looking
and being curious is really impor-
tant.”
Jones’ tips for gardening with
kids:
Start small. Don’t give children
too many choices or they’ll get
overwhelmed. Do a vegetable con-
tainer or small garden plot. Allo-
cate it just for them.
Opt for fast-growing plants. Kids
tend to have a short attention span,
so have them plant carrots, onions,
radishes and lettuce, which germi-
nate and grow quickly. Slow-grow-
ers like corn, peppers or tomatoes
will frustrate them.
Don’t be free labor. Teach kids
how to garden and they’ll be em-
powered to do it themselves.
Get scientifi c. Soak a couple of
different kinds of seeds overnight.
Place between napkins and let
them start to germinate. Have kids
draw pictures of what they see.
Plan for success. Plant veg-
etables or other plants in the right
conditions and water correctly so
they stay healthy and kids aren’t
disappointed. For containers, use
a drip pan to catch water so soil
doesn’t dry out as quickly. Don’t
plant too many seeds in a pot or
there won’t be enough room for
plants to grow.
Don’t be in a rush. If kids want
to look at worms, let them look at
worms.
Berries and their fl avonoids protect the heart
BY JOEL FUHRMAN, MD
For the Sentinel
B
erries are one of my fa-
vorite super foods – the
second B in G-BOMBS (my list
of super foods: greens, beans,
onions, mushrooms, berries
seeds) – rich in fi ber and phy-
tochemicals and low in calories.
Blueberries, raspberries, straw-
berries and blackberries are
vibrantly colored with antioxi-
dant phytochemicals, and they
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
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are some of
the highest
antioxidant
foods
in
existence.
The deep
red,
blue
and purple
pigments
of berries
are produced by fl avonoid anti-
oxidant molecules called antho-
cyanins, which are concentrated
in the skins of the fruits. Flavo-
noids, including anthocyanins,
are not merely antioxidants; they
are thought to have a number of
additional benefi cial effects in
the body that are unrelated to
their antioxidant capacity. As
such, several studies have shown
that high fl avonoid intake is as-
sociated with considerable risk
reductions (up to 45 percent) for
coronary heart disease.
Recent research highlights
the cardioprotective proper-
ties of berries. A 2011 study
investigated berry consumption
in relation to risk for elevated
blood pressure. Compared to
eating no blueberries, just one
serving per week decreased the
risk of hypertension by 10 per-
cent. New fi ndings published in
January 2013 from the Nurses’
Health Study support these
results with data in younger
women (age 25-42 at the start)
who were followed for 18 years.
In these women, three or more
weekly servings of blueberries
or strawberries was linked to a
34 percent reduced risk of heart
attack compared to lower intake
of berries.
How do berries and their
colorful anthocyanins protect
the heart and blood vessels?
Studies using berries or berry
phytochemicals in human par-
ticipants or on human cells
have uncovered some of the
possible protective actions of
berries on the cardiovascular
system. Berry fl avonoids seem
to act in several different ways
to maintain heart health. In hu-
man subjects, researchers found
that berries mitigated oxidative
stress, decreased oxidation of
LDL (which helps to prevent
the production of atherosclerot-
ic plaque), increased blood an-
tioxidant capacity, and in some
cases improved lipid levels,
blood pressure or blood glucose.
Higher anthocyanin and berry
intake is associated with re-
duced C-reactive protein (CRP),
suggesting that berries may curb
infl ammation; additional studies
have confi rmed that berries have
anti-infl ammatory properties.
Berry phytochemicals also may
enhance nitric oxide produc-
tion in the blood vessels, which
helps to properly regulate blood
pressure.
Why not amplify these bene-
fi ts by eating berries every day?
If observational studies showed
a 10 percent decrease in hyper-
tension risk for one serving of
blueberries per week and a 34
percent reduced risk of heart
attack from three servings of
berries per week, imagine the
protection that is possible when
you eat berries every day! Even
during winter, we can get our
daily dose of anthocyanins from
frozen berries. Also remember
that in addition to promoting
heart health, berries also have
anti-cancer effects and provide
protection against diabetes and
dementia.
Dr. Fuhrman is a #1 New
York Times best-selling author
and a board certifi ed family
physician specializing in life-
style and nutritional medicine.
Visit his informative website at
DrFuhrman.com. Submit your
questions and comments about
this column directly to news-
questions@drfuhrman.com.
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