City Beat — 5A
New City website — 3A
'The Nerd' — 6A
Sanders
speaks in
Springfi eld,
page 10A
The Great Ice Cream Bowl
Fun run draws participants, child abuse
prevention awareness, page 8A
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
WEDNESDAY, MAY 4, 2016
SOUTH LANE AND NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
Bond basics
VOLUME 128 • NUMBER 44
K ING ' S COURT
Also
inside:
Breaking down Ballot Measure 20-240
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
B
allots for Oregon’s May
17 primary election
were mailed to voters by Lane
County Elections on Thursday,
April 28, meaning that voters in
the southern part of the County
will have about two and a half
weeks to weigh the merits of
Bond Measure 20-240, which
seeks to replace the Harrison
Elementary building, tackle
deferred maintenance projects
and make security and technol-
ogy upgrades throughout South
Lane School District at a cost of
$35,950,000. As such, the Sen-
tinel has compiled the pertinent
facts about the bond measure in
advance of the primary:
Objective
Bond Measure 20-240 aims
to replace the current Harrison
Elementary building on South
10th Street in Cottage Grove
with a new structure at the cor-
ner of 10th and Taylor streets,
the site of the old Cottage Grove
High School. Current plans call
for retaining the gymnasium and
cafeteria at the current Harrison
building for community use.
The building was constructed
in 1947 to educate about 125
students and now houses about
450 kids, and South Lane of-
fi cials have sought to replace
the school for some time due
to its cramped spaces and de-
terioration. Construction of the
new school is expected to cost
$18,921,100. Renovating the
existing Harrison building was
considered a possibility until
it was determined that the cost
of renovation (an estimated
$17,636,928) would rival that of
building a new school.
Other projects and
costs
In addition to a new Harrison
building, the bond also aims
to fund updated fi re and secu-
rity systems in all South Lane
schools including cameras and a
Please see BOND, Page 9A
'The Nerd'
Opal Theater courts
comedic chaos,
page 6A
courtesy photo
Pageant raises over $13,000 for CMN
Cottage Grove High School's Lion King pageant, an evening of skits, dances
and laughs, raised over $13,000 for Riverbend Hospital's Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit. Senior Brad Geisler (third from right, in crown) earned the title of Lion
King this year, while Jayden Tucker was named Mr. Congeniality. Above, Geisler
is joined above by fellow contestants Nico Cornelius, Brandon Hughes, Tucker,
Kendrick Murphy, Justin Epperson, Elijah Foreman and Payton Presley. Pageant
organizers Carly Sand, Aggie Hite, Shelby Kidd and Savannah Crump are seated
below the contestants. The event was co-hosted by Isaac Hovet and Shane May.
Suspect arrested after long standoff at area motel
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
A
four-hour standoff in a room at
the Best Western motel in Cottage
Grove led to the arrest of a 42-year old
Springfi eld man Friday afternoon.
John Lucas, who had barricaded him-
self inside the room after motel person-
nel attempted to ensure that his room
had been vacated, was arrested later after
fl ash-bang devices and tear gas were used
to enter his room, according to Cottage
Grove Police Detective Doug Skaggs.
Skaggs said that motel employees
called one of the motel’s rooms to en-
sure that its occupant had checked out
in advance of the check-in of another
customer. When there was no reply, they
reportedly opened the door to fi nd Lucas
“screaming and yelling,” at which point
they left and called Cottage Grove Po-
lice.
Offi cers Tami Miles and Matt Walker
responded to the scene and attempted to
talk to Lucas, who would reportedly not
say much except that he had a gun to his
head and wanted everyone to leave. Po-
lice recommended that the motel be evac-
uated, and Skaggs said the Best Western
“lost a lot of business” as a result of the
standoff.
Police were concerned that a woman
who had checked in with Lucas might be
in the room, though they were relieved to
fi nd that her car was not in the parking
lot, according to Skaggs. Still, the pos-
sibility of a hostage led CGPD to contact
the Lane County Sheriff’s Offi ce and re-
quest the assistance of a negotiator with
its special response team.
Negotiations between Lucas and po-
lice were sparse, Skaggs said, so a fl ash-
bang device was deployed in the room to
let Lucas know that police were still on
the scene. For about 20 minutes, he said
the team told Lucas to come out, that he
was under arrest and that tear gas would
be used if he did not exit the room.
The gas was eventually used, Skaggs
said, though no response was received
from Lucas. He said Lucas instead
started to barricade the door even more
thoroughly, after which police moved in
and took him into custody, but not until
a Taser was used to bring the reportedly
combative Lucas to heel. Skaggs said that
Lucas had a handgun in his possession at
the time of his arrest. He said police were
unsure why Lucas responded the way he
did, though he did point out that a war-
rant had been issued for his arrest earlier
that day for allegedly violating a no-con-
tact order.
In the effort to subdue Lucas, his Jack
Russell terrier, named Tank, escaped,
though he was later found at Middlefi eld
Oaks.
Dynamic duo
Wright, Weybright
dominate the
distances, page 6A
courtesy photo
John Lucas, 42, of Springfi eld
was taken into custody with the
help of fl ash-bang devices, tear
gas and a Taser.
Longfellow recognized by Travel
Oregon for fi ghting graffi ti
Cottage Grove's
Marie Longfel-
low received
the Outstanding
Oregon Tour-
ism Volunteer
Award for her
work with Cot-
tage Grove's
Rapid Response
Graffi ti Team at
the Governor's
Conference
on Tourism in
Pendleton last
week.
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
A
courtesy photo
battle against graffi ti in Cottage
Grove’s public spaces has led to
statewide recognition for one local vol-
unteer.
Marie Longfellow was honored by
Travel Oregon with the Outstanding
Oregon Tourism Volunteer Award at the
2016 Governor’s Conference on Tour-
ism, held April 24-26 in Pendleton. The
awards aim to “recognize people and or-
ganizations across the state that go the
extra mile to enhance the travel and tour-
ism industry in Oregon,” according to a
recent press release.
Longfellow herself was on hand to
accept the award, which recognizes her
contributions to Cottage Grove’s Rapid
Response Graffi ti Team. The volunteer
award “recognizes the signifi cant com-
mitment by an individual or a group of
individuals who exemplify the positive
impact volunteers have on Oregon’s
travel and tourism industry.”
Longfellow, who volunteers in a num-
ber of other capacities in Cottage Grove,
said she’s proud of the fact that visitors
to the community don’t see much graffi ti
here thanks to the efforts of the response
team.
“If it isn’t there, we know we’ve done
well,” she said. “We used to take pictures
of each incident to document everything,
but now we just try to clean it up right
away.”
The Rapid Response Graffi ti Team
formed two years ago, and Longfellow
said the group responded to 194 cases of
graffi ti in public spaces and on private
buildings last year. Besides the benefi ts
for visitors, she said her own aversion to
graffi ti helps spur her to action.
“I don’t like graffi ti,” she said, “and
the people who are responsible for doing
it in Cottage Grove aren’t very imagina-
tive.”
Longfellow listed the Chambers Rail-
road Bridge, Bohemia and Coiner Parks
as frequent targets for graffi ti.
Rain Country Realty Inc.
Principal Brokers
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CONTENTS
HIGH
LOW
57 45
Rain
Broker
Calendar....................................... 11B
Channel Guide ............................... 8B
Classified ads.................................1C
Obituaries....................................... 2A
Opinion .......................................... 4A
Public Safety .................................. 5A
Sports ............................................ 1B
1 Dollar