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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (June 15, 2016)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL June 15, 2016 Offi cer Jarrod Butler, who su- pervises Taser training for CGPD, displays the new X-26P Taser, a digital weapon that records its own use and can be fi red with the aid of a laser sight. Butler said offi cers have to re-certify in the use of their Tasers every two years. Tasers upgraded from analog to digital BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel T hey’ve been a part of the arsenal carried by Cottage Grove Police for about a decade, and recently one of CGPD’s weapons, along with the skills needed to wield it, received an upgrade. This spring, local offi cers were recer- tifi ed in the use of their Tasers — con- ducted electrical weapons (CEWs) sold by the company of the same name — a recertifi cation required every two years. In addition, local police received upgraded X-26P model Tasers, digital weapons to replace their analog coun- terparts. Tasers fi re two small dart-like elec- trodes at their targets, through which an electric current is driven to disrupt control of the muscles in whatever live target the electrodes strike. They can also be “dry-fi red,” or used to stun a subject through direct contact. The up- grade from analog to digital technology essentially means that offi cers are car- rying a new weapon, according to Offi - cer Jarrod Butler, who supervises Taser training for CGPD. According to Butler, the new digital Tasers record data each time they are deployed, and each deployment counts as a use of force. The Tasers fi re their two darts to a distance of about 25 feet, though their accuracy diminishes past about 15 feet as the distance between the two darts increases. Once they hit 3A their target, the electricity traveling in the area between the darts immobilizes that area. Police rarely use more than two fi ve- second deployments of their Taser on a subject, Butler said. “If it’s not working the second time, you’ve got to change tactics,” he said. New rules govern the way Tasers can be used; they can no longer be used as a method to induce “pain compliance,” that is, they cannot be used to cause pain that forces a subject to comply. Butler said they can only be used as a less le- thal weapon to confront someone who may be an immediate danger to them- selves, offi cers or others. Subjects can Please see TASERS, Page 11A photo by Jon Stinnett 'Cascadia Rising' drill tests hospital's earthquake preparedness The band ‘Thought Po- lice’ performed various songs Friday evening. Vocals by Wendy Durham, guitars by Billy Harring- ten and Jacob DeWilde, bass by Roland Phillips and drums by Royal Gullickson. BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel P ersonnel at PeaceHealth Com- munity Medical Center in Cot- tage Grove expect to be quite busy in the event that a high-magnitude earthquake strikes the Willamette Valley. Last week, a tabletop exercise aimed to help the hospital’s top brass prepare for such a disaster. Hospital Administrator Tim Her- rmann led Thursday’s exercise, planned as a way to help the Cottage Grove hospital assess its facilities and its ability to respond to a major earth- quake. It’s a subject that has loomed large for about a year, ever since an article in the “New Yorker” magazine detailed the devastation of a nine-plus magnitude earthquake that could oc- cur along the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the coast of Oregon. As part of last week’s exercise, PeaceHealth administrators gathered at a mock command outpost in the hospital and received regular updates throughout the morning about the status of hospital facilities here. Her- rmann said the hospital would fi rst Photo by Sam Wright photo by Jon Stinnett PeaceHealth personnel gathered in a makeshift command center Thursday and spent most of the morning testing their response to a high-magnitude earthquake. work to lock down and secure its fa- cilities, then assess its priorities going forward. Hospital personnel know they would need to work together dur- ing such a crisis, Herrmann said, and that resources would be limited. Some hospital staff may be attempt- ing to journey south from the Eu- gene/Springfi eld area to go to work or vice-versa, meaning that PeaceHealth would have to prioritize who might stay put to help out where they are as opposed to attempting to travel. As part of the exercise, bridges were reported as being destroyed on Interstate 5, another obstacle to secur- ing supplies and personnel. Relaying information to the public was another important piece of the puzzle, and PeaceHealth Senior Communication Specialist Monique Danziger said she would have to work to inform the public that the hospital was treating critical needs and those who could avoid a hospital visit should do so. Federal authorities requested per- mission to establish a FEMA medical station on hospital grounds during the exercise, which Danziger said was carried out at all four PeaceHealth fa- cilities in Lane County. PeaceHealth personnel set up a childcare facility as part of the ex- ercise, acknowledging the fact that there may be a lot of “walking wor- ried,” people with a variety of issues who may or may not have homes to go back to, following a large quake. According to Danziger, the Cas- cadia exercise was the next in a long line of preparedness scenarios. “We’ve had a lot of different types of crises,” she said. “Ebola outbreaks, the UCC shooting — we’re always preparing.” Child’s Way brings bands to town BY SAM WRIGHT The Cottage Grove Sentinel O n Friday evening, downtown Cottage Grove was fi lled with a new sound coming from the Axe and Fiddle pub. Child’s Way charter school hosted a live concert for the very fi rst time in Cottage Grove. The students were led by band director Robert Lee, who shared his passion for music with sev- eral bands made up of students rang- ing from middle-school to high-school ages. For the entire 2015-2016 school year, Lee came to practice with the students twice a week. Some students had never played their respective instruments be- fore in their lives. “It was really fun to improvise with the kids and teach music my way,” Lee said. The students were especially surprised to fi nd out that they were to perform at the Axe and Fiddle, a well- known music venue throughout the area. “When I told them, they said, ‘Wow, that’s a real music place’ because they were expecting something much small- er,” Lee explained. The bands played a variety of rock music, featuring a soft and instrumen- tal-only version of “In Bloom” by Nir- vana, and then at one point, Lee him- self joined a band on stage to help sing a duet by Five Seconds of Summer. “It was great for them to play at such a venue, they seemed to have a lot of fun,” Lee said. Get your LOCAL news How you want it... In Print. Online. On the go! Cottage Grove Sentinel www.cgsentinel.com