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WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2016
SOUTH LANE AND NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 3
Village Green sale falls through
Buyer backs out after management company
objects; hotel is now 'off the market'
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
T
he sale of the Village
Green Resort and Gar-
dens in an online auction at the
end of June fell through after the
buyer backed out, a prominent
member of the hotel’s manage-
ment team said Monday.
Tom Aura, Director of Opera-
tions at Moonstone Hotel Prop-
erties, the Cambria, California-
based company that owns the
Village Green and six other ho-
tels, told the Sentinel last week
that it appeared a sale had hap-
pened but that the purchaser had
backed out, a statement he con-
fi rmed on Monday.
“We had a prospective buyer,
but he said his management
company told him that it wasn’t
comfortable with him own-
ing a full-service facility, so he
backed out,” Aura said.
Moonstone had placed the
facility — a 16-plus acre resort
and gardens that was built in
1959, and at the time, was the
fi rst fi ve-star hotel built in Ore-
gon — in an auction with online
platform Ten-X.com, an auc-
tion that ran from June 28-30.
Aura said the prospective buyer
was also due to visit the Village
Green last Tuesday but did not
make an appearance.
Aura said the buyer was the
only one to meet the reserve
One Cottage Grove
woman dead following
Friday crashes
amount for the auction, an
amount he declined to name.
But he added that Moonstone
personnel including owner Dirk
Winter were okay with the sale
falling through.
“Dirk had a bit of seller’s re-
morse when the winning bid
was made,” Aura said. “He had
a change of heart.”
Since the sale has fallen
through, Aura said, the hotel
will not be listed for sale again
and is “off the market” unless
an unsolicited offer appears and
is too good to refuse. Instead,
he said Moonstone will “start
laying out a plan to start mak-
ing some improvements” at the
Village Green, though he de-
clined to elaborate on specifi c
improvements until plans mate-
rialize more fully.
Shepherd settling in
Wreck at Layng and Row River injures several
T
wo separate crashes on Row
River Road led to several
hospitalizations and the death of a
Cottage Grove woman on Friday.
The Lane County Sheriff’s Of-
fi ce said that at about 4:30 p.m.
Friday it received a report of a
motor vehicle crash on Row River
Road and Layng Road near Cot-
tage Grove involving a 1991 Ford
Aerostar minivan and a 2001 Ford
F250 truck. Personnel with Oregon
State Police and LCSO, in addition
to fi rst responders with South Lane
County Fire and Rescue, responded
to the scene.
According to the Sheriff’s Of-
fi ce, a preliminary investigation
indicates that the truck, which was
carrying a mother and her four chil-
dren, was traveling eastbound on
Row River Road pulling a loaded
horse trailer. The minivan, which
carried seven occupants including
two minors, was traveling north-
bound on Layng Road and attempt-
ed to turn left onto Row River Road
when it collided with the truck.
Six of the seven occupants of the
minivan were transported to the
hospital for medical attention, in-
cluding the driver, who was trans-
ported via Life Flight. One of the
six was eventually fl own to Doern-
becher Children’s Hospital in Port-
land. The seventh occupant of the
van, who the Sheriff’s Offi ce later
identifi ed as 48-year old Francisca
Chales Ramos of Cottage Grove,
was pronounced deceased at the
scene.
The occupants of the truck suf-
fered injuries and were evaluated
on scene. The horse was also eval-
uated by a veterinarian on scene for
injuries.
Later on, at about 11 p.m. Fri-
day, Sheriff’s deputies reportedly
noticed what was later described
as a “suspicious vehicle,” a white
Toyota Camry, on upper Row River
Road. A captain with OSP, which
was later contacted to assist with
the investigation, reported that the
vehicle’s driver accelerated from
the area at a high rate of speed, dis-
appeared and eventually crashed
into some trees off the shoulder of
the highway. Joe Raade of South
Lane Fire and Rescue told the Eu-
gene “Register-Guard” that the
crash occurred at about Milepost 9
of Row River Road.
Sheriff Deputies arrived upon the
scene moments afterward and dis-
covered a serious-injury crash they
said apparently involved the same
vehicle they observed earlier. Both
the operator and passenger were
hospitalized with serious to life-
threatening injuries.
State Police identifi ed the driver
of the Camry as 25-year old Jesse
Woody of Dorena. The passenger
was identifi ed as 23-year old Levi
Chase of Cottage Grove. There was
no update available as to the condi-
tion of either man at Sentinel press
time Monday.
photo by Jon Stinnett
Scott Shepherd has served the Cottage Grove Police Department since 1993.
Interim chief praised, pleased though
appointment isn't offi cial
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
S
cott Shepherd said he’d “abso-
lutely” be honored to serve as full-
time chief of the Cottage Grove Police
Department. Which is probably a good
thing, considering he’s already more or
less doing just that.
Former Chief Mike Grover announced
in September of last year that he would
be retiring from the position after serv-
ing CGPD for over 30 years. At the time,
Shepherd was named interim chief for a
period of six months, a period that has
long since passed.
“That’s what the goal was, but of
course we’ve gone beyond that,” said
Shepherd’s boss, Cottage Grove City
Manager Richard Meyers.
Meyers said the City plans to an-
nounce an in-house recruitment for the
Please see SHEPHERD, Page 10A
Community band, #instaballet to augment Monday's Symphony performance
T
he return of the Eugene Sym-
phony to Cottage Grove for its
second-annual outdoor performance
in the Bohemia Park amphitheater will
feature a full evening of entertainment
with the addition of new activities prior
to the evening’s feature performance.
The Symphony will return this Mon-
day, July 18 for a free concert that
begins at 7:30 p.m., though there will
be plenty to do prior to start time. At
5:30, professional musicians from the
Eugene Symphony Association will
be holding an Instrument Petting Zoo,
which aims to offer the opportunity for
visitors of all ages to handle and try
out instruments like those that will be
heard in the Symphony’s performance.
dents home for the summer and a select
group of current high-school students.
The band receives rehearsal space and
support from the First Presbyterian
Church of Cottage Grove and rehearses
there weekly each June and July. The
group will also perform a concert at the
church on Thursday, July 21 at 7 p.m.,
an evening that will also feature perfor-
mances by local school musicians tak-
ing part in a summer band camp.
At 6:50 p.m., following the Com-
munity Band performance, #instaballet
will perform. The group is billed as an
interactive dance performance group
City Manager Richard Meyers told the
City Council recently that the commu-
nity has not been notifi ed which instru-
ments will be on hand at the “zoo.”
At 6:30 p.m., Cottage Grove’s own
Community Band will perform. The
Community Band was started in 2010,
as a way for local musicians to play to-
gether each summer without having to
leave town and is in its seventh summer
program this year. The band was creat-
ed and is directed by retired band direc-
tor Bob Dill. Cottage Grove middle and
high school directors Joanna Newton
and Gabe Dickinson also help direct
and conduct the band, which is made
up of community adult musicians of
all ages, as well as current college stu-
Please see SYMPHONY, Page 10A
courtesy photo
The Eugene Symphony will return to Bohemia Park for the second
in a series of outdoor concerts on Monday, July 18.
R AIN C OUNTRY R EALT Y I NC .
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CONTENTS
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Calendar....................................... 11B
Channel Guide ............................... 5B
Classified ads................................. 7B
Obituaries....................................... 2A
Opinion .......................................... 4A
Public Safety .................................. 5A
Sports ............................................ 1B
1 Dollar