Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2016)
DeFazio visits — 3A Peach paradise — 6A Jamborees! — 1B Cottage Grove Sentinel photo by Patti Hardy Late-summer sunshine illuminates Cottage Grove Lake. WEDNESDAY, AUG. 31 2016 SOUTH LANE AND NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889 VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 10 Elementary school plans detailed F IRE WATCH , 2016 Fire on the mountain Rising construction costs, design, timeline discussed BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel Blaze burns two acres on Mt. David L ast May, local voters approved a nearly $36 million bond levy to replace the aging Harrison Elementary School building in Cottage Grove and make technology, security and other upgrades throughout South Lane School District. On Thursday evening, district offi cials joined the ar- chitect charged with designing the new school to detail their plans and progress. The dimensions and layout of the school were discussed, as was the impact that escalating construc- tion costs may have on the project and the District’s early efforts to make security and other upgrades. District staffers comprised a large portion of the group gathered at the Cottage Grove High School library, though residents living near the Taylor Street property on which the new school will be built were also invited. South Lane Su- perintendent Krista Parent told the group that the District had sold the bonds in July, faring quite well on the bond market, and that the funds are already in the District’s bank account. Since then, Parent said, teams of teachers, kitchen and maintenance staff and technology experts have met several times to fi ne-tune various aspects of the school’s design. Mike Gorman of BLRB Architects met with many of those groups himself, and Gorman was on hand to showcase the most recent design. BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel S outh Lane County Fire and Rescue Chief John Wooten did not mince words when assessing the impact a helicopter had on efforts to suppress a fi re that broke out on Mt. David in Cottage Grove last week. “The helicopter saved our bacon,” Wooten said of a Weyerhaeuser chopper and pilot that helped douse the fl ames that sprung up behind an apartment complex in Cottage Grove’s Northwest Neighborhood just after 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 24. “There’s no question that if the helicopter hadn’t been used, we would have had a much larger, more intense fi re. They saved the day.” The fi rst call regarding the blaze came into police dis- patchers at 4:36 p.m., indicating that the fi re was burning in a wooded area on the southern slope of Mt. David, a landmark slope that rises above Cottage Grove immedi- ately to its northwest. Cottage Grove Interim Police Chief Scott Shepherd said that he personally arrived early on at the area above J Street to see a fi re burning about 20-30 yards up the hill behind the complex and two young bystanders using shovels in an attempt to put it out. “The winds looked like they were already blowing it up the hill,” Shepherd said. He added that he saw a burnt rug in the woods and a charred area low on a tree trunk that may have been where the fi re began. In a press re- lease later that evening, Shepherd classifi ed the fi re as an incident of “reckless burning” and asked that anyone with information on who may have started the blaze to contact CGPD at 541-942-9145. Police will cooperate Please see HARRISON, Page 11A photo by Bob Klavano A helicopter pilot douses fl ames near the summit of Mt. David, as witnessed from a nearby backyard, on Wednesday, Aug. 24. Please see FIRE, Page 11A Brewstation burgled Computers, sound equipment stolen from downtown pub Teens arrested, charged after park, trail fi res BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel T hree teens are reportedly in custody at the Serbu Youth Center after police say they deliberately set fi res in a restroom and along a popular trail in Cottage Grove on Friday. Cottage Grove Police Department Com- mander Conrad Gagner said via a news re- lease that his department and South Lane County Fire and Rescue personnel respond- ed to Bohemia Park along 10th Street in Cottage Grove at about 12:30 p.m. Friday regarding a report of a fi re in the park’s pub- lic restroom. Police say the fi re was quickly extinguished after doing minimal damage and fi lling the restroom with smoke. Offi cer Sean Branstetter told the Sentinel Monday that two other offi cers, Josh Dumas and Tami Miles, were able to track down one of three suspects captured on video sur- veillance footage shortly after the fi re due to the description of their clothing. That one suspect eventually gave police the names of the other three teens captured on the video, Branstetter said, though he added that the suspect’s information wasn’t entirely truth- ful. Branstetter said he had planned to go to Coiner Park to confront the other suspects, who were due for a rendezvous with the fi rst suspect, when he got word that a second fi re had been set, allegedly by the other sus- pects, near the Row River Trail between the trail and the Cottage Grove Walmart store. Calls regarding that blaze came in just be- fore 2 p.m. “The fi re was estimated to be approxi- mately 800 square feet in size when, fortu- nately, there happened to be an Oregon De- partment of Forestry water tanker in the area which was able to be deployed very quickly Please see TEENS, Page 11A Fires, conditions prompt emergency restrictions W hile taking a break from fi ghting a fi re that broke out on the southern slope of Mt. David last Wednesday, Aug. 24, South Lane Fire and Rescue Chief John Wooten said that the behavior of the fi re, coupled with dry, hot and windy conditions, might prompt him to issue an emergency order for the District placing a temporary ban on ac- tivities that could contribute to setting other fi res. The emergen- cy order came soon after, though by Sunday, South Lane had eased the fi re restrictions somewhat. An update to the emergency or- der reads that, “in accordance with ORS 478.960, within the city limits of Cottage Grove, Creswell, and any area within SLCFR District boundaries not protected by the Western Lane or Eastern Lane Districts of ODF, the following restrictions are in place, until rescinded by the Fire Chief of SLCFR:” No open fl ames are allowed out of doors, including no campfi res, warming fi res, cooking fi res or ceremonial fi res not within a fi re pit. Gas and briquette barbeques are allowed but are restricted to use on hard, non-fl ammable sur- faces such as patios, driveways, gravel or green irrigated lawns. No power equipment such as mowers, chain saws, stump grinders, etc. may be operated on or near dry grass, brush or trees at any time between the hours of 11 a.m. and 7 p.m., EXCEPT that mowing of green, irrigated lawns is allowed at any time. No smoking outside of build- ings or vehicles in any area with dry grass, brush or trees. No operation of welding or metal cutting equipment out of doors in any area with dry grass, brush or trees. All logging operations, in- cluding power saws, cable yard- ers, and tractor/skidder, feller- buncher, forwarder, or shovel logging operations are prohibit- ed outside of the current IFPL for Western and Eastern Lane ODF Districts. All construction operations involving dozers or graders are restricted to streets or roads, de- veloped building sites, or other areas of non-fl ammable surfaces except those allowed within the current IFPL for Western or East- ern Lane ODF Districts. Those construction operations in dry or dead grass, brush, or trees must have fi re protection capabilities on site. Any other spark-emitting operation not specifi cally men- tioned is prohibited out of doors in areas containing dry grass, brush or trees. BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel A n overnight break-in at the Brewstation pub on Sixth Street in downtown Cottage Grove led to the theft of computers and much of the pub’s sound equipment. Cottage Grove Police said that signs of forcible entry were observed at the Brewstation after the break-in, which was discovered Saturday and must have occurred after the pub closed Friday evening. Offi cer Sean Branstetter said the thieves made off with two speakers or monitors at fl oor level, though they were not able to take the main monitors chained high up on the wall of the Brewstation’s performance space. Computers were also taken. Branstetter said the assailants left a small pry bar behind and that evidence indicated they had later used a much larger pry bar to force open a sliding door and gain entry to the building. “There were some three-inch marks where a large pry bar had been used,” he said. “It had to be somebody strong to break the door that way, and there had to be someone small to get into the building through the opening they had cre- ated.” Branstetter added that those facts lead him to believe that more than one assailant participated in the burglary. He said police recovered a few partial fi ngerprints from the scene, including a print on the key to the cash register. Prints were later taken of pub ownership and employees to eliminate them as sources of the fi ngerprints. Branstetter also said that the method employed by the burglars leads him to believe they knew what they were after. “I can’t imagine it would not have been somebody that visited that restaurant before,” he said. Police reviewed video from surrounding businesses, he said, including video from Les Schwab that appeared to show fl ashlights at the Brewstation, but police “couldn’t make out anything” from the video. Surveillance cameras at other locations did not offer a glimpse at the Brewstation, he said. Owner Emily Rinck said that ownership, staff and sup- porters felt violated by the incident, though she added that they have been comforted by the support that they have been shown since. R AIN C OUNTRY R EALT Y I NC . We wish you a safe and sober Labor Day weekend from your friends and neighbors at Rain Country Realty Inc. Principal Brokers Teresa Abbott ..................221-1735 Frank Brazell....................953-2407 Broker CONTACT US www.cgsentinel.com On the Internet (541) 942-3325 By telephone (541) 942-3328 By fax cgnews@cgsentinel.com By e-mail P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 By mail Corner of Sixth and Whiteaker, Cottage Grove In person WEATHER Valerie Nash ....................521-1618 Licensed in the State of Oregon CONTENTS HIGH LOW 74 51 Partly Cloudy Calendar....................................... 11B Channel Guide ............................... 4B Classified ads................................. 6B Obituaries....................................... 2A Opinion .......................................... 4A Public Safety .................................. 5A Sports ............................................ 1B 1 Dollar