School sketches
Plans for new elementary
building, page 3A
Cottage Grove Sentinel
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2016
SOUTH LANE AND NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
L OCAL ELECTION COVERAGE KICKOFF
Forums for local
candidates
T
scheduled
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Chamber forums to feature
mayoral candidates Sept.
22, council candidates
Sept. 27
he Cottage Grove Chamber of Com-
merce will join forces with the City’s
two traditional media outlets to offer a
candidates’ forum for the City’s may-
oral and City Council candidates in the
upcoming Nov. 8 election.
The Chamber has tapped KNND radio
station owner/personality Cameron
Reiten and Sentinel editor Jon Stinnett
to co-moderate a forum for the three
mayoral candidates on Thursday, Sept. 22
beginning at 6 p.m. A forum for the seven
candidates for City Council will follow
on Tuesday, Sept. 27 and will also begin
at 6 p.m.
The events will consist of opening state-
ments from each candidate, after which
the candidates will address a set of
questions for which they have prepared
responses beforehand. Members of the
audience will then be asked to prepare
questions for the candidates on note cards
during the event, and the questions will
be vetted to ensure that they are topical
and do not single out any one candidate.
Getting to
know them:
Checking in with Cottage Grove's
candidates for Mayor and City Council
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
P
rior to the Aug. 23 deadline to fi le
paperwork to run for offi ce in Cot-
tage Grove, there were few candidates
signed up to vie for a seat on the City
Council or run for mayor in the Nov. 8
election. A fl urry of paperwork followed,
however, and today, there are four candi-
dates running for Cottage Grove’s Ward
II seat, two hoping to become an at-large
councilor and three running for mayor.
One current councilor is running unop-
posed in Ward IV.
The upcoming mayoral candidates
Mayoral candidates
Jeff Gowing
Interview response
Gowing is a 1980
graduate of Cottage
Grove High School
and a 28-year Wey-
erhaeuser employee.
He is a member of
the Cottage Grove
Elks, American Le-
gion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts
and is married with three children and
three grandchildren.
Gowing told the Sentinel he believes
it’s “time to step up and take the leader-
ship role” of the City Council as mayor.
“The Mayor directs the Council, so
that’s the ultimate position in Cottage
Grove,” Gowing said. He added that he
has wanted to be mayor since he was
fi rst appointed to the Council seven years
ago.
aren’t strangers to local politics — Jake
Boone currently sits on the City Council
and represents Ward III; Jeff Gowing rep-
resents Ward II and will vacate that seat
to run for mayor, and Mike Fleck holds
an at-large council seat. Should they not
be elected mayor, Boone and Fleck would
retain their council seats, as they’re not up
for reelection for two more years. Cottage
Grove’s mayors serve two-year terms; its
councilors serve for four years.
None of the candidates in the Ward
II race have held elected offi ce in Cot-
tage Grove, though Bob Ehler currently
serves on the Planning Commission and
has served on the City’s Budget Commit-
“I’ve had seven years to learn, and I
feel it’s the right time for me to go for it,”
Gowing said.
Gowing said his “biggest pet peeves”
concern public safety, including prob-
lems with drivers speeding, running red
lights and talking and texting on phones
while driving. He said he believes making
local roads and sidewalks safe should be
a city priority, as should efforts to bring
new businesses to town and fi ll Cottage
Grove’s vacant spaces. Gowing said he
believes the local gas tax is the “fair-
est way we’ve got now” to fund street
improvements and recently spoke out
against efforts to secure bonds to fund in-
frastructure improvements.
“I’ve had people tell me we need to do
something about South Sixth Street,” he
said. “I tell them that they’re driving it
everyday, while I never drive it. But with
a bond, you don’t pay for it, and I do be-
cause I live in the City and you don’t.”
tee. Henry Lancaster, a home-schooled
student, represents the Youth Advisory
Council at City Council meetings. Merlyn
Adams and Rodney Cimburke round out
the Ward II fi eld.
As a sort of kickoff to the local elec-
tion season, the Sentinel sought a short
written statement from each candidate as
an introduction to their candidacy. Candi-
dates who did not wish to submit a writ-
ten statement could choose to offer their
thoughts in an interview with this report-
er. Following are their responses, with in-
dications as to whether they were written
or delivered via interview:
Jake Boone
Written response
City Councilor
Jake Boone, who
served four years in
the U.S. Army and
studied computer
science at Oregon
State
University
before settling with
his family in Cottage Grove, has held the
Ward 1 seat for nearly six years. In ad-
dition to his role on the Council, he has
been active in the community through
his volunteer work with Bohemia Min-
ing Days, the Cottage Grove Community
Foundation, the Cottage Grove Commu-
nity Development Corporation and the lo-
cal Odd Fellows lodge. He also serves on
several committees of the Oregon League
of Cities in order, he says, to help pro-
tect Cottage Grove’s interests at the state
level.
Please see CANDIDATES, Page 10A
VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 11
Police arrest two
accused of printing
fake bills
T
he Cottage Grove Police
Department said that at-
tempts to pass off counterfeit
$100 bills has led to the arrest
of two Cottage Grove residents.
Commander Conrad Gagner
wrote via press release that on
Saturday, Aug. 27, police ar-
rested 36-year old Joel David
Wurch and 29-year old Kim-
berly Ann Roberts on forgery
charges after an investigation
revealed that they had possessed
and used counterfeit U.S. cur-
rency at businesses in Cottage
Grove.
Offi cers fi rst responded to
Walgreens regarding a report
that a male accompanied by a fe-
male had attempted to purchase
merchandise with a counterfeit
$100 bill. A witness followed
the pair after leaving Walgreens
and reported to police that they
were in the drive-up at Carl’s
Jr. Police notifi ed Carl’s Jr.
employees that the couple, in a
grey van, might attempt to make
Back-to-School brings
changes at SLSD
New school year means staggered
kindergarten start, online option, etc.
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
W
ith the school year
kicking off this week,
South Lane School District is
introducing a few new things at
its schools.
First, the School District
is beginning to introduce full
school days in kindergarten but
will start off with a “staggered
start.” This means that through
the month of September, kin-
dergarten students will still have
half-days and will then be intro-
duced to full days in October.
“We feel it’s a good way to
make our teachers feel more
supportive of the kids,” said
Garrett Bridgens, SLSD’s Com-
munications Director.
Along with the staggered
start, the school district recently
received a federal grant to im-
plement a preschool program at
Dorena and Bohemia elementa-
ry schools. Bridgens says it will
be the fi rst time in a long while
that the School District has had
such programs.
In addition to the preschool
programs, South Lane School
District has also started up South
Lane Online, where students in
grades 3-12 will be able to take
online courses from home. The
program offers over 190 differ-
ent courses to take that meet or
exceed the state standards across
HOME
Home is where your journey begins.
L ET R AIN C OUNTRY R EALTY I NC . HELP YOU TAKE THE FIRST STEP .
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
all subjects. The online program
will also give students the op-
portunity to be in both school-
based and extracurricular activi-
ties, including clubs, athletics
and special events. Students will
have the ability to check in with
a real teacher working within
the District.
Cottage Grove High School is
also starting a new program of
its own. The Aspiring Teacher
Program will enroll “teacher ca-
dets,” where students will learn
to teach.
With the introduction of the
2016-2017 school year, South
Lane School District welcomes
14 new faculty members to the
district:
Abby Worth-Jones (Spe-
cial Education, Latham/Lon-
don), Amanda McMichael
(kindergarten, Latham), Cara
Morrow (teacher, Bohemia),
Chelsea Mak (math, Lincoln),
Chris Johnson (science, Lin-
coln), Jordan Johnson (math,
CGHS), Kristen Barnett (pre-
school, Dorena), Lori Looney
(fourth grade, Harrison), Rachel
Rothman (SL Online, KAHS/
CGHS), Rachelle England (fi rst
grade, Latham), Sarah Crowl
(Special Education, Bohemia),
Sarah Leonard (ELA, CGHS),
Tina Patten (Special Education,
Bohemia) and Wendy Kelsh
(preschool, Bohemia).
Principal Brokers
Teresa Abbott ..................221-1735
Frank Brazell....................953-2407
Broker
Valerie Nash ....................521-1618
Licensed in the
State of Oregon
CONTENTS
HIGH
LOW
76 51
Partly Cloudy
their purchase with counterfeit
money. After the male handed
the drive-up attendant a $20 bill,
it was checked with a security
pen and found to be counterfeit.
Offi cers contacted the couple
in the drive-up area, and they
were detained pending further
investigation. During the inves-
tigation, police say a backpack
containing $3280 in counterfeit
U.S. currency was found in the
vehicle. The backpack con-
tained mostly $20 bills, police
say, but there were also several
$100 bills, as well as $50, $10
and $5 bills.
Both subjects were lodged at
the Lane County Jail; Wurch on
charges of Forgery 1 and Pos-
session of a Forged Instrument,
and Roberts on charges of con-
spiracy to commit both those
crimes.
The case offi cer is Offi cer
Fred Dilworth with the Cottage
Grove Police Department.
Calendar......................................... 9B
Channel Guide ............................... 7B
Classified ads.................................1C
Obituaries....................................... 2A
Opinion .......................................... 4A
Public Safety .................................. 5A
Sports ............................................ 1B
1 Dollar