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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2016)
Palmer's patriotism, selfl ess service, page 6A Harriers take three-course challenge, set to host Dam Run, page 3B $ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2016 SOUTH LANE AND NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889 VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 13 Gone is the 'interim' — Shepherd offi cially named Chief of Cottage Grove Police BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel W ith a one-sentence an- nouncement, it became offi cial. An email from Commander Conrad Gagner with the Cot- tage Grove Police Department announced on Wednesday, Sept. 14 that “effective today, Interim Police Chief Scott Shepherd has been named Chief of Police.” Shepherd has guided CGPD since former Chief Mike Grover retired last August, at which time Meyers declined to explain further. “He’s had a good year of tests to see how he will p e r f o r m Police Chief under a Scott Shepherd variety of situa- tions,” Meyers said. “It’s been a nice exercise.” it was announced that Shepherd would serve as interim chief for six months. Over a year later, City Man- ager Richard Meyers said late last week that the City “needed to get it squared away so we can fi ll vacancies in the Depart- ment.” Meyers said that the City has been pleased with Shepherd’s leadership thus far, lauding his work with locals to enhance the reporting of possible crimes in the City and his handling of dif- fi cult “personnel issues” that Meyers said that Shepherd “does the job well, and it’s going to be fun working with him.” For his part, Shepherd said he’s excited to offi cially take on the chief position but somewhat nervous about the full weight of responsibility it will entail. He said the Department will con- duct an “in-house” recruiting process to fi ll the vacant com- mander position he previously held, in addition to replacing a police offi cer and a dispatcher lost after a recent retirement. O photo by Jon Stinnett City employees Mike O'Reilly and Ron Smith stretch a 'do not enter' sign across the swinging bridge. The City asks that those who witness trespass- ers on the bridge call 911. Public Works crews had accomplished that closure by Friday afternoon, placing a barrier of boards across its entrance and signs warning all not to trespass there. Notice of the closure came quickly, but the letter states that the conditions that war- ranted the closure were not new. “OBEC’s last inspection of the struc- ture was in 2002, and repairs were recom- mended to be completed on the towers as soon as possible,” Larsen wrote. “It is our understanding that those repairs were never completed.” Larsen wrote that two OBEC engineers inspected the bridge on Aug. 29 and again Sept. 9, inspections that revealed “extensive decay in the vertical towers and some decay of the horizontal braces at each tower.” “The amount of decay in the towers was estimated in 2002 to be 50 percent of the ver- tical members’ capacity,” he wrote. “These members now have approximately one inch Please see BRIDGE, Page 11A Dept. of Education releases state test scores tions. The assessments are for students in grades three through eight and grade 11 in high school. Overall, South Lane School District saw an increase in per- centage over the last few years, and the District tends to stay above the state average except for in a few grades and sub- jects. For the high school students in the District, the percentage of students that met or exceeded expectations in ELA increased from 69 to 74, while the state percentage only increased from 68 to 69. Cottage Grove High School individually scored 80 South Lane School District excels in some subjects, lags in others he Oregon Department of Education recently re- leased its assessments for 2016, and the South Lane School Board heard the local results of those assessments at its Sept. 12 meeting. Over the past fi ve years, there has been a steady pattern of sig- nifi cant decline in the percentage of students that meet or exceed expectations statewide. This is T his November, local voters will weigh the merits of several ballot measures. In the coming weeks, the Sen- tinel will examine each of these measures, with this week’s “Ballot Box” devoted to Measure 20-245, a potential three-percent tax on the sales of recreational marijuana items. Summary (from the Notice of Measure Election fi led by the City on June 3): If adopted by the voters, this measure would impose a three percent tax on sales of marijuana items (including marijuana, marijuana products and marijuana extracts) by recreational marijuana retailers licensed by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission and located within the City of Cottage Grove. The tax would be collected from consumers by recreational marijuana retailers at the point of sale. Recreational marijuana retailers would remit the three- percent tax to the City. The three-percent city tax would be imposed in addition to any state taxes on the sale of mari- juana items. The three percent tax would not be imposed on medical marijuana sales. BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel T BY JON STINNETT The Cottage Grove Sentinel Shall Cottage Grove impose a three percent tax on sales of marijuana items by recreational marijuana retailers in the City? Safety concerns prompt swinging bridge closure BY SAM WRIGHT The Cottage Grove Sentinel The lowdown on each of the fall election’s ballot measures Measure 20-245: Engineers fi nd faulty towers n their way home from school on Friday, Cottage Grove High School students could be heard grumbling as they passed a sign posted across a popular local landmark. Their comments concerned the closure of the swinging bridge that spans the Coast Fork of the Willamette River between Mad- ison Avenue and River Road, a closure rec- ommended by an engineer tasked with as- sessing the bridge that is sure to disrupt the travel plans of many in Cottage Grove. In a letter to City Engineer Ron Bradsby dated Sept. 14, Brad Larsen with OBEC Consulting Engineers wrote of a “conversa- tion regarding the critical condition of this bridge and our serious concern for the safety of the public due to the potential collapse of the bridge.” He recommended that the city close the bridge to all potential users. Ballot Box due to a change in requirements and the adoption of a new as- sessment system, which has become more rigorous over the years. Also, ELA (English Lan- guage Arts) standards have be- come more rigorous since 2010. The ODE also recently switched from the Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) to the Smarter Balanced assess- ments. The results show what per- centage of students in math and ELA met or exceeded expecta- percent. In math, 11th graders in- creased from 32 percent in 2015 to 39 percent; the current state average is 33 percent. There are some areas in which the School District is notably lower than the state average. For instance, fi fth graders in SLSD scored 48 percent in ELA, while the state average is 57 percent. Grade four was fi ve percentage points lower than the state aver- age in 2015 and now fi nds itself four percentage points higher. Every grade in middle school in South Lane scored slightly Please see TESTS, Page 11A Background: Cottage Grove is not the only municipality exploring a three-percent tax on recreational marijuana, with the pursuit of such a tax approved by the Oregon legislature with House Bill 3400 in response to the statewide legaliza- tion of recreational marijuana. Lane County, the cities of Veneta, Westfi r, Dunes City, Florence, Eugene, Springfi eld and Oakridge are also exploring a three-percent tax, with some cities such as Creswell seeking the tax while also put- ting forth a ballot measure that would prohibit medical and recreational marijuana processors, dispensaries, producers, wholesalers and retailers. The Cottage Grove City Council has thus far been reluc- tant to place restrictions on the burgeoning local marijuana market; it decided against a possible one-year moratorium on the operation of medical marijuana dispensaries, dispen- saries that are now also doing brisk business in recreational marijuana sales. At its May 25 meeting, the Council voted 6-1 to refer the recreational marijuana tax to voters. If enacted, it would be added to a statewide recreational marijuana tax that will be reduced from 25 to 17 percent next year. Councilor Jake Boone stood alone on the Council in opposi- tion to the tax, which he said could put local dispensaries at an advantage if passed. Boone also stated that he believed a tax targeting any industry should be used to “somehow offset issues that come from that industry,” adding that legalization of recreational marijuana should not increase the cost of law enforcement efforts as has been stated. Mayor Tom Munroe and others supported the ballot measure and tax as a way for the City to “get our fair share.” It might be expected that marijuana retailers would oppose the tax, but Darby Valley, majority owner of Apothecaria dispensary in Cottage Grove, which hopes to earn its retail license, sup- ported the tax at the May City Council meeting. City Manager Richard Meyers said he is unaware how much tax revenue might come from a three-percent recreational tax in Cottage Grove. Meyers and Finance Director Bert Olsen placed a $15,000 line item in the 2016-17 city budget for recreational marijuana tax revenue on an estimated $500,000 in sales, though he acknowledged that the number represent- ed “a guess” and a “placeholder.” The Council decided not to dedicate revenue from the tax to any specifi c city budget item. Cottage Grove-based business New Breed Seed became one of the fi rst licensed recreational retailers last spring, and many current dispensaries and other businesses are expected to follow. As of Sept. 16, OLCC listed 26 licensees for mari- juana businesses in Lane County. R AIN C OUNTRY R EALT Y I NC . 910 Kristen Way 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 66 43 Sunny Calendar....................................... 11B Channel Guide ............................... 6B Classified ads................................. 8B Obituaries....................................... 2A Opinion .......................................... 4A Public Safety .................................. 5A Sports ............................................ 1B 1 Dollar
