Four years
together
Local boy
makes good
Aqualion girls' water
polo benefi ts from
lasting bond, page 1B
CGHS alum takes top
BIA forestry job,
page 3A
Walk
your
wheels
New signs issue a
warning, page 6A
$ PUUBHF ( SPWF 4 FOUJOFM
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2016
SOUTH LANE AND NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
Cottage Villages
Coalition envisions
'tiny houses' for
area's unhoused
L
Please see COALITION, Page 10A
photo by Jon Stinnett
School Board, candidates connect
Discussion offers a chance to
explore relationship between
City, SLSD
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
M
embers of the South Lane School
Board sought common ground and
talked partnerships and key issues with Cot-
tage Grove’s candidates for Mayor and City
Council Monday night.
The Cottage Grove High School library was
the site of a roundtable discussion that drew
the School Board and candidates together to
talk shop in advance of the Nov. 8 election.
Mayoral candidates Jake Boone, Jeff Gow-
ing and Mike Fleck answered questions from
moderator and South Lane Communications
Please see DISCUSSION, Page 10A
Offi cer recognized for efforts
to save 18-month old
A
Cottage Grove police offi cer was re-
cently recognized for his efforts to save
an 18-month old boy.
Offi cer Jason Cross was awarded the Medal
of Distinction by Chief Scott Shepherd at the
City Council’s Oct. 10 meeting. Shepherd ex-
plained that Cross responded fi rst to a call for
an ambulance on Sunday, Aug. 21, contacting
the boy’s grandparents, who explained that
the boy had stopped breathing but had begun
to breathe again. While Cross was assisting
the family, Shepherd said the boy’s breathing
stopped again, at which time Cross adminis-
tered blows to his back to start his breathing
once again.
“Offi cer Cross received a nice letter from the
family thanking him for his quick response and
for helping the family remain calm,” Shepherd
said. “The boy is now doing great.”
Nicki Tanton said her son, Makai, had had
a seizure but had previously been choking.
She was not with her son at the time but heard
about the incident when the family brought
Makai to the Emergency Room at RiverBend
where she works.
R
ecent Thursday mornings at
Backstage Bakery have fea-
tured talk of a brighter future for
area entrepreneurs.
David Youngentob, Director of
Innovation for Eugene-based busi-
ness incubator Fertilab, said that the
10 a.m. meetings are the company’s
fi rst foray into a community outside
the metro area and aim to “rustle
people out of the bushes” who may
be interested in starting their own
business in Cottage Grove.
“We’re hoping to concentrate and
stimulate entrepreneurship in this
community,” Youngentob said. “The
challenge is to be true to the iden-
tity of Cottage Grove while helping
its business community discover
what’s next for its future.”
Mapping the future includes
taking a “hard look at the area’s
strengths and local assets” to try
and identify a “local brand” that can
be marketed beyond Cottage Grove,
Youngentob said.
“We hope to create enough colli-
sions between entrepreneurs to let
them decide what that identity might
photo by Jon Stinnett
Offi cer Jason Cross received the
Medal of Distinction from Chief Scott
Shepherd at the Oct. 10 City Council
meeting.
be,” he said, adding that recent out-
reach also aims to identify business
owners that are ready for Fertilab’s
business startup clinic. Efforts in
Cottage Grove come about through
a partnership with this town’s Com-
munity Development Corporation.
The Thursday meetings are de-
signed to help those nurturing a
startup business share information
and ideas. At the most recent event,
Kim Johnson, owner of the Cot-
tage Grove Public Market on 10th
Street, discussed some of the fi ner
points of business law with attorney
David Brabender of the Endeavor
The lowdown on the fall
election’s ballot measures
Measure 98
Funds dropout prevention and career
and college readiness programs in
Oregon's high schools
Fertilab's 'Big Mix' offers a way for business
startup hopefuls to connect
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
Ballot
Box
City Councilor
and at-large
candidate Ken-
neth Michael
Roberts (far
left) addresses
a question
from the South
Lane School
Board at a
discussion
at the CGHS
library Monday
evening.
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
ocal residents concerned about those with-
out a place to live in Cottage Grove have
banded together in the hope of providing stable
housing for those in need.
The Cottage Village Coalition envisions a group
of about 15-20 “tiny houses” that can be home
to those who might otherwise be homeless or at
risk of becoming homeless. The Coalition has
partnered with Square One Villages, which has
founded a similar village in Eugene; initial fund-
ing was obtained through a grant from the Meyer
Memorial Trust.
The group includes many of the organizations
and individuals who have regular contact with
Cottage Grove’s unhoused population, typically
through outreach such as the Sunday soup kitchen
spearheaded by Sharon Jean or through Commu-
nity Sharing, which provides housing assistance
in a brutal local housing market. The group fi rst
coalesced through the efforts of the First Presbyte-
rian Church’s Urban Social Justice Committee.
“For those who have a lot of contact with the un-
housed, it’s an act of caring,” Jean said. “You can
see and read about the need in Cottage Grove, and
it’s time for us as a society and as a community to
pay attention and do something.”
Colgan said that Community Sharing provides
vouchers for local housing assistance but receives
between 35 and 50 applications for just a dozen
available locations. Often, she said, vouchers are
given to individuals or families that are then un-
able to fi nd a decent place to live in Cottage Grove,
likely a byproduct of an extremely tight rental
market.
“Affordable housing isn’t affordable for many in
Cottage Grove,” she said.
Providing services to the homeless has been an
ongoing effort for many community volunteers, but
the Coalition believes in a “housing-fi rst” model.
“You can’t focus on improving your life if you’re
worried about what you’re going to eat,” Colgan
said.
Square One Villages received a grant to focus
on a rural community and chose Cottage Grove,
according to Project Coordinator Alicia Ginsberg.
Ginsberg said the Emerald Village in Eugene rents
tiny houses for about $250-350 per month, with
many residents over 60 years of age and subsist-
ing on their Social Security checks and a startling
number of homeless teens. She envisions a similar
situation in Cottage Grove, though the Coalition
knows that crafting a solution specifi cally for this
community is important.
VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 17
Law Group, which specifi cally aids
startup businesses. Caleb Wilsey
shared several of the unique juices
he’s developed as the innovator of
Oregon Organics, and life coach
Geoff Cohen talked about how he
helps people.
Fertilab is planning a larger,
cocktail-style event called “The Big
Mix,” which Youngentob said will
offer business owners a chance to
connect in addition to presenting
a short pitch about their business.
The Big Mix takes place Thursday,
Oct. 27 from 7-9 p.m. at the Cottage
Grove Armory.
Supporters claim the measure
will foster positive outcomes
for the state's high school
students; there is no organized
opposition
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
T
he State of Oregon spends less to educate
each of its students than the national aver-
age, and it receives a poor return in the form of
the second-lowest high school graduation rate
nationwide in 2013.
Measure 98 would require the state legislature
to spend at least $800 annually per high school
student to expand career technical education
opportunities, college-level courses and dropout
prevention. The $800 would be adjusted each
year for infl ation and population. The measure
aims to fund these programs through economic
growth, not new taxes. Schools would have to
apply to receive these funds.
Polls indicate that a majority of voters support
Measure 98, as do both of Oregon’s candidates
for governor. There is no organized campaign
in opposition, though some have questioned the
viability of and ability to fund an initiative that
ties these programs to economic growth, partic-
ularly since times of budget cuts at area schools
are not far in the rearview mirror.
In Cottage Grove, the South Lane School
Board favors Measure 98, according to Board
President Sherry Duerst-Higgins, who lauded
the effort to invest more heavily in vocational
training. Peter Zuckerman, Communications
Director for the Yes on 98 campaign, pointed
to a study by EconNorthwest stating that South
Lane School District would receive an estimat-
ed $762,489 for programs funded by Measure
98 should it pass.
Cottage Grove’s progressive Blackberry Pie
Society has issued a “You Decide” recommen-
dation for Measure 98 “due to too many unan-
swered questions,” according to spokesperson
Leslie Rubinstein.
“We think it’s a wonderful idea for school
districts to be able to apply for $800 per student
in extra funding for vocational-technical educa-
tion, college-level classes and dropout preven-
tion,” Rubinstein wrote via email. “However,
Ballot Measure 98 requires the money to be
taken from the state’s general fund, which is
something like an end-run around the legisla-
ture. It leaves us with no idea about what will
not get funded, especially if Measure 97 does
not pass.”
The Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce’s
Legislative Committee recently discussed and
voted to support Measure 98. Executive Direc-
tor Travis Palmer said the Chamber supported
the measure because it “does not remove fund-
ing from something else,” though he added that
Oregon’s high school students are “grossly un-
der-funded.”
“All students in grades K-12 are funded the
same, even though it costs more to educate a
high-school student than a kindergartener,”
Palmer said. “This measure is a way to start to
fi x that imbalance.”
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