10A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL October 19, 2016
D ISCUSSION
Continued from page 1A
Coordinator Garrett Bridgens
for about a half-hour, after which
council candidates Kenneth Mi-
chael Roberts, Bob Ehler, Amy
Slay, Henry Lancaster and Ivan
DelSol had the fl oor. Roberts
and DelSol are campaigning
for the Council’s open at-large
seat; Slay is running unopposed
in Ward IV, while Lancaster and
Ehler hope to be elected in Ward
II. Ward II candidates Merlyn
Adams and Rodney Cimburke
were not in attendance.
Bridgens began each discus-
sion by addressing the part-
nership between the City and
School District.
“I think that relationship is
important,” he said. “My ques-
tion is, what do you think that
relationship should look like?”
Boone responded that there is
“no benefi t to siloing ourselves
away and saying we have to go
our own way when there are
so many projects we can work
together on.” Gowing said that
both the City and School District
are charged with “raising and
developing our youth into good
citizens whether they stay here
or move away.” Fleck pointed
out existing projects such as the
fi ber optics backbone that have
benefi ted both organizations.
When asked about Cottage
Grove’s biggest challenge,
Gowing spoke of the need to
create “an environment that can
allow kids to stay here after they
graduate,” one that is safe and
features solid infrastructure and
job opportunities. Boone cited
infrastructure as the City’s big-
gest need by far.
Fleck cited housing as Cot-
tage Grove’s biggest challenge,
adding that he would like to
lower construction fees to en-
C OALITION
courage development.
The candidates were asked
about the City’s role in fund-
ing the Warren H. Daugherty
Aquatic Center, which is owned
by the School District. Fleck
responded that he supports the
pool “completely.”
“As long as our budget is in
good shape, I plan on continu-
ing that relationship,” he said.
Gowing responded that the
$50,000 or so the City spends to
fund public use of the pool is a
win-win for both organizations
and the citizenry and that he’s
never seen an issue that drew
such community support as the
future of the pool. Boone, mean-
while, pointed out that he’s been
the lone City Councilor to op-
pose city funding for the pool.
“The reason is not that I’m
against the pool,” he said. “The
portion that the city is funding is
for public access. But it seems
that the public use is dominated
by a small group of citizens.
The way we’re funding the pool
isn’t sustainable, and I believe
that money could be better used
elsewhere.”
After a short break, the Coun-
cil candidates got their turn to
answer the same questions.
Regarding the partnership be-
tween the City and South Lane,
Councilor and candidate Roberts
pointed out that he has worked
with the Youth Advisory Coun-
cil and is hoping to help get City
Council meetings televised.
“It’s great to be working to-
gether,” he said.
Ehler responded that the
partnership is a benefi cial one,
though he doesn’t “see where
can do much more than we’re
doing.”
“The City is in a bind,” he
said. “Unless we pass another
bond or raise taxes, we’re kind
of stuck.”
Slay disagreed that the part-
nership could not be expanded.
“There are at least 3000 fami-
lies in this community, so how
do you not have a partnership?”
she asked. “I would love to see
it grow through volunteer op-
portunities.”
Lancaster stated that more
productive ways of educating
youth are necessary.
“We need to look at ways to
help kids get out there and in-
volved in the community,” he
said.
DelSol said that fi nding the
overlap of the mission of both
organizations is key.
For the next question, Ehler
cited housing as Cottage Grove’s
biggest challenge.
“We’re bringing in jobs, but
there’s no place to put the peo-
ple who come here,” he said.
“We have a drug problem,
and that’s not something people
want to talk about,” Slay said.
DelSol said the core issue is the
economy.
“Cottage Grove needs to fi nd
its industry, its niche,” he said.
Roberts listed fi nding ways
for youth to become involved in
Cottage Grove is a key concern.
Each council candidate said
they would continue funding
and supporting the pool, and
most mentioned the town’s peo-
ple as its greatest asset.
Superintendent Krista Parent
said that the meeting proved
there are issues the District and
City can work on together, par-
ticularly housing.
“We’re the largest employer
in Cottage Grove,” she said.
“But we have a hard time at-
tracting young teachers because
they can’t fi nd a place to live.”
S CHOOL B OND
Continued from page 3A
The new elementary school
is designed to last for 75 years,
therefore it is mainly concrete
based and has a rigid seismic
structural design.
Construction is scheduled to
begin in the spring of 2017 in
order to be ready in September
of 2018. There are currently
31 different name ideas for the
school. There is a form on the
South Lane School District’s
website where people can sub-
mit their ideas until Nov. 22.
The bond that the South Lane
School District received also
included several other things,
During National Food Bank week, October 16 th through
October 22 nd , it’s important to remember our neighbors struggling
to provide their families with enough food to eat. In Cottage
Grove, and the surrounding areas, lower income families can fi nd
help at Community Sharing Program. Community Sharing is a
local non-profi t that provides community members basic needs,
life-skill tools, and resources towards self-suffi ciency. Each
month an average of 750 emergency food boxes are distributed
by Community Sharing’s pantry. Emergency food boxes are
meant to supplement SNAP assistance (previously called food
stamps) with a 3-5 day supply of food. As a partner agency,
Community Sharing gets over half of its food from the county’s
food bank, Food for Lane County. The rest is donated by local
individuals, organizations, and businesses.
Historically the need for emergency food in the fall
and winter is signifi cantly higher than in the spring and summer.
Our current record month served 896 food boxes. Following this
pattern, the fall and winter months might see even more record-
breaking numbers of families in need. In addition to the increased
number of our neighbors facing food insecurity. That means local
food donations are critical, now more than ever, to meet the basic
needs of an ever increasing number of eligible families.
such as the construction of an
early learning center and im-
provements for the pool facili-
ties at the Warren H. Daugherty
Aquatic Center. BLRB archi-
tects won’t be starting on that
until late 2017, though Mc-
Cracken says everything is on
their radar.
Continued from page 1A
“We know well that this has
to be a project specifi cally for
Cottage Grove,” said Com-
munity Sharing’s Lise Colgan.
“We’re aware of some Grovers’
opinions on this issue.”
Coalition members said that
“some Grovers” tend to believe
that by providing services and
opportunities for the homeless
in Cottage Grove, the commu-
nity might be enabling those
who prefer that lifestyle or even
welcoming those without homes
from other communities.
“The image that community
members have of this issue isn’t
always correct,” said Jean, who
pointed out that many of the
area’s unhoused have lived here
in various situations in this area
for some time and are often vic-
tims of generational poverty.
The Coalition has been meet-
ing monthly since February and
is meeting more often of late.
They say presentations to area
groups have been met with posi-
tive feedback. The search is on
for a place to locate the village,
and Jean said the City of Cottage
Grove has also reacted positive-
ly to their efforts, though there
are still many details to address.
Should the outreach be suc-
cessful in Cottage Grove, Gins-
berg said that Square One Vil-
lages will be looking toward
this project as a model for other
rural communities.
The Coalition will make a
presentation regarding its ef-
forts to the Cottage Grove City
Council on Monday, Nov. 14.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m.
in the Council chambers at City
Hall and is open to the public.
The Coalition’s full vision state-
ment can be found at www.
squareonevillages.org/cvc.
in a City Councilor, though
of course, this is the Mayor’s
seat we’re talking about. Being
Mayor of Cottage Grove often
means being the fi rst point of
contact with community mem-
bers and business owners, with
visitors, representatives of out-
side agencies and other elected
offi cials — in short, it’s about
being Cottage Grove’s most
outspoken (yet professional)
fan, and I can say without hesi-
tation that there’s no one in this
community I’d rather have as
the face of Cottage Grove than
Jake Boone. With no intention
of disrespect to anyone who has
held public offi ce in this com-
munity, he’s probably the most
impressive public servant I’ve
observed in my decade in Cot-
tage Grove.
I would support him for just
about any public offi ce, but in
November, I’ll start by casting
my vote for Jake Boone as our
next Mayor.
M AYOR
Continued from page 4A
paid his dues and amassed an
in-depth knowledge of the City’s
systems and services, knowl-
edge that he can immediately
put to use if elected mayor, and
at the Council’s Oct. 10 meet-
ing, he announced that he’s pur-
suing a degree in public policy
at the University of Oregon that
can only add to his resume.
These qualities have served
Boone well and are desirable
Look what
America
NOTICED!
● School district budgets
● Property auctions
● Public hearings
● Local tax changes
● Adoptions
Find out about these and more in your local paper!
Participate in Democracy.
Read your Public Notices.
In addition to food, Community Sharing accepts
donations of essential non-food items, such as hygiene items,
clothes, and cleaning supplies, to provide to its client families.
These items aren’t covered by SNAP assistance, but clothes,
toilet paper, diapers, and soaps are almost as vital for day-to-day
living as food.
Community Sharing also relies on local volunteers
to operate effectively. Our board of directors is composed
of dedicated community leaders who volunteer many hours
supporting this organization. In the pantry, volunteers help sort
the donations, stock the shelves, and assist clients through the
pantry process. Offi ce volunteers are needed to give out critical
information, help clients fi ll out necessary forms, and provide
a kind ear to clients on the edge of crisis. In addition to our
current support from local volunteers, we are always looking
for volunteers who would be willing to help stop local hunger
by organizing a food drive, or fundraising event in Community
Sharing’s honor.
During the coming holiday season, Community Sharing
will be offering food box clients a special food box for December
holiday celebrations. Clients will begin signing up for the special
food box in November. The box contains seasonal foods and a
frozen turkey or chicken for each family. Community sharing will
be selling buttons to support our holiday food boxes over the next
two months to help put on this special event. We will be selling
these buttons for $10 each, please call one of our board members
or come by our offi ce to purchase a turkey button and provide a
holiday meal to one of your neighbors. In December volunteers
from all over the community will help distribute the holiday food
boxes at OLPH Catholic Church. The event is an amazing, non-
denominational display with concerned community members
coming together to give back.
There are also a number of annual donations drives this
time of year, such as the local U.S. Postal Service’s food drive,
Boy Scouts’ door-to-door donation collection and the South Lane
School district’s food drive. Please consider supporting these
organizations in their efforts.
The directors, staff and volunteers at Community
Sharing would like to thank the Cottage Grove community
for their continued support. Together we are able to provide
desperately needed basic needs services to our community as a
result of your generosity.
To fi nd out how you can help, call Community Sharing
at 541-942-2176 Monday through Friday from 11am- 3:30pm.
THIS MESSAGE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THESE LOCAL SPONSORS:
SCARPELLI’S SHORT STOP
911 E. MAIN ST.
COTTAGE GROVE
541-942-8119
IMAGINE IT FRAMED
29 S. 6TH ST.
COTTAGE GROVE
541-942-5036
JOSEPH OSBORN PLUMBING
1214 E. MADISON AVE.
COTTAGE GROVE
541-942-6899
CG MARKET
603 5TH ST.,
COTTAGE GROVE
541-942-2451
BRAD’S COTTAGE GROVE
CHEVROLET
2775 ROW RIVER ROAD
COTTAGE GROVE
541-942-4415
FORT ROCK CONSTRUCTION
33100 WHETHER WAY
COTTAGE GROVE
541-767-1611
COTTAGE GROVE
SENTINEL
116 N. 6TH ST.
COTTAGE GROVE
541-942-3325