COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL October 26, 2016
Season's fi nal Art
Walk begins at 6
p.m. Friday
Community Foundation
marks 25 years of
making a difference
T
Organization awards 14 community grants
totaling $17,121 at its annual dinner
BY SAM WRIGHT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
L
ast Wednesday, the Cot-
tage Grove Community
Foundation held its annual din-
ner gala, celebrating 25 years
of service to the community
of Cottage Grove. The founda-
tion was originally introduces
in 1991 with the goal of help-
ing the community by awarding
scholarships and grants in areas
such as education, social servic-
es, culture and safety.
Executive Director of the
Foundation, Travis Palmer,
made opening remarks about its
success.
“It’s fantastic to live in a com-
munity where so many people
care about each other and get
involved,” Palmer said. Over the
past 16 years, the foundation
has awarded 230 grants that to-
tal $179,629. This past year, 14
community grants were award-
ed, totaling $17,121.
The dinner also features an
auction for further fundraising.
The packages being auctioned
ranged from tangible items such
as a wine lover’s basket or pre-
mium lumber to a private air
tour of South Lane County or an
up-close encounter at the Wild-
life Safari.
Sherry Duerst-Higgins orga-
nized a book signing in which
each table had a children’s book
to be signed by representatives
of local businesses at each ta-
ble.
Guest speakers spoke between
two rounds of the auction. Cot-
tage Grove High School alum-
nus Katy Bass was a scholarship
recipient who is currently en-
rolled in the nursing program at
Lane Community College. Bass
spoke about how her scholar-
ship has helped her help others
in Lane County.
“No matter what it was, I just
always wanted to help people,”
she said in a short anecdote on
how she landed in her fi eld.
The power behind Bass’s
3A
photo by Sam Wright
Dr. Jim Harrison presents the Margaret Mae Anibal Mentor-
ing grant to Marc and Lori Bass of Reaching Out Mentoring.
speech is that she is one of 91
(totaling $103,300) scholarship
recipients in 2016 for Cottage
Grove students.
After Bass came Diane Ha-
zen, representing the Family
Relief Nursery. The Nursery has
become a widely utilized ser-
vice for families and children
struggling with diffi cult home
lives.
“I think many of us here re-
member a few horrible stories
a few years ago, and many sup-
ported the Nursery in town,”
Hazen said.
The big grant of the year,
the Margaret Mae Anibal Men-
toring Grant, was awarded to
Reaching Out Mentoring South
Lane, a mentoring program for
local youth. Reaching Out con-
sistently looks for adult volun-
teers to be a role model for kids
in South Lane County.
Palmer made closing remarks
as the dinner ended, thanking
attendees, donors and auction
participants.
“We’ve truly come a long
way in a short period of time,”
Palmer said. Due to all of its
fundraising for scholarships and
grants, the foundation calculates
its assets to be worth roughly
$2.8 million.
he sidewalks of Historic
Downtown Cottage Grove
will come alive on Friday, Oct.
28 from 6-9 p.m. for the fi nal
Art Walk of the 2016 season.
This event brings together art-
ists, musicians and community
to celebrate the Cottage Grove
area’s talented, artistic and di-
verse population.
Apple Pie Antiques will fea-
ture Lacie Strebe of The Jeweled
Quail. Her intricate hand crafted
woven wire wrapped jewelry is
truly unique. Terry Paxton, lo-
cal luthier and musician, will
fi ll the old Cottage Grove Hotel
with beautiful sounds.
A favorite stop along the way
is the Bookmine. Arlene Taddei
and Ellen Carrper will be show-
ing creations that are a perfect
for this time of year.
There will also be authors
present: the Reverend Bobby
Lee will be introducing his
book, “Life Sparks,” and author
Tom Romano will show original
art and his book, “Winged Jew-
els of the Sky.” Music will be
provided by Ron O’Keefe and
Friends.
Across the street at Kala-
puya Books, guests can enjoy
the wood block prints of artist
Heather Barrett.
The Crafty Mercantile will in-
troduce local artist Troy Austin,
who will be displaying his adult
coloring books.
Other presentations will in-
clude:
Cresent Moon Yoga Studio:
Cada Johnson, painting
Imagine It Framed: Erich
Schwartzwald, painting; Live
Music
The Crafty Mercantile: Music
Provided by Terry Paxton, 6-7
p.m.
Relief Nursery among top three nonprofi ts
O
regon Business Maga-
zine recently presented
Diane Hazen and Cindy Vitelli
with an award of top three Best
Small Nonprofi ts to work for
in Oregon. OBM divides the
awards into small, medium, and
large organizations. Small non-
profi ts are organizations with
less than 25 employees. Each
year since 2009, Oregon Busi-
ness Magazine has recognized
the top 100 Nonprofi ts based
upon employee survey respons-
es. In 2016, more than 5,000
employees submitted respons-
es to OBM. Awards are given
based on employee satisfaction,
work environment, benefi ts, and
overall business practices.
Family Relief Nursery fi rst
joined the top 100 Nonprofi ts
in 2010. Since then, the nurs-
ery has been awarded a top 100
spot each year. In 2013, they
were ranked fi fth out of all the
nonprofi ts in Oregon. Program
Manager Crystal Morrison
thinks this is due to the increase
in teamwork and strong lead-
ership. “We have a dedicated
staff who use the mission and
vision of the Nursery everyday
to motivate their amazing work
performance.” She also notes
that the Nursery is continuing to
grow and increase the number
of families receiving services.
“We just opened a site in Cre-
swell and have increased our
home-based program in Cot-
tage Grove by 20 families.” The
North Douglas location also is
growing with a partnership with
Yoncalla Early Works to provide
additional learning playgroups.
“This growth gives us (the
leadership team) an opportunity
to make sure all the interven-
tionists and teachers are feeling
involved in the community and
impacting families in a positive
way.”
Diane Hazen, Executive Di-
rector of Family Relief Nursery,
accepted the award in front of
the huge audience at the Senti-
nel Hotel in Portland, Oregon.
“We were not expecting this
award. It is a great honor and we
hope to continue to increase our
employee satisfaction.”
For more information about
Family Relief Nursery or 100
Best Nonprofi ts to Work for in
Oregon please call 541-942-
4835 or email dianeh@frncg.
org.
In
Honor
of All
Veterans
The Cottage Grove Sentinel is preparing to publish its
“Proud to Have Served,” a special section devoted to all military
veterans who are Cottage Grove-area residents or have a connec-
tion to this area.
If you are interested in sharing your military story in the annu-
al Veterans Day publication, or in updating information that we
have published previously, please complete the form below and
submit it to the Cottage Grove Sentinel. Service photographs are
also welcome.
Submit forms and photos (preferably) by e-mail to
cgnews@cgsentinel.com; or by mail to Cottage Grove Sentinel,
Attn: Jon Stinnett, PO Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424; or drop
forms off at the Cottage Grove Sentinel, 116 6th Street, Cottage
Grove.
Please be sure that all materials are carefully labeled with your
name and phone number. ALL FORMS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
MUST BE SUBMITTED BY OCTOBER 31, 2016.
Thank you for participating in this project to remember and
honor our veterans.
FRIDAY 6-9PM, OCTOBER 28TH
Cresent Moon Yoga Studio: Cada Johnson, painting
Apple Pie Antiques: Lacie Strebe, The Jeweled Quail, Live Music 7-9
Bookmine: Arlene Taddei, Sweet Things, Ellen Carrper, Apple Head Crafts
Author Reverend Bobby Lee, LIFE SPARKS, Author Tom Romano,
Winged Jewels of The Sky, Music provided by Ron O’Keefe
Kalapuya Books : Heather Barrett, Wood Block Prints
Imagine It Framed: Erich Schwartzwald, painting, Live Music
The Crafty Mercantile Troy Austin, Coloring Books and Original Art, Music
Provided by Terry Paxton 6-7
Opal Center for Art and Education: Halloween Mash Up
Five Flying Monkeys: Peggy Severns, Rag Rugs
ALLIGATOR
AUCTION
SATURDAY - OCTOBER 29
11AM-3PM
Food, Lodging, Tourist Attraction
Gift Certifi cates plus merchandise like
Stovetec items, ladies apparel, sharp
microwave, tomato greenhouse,
wine barrell and more.
Many items in KNND’s front window.
To get a bidder number call KNND between
2-5 pm at 541-942-2468.
KNND Alligator Radio trade auction is
Saturday, October 29th from 11am until 4pm.
Name: ____________________________________________________________________________
Contact Phone Number: ______________________________________________________________
Branch of Service: __________________________________________________________________
Rank Achieved (optional): ____________________________________________________________
Dates Served: ______________________________________________________________________
Where did you serve? ________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Special Information (E.G., POW): ______________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Has your veterans information been published previously in the Cottage Grove Sentinel Veterans Publication?
YES
NO
Do we have your military photo(s) on file? YES
NO
(Note: If you have submitted photos in the past, we will still have them on file.)
The Alligator Auction promises
fun and great deals for
businesses and listeners
A percent of the proceeds to benefi t South Lane Dental Clinic