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Grove
PUUBHF (
SPWF Sentinel
4 FOUJOFM
$ Cottage
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2016
SOUTH LANE AND NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
S ECOND AT S TATE !
Council supports
tiny houses, sets
pot tax, talks safe
routes to school
The Cottage Grove Lions
set off to Hillsboro on
Saturday morning to play in
the 4A State
Championship game.
The team was escorted
through town by the
Cottage Grove Police De-
partment and South Lane
Fire and Rescue, along with
a convoy of fans.
An estimated 200 Lion fans
fi lled Hillsboro stadium,
creating a supporting and
"roaring" atmosphere for
the team.
This has been the second
time in four years that Head
Coach Gary Roberts has
taken his team to the State
Championship game, and
the Lions went into this
game 11-0. At right, quar-
terback Blake Sentman
drops back to pass.
More coverage on the State
Championship game can
be found on page 1B.
BY SAM WRIGHT
the Cottage Grove Sentinel
T
photo by Sam Wright
'N OT JUST
FOR SENIORS '
South Lane Wheels says its
rides are for everybody
BY JON STINNETT
The Cottage Grove Sentinel
S
peak with just about anyone who helps
provide or utilizes the services of Cot-
tage Grove-based South Lane Wheels, and
they’ll tell you the same thing: Though se-
niors make up a large portion of the public
transportation system’s ridership, advocates
of the system — from its executive direc-
tor to its frequent riders — point out that a
ride on its buses does not come with an age
requirement or restriction.
“There is no eligibility requirement,” said
Executive Director Ruth Linoz. “It’s been
challenging to get the word out to the com-
munity that riders don’t have to be a certain
age.”
Headquartered at 1450 Birch Ave., South
Lane Wheels offers two basic methods for
helping Grovers get around. Its Route-
Around-Town makes a circuit of Cottage
Grove’s hotspots from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.,
and a reservation for door-to-door service
from one’s home to various locations in
South Lane County and even the Eugene-
Springfi eld area can be made with a phone
call to 541-942-0456 anytime from 8 a.m. to
5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Recently, one South Lane Wheels driv-
er, Bill Traylor, offered this reporter a lift
around Cottage Grove to see what the Route
Around Town is all about.
“The biggest crowd gets out early in the
morning,” Traylor says, adding that the pe-
riod around noon, which he’s dubbed the
“quiet zone,” is often the slowest part of
his route. On this day, Traylor is driving the
bus known by drivers and riders as “Blue,”
whose paint job was designed by a local
VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 20
photo by Jon Stinnett
Driver Bill Traylor welcomes Elsie Lohrey onto a South Lane Wheels bus.
artist and whose hydraulic noises add extra
color to the near-constant conversation go-
ing on inside.
Early on, it’s clear that Traylor, an af-
fable sort, shares quite a rapport with his
riders, and while we make stops at Bi-
Mart, Walmart and elsewhere in a long loop
around Cottage Grove, we chat about every-
thing from baseball to politics and beyond.
Each subsequent rider joins the never-end-
ing conversation.
“From the fi rst day I started driving here,
they’ve treated me like family,” he says. “As
I’ve learned the route, I’ve also learned the
town.”
Soon, Elsie Lohrey comes aboard, as she
has once or twice weekly since South Lane
Wheels began offering its services.
“I like it,” Lohrey says of the ride. “It’s
great for people who don’t have a car. I talk
it up wherever I go.”
She describes South Lane Wheels as
“very accommodating.”
“If you’ve been shopping and have trou-
ble carrying something, whether it’s grocer-
ies or whatever, they can help out,” she said,
adding that drivers also aid with wheelchairs
and make other accommodations.
Lohrey says she hopes that, as ridership
continues to increase, the hours for the
Route Around Town can be extended.
“It’s a great resource, especially in the
winter,” she says. “I’m not a person who can
just sit in the house all day.”
South Lane Wheels has operated in Cot-
tage Grove since 1983. In the past, it has uti-
lized volunteer drivers on its routes, though
these days Linoz said its staff of fi ve driv-
ers has been extensively trained, each has
passed a background check and has a com-
mercial driver’s license. Last year, these
drivers carried a total of 12,902 riders on
one-way trips.
Linoz said that the process for booking a
door-to-door ride with South Lane Wheels
is strictly reservation-based and is begun
by contacting RideSource, through which
it contracts to provide its services, at 541-
682-5566.
“You can call way in advance, and you
can cancel anytime up until the morning of
your ride,” she said.
he Cottage Grove City
Council approved a reso-
lution to set a three-percent tax
on purchases of recreational
marijuana of three percent on
Monday evening. An ordinance
of an intergovernmental agree-
ment to bring in the state’s De-
partment of Revenue to collect
the tax was also discussed.
Citizens voted to allow the
City Council to set a tax of up
to three percent on the sale of
recreational marijuana in the
Nov. 8 election. The Council
was set to pass the three percent
tax until Councilor Jake Boone
brought up an interesting point
about the percentage.
“Since it allows us to go up
to three percent, could we put
it at two percent to possibly en-
tice more shoppers to come into
town?” Boone asked.
The question was met with ar-
guments from both sides. Some
felt having the percentage lower
would not only entice recre-
ational marijuana shoppers to
buy in town, but also hinder the
resurgence of the black market.
However, a general consensus
was met that one percent would
not make much of a differ-
ence. Currently the state levies
a 25 percent tax, but after local
governments passed their own
taxes, the state has agreed to
lower the state tax to 17 percent,
putting the overall tax on recre-
ational marijuana at an even 20
percent.
Another topic that had a sig-
nifi cant amount of public input
was safe routes to school. City
Engineer Ron Bradsby reported
that there is a lack of safe side-
walks and crosswalks around
the city, especially around
schools. Lincoln Middle School
Assistant Principal Emily Wren
stated that safety just outside
that campus has been an issue
among parents and faculty.
“We’ve had someone going
only about 10 miles per hour
almost hit four boys because
there’s no real safe place for
them to cross near the entrance,”
she said.
Bradsby presented a list of
multiple locations in which
there is no sidewalk or a side-
walk is in unusable condition.
“In some places there is a
curb, but no concrete pathway
to walk on,” he noted.
An issue with the repairing
or building of sidewalks is that,
according to city code, owners
of property adjacent to these
sidewalks are responsible for
having and maintaining such
sidewalks. The City would be
responsible for other areas and
crosswalks. The Council moved
to begin the process of building
or fi xing all of the listed areas
and will inform property own-
ers that they have six months to
amend the walkways adjacent to
their property.
Up next was the issue of af-
fordable housing. The Cottage
Villages Coalition has asked
for fi nancial support of up to
$15,000 to start a low-income
housing project in Cottage
Grove. The Coalition works
with Square One Villages out
of Eugene, which has received
positive feedback.
Councilor Jeff Gowing stated
that he “knows the people head-
ing the project” and has faith in
their abilities to make it a posi-
tive impact economically (and
even aesthetically). The Council
moved to support the Cottage
Village Coalition’s project, 5-1.
City Manager Richard Mey-
ers was up for his annual per-
formance review as well. With
a fl urry of positive feedback on
Meyers’ performance over the
years, Councilor Mike Fleck
motioned to authorize Mayor
Tom Munroe to modify his con-
tract with compensation toward
a two-percent cost of living in-
crease and two-percent cost of
insurance increase. The motion
passed 6-0.
Sentinel fi le photo
The lack of crosswalks and sidewalks near schools like
LMS was a topic of concern Monday night.
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Calendar....................................... 11B
Channel Guide ............................... 4B
Classified ads................................. 6B
Obituaries....................................... 2A
Opinion .......................................... 4A
Public Safety .................................. 5A
Sports ............................................ 1B
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