COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL FEBRUARY 15, 2017 3A
Local couple celebrated more than 50 Valentine's Days
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
There was no such
thing as an ATM when
Berneda met Bruce.
No disposable lighters,
ATM machines, bar
code scanners or post-
it notes. Television,
though, did exist and
by the persistence of a
neighbor and the chari-
ty of a father, a 55 year
old story began.
Berneda McDonald's
neighbor kept telling
her there was a guy she ought to meet. On New Year's Eve, 1962,
he showed up at her door with a used TV from his father for the
family to use.
"I kind of knew what was going on," she said. 10 months later,
they were married.
Bruce and Berneda were 18 when they promised to stick together
through sickness and in health, for richer or poorer and in October,
they'll celebrate 55 years together.
"It's a commitment," Bruce said. "It's too easy now to get a di-
vorce and walk away."
It was just an hour before the infamous Columbus Day storm in
Oregon when the McDonalds sealed their marriage at the court-
house in Eugene. There was no wedding dress, tuxedo or expensive
fl owers.
"Big weddings don't make it last," Bernetta said.
What the couple have found does work is a mixture of dedication,
religion and understanding. Don't go in expecting it to be perfect,
Berneda says and according to Bruce marriage is a lot of give and
SDC fees rile city council
CASA in need of volunteers
By Caitlyn May
Representative stresses need for rural help
Former Cottage
Grove
City Council
cmay@cgsentinel.com
member and cur-
rent executive director for the area's CASA
program, Heather Murphy, came before
the board on Monday night with a request:
more volunteers.
CASA, or Court Appointed Special Ad-
vocates speak on behalf of foster children
or children otherwise involved in the court
system where a neutral third party is need-
ed.
Murphy began her presentation with a
video of "Logan," a young boy who had
made his way through foster care and the
adoption process with the help of his CASA
By Caitlyn May
volunteer.
"There are 200 CASA volunteers," Mur-
phy said. She went on to note that, at last
count, there were 181 children in the system
being served by South Lane which includes
Cottage Grove, Creswell and Pleasant Hill.
"The judges pay very close attention to
the CASA volunteers. The fi rst court case
I sat in on, the one person the judge gave
marching order to, even with all of the
lawyers and parents in the room, was the
CASA volunteer to make sure A, B and C
got done," Murphy said.
CASA operates on a 4:1 ration. For ever
dollar it gets from the legislature, it raises
four.
cmay@cgsentinel.com
As a result, it relies on volunteers who
undergo 40 hours of training.
Volunteers, according to murphy, can be
retired or have full-time jobs as long as they
are fl exible enough to allow the volunteer to
attend court dates.
Councilor Mike Fleck spoke, noting his
crammed schedule but encouraged anyone
with the time to take part in the program.
"I'm here tonight to really just spread
awareness and spread the word. We need
volunteers in rural areas," Murphy said.
Interested individuals can visit the CASA
website for more information on becoming
a volunteer at https://www.casa-lane.org.
City gets $3,500 grant
The city of Cottage Grove received a
grant in the amount of $3,500 from the
state of Oregon, Parks and Recreation De-
partment, State Historic Preservation Offi ce through the Heritage
All-Star Program. According to City Finance Director Roberta Lik-
ens, the grant must be used specifi cally to develop and install an
exhibit for the Titanic coat currently housed at the museum. The
money can be used to install protective material and install equip-
ment to "enhance the digitization of and access to the collections
of the Cottage Grove Historical Society." It may also be used to
rehouse the remaining newspaper collection of the Cottage Grove
Genealogical society.
The city was required to provide a match of $1,675 to accept the
grant. In order to spend the grant, the city council must comply
with the requirements of local budget law and adopt a resolution to
establish appropriations for the use of the grant funds.
According to Likens, the
match amount will come from
local organizations, citing the
cost to the city as zero. She not-
ed during Monday's meeting
that the match would most likely
come from in-kind donations.
The acceptance of the grant did
not add expenses to the city's
2016-2017 budget.
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
The Titanic coat, located at the museum, will benefi t from the grant.
Fin
al W
eek
end
Cottage Theatre presents
!
2017
take. But after more than 50 years together, they say if couples re-
member that they love each other and keep God at the center of
their lives, they'll make it through and while health issues and other
distractions pop up, this year's Valentine's will be like the rest.
"We always exchange cards and chocolate," Bernetta said. The
chocolate, they say, is usually shared but this year they are going to
attempt to forgo it.
"She's worked so hard at dieting," Bruce said.
Work is not a foreign concept to the couple who raised two
children and now enjoy two grandchildren, both girls, and two
great-grandchildren.
And while cards and candy usually mark Valentine's Day, Berne-
da remembers one Feb. 14 that Bruce managed to surprise her with
something different.
"I had brought my car in to be fi xed and I went in and there was
a beautiful bouquet of 25 roses. I thought, 'those are beautiful.' It
wasn't until he was done fi xing my car that he said, 'those are for
you.' They were from Bruce."
A fantastical high-seas adventure to Neverland
The Cottage Grove City Council spent more than half an hour
debating its role in raising or lowering System Development
Charges (SDC) during the Monday, Feb.13 meeting.
The council originally debated the topic earlier this year when
it was asked to vote on SDCs and discovered it was not actually
voting on increasing or decreasing the fees but rather, on whether
or not to include the automatic increase in their fee schedule so
that the change could be readily known by the public.
At the time, the procedure drew criticism from members in-
cluding councilman Mike Fleck who inquired as to the legality of
a previous council bonding the current council to raise the fees.
Currently, Cottage Grove's code notes that the SDC fees will
increase. It was Fleck's contention the current board should vote
on whether or not that occurs.
It was an argument he made Monday night as well, saying,
"What I’m asking is the opportunity for the city to have a say
in that, whether or not we decide to increase the SDC or not. I
believe this council should have this vote every year and have it
matter. I’m appalled a former council said a future council will
do this."
Councilman Jake Boone offered his services in presenting a
slide show he had made for the council to explain SDC fees. In
his presentation, Boone asked the board to entertain a fi ctional
town, "Small Town." In Small Town, fi ve houses each paid $20 to
build a water plant. The plant had a capacity to support 10 houses.
To account for growth, Small Town set its SDC fees at $20. Each
time a new house is built, the new homeowner pays $20 into a
fund so that when the water plant reaches its 10 house capacity,
the town has $100 ready to pay for a new plant to support 10 new
houses and so on.
"What Councilman Boone's example didn't take into account is
infl ation," city manager Richard Meyers noted.
Councilman Garland Burback stated that he disagreed with
Fleck's take on the matter and said, " For me, it’s just part of doing
business. The person that’s going to build a $300,000-$400,000
home, in my mind they would understand they have to pay some
fees. If a person can afford to build a home, they can afford to pay
for the fees."
Fleck argued that it took the council's responsibility aware from
it and offered a forthcoming solution to be discussed at a later
date.
After conferring with the city attorney, the council opted to
continue operating with the automatic increase in the fee but to
do away with the vote that would notify residents of the change
and instead make that process automatic as well.
COMMUNITY BRIEFS
Registration Deadline
T.E.A.M.-Cottage Grove, a local networking
group primarily focused on supporting nonprof-
it organizations, announces its fi rst communi-
ty-wide event to be held on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
The Gathering of The Grove at The Green is de-
signed to strengthen local nonprofi t groups and
to encourage greater community collaboration.
The all-day event is from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the
Village Green Resort. Because seating is limited,
early registration is strongly encouraged. Early
Bird Registration Deadline is Feb. 16. Registra-
tion is $25 in advance ($20 each for additional
person from the same organization). The fee af-
ter Feb. 17 and at the door is $35 ($30 each for
additional persons from same group). Lunch and
snacks are included in the fee. To request an ap-
plication, send an email to teamcottagegrove@
gmail.com or call Beth at 541-942.2360.
History Program
A Play by Rick Elice • Based on the Novel by Dave Barry and
Ridley Pearson • Music by Wayne Barker Directed by Tony Rust
February 3–19
Fun for the whole family!
Sponsored by:
Tickets available online, by phone, or at the door one hour before performance
Thursday−Saturday 8:00 pm; Sunday 2:30 pm. $25 Adult, $15 Youth (age 6−18)
With an extra 2:30 pm Saturday matinee on February 18
541-942-8001 • 700 Village Drive • Cottage Grove
www.cottagetheatre.org
The Historical Society is having their monthly
program for anyone interested on Saturday, Feb.
18 at 10 a.m. at the Community Center at 700 E.
Gibbs Ave. The topic will be the history and reha-
bilitation that has taken place at the First National
Bank on the corner of Main and Sixth Street here
in Cottage Grove. Refreshments will be provided
and all are welcome to attend.
912 Project
A representative of the Jurisdiction Commit-
tee will speak at the next meeting of the Cottage
Grove 912 Project on Monday, February 20th,
6:30 PM, at Stacy's Covered Bridge Restaurant,
401 E Main. The representative will discuss the
committee's effort to educate public offi cials on
how to take back control of public lands. The
meeting is open to the public.
visit http://pages.uoregon.edu/nemirovm/festival.
html. For questions or to volunteer, please email
coordinator Maria Nemirovskaya at nemirovm@
uoregon.edu
Senior Meals - Meals on Wheels volunteers de-
liver 15-20 meals to homebound neighbors in Eu-
gene and Springfi eld one weekday morning per
week. Café 60 volunteers prepare and serve meals
at various sites. In Springfi eld call 541-682-4368,
in Eugene call 541-607-5065.
Elder Help - Volunteers provide companionship,
transportation for shopping and errands, cor-
respondence, reading and respite care to home
bound clients. Training and on-going support
provided. Contact Clarence at 541-517-6396 or
RSVP at 541-741-6000 for details.
High School R&B Revue
The popular musical revue, directed by Cot-
tage Grove High School Music Director Gabe
Dickinson, opens February 23rd for four shows
at the Cottage Theatre. For ticket information,
contact the Cottage Theatre, 942-8001 or at
www.cottagetheatre.org. Tickets are $15 adults
and $10 for students. When the singing and
dancing is over, students at the high school
will have earned the $8,000 or so needed to fund
their way to music camps and competitions.
Opal Center Play
"Becky's New Car" opens Feb. 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets cost $12. The play is a comedy directed
by Marion Dempsey.
Swamp Meet
The Racing Swamp Meet will be held on Sat-
urday, Feb. 18 beginning at 8 a.m. Admission is
free. Booth space costs $25. For more informa-
tion or to sign-up call Heather at (541) 729-8666.
Volunteer Opportunities
Live Tweets
Eugene Math Festival - Volunteers are need-
ed to help with set-up, take-down and supervis-
ing activity groups from 9am - 2pm on February
18th. For more information on the festival please
Follow along with The Sentinel at public meet-
ings or events by searching #SentinelLiveTweets.