COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL FEBRUARY 15, 2017 7A
Cottage Grove's golden residents
Cottage Grove is famous for many things, including its Bohemia
Gold Mining district. But in my opinion, this entire area is a huge
gold mine of caring residents. Tucked into quiet neighborhoods in
and around town, we are blessed with so many people who are pure
gold. They quietly contribute their time and talents to make ours a
better world.
Former resident Doug Still falls into that golden category. I fi rst
knew him by reputation. At that time he had lived here for 31 years
and he focused his interests on energy and social issues. Among
other things, he was a founder of Jefferson Park, South Lane Mental
Health, EPUD and renown for building the solar energy-powered
Cottage Restaurant restaurant building.
In Feb. 2006 I was invited to be a guest at a Rotary meeting where
Doug was the speaker. Until then I did not realize that his pre-Ore-
gon life included a historical contribution to the Civil Rights move-
ment. I think it bears repeating in this Afri-
can American History month.
First, a historical reminder: In 1863
The
President Abraham Lincoln issued the
Emancipation Proclamation that freed the
slaves. I 1865 the anti-slavery amendment
was added to the Constitution and offi cial-
ly eliminated slavery throughout the U.S.
One-hundred years later, racial equality
was still being disputed in most southern
states.
In the 1960s, beleaguered Black citizens
all across the South began calling upon Dr. Martin Luther King
for help. This American Baptist minister was also a leader in the
Civil Rights Movement. Beginning in 1955, he advocated a fresh
approach to civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience based
on his Christian beliefs.
In 1962 the Reverend Doug Still was serving in Chicago as the
executive director of the department of social welfare of the Presby-
terian Church Federation for four counties and 2200 churches. (He
was a graduate of Union Theological Seminary and was ordained at
the historic Madison Ave. Presbyterian Church in New York.)
He began his Rotary talk by saying, “One day a wire came to the
Chicago clergy from Martin Luther King saying that the people of
Albany, Georgia needed help. They were in trouble and needed us
to come and stand with them in their efforts to desegregate the city’s
libraries, parks, schools, churches and hotels. (City offi cials were
closing them rather than integrate them).
“We formed a committee representing the three major faiths,”
he said, “and boarded a bus. About 50 of us — Catholic, Protestant,
clergy and lay people — rode about 800 miles to Albany to show
our concern for our brothers and sisters.
“We arrived at night and the next morning we worshipped togeth-
er (blacks and whites) and Martin Luther King spoke. Our strategy
was to gather in front of city hall and offer a very brief prayer. The
sheriff immediately arrested us and locked us up in jail. Even then
we were segregated with the black people being put in the stables
at the fairgrounds. Six days later, our bus left for Chicago, the most
segregated city in the north.”
In 1963 King gave his famous “I have a Dream” speech in front
of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. After that, he won
hundreds of awards including the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. The na-
tion was inspired by King’s “dream” speech but racial acceptance
was slow in coming and bloody in the process.
Later that year, many were injured in riots when James Mere-
dith was enrolled as the fi rst black at the University of Mississip-
pi. In 1963 fi re hoses and police dogs were turned on marchers as
they demonstrated in Birmingham, Alabama. Medgar Evers, the
NAACP leader was murdered. Four girls were killed in the bomb-
ing of a Baptist Church.
President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 but three
civil rights workers were murdered in Mississippi. He then signed
the Voting Rights Act of 1965 but Malcolm X was murdered and the
Watts riots left 34 dead in Los Angeles.
State and local lawmen attacked 600 civil rights workers with bil-
ly-clubs and tear gas as they as they approached the Edmund Pettus
Bridge on March 7, 1965. The march from Selma to Montgomery,
Alabama for voting rights became known as “Bloody Sunday.”
Things got worse, Doug said, “An-
other wire came, asking the clergy
and laity to come to Selma. We went
down but our efforts to march across
the bridge were turned away twice
and we returned to Chicago. Later,
the National Council of Churches
asked me to go to Greenwood Mis-
By Betty Kaiser
sissippi where I worked with black
churches.”
Unfortunately, King did not live
to see his dream of peaceful coexis-
tence come true. His voice was stilled by an assassin’s bullet in
1968 and contrary to everything he believed in, the West side of
Chicago went up in fl ames. He was posthumously awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
Fortunately, King’s color-blind dream didn’t die with him. Others
like Doug Still took up the torch and progress in racial equality has
been made. Progress — not perfection. But when the torch gets dim
we can still hear King exhorting us to keep the dream going: “Free
at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!”
Doug Still has also moved on to his heavenly reward. But he will
long be remembered by the legacy that he left of serving others
locally and across the nation. That day at Rotary he also left us with
this thought:
“So, what do we learn from all of this?” he asked rhetorically.
“Violence doesn’t work. Communication and dialog do.”
"So, in the spirit of peace and racial harmony, I leave you with
this Biblical scripture quote: “Do unto others as you would have
them do unto you.”
Alaskan Survivor
When Sandra lived in North Pole, Alaska, its claim to fame,
besides the weather, is that it has the Santa Claus from Seattle's
1968 World's Fair at their Santa Village, and the TV veterinari-
an, Dr. D., who was also her pets' vet.
"I love dogs," said Sandra, "and prefer rescue purebred dogs
from shelters. One of my gold mining friends found Scruffy
when it was 65 degrees below zero, half starved and freezing.
I adopted him (the dog that is) who is now 17-years-old.
Scruffy's bark alarm' is a blessing, but his tennis ball obses-
sion makes it hard to cook while tossing a ball the entire time!
When Scruffy was younger, we had a bucket fi lled with ten-
nis balls and a sling shot. He chased balls for hours. He would
bring one back, and turn around and start running before you
sent the next one off. He'd be at the far end of the fi eld, wildly
wagging his tail waiting for a fl ying ball."
Sandra's other dog is eight-year-old Ginger. "This spoiled
dog," admits Sandra, "gets what she wants the minute she
gives me her baby brown eyes."
Ginger, as a six-month-old puppy, was dumped' at an Alas-
kan garbage dump. She had deformed knee caps and walked
on three legs, holding her back leg up. Dr. D. said the pup's
walk would improve and she was right. Ginger's legs even-
tually straightened out. Imagine rescuing a Pomeranian from
the dump!
Alaskan fl ies are huge and they left an impression on Gin-
ger because, today if a fl y is in their home, she runs into the
bedroom and dives under the bed!
Also, her fear of starving has made her creative. When San-
dra gives the dogs a treat Ginger barks to distract Scruffy, then
when Scruffy looks up, Ginger steals Scruffy's treat!
Ginger's hobby is laying on her back, on Sandra's lap, total-
ly making her a lap dog'.
Since writing this article, little Scruffy is now chasing balls
in heaven and sleeping held in the arms of Angels.
Chatterbox
TIPS
In loving memory of a huge Pet Tips n' Tales fan, Nancy of
La Center, Washington, who once shared, "To deter pets from
urinating or scratching on a forbidden location, apply Vick's
"VapoRub" on a piece of tape, and then onto the furniture.
In loving memory of Pat, a humorous Tips n' Tales reader of
Chehalis, Washington. Before her passing she wrote, "There's
a lot of wisdom in our loving animal friends. Our dog, Galy,
appointed himself as my personal guardian. Where I go, he
goes, if I am showering, he lays outside the shower door. He
sleeps on the fl oor by my side of the bed, if I go outside he
goes with me. When I am cooking, he's right there beside me.
Now, I'm not so dumb that I don't know that he has an ulterior
motive. He patiently waits in hopes of me dropping something
good to eat. And....sometimes things do 'slip' out of my hands
and he helps' by cleaning it up off the fl oor!"
To contact Betty Kasier, call (541) 942-1317 or email
bchatty@bettykaiser.com.
To view a longer version of Pets, Tips 'N Tails, visit
Facebook.com/PetTipsandTails.
We love to hear feedback on our columists! Write di-
rectly to Betty and Mary Ellen or email The Sentinel at
cgnews@cgsentinel.com
Dr. B
Benjamin
j i R.
R Thornton,
T h t
DDS
DDS, M
MS
Locations in both
Encourage
children
to fl oss
Eugene and Creswell!
Give us a call to schedule your
complimentary consultation!
541-686-1732
Children should learn
that fl ossing is just as
important as brushing.
Brent Bitner, DDS
earning to brush their own teeth is a lesson
all children must master. Although parents
ultimately may have children who become
profi cient at brushing their own teeth, getting them
to fl oss is generally more diffi cult.
L
not experience cavities at an early age, and it
can establish practices that promote oral health
throughout life. Despite being so important, many
parents fail to encourage fl ossing or are at a loss as
to how to make it enjoyable and effective.
The National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention found that 41 percent of children aged
2 to 11 had tooth decay in their fi rst teeth. Dental
caries are common among children, likely because
they have not become profi cient at taking care of
their teeth.
Although regular dental fl oss is one of the fi rst
tools for fl ossing, the dexterity required to wind
the fl oss around little fi ngers and then thoroughly
clean the teeth may discourage children.
Parents can look into the wide array of fl ossing
helpers available at the store. In fact, many age-
appropriate fl ossers are now available that feature
fun designs and smaller profi les to fi t into kids’
mouths more easily. Flossers may be attached to
a handle to make back teeth more accessible and
promote more effective fl ossing. Manufacturers
such as DenTek, Butler GUM, Plackers Kids, Dr.
Fresh, Oral-B, and Brush Buddies offer children’s
fl ossers.
Soft, sticky foods are commonplace in young
kids’ diets, and these can promote decay. Even
well-intentioned gummy vitamins can be sources
of dental decay. Oftentimes, these foods become
lodged between the teeth or on the surface of
molars. If left in contact with the teeth for too long,
food particles become a source of carbohydrates
for oral bacteria, and cavities may appear as a
result.
To remove food particles from between the teeth,
children must fl oss, advises the American Academy
of Pediatric Dentists. It is recommended that
parents help their children to fl oss as soon as two
teeth are touching and continue to do so until the
child is around the age of 8, when a child should
have enough dexterity to do it on his or her own.
Flossing is essential to making sure children do
Kids who shy away from fl ossing may be more
likely to use a children’s water fl osser. In lieu
of string fl oss, a water fl osser uses a pressurized
stream of water to dislodge food from between
teeth. Although a water fl osser may be more messy,
children may enjoy the opportunity to “play” with
water and the cleaning sensation provided.
To prevent the buildup of plaque and the
development of dental caries, parents should
educate children about proper fl ossing techniques.
Dentistry with Family in Mind
C ALL U S T ODAY !
541.942.7934
350 E. W ASHINGTON A VENUE • C OTTAGE G ROVE
WWW.CGSMILES.COM
Douglas G. Maddess, DMD
Brightening Lives
One Smile at a Time
douglasgmaddessdmd.com