COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL FEBRUARY 22, 2017 7A
University of Oregon plans 10.6% tuition hike
Day without Immigrants
has little effect on SLSD
In-state students would pay $9,855 per year
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Students hoping to at-
tend the University of Or-
egon are going to have to
come up with a bit more
money for tuition beginning this fall.
The UO Tuition and Fee Advisory Board recommended a 10.6
percent increase in tuition, citing cuts to state funding, salaries,
health care and retirement costs.
The proposal, which must be approved by UO's Board of Trust-
ees before taking effect, would increase in-state tuition by $945 a
year. It would also add additional fee costs of $186. It would fol-
low last year's increase of 4.8 percent which led to student protests
both on and off campus.
"For some students a $945 increase will make attending the UO
diffi cult or impossible,” said UO President Michael Schill in a let-
ter to students and the campus community. “Yet the state’s fi scal
problems leave us no choice. Oregon’s disinvestment in higher
education over more than two decades has shifted the burden of
paying for college from the state to our students and families.”
Governor Kate Brown's plan calls for maintaining the status quo
for university funding at $667 million. However, the legislature's
budget makes cuts across the board, including higher education, as
the state grapples with a nearly $2 billion defi cit.
In-state undergrads taking the standard three terms of 15 credits
would pay $9,855 plus more than $2,000 in related fees.
It's an amount that may stretch household budgets and as a lo-
cal, state university, the increase puts some Oregon high school
students in the position of choosing not to attend.
South Lane Schools District Communications Coordinator Gar-
rett Bridgens said of the potential tuition hike, "Our high school
counselors and senior 'sem' teachers work closely with our seniors
every year on FAFSA, scholarships, and applying for colleges and
“As I walked by a man’s camp site,” said Cocoa, “one of his
dog’s puppies bounced over to me.”
In the Lakota, language, Natearie means spirit seeker and she
is a gift for Cocoa who has a heart problem. Natearie instinctually
became a service/therapy dog who alerts Cocoa when her heart is
not functioning properly and yaps until Cocoa sits down. The dog
wears a special therapy harness.”
Siberian Huskies come in four colors: white, red, black and sil-
ver, like Natearie. Their faces, eyes and coats resemble magnifi cent
art work. They can have pale ice, dark blue, amber, green, or brown
eyes that look right through you into your soul. Many of the dogs
also have bi-color eyes.
Huskies are a playful friendly breed that love children and they
are bred to run. Running is as innate to them as digging is for
Terriers and swimming is to a Labrador. Huskies are able to run
long distances, so they often get lost. Make sure your Husky is
micro-chipped as ID collars fall off.
“I was concerned about Natearie’s running,” said Cocoa, “so I
phoned the TV dog behaviorist, Cesar Millan. He said, ‘Think of
other trade schools." And while he was unaware if counselors are
alerted to tuition changes at universities around the state, he noted,
"I do know that our counselors are in contact with the local univer-
sities and colleges to help coordinate visits, admissions, and other
scholarship opportunities specifi c to those schools."
University of Oregon is not the only local school looking to in-
crease tuition in response to state budget cuts and soaring costs.
Oregon State University has announced that even if it were to raise
tuition by three percent, the school would still be left with a $20
million shortfall for operating costs.
Current federal programs allow for low-income students to re-
ceive grants for higher education based on need. The Pell Grant
allows qualifying students to pay for classes without having to pay
those funds back after graduation. Other loans, such as Perkins,
carry an interest rate and must be paid back upon completion of a
degree or when a student falls below required course loads.
In his letter to students and campus community members,
Schill touched on fi nancially vulnerable students, stating, "As I
have already noted, we will do everything we can to shield our
most vulnerable students from the impact of this proposed tuition
increase. The Pathway Oregon program continues to provide full
tuition and fees to about 2,000 Pell Grant eligible resident students
on our campus, including more than a third of our fi rst-year resi-
dent students," he wrote. "We have also made signifi cant progress
toward achieving the goals set when we announced the Oregon
Commitment in 2015, which provides advising, planning, and aca-
demic resources to help every student at the university graduate in
a timely fashion. To every extent possible, we intend to maintain
the integrity of those important efforts.
Students and families can research fi nancial aid options by vis-
iting fafsa.edu.gov.
her breed! She is bred to run, run, run. That is why mushers (dog-
sled drivers) breed their dogs with mutt dogs, so they don’t run
themselves to death.’”
Cocoa’s brother, who lives in McGrath, Alaska, knew of her
dream to see the 1000-mile Iditarod sled-dog race so he made it
come true. Natearie sat with Cocoa in the airplane’s cabin to Alaska.
“I wanted my dog to witness her heritage,” said Cocoa. “She
was mesmerized seeing so many Huskies in their 14 member dog
teams working together. The experience appears to have educated
her to greater paws-ibilities, and she came back to Oregon a differ-
ent dog.”
“Before the Iditarod,” said Cocoa, “many ‘mushers’ do a trail run
for their dogs to memorize the trail in case there is a snow white out,
and the dogs can’t see the trail markers.”
Natearie is a 64 pound female Husky and the fur around her tail
is so thick that it measures 10 inches around. Huskies have four
different layers of fur to keep them warm in Alaskan temperatures.
They also dig down in the snow to keep ‘warm’ while resting below
the wild winds. During the Iditarod, hay is put out for the dogs to
nestle in.
“The trip was an amazing experience,” adds Cocoa. “The mush-
ers shared their best dog handling tips and I collected several auto-
graphs.”
Huskies don’t bark, they carry on conversations that sound hu-
man! Natearie can articulate, “I Love you”, “Where is my mama?”
and “Hi! How are you?” in bark-
eze.
“My friend just taught Natea-
rie to say, ‘I want out’!” laughs
Cocoa.
When the dog is left sitting
in her truck, Natearie repeatedly
pushes the vehicle’s horn, honk-
ing as she barks, “Out! Out!
Out! And the other day she said,
“I want OUT!” So, Cocoa let her
out!
When people tell Natearie
how pretty she is, she smiles a
typical Husky smile and bows
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
While several school districts
across the state reported high-
er than average absentees on
Thursday, Feb. 16, South Lane
School District Schools said
levels remained normal.
Thursday marked "A Day
Without Immigrants," a call
for immigrants to stay home
from work, school and to avoid
spending money in response to
President Donald Trump's trav-
el bans and promises to build a
wall on the U.S., Mexican bor-
der.
Woodburn, which has a
school district that reports be-
ing three-quarters Hispanic, re-
ported fi ve to six times as many
absences on Thursday while
Portland schools saw 500 ad-
ditional absences beyond the
normal level. Salem-Keizer,
North Clackamas and Hillsboro
also reported higher than aver-
age numbers though no school
was able to identify "Day With-
out Immigrants" as the certain
cause for the absences.
South Lane School District
reported that it had not gathered
data on the absentee level in ob-
servation of the protest and had
no current plans to do so as a
school district.
Cottage Grove High School
Principal Iton Udosenata said,
"Our attendance rates yester-
day were pretty normal. I know
somebody asked me about the
Day Without Immigrants and
they said there were a couple
of students who were normally
here that weren't here but other
than that our attendance rates
were pretty normal."
Dorena Elementary reported
normal numbers while Bohemia
Elementary, Latham Elementa-
ry and Lincoln Middle School
were not available for comment
as of press time.
Lincoln School noted that
it had fi ve students absent on
Thursday which was described
as "moderate."
According to 2010 Census
data, Cottage Grove is eight
percent Hispanic with reporters
identifying as at least two-races.
down to them!
“I never taught her that,” confesses Cocoa, “she does it on her
own! Recently, some children approached us and we were all
shocked when my dog clearly asked them, ‘Who are you?’
“I had to get a bigger bed for myself and Natearie’s three feline
siblings, ” said Cocoa. “Just like me, they, too, love to sleep curled
up to her. In Alaska, if someone says, ‘It’s a stray dog night’, or ‘It’s
a three dog night’ out then they are announcing an extremely cold
evening and how many dogs it takes to cuddle up to, to stay warm.
However, they never said anything about adding cats to the mix!”
TIPS
Cocoa recommends brushing long haired dogs and cats often
and has found that a Furminator brush keeps their fur healthy by
removing the dead fur.
Longer version of this article is on: https://www.facebook.com/
PetTipsandTales
Share your pet tips and tales. angelscribe@msn.com.
“Natearie is a six-year-old silver Siberian Husky, who I trust with my
life,” said Cocoa.
South Lane County Fire & Rescue:
Creswell Fire Station Advisory Committee.
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South Lane County Fire & Rescue services a 132 square mile area for
Fire/Rescue/EMS services based on voter approved taxing rates, levies,
and bonds equaling $1.80/$1000, beginning with fi scal year 2016-2017.
Th e current voter approved permanent and levied rate is $1.50/$1000 of assessed
property value, including a house and fi ve acres within the District’s boundaries.
Th e District further provides advanced life support ambulance service to an area
totaling 850 square miles. Th e area outside the District’s 132 square mile area does
not provide tax revenue.Th e District operates from four fi re stations and staff s the
Cottage Grove and Creswell stations 24/7, with a combination of career/resident
and community volunteer personnel. Th e Saginaw station is staff ed 24/7 with off
duty residents and the Camas Swale station with community volunteers.
Th e District is managed by the Fire Chief who reports directly to the fi ve
member Board of Directors. All other District personnel report to
the Fire Chief utilizing a chain of command.
Th e district is seeking individuals who have the desire to contribute to ongoing
eff orts aimed at enhancing and improving fi re and EMS services in the
South Lane County community by serving as an advisory committee member for
replacing the District’s Creswell fi re station. Interested applicants must be at least
18 years of age, be an elector, or a property owner within the district. While any
person meeting the requirements may submit a letter of interest to the Board of
Directors, preference for appointment to the advisory committee may be given to
those within the Creswell area.
Interested persons should submit a letter of interest to the
SLCFR Board of Directors by close of business
Th ursday March 9, 2017.
Letters of interest may be hand delivered, mailed, or faxed to:
Cottage Grove
Sentinel
Shoppe™ is a trademark of News Media Corp.
South Lane County Fire & Rescue
Attn: Advisory Committee
233 E. Harrison Ave, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Fax: 541-942-3367
Offi ce: 541-942-4493
Deadline for submitting a letter of interest is Th ursday March 9, 2017 by 5PM