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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2017)
$1.00 C ottage G rove S entinel SPORTS Lady Lions continue come- back season to head to playoff s. B1 WED 51º H 32º L THURS 48º H 40º L FRI 46º H 39º L SOUTH LANE AND DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 1, 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL CGSENTINEL.COM Tiny home village abandons plans for E. Madison St. Cottage Village Coalition would cmay@cgsentinel.com have closed on a property on Mad- ison St. on Tues- day, Feb. 28. but instead, it pulled out of the deal and is now searching for a new location for its proposed "tiny house village." In an email to neighbors, the group announced that it had "broadened" its search beyond the Madison property and invited community mem- bers to meet and discuss alternative options. "We don’t have anything in mind. We would love people to come forward with properties they think might fi t our criteria. We’re determined to build this type of housing in our community be- cause we know it’s needed, said Valeria Clarke, a representative for the group. The idea of the development fi rst sparked de- bate after a neighborhood meeting where residents By Caitlyn May were informed of the coalition's intention con- cerning the property. Clarke, whose own house boarders the Madison property, urged residents to keep an open mind and acknowledge that Cottage Grove has an affordable housing problem. However, residents voiced their concern over fl ooding and sewer issues, policing of the facility and the manner in which they were informed the coalition intended to house low-income families on the property. The Coalition noted previously that it had re- searched several properties within the city and none of the options were suitable for its specifi c needs which included proximity to public trans- portation. Clarke said the group is not currently releasing the reason behind the decision to abandon the Madison St. property but noted it was still work- ing with Square One Villages. Please see HOMES PG. 3 Cottage Village Coalition opted not to build 13 tiny homes for low-income residents after surrounding neighbors near the Madison St. property raised concerns. A search for a new property is currently underway. In case of an emergency: Is Cottage Grove ready? By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Cottage Grove resident Lisa Ann Neely receives an award from Cottage Grove Police Chief Scott Shepherd on Feb. 18. Neely was seated in her car at Dutch Bros. when she noticed 14-month-old Denny walking in the parking lot, unseen by a driver who was preparing to reverse, potentially into the child. Neely jumped from her car and rescued the boy. The CGPD commended Neely on their social media page as well, saying, "Thanks to Lisa being aware of her surroundings and attentive to the situation that was unfolding, Denny was most assuredly saved from bodily harm or worse. The Cottage Grove Police Department as well as the community of Cottage Grove is grateful for Lisa and the actions she took that day." Courtesy photo. Coach inducted to national hall of fame Inductees to be among names such as Abraham Lincoln Longtime wrestling coach and prominent member of the CG ath- letic community Bill Thompson has been selected to be inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. The news comes with the approach of the awards ceremony, which will take place in April in Tigard. Thompson served as a wrestling coach at Cottage Grove High School for 40 years. After graduating from Reedsport High School in 1969, he played football at the University of Oregon. Thompson then began teaching in Cottage Grove, where his wrestling teams won six Sky-Em League titles and was named Sky-Em Coach of the Year seven times. In 2007, he was recognized as the state 4A Coach of the Year. Thompson has also coached football and track at Cottage Grove High School and is currently the assistant wrestling coach for the Lions under Kyle Temple. Thompson will be inducted alongside fi ve others inducted into the Oregon chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. With him are referee Del Helzer, and coaches Roger Rolen (Oregon City), Donnie McPherson (Portland and Vancouver area coach), and former UO wrestler Kevin Kramer who also coached at The Dalles. Larry Mahan, a high school wrestler at both Redmond and North Salem, will be honored with the Hall of Fame Outstanding American Award. HEALTH CARE Of the six members being inducted in 2017, Thompson holds the longest career with 40 years of coaching under his belt. Hel- zer, the wrestling offi cial, was a referee for 22 years and was voted outstanding offi cial of the Portland area for 10 consecutive years (1974-1983). Kramer completed 33 years as a head coach and volunteer coach at The Dalles High School, his alma mater. When he attended the University of Oregon, he was the PAC-8 (my, we’ve come a long way) Conference championship in 1975. Kramer coached 73 state placers and 13 individual state champions, according to a report by the Oregonian. McPherson will be honored with a lifetime service award for coaching for 31 seasons and leading Heritage to the 2003 Washing- ton 4A state title. Rolen, like Thompson, was named the conference Coach of the Year six times while coaching at Oregon City High School and was named 2013 Oregon Coach of the Year. To stress the importance of the honor, Thompson and co. will be inducted to the Oregon chapter of a larger, country-wide organiza- tion that recognizes the achievements of wrestlers around the entire country. Thompson, and more specifi cally, Mahan, are receiving an honor that was also given to Abraham Lincoln. That’s right, the 16th president of the United States who abolished slavery in 1863, was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1992 for an Outstanding American award. COMMUNITY Town halls held Cheerleaders honored State reps. hold rallies, town halls for ACA PAGE A11 CGHS cheerleaders head to city council. PAGE A6 INDEX By Sam Wright swright@cgsentinel.com Calendar ...................................... B11 Channel Guide ............................... B5 Classifieds ...................................... B7 Obituaries ...................................... A2 Opinion ......................................... A4 Sports ............................................ B1 AD 6x2 They say everything west of the I-5 will be gone. Drinking water won’t be restored for up to a year. Electricity will take a month. Health care facilities could go up to 18 months be- fore they’re back online. The last estimates put the death toll at 13,000. It’s not a question of if the Cascadia Subduction Zone event will occur. It’s when. The hysteria surrounding the earthquake was ignited by a New Yorker article in 2015. It went on to win a Pulitzer Prize, but left panic and confusion in its wake for residents of Oregon and Washington who were left wondering how to prepare for the disaster. In the last 10,000 years, the subduction zone has caused 41 earthquakes. According to the math, the region is due for another quake at any time and residents of Cottage Grove will need to be prepared. According to city offi cials, the city has a plan in place for disasters but it is currently in fl ux. So, what do residents do when the quake hits? According to South Lane Fire and Rescue Chief John Wooten, “The 911 centers will be almost instantly overload- ed with calls assuming the cell towers are even standing af- ter the initial quake and after- shocks,” he said. The danger of the Cascadia earthquake, according to Ore- gon State University researcher and seismologist, Chris Gold- fi nger, is that it creates a differ- ent “shake” pattern. Rather than fracturing the ground, it will wave and create a phenomenon known as liquefaction which essentially causes the ground to liquefy. And because Ore- gon did not have seismic leg- islation in place regarding con- struction until the 1970s, many structures are not equipped to remain standing in the face of the earthquake. In the immediate aftermath of the four to six-minute quake, residents are instructed to shel- ter in place if at all possible. “I would also recommend everyone have a radio so they can listen to the emergency alert system for notifi cations on where to go,” Wooten said, “There may also be some phone apps out there for the same pur- pose. Given the scope and com- plexity of such an event the typ- ical responses associated with non-disaster or major emergen- cy responses may not be avail- able for some time.” Cell phones will most likely not work after the quake due to the damage to towers. The city of Cottage Grove has agreements with sever- al surrounding areas to share emergency services, as well as an emergency plan for the city itself. However, according to Cottage Grove City Manager Richard Meyers, “Emergency Management is in fl ux right now with the reorganization.” Com- munity Development Director Howard Schesser recently re- tired and the city is planning on combining his department with public works. As community development director, Schesser acted as the emergency program manager but the current reorga- nization has Meyers as the point person, “That would fall to me,” he said. “All contact will still go through the police dispatch and I would be contacted and would Please see QUAKE PG. 6 cgnews@cgsentinel.com (541) 942-3325 ph • (541) 942-3328 fax P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 Corner of Sixth and Whiteaker, Cottage Grove _______________ VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 33