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SPORTS
Volleyball makes a splash, spring
sports underway. PG. B1
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SOUTH LANE AND DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017
FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL
CGSENTINEL.COM
City names county commissioner to staff
Faye Stewart will take over for Howard Schesser and Jan Wellman in new joint department
Lane County Commissioner Faye Stew-
art
will join the Cottage Grove city staff as
cmay@cgsentinel.com
the public works and development direc-
tor. The hiring ends months of searching
after previous community development manager Howard Schesser
By Caitlyn May
announced his retirement and public works director Jan Wellman
joined him. The city announced early last month that, as a result of
the retirements, the two departments would be merged in a cost sav-
ing move. "It was a tough decision for me because I didn't want to
lose a great county commissioner," said CG city manager Richard
Meyers. According to Meyers, Stewart bested six other individuals
for the position. "What stood out was his skills in connecting citi-
zens to solutions,"Meyers said.
Stewart, who will earn $87,000 a year, is scheduled to start work
on March 31 and shape the format of the new joint department.
Please see STEWART PG 6A
Local kids win big
Roads at a dead
end in CG
There
are
just
cmay@cgsentinel.com
over
45
miles of paved road in the city of
Cottage Grove and locals usual-
ly sum them up in one word:
Terrible. Potholes and cracked
streets line much of the city and
while offi cials are well aware of
the problem, they are also aware
of the barriers to repairing them.
"Where do we get the mon-
ey?" asked Cottage Grove City
Manager Richard Meyers. It's
a question fl oating around city
hall and the state of Oregon at
large after the American Soci-
ety of Civil Engineers released
its 2017 Infrastructure Report
Card. While the report spells
out a lacking infrastructure sys-
By Caitlyn May
Local students from ATA Studio competed with over 400 other martial arts students in Eugene on March 11, bringing
home over a dozen medeals.
Please see KARATE PG A3
tem in general for the nation, it
notes that in Oregon, drivers can
expect to spend up to $285 per
year on vehicle damage caused
by driving on roads in need of
repair.
Residents of Cottage Grove
voted down an increase in the
gas tax last November that
would have aided in the efforts
to improve city roads but not
completely solved the problem.
"Gas tax is affi xed to gal-
lons," Meyers said. "The num-
ber of gallons hasn't drastically
changed." In fact, with advanc-
es in the automobile industry
allowing motorists to get more
miles per gallon, funds are
dwindling and damage to roads
is increasing.
Please see ROADS PG A9
New changes for FireMed set for July 1 NEW SCHOOL
Cottage Grove residents who are
current FireMed members will see
cmay@cgsentinel.com
a change in their services come this
summer.
"We haven't raised the price here since 1982," South
Lane Fire and Rescue Chief Joe Raade said. However,
that's about to change.
Currently, FireMed customers pay $65 per year for
unlimited, medically necessary ambulance rides. After
the change, residents will continue to pay $65 per year
but will be entitled to just two ambulance rides. The
change is expected July 1.
"We were at a large loss the last two to three years.
This is an attempt to right FireMed," Raade said.
The service, available to all Cottage Grove residents,
also provided in-home medical attention such as ad-
dressing low blood sugar or bandaging a wound suffi -
By Caitlyn May
ciently enough to allow family members to transport
injured parties to the hospital and avoid the ambulance
ride.
Changes to the nation's health care system, however,
and the growing crisis facing hospital capacity had
SLFR routinely headed out of town with FireMed
customers in tow.
"If we have to take a patient to Portland, that's staff
gone for eight hours, out of town," Raade said.
SLFR is not the fi rst unit to consider changing the way
its FireMed program works. Sweet Home and Salem
altered their programs fi ve years ago while other coun-
ties are looking to do the same as health care costs and
insurance parameters continue to fl uctuate.
"Medicare is the only company that can say we're go-
ing to pay you this much and there's no recourse to get
the rest of the money," Raade said, noting that
Group raises funds for
Swinging Bridge repairs
For The Sentinel
Dana Merryday fell in love
with Lane County after attend-
ing his fi rst Country Fair in
Veneta in 1992. After marrying
his wife, Amy, the Berkeley,
Calif. couple began their hunt
for a house in Oregon. In 2011,
a Country Fair friend suggest-
ed they visit the new Axe and
Fiddle Pub. The couple imme-
diately fell in love with Cottage
Grove’s natural beauty, friendly
people and the uniqueness of
the town.
COMMUNITY
Six years ago they purchased
a 1910 vintage fi xer-upper on
the corner of Adams Avenue
and Second Street. The couple
committed to a fi ve year plan
to continue teaching in Berke-
ley and spend summers doing
restoration work on the Cottage
Grove house.
“As I worked outside each
summer, I met many happy,
healthy people of all ages who
regularly walked on a route
that took them past our house
and over the Swinging Bridge,”
Dana said. “Amy and I are im-
pressed with the number of
people who use the bridge daily
for exercise, to catch the LTD
bus to and from work, and for
quicker access to downtown.
Through the years they’ve all
become our friends.”
Those daily routines were in-
terrupted on Oct. 24 when the
city closed the popular bridge
due to safety concerns with the
deteriorating support structure.
Since 1965, the Currin Swing-
ing Bridge has spanned the
Coast Fork of the Willamette
River between River Road and
Please see BRIDGE PG A10
VETERANS
Vigil held for Andy
VFW needs help
Local car clubs and friends
gathered to remember
Andrew Dempsey. PAGE A8
Local VFW post wants to
update bathrooms to ADA
compliant. PAGE A3
INDEX
By Cindy Weeldreyer
Please see FIREMED PG A9
PRICE TAG:
$22,860,497
By Caitlyn May
T h e
South Lane
School District Board approved
the gross maximum price for
the new Harrison Elementary
School on Monday, March 20.
Hyland Construction submit-
ted a price of nearly $23 million
to construct the school and a
seven additional alternates that
totaled just over $800,000.
"We were aiming for $23 mil-
lion," said South Lane School
District Superintendent Krista
Parent.
The gross maximum price
includes "divisions" such as
electric, plumbing, furnishings
and specialties which were de-
scribed as white boards and oth-
cmay@cgsentinel.com
er classroom essentials.
The board prioritized the al-
ternate items to include lighting
along Taylor St. from 8th to the
highway and two covered play
structures.
"I don't think you can have
an elementary school play area
without a covered area in Ore-
gon," Parent said. Other alter-
nates include snow guard and
solar tubes.
Currently, the price of the
school sit at approximately
$282 per sq. ft. but the price
may come in lower depending
on contingency costs.
The vote passed unanimously
with a groundbreaking expected
for Thursday, March 23.
Amy Merryday, Melica Dunne, Dana Merryday, Brittany Corbit (with son William) and Grandma Shelly Corbit are
members of the new Friends of the Swinging Bridge organization.
Calendar ...................................... B11
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
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VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 34