COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL MARCH 22, 2017
3A
Local VFW post in need of funds for ADA updates
It’s a small build-
ing,
VFW Post 3473.
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Set back from the road
down a narrow, grav-
el driveway made more from use of heavy tires
than with intention, it’s easy to mistake the large
wooden doors set against the sharp blue exteri-
or as the entrance. But those that know, bypass
the walkway, the ramp and the wooden doors and
round to the back of the building where hospital-
ity waits.
“This particular building has been here since
1976,” said Dennis Twite. He’s been a member
of the post for six years and currently serves as
its commander. Every Friday the post puts on a
dinner. It offers rides to doctor appointments for
no cost and tries to lend a helping hand to the
community of Cottage Grove. But after seeing
members struggle with a simple task inside its
own four walls, VFW Post 3473 could use a hand
itself.
“It was a member’s wife who comes here a lot
and she pointed it out to us how diffi cult it was to
get a wheelchair through the doorway and then to
the stall,” said Ken Hunt, junior vice commander
for the post. The door is just off the kitchen which
leads to a twisting hallway. The stall is designated
for handicapped visitors and sits in the women’s
bathroom at the end of that twisting hallway. To
access it, a female guest must contend with an
over-sized water heater that stands opposite the
stall door and serves as the fi nal obstacle in a sort
of comedy of errors surrounding the normally
By Caitlyn May
mundane task of using the restroom.
“It just makes it really hard to use the restroom
and it’s not ADA compliant,” Twite said of the
current situation.
The post and its auxiliary have applied for
grants to fi x both the men and women’s facili-
ties and bringing them into compliance with the
Americans with Disabilities Act. The two grants
would total $2,000.
“It’s probably not enough to get the project
done but it’s enough to get us started,” Hunt said.
Except the auxiliary has already heard back and
the news wasn’t good: they had been denied the
$1,000 grant request. That leaves the post’s re-
quest of $1,000 if it’s awarded.
“If we run into plumbing, than $2,000 is go-
ing to be light and since the auxiliary heard back,
$1,000 won’t be enough. It will get us started,”
Twite said.
The post raises money throughout the year
through a variety of activities including a spot at
the local rest stop, selling coffee. However, not
everything the post has in its coffers is up for
grabs. “Our biggest fund is the relief fund and
that’s used to help veterans,” Hunt said. “We can’t
use that for anything else. If the money is desig-
nated for something, we have to use it for that. We
can’t use it for anything else.”
For now, the group is holding its breath waiting
to see if the approval comes through and Twite
says the post is open to help from the community.
“If there are people that want to donate than we
are open to that,” he said.
Karate Continued from A1
Photo Credit: Erin Lauraine.Dylan Dorchak, 11, proudly shows off his 2nd
place medals in forms, weapons and combat weapons sparring.
Students
from
ATA
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Martial Arts
Studio in
Cottage Grove, under the in-
struction of owner Erin Laura-
ine, brought home more than a
dozen medals.
The northwest regional com-
petiton was held in Eugene on
March 11.
Several kids excelled includ-
ing 11-year-old Dylan Dorchak.
"Dylan has juvenile rheuma-
toid arthritis and had tested the
night prior for his fi rst degree
black belt at a regional Black
Belt testing with over 50 partic-
ipants," Lauraine said.
Connor LeCompte, 13, took
home his fi rst, fi rst place medal.
"Connor has autism and this
was his fi rst tournament," Lau-
raine said.
For more pictures from the
competition, turn to The Senti-
nel's Snapshots page.
By Caitlyn May
The handicap-accessible bathroom stalls at VFW Post 3473 in Cottage Grove are in need of an update. After being
denied half of the grant money it applied for, the post is open to community donations to bring the restrooms into
compliance with federal code.
Tobacco age upped to 21
The days of 18-year-
olds in Lane County pur-
chasing cigarettes legally
just went up in smoke af-
ter the Lane County Commission voted to raise
the minimum smoking age to 21.
The board of commissioners voted 3-2 on Tues-
day, March 14 to increase the age county-wide
which includes Eugene, Springfi eld and Cottage
Grove.
Beginning April 13, those under the age of
21 will no longer be able to purchase cigarettes,
e-cigarettes, chewing tobacco or any other tobac-
co product.
While the commission had been considering a
grandfathered clause that would have addressed
current smokers between the ages of 18 and 21,
no exception was granted to that particular group.
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Individuals under the age of 21 who currently
work in a licensed store that sells tobacco prod-
ucts as its main commodity have been smoking as
part of their job, will be able to continue to do so.
The law mirrors a similiar bill making its way
through the legislature calling for an increase in
the legal age to 21 from 18.
The efforts are part of a broader nationwide
campaign to alter the legal smoking age after de-
cades of research support claims of serious health
issues being tied to smoking.
According to the Centers for Disease Control,
in 2015, 15 out of every 100 adults in the U.S.
over the age of 18 smoked cigarettes. 13 percent
of that, were people between the ages of 18 and
24. However, that number has continued to de-
crease over the last 10 years with the CDC report-
ing a 20.9 percent drop between 2005 and 20015.
Cottage Theatre presents
2017
The Musical Comedy Whodunit
Cottage Grove Area
Habitat for Humanity
says Thank You to
Cottage Grove
Board of Realtors
for a recent of grant of
$5,000!
Thank you to the
HOME Foundation
and all in our community who support
building affordable housing through
Habitat for Humanity!
We are grateful for your generosity.
Come help build!
Construction Volunteers Needed!
Contact CGA Habitat for Humanity
info@habitatcg.org
541.767.0358
Thank you for helping Habitat
help others!
April 7 – 30
Book by Rupert Holmes
Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Original Book and Concept by Peter Stone
Additional Lyrics by John Kander and Rupert Holmes
Directed by Janet Rust
Sponsored by:
Music Direction by Chris Holt
Matthew A. Parsons
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)
541-942-8001 • 700 Village Drive • Cottage Grove
www.cottagetheatre.org