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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2017
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Neighborhood
watch efforts not
"armed militia"
CGSENTINEL.COM
Within their means
Timber towns across Oregon are
feeling the devastating effects of
revenue losses. But while some
municipalities cut vital services
and struggle to keep the lights
on, the city of Drain doubles
down on its future.
Calls for a neighborhood watch
quickly take on life of their own
Social media exploded last week with
such
force, it made it to the Cottage Grove
cmay@cgsentinel.com
City Council and local radio stations with
residents divided over the formation of an
"armed militia" to combat the frequent property thefts around the
city. Lines were drawn and debates broke out. Except no one had
ever had the intention of forming an armed militia.
At least Reece Bailey didn't. It wasn't his intention when he post-
ed to a popular Cottage Grove social media page asking if residents
would be interested in taking part in a neighborhood watch group. It
wasn't his intention but within hours the post had hundreds of com-
ments with people backing the notion of an armed group of citizens
and others condemning the idea.
The issue began when Bailey said he grew tired of the petty prop-
erty thefts in his neighborhood.
"I moved here to raise my children here," the New York native
said. "I like the small town feel."
But Bailey soon noticed the small-town crime rate.
"They would be so brazen that I would see them come into my
carport and they would look right at me in the window," he said of
the alleged thieves.
By Caitlyn May
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
CITY WITH A PLAN
Second St. is bookmarked by a church on either end.
An auto parts chain store sits here. Off in the distance, a
bowling alley, lawyer's offi ce and bridal shop. Second St.
gives way to First St. and stores give way to empty fronts
and closed signs.
The newspaper used to live on First St. That closed late
last year when the owner (and mayor) fell ill. The library
on A Ave. followed on April 1. The wine tasting opera-
tion was doing business. But then the owner died. A tourist
shop fi lled with re-purposed furniture and old fashioned
soda is still making a go of it and the city's most successful
store, Ray's grocery, is king of First St. always boasting
activity on an otherwise pin-drop-quiet stretch of road.
This is the city of Drain--and it's thriving.
In 2015, the money stopped. A federal program that
saw counties getting a cut of the profi ts when timber was
logged on federal land within their boundaries failed to be
included in the congressional budget. The 2015 payment
of $86.4 million was projected to fall to $7 million this
year. Counties that had already been hit by the decrease
in funds when environmental laws sided with the spotted
owl and timber production slowed, now faced tighter bud-
gets and life or death decisions. Josephine County cut law
enforcement positions leading to a crisis of public safety.
Douglas County cut all funding to its library system, shut-
ting down all of its branches from Roseburg to Yamhill to
Drain.
While the fi nancial hit was a hard one, Drain continued
to invest in its future.
"We have a 50 year plan," said city administrator Carl
Patenode.
That plan includes the brand new water and sewer lines
which will be joined by an $8 million wastewater treatment
center that will begin construction this year. The project is
being funded 50 percent by grants and the other half is
being generated by a loan with a one percent interest rate.
"Financially, we're a good company," said new mayor
Rance Pilley. "We sell electricity, water and sewer."
And they do it for much less than their neighboring mu-
nicipalities.
While water bills can run up to $100 in Cottage Grove
and utilities account for a large portion of rent payments in
Eugene, Drain residents boast much smaller bills.
"The monthly water bill is $31," said Patenode. The
sewer bill, he says is "high" due to the new project, com-
ing in at $69 a month. The utilities are run like co-ops and
Please see NEIGHBORHOOD PG. A9
FORMER
CG MAYOR
CHOSEN FOR
STEWART SEAT
Former Cottage Grove Mayor Gary Wil-
liams
has been selected by the Lane County
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Commission as its fi fth and fi nal member.
Williams beat out 27 applicants, nine
semi-fi nalists and three fi nalists who included fellow Cottage Grove
residents Christy Inskipp, Mike Fleck and Cindy Weeldreyer.
He replaces longtime commissioner Faye Stewart who took a po-
sition with the city of Cottage Grove as the head of its new joint
community development and public works department in March.
"It's about listening," Williams said during the interview when
asked what the role of a county commissioner entailed.
He told the commission he would advocate for infrastructure
funding, environmental issues and health care on the state and fed-
eral level as well as affordable housing saying, "People need to be
able to live their lives in dignity."
Williams also noted that he has worked with members of the com-
mission in his previous role as Cottage Grove Mayor and would
tackle issues such as infrastructure and affordable housing on the
state and federal level if it was appropriate in his seat on the
By Caitlyn May
"People are happy
with the size of our
community. We have
generations of of people
who live here. We're
pro-business but we're
not looking to grow and
get bigger." - Drain City
Administrator Carl Patenode
the city makes enough money to keep the lights on and
continue offering the services to residents.
"Eggs are cheaper in the country," Patenode jokes.
Drain does levy a tax that generates approximately
$70,000 a year with a total city budget estimated at six
million.
"We don't have a lot of extra money," Patenode said.
"We live within our means."
MAKING IT WORK
Patenode retired from his position as city adminis-
trator in November after 20 years. He was hired by the
city as an interim city administrator that same month.
He never missed a day of work.
On a Thursday morning, his desk is covered. Stacks
of paper decorate the surface more so than photos and
mementos. He's technically a part-time employee now,
leaving just nine full-time positions in the city, but his
workload hasn't decreased. He sits across from Pilley
who, he says got the gig as mayor like any other small-
town position, he raised his hand. The appointment
came after the former mayor resigned after winning the
election due to health concerns. At the time, Patenode
said he was concerned about fi lling the vacancy.
Pilley, who had been on the city council since the
1990s, said he felt the city needed a "stable force."
"We were looking for a new administrator and one of
the council members who was elected was brand new,"
he said.
Now, the two men sit face-to-face overlooking Pat-
enode's stacks of paper to assess the positive and nega-
tive attributes of Drain.
"The library is closed," Pilley said. The doors shut-
tered after Douglas County commissioners voted to
Please see DRAIN PG. A6
Please see WILLAIMS PG. A10
South Lane Mental Health Executive Director Retires
Tom Wheeler will step down next year after 25 years at the nonprofit organization
South Lane Mental Health announced on Monday, April 17 that
executive director Tom Wheeler would be stepping down a year
from now.
"Tom is a visionary and a trailblazer and will be diffi cult to re-
place,” said Dr. Jim Harrison, Board Chair. “We are thankful for
his many years of incredible leadership, nurturing and growing this
organization to better help residents of our community," a press re-
lease on the retirement said.
The Board of Directors has created a transition committee that
will launch a nationwide search for Wheeler’s successor. A new
leader will be named later this year.
“Because of Tom’s leadership, South Lane Mental Health has be-
come a pivotal force both in Cottage Grove and in broader Lane
County,” said Noreen Dunnells, President and CEO of United Way
of Lane County. “I’ve always been impressed with Tom’s commit-
ment to those in our community who are struggling. This is man-
ifested in his enthusiastic involvement in initiatives like the Com-
munity Health Improvement Plan and Be Your Best Cottage Grove,
as well as in making sure that local residents have timely access to
mental health services.”
South Lane Mental Health had a staff of fi ve and served about
50 adults per year when Wheeler became its fi rst executive director
two and a half decades ago. Under his guidance, South Lane Mental
Health secured state grants to build housing for adults with severe
mental illness (1993); hired the fi rst medically qualifi ed individu-
al in South Lane County with a specialty in managing psychiatric
medications (1994); and became a contractor to provide mental
health services to individuals on the Oregon Health Plan (1997). In
2008, South Lane Mental Health partnered with the City of Cottage
Grove to win a Community Development Block Grant, which en-
abled the agency to buy and renovate its current 9,000-square-foot
offi ces on Birch Avenue and expand programs and services.
Today, South Lane Mental Health employs more than 90 staff
Please see HEALTH PG. A7
EDUCATION
$1.8 million cut
Leonard Waitman tells his
story. PAGE A11
SLSD waits to hear from
the state if the $1.8 million
budget cut is here to stay.
PAGE B1
INDEX
COMMUNITY
Word War Vet
Calendar ...................................... B11
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
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VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 40