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COTTAGE GROVE COMES OUT FOR EARTH DAY Council's
2017
goals
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Key Club members help clean-up Main St. during
Earth Day on Saturday, April 22.
River Hoskins, 5, tries her hand at crossing the
"Swinging Bridge" at Coiner Park.
Faye Stewart helps local volunteers weed All-Ameri-
ca City Sqaure Park on April 22.
Saturday events saw crowds turn out to celebrate Earth Day and help clean-up Main St.
Amy B. Merryday was on
duty. She was standing guard in
cmay@cgsentinel.com
the middle of the fi eld at Coin-
er Park, her antennae askew
after what she jokingly described as a run-in with a
windshield. Her bee costume made her easy to fi nd but
the 10-foot tall structure she guarded made it easier.
Eventually, the wooden poles and rope would become
a bridge for children to cross, all in an effort to bring
By Caitlyn May
attention to, and donations for, the Swinging Bridge.
Friends of the Swinging Bridge were one of over a
dozen participants in the Earth Day celebration held at
Coiner Park on Saturday, April 22. While the bridge
group asked for donations and aimed to spread infor-
mation about the bridge in need of repair, other groups
sold wares, food and gave our information.
Food vendors lined the park while children fl ood-
ed the playground. Despite swings between pouring
rain and sunshine, the event drew residents to the park
where it began with a Native American blessing. Music
and entertainment were provided for the duration of the
six-hour event.
While some residents got a start on Earth Day at 10
a.m. in Coiner, others were hard at work an hour earlier,
meeting at All-America City Square Park to give back
to Mother Nature. The Cottage Grove High School Key
Club came out to help councilman Ken Roberts on his
Please see EARTH PG A10
Neighborhood
watch group
meets, clarifi es
intention
The Cottage Grove City
Council has a long list.
During the Monday, April 24
meeting of the board, Cottage
Grove City Manager Richard
Meyers presented councilors
with a list of their goals for
2017. The list was compiled
during a closed board session in
February.
"You have quite the list,"
Meyers told council. "It's staff's
hope that this can be a two or
three year goal list just because
of the length," he said.
The council divided its goals
into fi ve sections including
quality of life, public safety,
infrastructure, economic devel-
opment and governance. The
top goals included the contin-
ued development of city parks,
strengthening the communi-
ty emergency preparedness
through promotion and educa-
tion, fund, replace and main-
tain community infrastructure
and conduct an analysis of the
inventory of available land for
residential development. The
list also called for a neighbor-
hood infrastructure city educa-
tional (or NICE) block party.
The council agreed to adopt
the list and complete it in no
more than two years.
The full list of goals will be
available to the public on the
city's website at cottagegrove.
org.
ART
WALK
IN
DRAIN
"Trashion" Show makes a
splash at Opal Theatre for
10th year in a row
“This is not a vigilante group. This
is not an armed militia.” That was the
fi nal word from Cottage Grove Police
Chief Scott Shepherd on the rumors
that originated on a popular social media page concerning efforts
by residents to start a neighborhood watch group.
Three residents and three city councilors showed up at city hall
for the Stand Up for Cottage Grove meeting held on Friday, April
21 where Shepherd addressed the rumors and offered suggestions
on how to properly aid the police department in the ongoing fi ght
against petty theft and other small, neighborhood crimes.
The frenzy regarding the “armed militia” started not long after
resident Reese Bailey posted a message on a Cottage Grove Face-
book site to gauge interest in a neighborhood watch group. Hun-
dreds of comments and several pejoratives later, the post was taken
down but the issue continued to spark contentious conversations
across down. While Bailey noted he would carry his fi rearm for his
own protection, he insisted the group was an “observe, document
and report” model and would not take direct action against any in-
dividual. However, the original post was taken down after several
participants responded with comments that spoke of shooting indi-
viduals and “tweakers.” Resident Venice Mason was a participant
in the thread who said she attempted to express concern over some
of the posters’ desire to carry concealed fi rearms.
Mayor Gowing and I spoke to him and we do not believe that
his intention was to start an armed militia. I don’t think that’s his
true heart,” Shepherd said. He went on to note that be believed the
original post was taken out of context and that Oregon is an open
By Caitlyn May
Models ready to walk the runway for the 10th year in a row for Opal Theatre's Trashion Show. Designers used
discarded trash such as plastic bags and cotton balls to create fashion lines.
cmay@cgsentinel.com
W h e n
S
cmay@cgsentinel.com t e p h a -
nie Barrow
moved to Drain, she was imme-
diately struck with the absence
of family-friendly activities.
Soon, she was pulling her own
paints out and hosting Saturday
art sessions, free of charge and
on Saturday, April 22, the idea
morphed into something bigger.
"Art Everywhere" was held in
downtown with people coming
as far away from Eugene to help
make the event a success.
"Our goal is to create acces-
sible art events and in this com-
munity, that means free because
if the event isn't free, half the
people can't come," Barrow
said.
Saturday's event was free of
By Caitlyn May
Michele Rose is not a
designer
but on Saturday
cmay@cgsentinel.com
night, she had a three-piece
collection walk the runway;
not in her native New York's Bryant Park during
Fashion Week, but in Cottage Grove as part of the
Opal Theater's 10th Annual Trashion Show.
"Rubbish Renaissance" debuted on Friday,
April 21 to a sold out house and continued through
Sunday, showcasing 11 designers' work.
Master of Ceremonies, Charles Mattoon
"emerged from an underground space" after craft-
ing his costume as a ninja creature fashioned from
By Caitlyn May
a pogo stick, cones, bright red material and other
trash that was at his disposal.
Opal Center Director Leah Murray also created
a costume, said to be inspired by government red
tape and piles of paperwork. "This year's Rubbish
Renaissance marks 10 years of Opal's Trashion
shows," she said. "The fi rst show, 'The Truth is
Stranger than Fiction' in 2007, changed the path
for the organization."
Opal Theatre is a community arts center that in-
vites residents to take part in plays, musicals and
this past Saturday, fashion shows.
Designers of all ages took the theatre up on the
Please see TRASHION PG A3
COMMUNITY
LAW ENFORCEMENT
DIVA takes over Drain
Arrested: CG's women
With Drain's library closed,
DIVA is stepping up PAGE A5
What happens when a
woman is arrested in a city
without a place to house
them? PAGE B1
INDEX
Please see NEIGHBORHOOD PG A10
Calendar ...................................... B11
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
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P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Corner of Sixth and Whiteaker, Cottage Grove
_______________
VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 41
Please see DRAIN PG A3