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C ottage G rove
S entinel
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is June 29 at 12 p.m.
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questions.
SOUTH LANE AND DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, 2017
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Kickin' it with Cops has successful debut
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see page A5.
CGSENTINEL.COM
SLSD spends
$8,000 on Parent
investigation
According to assistant superinten-
dent
of the South Lane School District
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Kyle Tucker, the district spent approxi-
mately $8,000 to conduct the investiga-
tion into a complaint fi led against South Lane School District Su-
perintendent Krista Parent which concluded the head administrator
did not violate state law or non-existent district policy regarding
fraternization.
“It’s a ballpark fi gure,” Tucker said. A fi nal cost is expected to be
forthcoming.
A complaint was fi led on May 1 of this year by Cottage Grove
residents who alleged Parent was using district time inappropriately
by spending time with a district employee in a personal manner.
The investigation was conducted by Susan Nesbit, a former inves-
tigator for the Teachers Standards Practices Commission who was
hired by the school district’s attorney.
A document summarizing Nesbit’s fi ndings state the investiga-
tion revolved around two questions. One asked if the allegations
made in the complaint asserted a potential violation of board poli-
cy, district rules or other legal or professional standards under the
board’s jurisdiction. The other inquired as to whether or not evi-
dence supported a conclusion that Parent engaged in behavior in
violation of board policy, district rules or other established expec-
tations for her position.
“Ms. Nesbit concluded that many, if not most, of the allegations
contained in the complaint did not rise to the level of alleging a
violation of any policy or rule under the board’s jurisdiction,” the
summary of the investigation stated. It went on to note the allega-
tions “primarily involved matters related to Parent’s personal life.”
The fi nal conclusion stated, “Interviews, research and documenta-
tion did not indicate Krista Parent used district staff time, district
equipment, or district funds nor made any offer of enticement or
accessed any district resource in the course of a personal relation-
ship with a district employee.”
South Lane School District does not currently have a policy pro-
By Caitlyn May
PHOTO BY CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Cottage Grove Police Chief Scott Shepherd hits the water after being dunked for the Kickin' it with Cops event held on Friday, June 23.
It’s just a
parking
lot most
cmay@cgsentinel.com
of the time. One
of the few on
Main St. and between the hours of 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m. it’s always full. But on the af-
ternoon of Friday, June 23, the cars were
gone. A dunk tank sat in their place with a
By Caitlyn May
line stretching the asphalt. The mayor chat-
ted in between his grilling duties handing
out hot dogs and handshakes while beach
balls fl oated through the air and the sound
of city councilors and police offi cers hitting
the water with a sizzle on the 87-degree day
carried over music and laughter.
Kickin’ it with Cops is the latest event to
shoulder in to Cottage Grove’s packed sum-
mer schedule, hosted in the police station’s
parking lot and designed to give the com-
munity the opportunity to meet its police
force.
“It’s about getting the community here
with no agenda,” said city councilor Amy
Slay, the brains behind the operation. The
Please see KICKIN' WITH COPS PG. 10
Douglas libraries cope with closure
Community group says it will try for tax levy to save library
Please see $8,000 PG. 10
Governor signs
HB 3030
By Caitlyn May
In November of 2016, Douglas County
By Caitlyn May
said
no to creating a tax district that would
cmay@cgsentinel.com
save its libraries. Community members
lined up at county commission meeting
decrying the effort to squeeze more money from tight paychecks
while others begged for the chance to keep their libraries open. The
county voted overwhelmingly against saving the library system in
Douglas County but in Drain, the vote was much closer. Voters ap-
proved the tax district, by a handful of votes, and now they're ban-
ning together to try again.
"We just had our meeting this morning and we decided to go for
a tax levy in the city of Drain," said Valerie Johns, of Friends of the
Mildred Whipple Library group. At the time the county commis-
sion opted to shut down the Douglas County Library System, Johns
said the group had fi ve members. Now, it's grown to 20.
Monday's meeting was designed to review the results of approx-
imately 60 surveys left at the city hall and sent home with school
children asking residents what should be done about the library clo-
sure.
Cities and towns around Douglas have been forming various
groups and efforts to deal with the library closures and their solu-
tions are varied. Some have transformed their libraries into reading
rooms while others have left their former community hubs shut-
tered.
"We're lucky in Drain that we're close enough to Cottage Grove
that some people have gone and gotten a Cottage Grove Library
card just to get through," Johns said.
Traveling to Cottage Grove will have to do for the residents of
Drain who rely on the library to home school, entertain children,
research and borrow books. Even with the new effort by the friends
of the library group, Drain will not see its library doors open for
months.
"We agreed we want to do a tax levy that won't affect compres-
sion but none of us know how to do that," Johns said. "So we're
going to fi nd out this week."
We take a hike during Walk
the Land Day. PAGE B2
"Hatchet" victim
released, stable
Cody Bradshaw, 28, has been re-
leased from PeaceHealth Medical
Center in Cottage Grove after sus-
taining injuries in relation to a re-
ported hatchet attack on Tuesday,
June 20.
According to Bradshaw, he was
struck in the left eyebrow with the
hammer side of what was described
Cody Bradshaw
as a hatchet. He was taken to the hos-
pital with swelling above his left eye, a scratch on the left side of his
jaw and complaints of rib pain. His companion dog was transported
to his home by Cottage Grove Police.
Authorities noted in a press release on Wednesday, "In spite of an
exhaustive search by multiple offi cers and numerous witness inter-
views, the suspects were not located. They were last seen headed
toward nearby Interstate 5."
The suspects are described as one white female with long hair
worn in dreadlocks, and two white males also with long hair, but
unknown if worn in dreadlocks. All three suspects were reportedly
wearing multi-colored clothing and they had a dog with them.
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked
to contact Cottage Grove Police Department at 541-942-9145.
COMMUNITY
Airport welcome center
Plans for the CG airport
welcome center come
together. PAGE A3
INDEX
OUTDOORS
7 a.m. hikes
Douglas County libraries closed on June 1 for good after three
months of preparation and services that tapered off after a county
commission vote at the start of the year.
For more information on the effort, email mildred.whipple.li-
brary.fol@gmail.com.
Calendar ...................................... B11
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
AD 6x2
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Governor Kate Brown signed legislation
on Tuesday, June 20 making it illegal for
retail businesses to sell nitrous oxide can-
nisters to individuals under the age of 18.
House Bill 3030 garnered both attention
and controversy, earning the nickname,
Governor Kate Brown “whipped cream bill” after Representative
Cedric Hayden introduced the bill in Febru-
ary of this year. The legislation calls for tighter restrictions on the
sale of the cannisters commonly known as “whip-its” noting a trend
in youth using the merchandise to get high.
Convenience stores and smoke shops are permitted to sell the
cannisters and in some cases, distributors market paraphernalia
used to inhale the nitrous oxide side-by-side with the product.
“It’s called a cracker and they use it to open the canister, they
fi ll a balloon with the nitrous and then they inhale it. It’s cheap and
it’s a quick high,” Cottage Grove City Manager Richard Meyers
previously told The Sentinel. Meyers was instrumental in guiding
the legislation to the state on behalf of the city’s youth advisory
council.
Made up of civic-minded high school students, the youth advi-
sory council took up the issue of the misuse of nitrous oxide after
hearing from local resident Karen Munsell at a city council meet-
ing. Munsell informed the council that her child had been negative-
ly affected by the use of nitrous oxide and she began a crusade to rid
the city of the product and push forth legislation restricting its sale.
The law prohibits the sale of nitrous oxide cannisters to anyone
under the age of 18 and carries a consequence of one year in prison
and a $6,250 fi ne.
Munsell and Meyers say they’re happy with the legislature’s de-
Please see HB3030 PG. 3
cgnews@cgsentinel.com
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P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Corner of Sixth and Whiteaker, Cottage Grove
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VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 50