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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 5, 2017)
$1.00 C ottage G rove S entinel PERSONAL i BUSINESS i BENEFITS i SURETY (541) 942-0555 PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove SPORTS Race track update. B3 SOUTH LANE AND DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889 WEDNESDAY, JULY 5, 2017 FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL WED 86º/53º For a complete six- day forecast please see page A5. CGSENTINEL.COM Don Williams: The busiest guy in Cottage Grove City tests Armory By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com The City of Cottage Grove will spend approximately $30,000 to renovate the steps of the armory after recent lead tests revealed an elevated level of the substance in the facility's drill hall. The test, conducted earlier this year, focused on obtaining new lead readings for the city- owned facility as fundraising efforts are currently underway to revamp the building. It's the city's hope that the armory eventually serve as a communi- ty center and event hall. Just under a dozen locations popped positive for lead in the baseline industrial hygiene as- sessment conducted by the U.S. Army Center for Health Promo- tion and Preventive Medicine in March of 2004. One of the high- est readings was on the kitchen counter top that had been used as storage and a workspace ac- cording to Cottage Grove City Manager Richard Meyers. That reading was 236. The latest reading for the same area was At 81 years old, Williams rises with the sun and spends his day as the unofficial ombudsman for Cottage Grove. If there's a committee in town, he's either founded it or is on it and there isn't a charity within the Grove's borders that hasn't benefited from his experience. A look inside a day of the busiest guy in Cottage Grove. Please see ARMORY PG. A10 Coastfork and kids The program teaches 22 kids the nature basics By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com zsilva@cgsentinel.com B reakfast for Don Williams is a matter of routine. His place of choice is the Vin- tage Inn Restaurant where he is welcomed by name and does not need to look at the menu to know what he wants to order. He drinks his cup of coffee over the course of the meal. And then another cup and maybe a little more of the next refi ll he received. He has his to-go coffee cup fi lled with decaf on his way out and he will continue to sip on it even after it has cooled down. After waving to people across the restaurant and stopping and saying hi to a few on his way out, Williams, with his cowboy hat perched on the top of his head, is ready to begin another full day. While he retired in 1991 from his job at Weyheuser where he worked for 37 years, by looking at his schedule you wouldn’t know that Williams, who is 81, has slowed down. He is currently the President of Friends of the CG Carousel Committee and the co-chair of TEAM Cottage Grove in addition to being an active member of the tourism committee, the Covered Bridge Festival and the Rotary Club of Cottage Grove. And if he isn’t on a project now, there is a good chance that he worked on itbefore handing it off to some- one else. “I try to get things set up and then fade out into the background,” said the ever-active Williams. And he wouldn’t have it any oth- er way. After getting transferred COMMUNITY at Weyheuser, he moved to Cot- tage Grove from Everett, Wash- ington in 1975 and has enjoyed it ever since. Williams explained that since he was as young as eight years old his family would go on trips and when they were in small towns he would always read the local newspaper and look at the com- munity events that were going on. “I would pick up the paper and was into local small town events,” said Williams. “I just like small town America.” But for him it is not just about the little things that make a small town great it is the relationships and the people he has met. Being active and involved in the com- munity for over 40 years has made it so Williams knows what seems like the entire town. As he drives through residential SPORTS New lunch spot Goodbye Natives New fusion lunch cart is parked at the Brewstation. The Warriors will have to lose their Native mascot. PAGE A3 PAGE B1 INDEX By Zach Silva neighborhoods in town, he quick- ly identifi es a house that someone of local prominence once lived in and rattles off their story. They used to be police chief, he recites. That person was on the school board in the ‘80s and that family has a lot of people in town. All around the community, from the fi re station to Kimwood Cor- poration to the spay and neuter clinic, Williams can walk in and is embraced for just being him. He then is quick to tell a story about the owner of the place and ask them about their personal life. He fl ashes his bright smile and gives a hug and then is on his way. “I know the people and their buttons,” said Williams. “I can play buttons in the community because I know the people.” Calendar ...................................... B11 Channel Guide ............................... B5 Classifieds ...................................... B7 Obituaries ...................................... A2 Opinion ......................................... A4 Sports ............................................ B1 AD 6x2 Earlier this year, 100 teenag- ers gathered in a fi eld. For 15 minutes they shouted, gave di- rection, hauled mulch and com- peted to see which team could mulch the most trees—proper- ly. Nine schools from four dif- ferent districts battled for fi rst place, including students from South Lane and in the end, Lin- coln Middle School won second place and students walked away with much more than bragging rights. Amanda Gilbert reported to the Cottage Grove City Coun- cil on Monday, June 26 on the Coast fork Willamette Water- shed Council and its school campaign that allowed Lin- coln Middle School students to compete, as well as learn about restoration and responsible en- vironmental practices. The competition Lincoln stu- dents participated in was the culmination of a course offered by Coast fork thanks to $2,500 awarded to the organization by the city and additional sponsors and grants. In total, 22 students Please see COAST FORK PG. A11 cgnews@cgsentinel.com (541) 942-3325 ph • (541) 942-3328 fax P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 Corner of Sixth and Whiteaker, Cottage Grove _______________ VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 51