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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