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A sweet effort
Armory group looks to aid reconstruction with ice cream social
Homeless
numbers
up for
Lane
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
PHOTO BY CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
A steady fl ow of visitors keeps the volunteers at the Ice Cream Social busy all afternoon as they man carnival game booths and give tours of the armory, currently under renovation and the subject
of a sizeable fundraising effort.
"What's great is people who have never been in the armory are getting a chance to
see what it has to offer the community."- Councilman Ken Roberts
By Caitlyn May
A police barricade blocked traffi c from 6th St. as emergency per-
sonnel responded to their posts: monitoring the blowup fi re truck/
slide combo that took up residence on half the street and had chil-
dren climbing to the top and toppling down all afternoon. The
bounce house was just one of the activities offered at the Cottage Grove Armory's Ice Cream Social
held on Saturday, August 26. From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. nickel carnival games, live music and, of course,
ice cream lured residents into the building the city says it plans to make the social hub of Cottage Grove
once renovations are completed.
"What's great is people who have never been in the armory are getting a chance to see what it has to
offer the community," Cottage Grove City Councilman Kenneth Roberts said in between shifts manning
cmay@cgsentinel.com
There are more homeless
people in Oregon than there
were last year and Lane County
has the majority of them. This,
according to the yearly point in
time count conducted by Ore-
gon Housing and Community
Services as part of a nationwide
effort to count homeless popu-
lations around the country. Lane
County was recorded as having
the second highest homeless
rate, fourth largest chronically
homeless population and sec-
ond largest homeless veteran
population behind Multnomah
County.
This year’s count—conduct-
ed in January by volunteers
armed with questionnaires—
saw the total homeless popu-
lation in the state total 13,953.
The number is up, six percent,
from 2016’s count total of
13,276. In Lane County, 1,529
individuals were counted as
homeless; 42 percent of those
individuals were classifi ed as
chronically homeless.
The results of the point in
time count vary in their accura-
cy—a phenomenon offi cials say
Please see HOMELESS PG. A10
Please see ICE CREAM PG. A10
FIRES KEEP BURNING AROUND THE STATE
Smoke continues to fill the valley as crews work to
contain several fires around Oregon
By Caitlyn May
Oregon's emergency personnel are fi ghting fi res across the state
as high temperatures continue to quell efforts to contain the blazes.
Air quality around the state has see-sawed between dangerous and
safe while various fi re districts between Portland and Eugene send
personnel and equipment to assist in the fi refi ghting efforts.
This season, wildfi res have torched approximately 300,000 acres in Oregon alone with a dozen still
burning thanks to a dry season ans a hot summer. The closest fi re to Cottage Grove, the Jones Fire in
Lowell, was ignited by lightning on a hard to reach hillside and gained traction on August 12. Approx-
imately 650 fi refi ghters have been dispatched to the area from around the country. South Lane Fire and
Rescue (SLFR) has sent personnel to Lowell as well.
"The crew that went to Sisters came home last Friday," SLFR Chief John Wooten said. "Raade (cheif
Joe) is in Brookings with the state fi re marshal team and I might be going to the fi re in Riddle but that's
a big maybe."
The Milli Fire in Sisters, Oregon prompted evacuation orders and has continued to burn.
"The Oregon State Fire Marshal's Green Team has triaged over 400 structures in the Black Butte
Ranch and Sisters communities while on the Milli Fire. The Green Team leaves to go home today and
has turned responsibility of structure protection back to the local fi re agencies," the fi re marshal's offi ce
reported on Friday, August 25. Residents in the area of Edginton Rd. and Remuda Rd. were give a Lev-
el 2--be set to go--evacuation notice and OR242 east of Cascade Coast has been closed.
Lane Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) has reported the air quality in Cottage Grove and the
surrounding areas as unhealthy due to the smoke fi lling the valley.
"Particulate matter levels are hovering between 'Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups' and 'Unhealthy'
levels," LRAPA posted to its website. "Air quality in Lane County is not expected to clear completely
until the wildfi re season is over."
The air quality is causing more than just breathing complications. The Oregon Department of For-
estry reported on August 27 that the Horse Prairie Fire 12 miles west of Riddle, Oregon had spread.
"One factor in the fi re’s sudden growth was attributed to late detection because of the thick layer of
smoke that has blanketed the valley from other fi res in the area. Once detected, the fi re had already
grown to about 40 acres and was moving rapidly through logging debris, timber and felled and bucked
logs," the agency reported.
The Horse Prairie Fire is estimated to be at 750 acres and is 15 percent contained.
cmay@cgsentinel.com
PHOTO COURTESY INCIWEB-INCIDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM
Above, the Chetco Fire burns forcing evacuations in Brookings. Below, the Milli Fire in Sisters engulfs a tree.
Please see FIRES PG. A11
SPORTS
Football starts
"Animal House" celebra-
tion set for August, 2018.
The Lions got off to
a strong start at the
jamboree. PAGE B1
PAGE A7
INDEX
COMMUNITY
Animal House 8•2018
Calendar ...................................... B11
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
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VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 58