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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 2017)
10A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL AUGUST 30, 2017 HOMELESS News from Lorane Continued from A1 can be attributed to the nature of the county it- self. It takes place over the course of one night in January with volunteers visiting homeless shelters and locations around the city or county known for attracting homeless populations. The volunteers ask individuals their ages, race and other personal questions including how they became homeless and if they have been diagnosed with mental ill- ness. If individuals refuse to answer, the informa- tion cannot be recorded. Moreover, the answers the individuals give are not fact-checked. Observations made by volunteers are corrobo- rated through questions asked of the individuals being recorded as homeless. Myths surrounding homelessness continue to fl ourish despite statistics like the ones present- ed in the point in time count. According to the data provided in the county, a larger percentage of the homeless population suffers from mental illness (14 percent) than addiction (12 percent). Of those with a mental illness or addiction, 68 percent were unsheltered, rather than considered sheltered homeless meaning they sought lodging in places HUD defi nes as not traditional living quarters. Individuals living in cars, on the street, in parks and abandoned buildings are considered to be unsheltered. To be considered sheltered, in- dividuals must be seeking lodging in emergency shelters, transitional shelters or otherwhise being housed in lodgings meant for people to live in. 164 veterans were counted as homeless in Lane County, ranking the county second behind Multnomah—which includes Portland—and 444 homeless veterans. For more information on the data contained in this year's point in time count report, visit h t t p : / / w w w. o r e g o n . g o v / o h c s / I S D / RA/2017-Point-in-Time-Estimates-Homeless- ness-Oregon.pdf. Well, it is hard to believe, but school is back in session next week. CAL School District returns on Tuesday, September 5. Buses will run on their normal times. For further information, call dis- trict offi ce- 541-935-2100. A warm welcome to all district staff. Among them, are a few new teachers. Mr. Steve Gillespie will teach Health and P.E. in Crow middle/ high school plus serving as the new Athletic Director. He has been seen volun- teering as an announcer at the Eugene Emeralds. Mr. Mark Heater has been hired to be the YTP coordinator and the Agriculture Mechanic in- structor. He has extensive mechanic experience, loves small schools and will be the new head football coach. Also a warm welcome to all returning stu- dents and any new students. Lorane Grange meets on September 7 at 7 pm. Bingo at the Grange returns on Friday, Sep- tember 15 with dessert at 6 pm and bingo at 6:30 pm. Talk of a potato bar in October. Look for- ward to seeing everyone. Crow Booster Club works for the benefi t of all grades, K- 12 and are planning a Fall Fund- raiser on Saturday, October 14. More information to follow. All parents are invited and wecome to join. "Mystery shoppers" in CG On Monday, August 14, Cottage Grove was being watched. They went into businesses. They went into restaurants. They went into cmay@cgsentinel.com city hall. Every interaction was documented and with the results in, it looks like Cottage Grove gave its best, fi rst impression. The decision was made by visitors from Oakridge, Oregon who were part of the First Impres- sions program, paid for by a grant through Cycle Oregon. The program, which Cottage Grove volunteered to take part in, sends residents of one community to assess another. According to Cottage Grove City Manager Richard Meyers, the “mystery shoppers” from Oakridge found Cottage Grove to be charming. “They didn’t really have a lot of negative things to say,” he said. “They did say that some of the signage directing you around town was diffi cult but they said everyone was so nice.” According to Meyers, at a debrief session held at city hall with city offi cials, the mystery shoppers relayed a story in which random Cottage Grove residents pulled off the road when they noticed the group admiring a historic building. “They said the person started telling them about the history of the building, unprompted.” While the mystery shoppers may not have prompted the residents, Meyers sent out a notice in his weekly Friday Update asking residents to, essentially, be on their best behavior on August 14, warning the city of the impending visitors. Cottage Grove is expected to visit Oakridge in the coming months while the offi cial report from the mystery shoppers isn’t due back to Cottage Grove for weeks. By Caitlyn May COURTESY OF OREGON.GOV The point in time homeless count yieled a six percent jump in individuals considered homeless between 2016 and 2017. Above, the chart illustrates the percentage of households reported as sheltered and unsheltered during this year's count. Ice Cream 20-page Fall Sports Preview coming Wednesday, September 6 in The Sentinel Continued from A1 the carnival games. Roberts was joined by city manager Richard Meyers, City Planner Amanda Ferguson, Planning and Development Manager Faye Stewart, Mayor Richard Gowing and other community notables like Cindy Weeldryer and Joanne Gray who volun- teered their time to run carnival games. "It was a little slow at 1 p.m.," Weeldreyer, a former county commissioner and current Bo- hemia Mining Days head and KNND volunteer. "But since about 2 p.m. it's been a steady fl ow of people." The event served as an oppor- tunity for community members to tour the building, purchased by the city in 2004. "They read the headlines about the restoration and con- struction but they don't know what it has to offer the commu- nity," Roberts said. By 3 p.m. the armory's drill hall was fi lled with visitors sampling the free ice cream and playing games like ring toss and plinko. "It's children and adults," Gray said of her booth, a mini- golf style game that awarded winners their choice of pencils or candy. The armory has garnered a lot of ink in the last six months after accusations of improper lead testing on the facility cir- culated the community. It was revealed that the city was using over-the-counter test strips to test for lead as it performed ren- ovations on the building. How- ever, both OSHA and the EPA noted that the strips were an adequate method of testing and Meyers stated the city operated under the assumption that every surface contained lead and took the proper precautions with li- censed contractors. A test conducted earlier this year revealed an elevated lev- el of lead in the drill hall when compared to intial tests. The city's stance was that the stairs leading into the armory--paint- ed with lead paint--were the culprit and began renovations at the beginning of August. Find where you belong. We’ll get you there by listening, learning and finding the loan that helps you achieve your home ownership dreams. bannerbank.com/home-loans