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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 2017)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL AUGUST 30, 2017 N. Douglas hosts seismic camp Seismic energy pro- duced a va- riety of reactions on a summer Monday afternoon at North Douglas High School, ranging from groans and face-palms to whoops and high fi ves. Disappointment or joy hinged on one factor: How sturdy is your pasta/candy tower? One by one, teams of middle schoolers carried their creations to an earthquake simulation de- vice brought to class by student instructors from Oregon State University. Every team handed over custom-made structures to get vibrated with increasing tempo. Those with stability and balance survived. Those with insuffi cient support toppled. Whatever the outcome, kids got second and third chanc- es to absorb what they learned and to try, try again. Alex Gray of Drain, 11, gave credit to her partner, 12-year-old Tristan Cloudt of Roseburg, for coming up with the idea to form trian- gles of spaghetti on their proj- ect’s sides and base. They also had a strategy for selecting can- dy to join the pasta strands. “Marshmallows are fl imsy, so I need these (gumdrops) for ex- By Tricia Jones For The Sentinel tra support,” Alex said. One table over, partners Riley Stevenson and Anderson Harris, both 12-year-old Roseburg resi- dents, pondered how to meet the OSU students’ height require- ments for the lesson without risking structure collapse. “We need less mass on top and less weight on top, so we’re modeling it on the Eiffel Tow- er,” Anderson said. The lesson was part of Dis- cover the Engineer in You, one of a series of career and tech- nical education summer camps taking place for a second con- secutive year at schools and oth- er sites across Douglas County. The series of Expanding Hori- zons camps available through a grant secured by the Umpqua Valley STEAM Hub. The Hub works in partnership with OSU, area CTE programs, Umpqua Training & Employment, Umpqua Community College, Douglas Education Service Dis- trict, Oregon State University and the Area Health Education Center of Southwest Oregon. Depending on where students report for camp, they may spend the day welding, building bird- houses, installing a bike rack, fashioning stepping-stones from fresh concrete or dissecting cow eyes. North Douglas School Dis- trict Superintendent John Lah- ley said the district was pleased to host an Expanding Horizons camp, in part because the cur- riculum aligns with school dis- trict goals. “The camps fi t in well with our commitment to offering our kids programs that spark crit- ical thinking, and also expose students to ideas and skills that can play a role in their future ca- reers,” Lahley said. The engineering camp at North Douglas was taught by the same student staff conduct- ing a similar camp in July at Coffenberry Middle School in Myrtle Creek. At both sites, the four OSU students arrived with materials that would provide kids with numerous hands-on activities. OSU biology major Shelby Versteeg said she and her co-instructors scheduled lessons on water purifi cation, building speakers, designing catapults, racing solar cars and an exercise modeled on the television show “Shark Tank.” In that session, kids try to “sell” their designs to potential “investors” (the OSU quartet). In addition, time was set aside for the North Douglas kids to visit Orenco Systems in Suther- lin, and to tour Umpqua Com- munity College. Versteeg said some of the kids signed up for the camp are gen- uinely interested in engineering. Others, less enthusiastic, might have been directed by parents who wanted them out of the house and doing something pro- ductive in summer. “Some kids come here confi - dent to take on the challenges, and others are not quite so sure,” she said. “We do baby steps and fl oat around to the teams giving advice – ‘Have you tried this, or this?’ And we take breaks with word games or playing tag.” In Monday afternoon’s earth- quake strategies lesson, kids had to do more than design temblor-resistant structures. They had to consult a purchase order form to “buy” materi- als and meet building require- ments, while documenting what worked and what didn’t. They also had to keep to a budget of $20 million for all structures they produced. After creating one successful design, Drain residents Breanna Smith, 14, and 15-year-old Zia McKeithen decided to econo- mize for the next. “The linguine was very expensive, so we’re making this one out of spaghet- ti,” Breanna said. Riley and Anderson, whose Eiffel Tower stood fi rm under shaking, were ready to try a different style of building. An- derson was quick to admonish a visitor getting close to Design No. 2. “Please don’t shake it. We’re not doing stress work yet,” he said. 3A Opal Theatre readies another play On September 15th, the curtains at the Opal Center will part for a very special group of woman and men ages 10 to 60+, who love to act. What makes this group so special is that they have disabili- ties of all ranges. Carmen Dowell, a Cottage Grove artist, began a series of free acting workshops for people with disabilities about 6 months ago. During these workshops, they were able to write a play that catered to each actor’s disabilities. This group, named Creative Chaos, will perform their play at the Opal Center in Cottage Grove on September 15-17 and 22-23. Tickets are $10 and available now through opalcentercg.org. Creative Chaos was conceived when founder Carmen Dowell’s best friend Monica Venice, who has Down Syndrome, wanted to act. Dowell explains, “A few years ago, I took her to an audition and the director told us to leave and didn’t even give her the opportunity to audition. This was the fi rst time I had witnessed discrimination to Monica for having a disability.” Dowell was shocked and outraged. “I made it my mission to help fulfi ll her dream of being on stage.” And that determination has paid off; Monica has been cast in two plays since that fi rst bad audition experience. Since Monica has fulfi lled her acting dream, Dowell began to re- alize how many of Monica’s peers shared the same dream. “Before I knew it, many of her/my friends with disabilities were approach- ing me asking when I was going to get them on stage.” Says Dow- ell. This led her to create Creative Chaos, an all-inclusive acting company for individuals with disabilities who want to be on stage in January 2017. The company is already planning for their pro- duction in September 2018. “There are going to be LOTS of fairy tales!” Dowell says, laughing. Tickets for Creative Chaos’ fi rst production are $10 each and are on sale now at Opal’s website, opalcentercg.org or at their box offi ce in Cottage Grove, the Crafty Mercantile, 517 E Main Street. The Opal Center is located at 513 E Main Street, Cottage Grove. This production is sponsored by Trips, Inc. and Dirt Cheap Copies. IN BRIEF Humane Society The Humane Society of Cottage Grove is offering two new cou- pons that will be available at This ‘n’’ That corner Shop at 33 N. 8th Street, Cottage Grove. Shop hours are 10-5 Monday-Saturday. There will be 100 Mom Cat Special coupons, good for $30 off the cost of spaying a female cat, and there will be 100 rabies coupon, good for $10 off the cost of a rabies shot for a dog or cat. Coupons are good at both Cottage Grove and Forest Valley Veterinary Clin- ics in Cottage Grove, and Creswell Veterinary Hospital and South Willamette Veterinary Clinic in Creswell. HSCG continues to have the $20 off s/n coupons, good for dogs and cats. New church Hope in the Grove will host its fi rst church service on September 10 at 8:30 a.m. with Pastor Rob Walker at the Cottage Grove Com- munity Center Shepherd Room. For more information, contact Terri Madsen at (541) 520-9529. Oral Health Habits to Maintain a Beautiful Smile W ith beach season in full swing, many men and women are trying to put their best body forward to appeal to others. How- ever, according to a February 2009 survey from the American Dental Association and Crest(R) and Oral B(R) the smile outranks eyes, hair and the body as the most attractive physical feature on a person. Th erefore, taking care of your teeth and smile is essential. Men and women diff er when it comes to taking care of their teeth and gums. A nationwide survey of 1,000 Americans ages 18 and older found 86 percent of wom- en brush their teeth twice or more a day, yet only 66 percent of men do so. Th e survey also found that women say they change their toothbrush or power toothbrush head every 3 to 4 months on average, yet men hang on to theirs an av- erage of 5 months. Th e ADA recommends replacing toothbrushes every 3 to 4 months or when the bristles become frayed since frayed and worn bristles decrease cleaning eff ectiveness. Most people need to do a better job of fl ossing their teeth. Only half of those surveyed (49 percent) say they signal gum disease or another health problem. fl oss their teeth once a day or more oft en. And 1 out of Oral health is an important part of overall health. 3 people surveyed think a little blood in the sink aft er Regular dental check-ups are important not only to brushing their teeth is normal, yet it’s not -- it could diagnose and treat gum disease and tooth decay, but also because some diseases or medical conditions, such as oral cancer, have symptoms that can appear in the mouth. Growing research indicates there may be an associa- tion between oral health and serious health conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, underscor- ing the importance of good oral hygiene habits. “We need to constantly get the word out how im- portant it is to stay on top of your oral health,” says Dr. Ada Cooper, an ADA consumer advisor and practicing dentist in New York City. “Brushing twice a day with fl uoride toothpaste, fl ossing daily, eating a balanced diet, and visiting your dentist regularly can help keep your smile healthy.” Forget hair, eyes and body ... a recent survey found For more information on oral health, visit the Amer- that people consider the smile the most attractive fea- ican Dental Association’s Web site at: www.ada.org. ture in a person. This message is brought to you by these local sponsors: Douglas G. Maddess, DMD Dentistry with Family in Mind Brent Bitner, DDS C ALL U S T ODAY ! Brightening Lives One Smile at a Time Preventive and Cosmetic Family Dentistry 541.942.7934 350 E. W ASHINGTON A VENUE • C OTTAGE G ROVE WWW.CGSMILES.COM Come in & see us! New Patients Welcome
