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S entinel
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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 2017
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RFP seeks fi rm to study housing shortage in CG
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Cottage Grove is full. Almost.
The city reportedly has a 90 percent occupan-
cy rate with little prospect of seeing mass open-
ings for available housing in the near future. As
part of the goals laid out by the Cottage Grove
City Council, the city has released at Request for
Proposal (RFP) for a Housing Needs Analysis
(HNA).
The study is being fully funded by the city at a
estimated cost of $35,000.
“We haven’t built a lot of different housing for
a long time and when we did build housing it was
small, single family units,” City Planner Amanda
Ferguson said.
The purpose of the HNA is to see where addi-
tional housing could be built.
However, according to Ferguson, the HNA
would not be the end all in the struggle to provide
additional housing in Cottage Grove.
“The HNA could take eight to 12 months,” she
said. “If, after they’re done, we develop an Ur-
Please see RFP PG. A10
Ringing for
Rosies
Rosie the Riveters celebrate Labor
Day, ringing in their contribution
to America's workforce
Armory
bids go
out
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
PHOTO BY CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
On Monday, September 4, Opal Nelson, Doris Graham and Alice Heiney participate in "Ring a bell for Rosies," a national event celebrated to mark the contribution Rosie the Riveters made to the
workforce during WWII and to the advancement of women in the workforce.
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
J
ust before 10 a.m. on Monday,
September 4, Opal Nelson climbs
out of her van in the parking lot
of the Cottage Grove United Methodist
Church. She has a spot to fi ll in its pews
every Sunday but today, she has a differ-
ent job.
At 94, she's one of Cottage Grove's last
Rosies.
Rosie the Riveters--approximately six
million women who answered the call to
join the 12 million women already in the
workforce during WWII--are dying. The
American Rosie the Riveter Association
counts 5,700 among their ranks but ac-
cording to past president Yvonne Fasold,
that number is declining.
"We're losing Rosies every day," she
said. "In the last few years we have lost
fi ve or six from our Cottage Grove Club."
Enter Opal.
On Labor Day, Opal walked across the
church parking lot to join Doris Graham
and Alice Heiney, both donning their
Rosie shirts and carrying the stories of
working on inspection lines and war
bond offi ces, respectively. The wom-
en have gathered to mark their service
to the workforce and women in general
by ringing the bell 10 times. Across the
country, other Rosies will join them.
"That's what's so interesting to me,"
Nelson said. "Is that it's simultaneous.
They'll be ringing the bell at the same
time all over the country."
As the bell rang out, breaking through
the quiet of a day off on Washington
Ave., it served as a call to arms.
"There may be people who served and
worked who don't know about the orga-
nization and who would join the Rosie
association," Nelson said.
The Rosies meet once a month
in Springfi eld with their children--
Rosebuds and Rivets--who are eligible
to join.
"It's our responsibility," Fasold, whose
mother worked during the war as a rivet-
er, said. "It's up to us to keep their legacy
alive and let people know their contribu-
tion to the war effort and the workforce."
The group visits classrooms and gives
lectures as a way to preserve their legacy.
"Our newest Rose Bud didn't know
anything about the organization until she
read an article in the newspaper and said,
'Hey, my mother worked during the war.'
Maybe I can join," Fasold said.
Opal, the smallest Rosie of the bunch,
gripped the handles of the bell and rang.
All of her weight moving with the effort.
Those interested in joining the Amer-
ican Rosie the Riveter Association can
visit rosietheriveter.net or contact Fasold
at (541) 343-4223.
FA(I)RING FINANCIALLY
By Caitlyn May
The carnival has packed up and the
vendors have gone home signaling the
end of festival season here in Cottage
Grove. Now all that remains, is the bill.
Bohemia Mining Days (BMD) and
the W.O.E. Fair are staples in the com-
munity, providing good ole fashioned
fun for a good ole fashion price; free. Or
in the case of the W.O.E., $3 per entry.
However, the cost of putting the festivals
on continues to rise and the demand for
more entertainment is a constant struggle
while both fairs fall in the same season
as the Oregon State Fair as well as the
Douglas, Linn and Lane county fairs.
“It costs about $50,000 to put on the
BMD,” Cathy Simmons, BMD President
said. Currently, the organization has ap-
proximately $6,000 in the bank and still
some bills left to pay. It also has a hand-
ful of invoices still left to collect more
than a month removed from the festival.
“We’ve never been in the red for the
six festivals I’ve been there,” she said.
“We never make a lot of money because
we’re a nonprofi t. But now, we have
more than we’ve ever had to move for-
ward.”
However, during the festivals tenure in
Cottage Grove it has dipped into the red
among the several past presidents of the
organization before fi nding itself in the
black again.
To put on a BMD, money has to be
spent. The organization pays a festival
coordinator—the position fi lled this year
by Cindy Weeldreyer—$5,300 accord-
ing to Simmons; plus bonuses. It cost
$7,300 to rent electric cords and gener-
ators, $7,000 on security and for the last
fi ve years, the group has had to put aside
$3,000 a year to pay back the $15,000
given to it by the city of Cottage Grove.
“Last year, we couldn’t put the $3,000
away for the city so this year we had to
put away $6,000,” Simmons said.
With $50,000 needed to put on the
festival and $6,000 in the bank it would
seem the BMD has a long way to go for
the four-day festival planned for 2018.
However according to Simmons, much
of the bill is payable after the conclusion
of the festival. This year, BMD made ap-
proximately $13,000 from the carnival
alone, which was then used to pay 2017’s
bills.
“To come up with the remaining
$43,000 Cindy is writing grants right
now,” Simmons said. “We also have the
facade walls and people in the communi-
ty, businesses that regular give money,”
she said. But Simmons noted that the
days of big money from industries that no
Please see ARMORY PG. A10
Cycle
Oregon
off
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
BMD and W.O.E. struggle to keep fairs traditional, profitable
cmay@cgsentinel.com
The city of Cottage Grove has
sent out a Request for Propos-
al (RFP) for architectural work
based on the approved schemat-
ic design plan for the armory on
August 28.
The city council adopted the
Armory Schematic Design Plan
on March 23, 2015 setting in
place the groundwork for sever-
al exterior and interior changes
to the building the city hopes to
convert into a community cen-
ter. The RFP is requesting fi rms
submit bids for a scopr of work
which includes exterior archi-
tectural design, electric, civil
design, landscape and a poten-
tial phasing plan.
Previously, Cottage Grove
City Manager Richard Meyers
noted that the individual ap-
proved by the state’s historic
longer take
up residence
in Cottage
Grove—like
lumber—are
gone.
“It’s a con-
stant game,”
she said.
The big-
gest challenge? Money and volunteers.
“Money is a big challenge,” Simmons
said. “But so is getting enough volun-
teers.”
Miles from BMD’s Coiner Park home
base, the W.O.E. Fair competes a bit
more directly with the Oregon state Fair.
However, according to W.O.E. President
Veronica Geiger, “When you keep it sim-
ple and purpose driven instead of mone-
tary, it works out.”
The W.O.E. Fair is considerably small-
The 2,000 riders set to hit the
road for Cycle Oregon are now
popping their kickstands after
event organizers announced the
fi rst cancellation in Cycle Ore-
gon history.
Cycle Oregon's executive di-
rector Steve Shultz cited wild-
fi res burning throughout the
state as the reason for the can-
cellation.
"Statewide weather forecasts
for the foreseeable future are
for more hot, dry and windy
weather with an associated in-
crease in fi re activity and smoke
production," he said in a state-
ment.
According to the organiza-
tion, fi ve out of seven of the
destinations planned for this
year's event have been compro-
mised due to the fi res and the
subsequent unhealthy air qual-
Please see CYCLE PG. A10
Please see FAIRS PG. A10
GOVERNMENT
LCC defends DACA
Creswell man solicits do-
nations for TX. PAGE A6
Lane Community College
releases statement on
Dreamers. PAGE A11
INDEX
COMMUNITY
Harvey hero
Calendar ...................................... B11
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
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VOLUME 129 • NUMBER 59