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SPORTS
Lions take on Sisters and fi nally defeat
longtime foe. B1
SOUTH LANE AND DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2017
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WED
54º/44º
For a complete six-
day forecast please
see page A5.
CGSENTINEL.COM
COMMUNITY
Neighbors on the lookout in new observation team
Community Observation Team submits plans to Cottage Grove PD, gears up to find
members, train teams and keep a lookout in area neighborhoods.
By Caitlyn May
On September 18, the Cottage Grove Police Department (CGPD)
received a report of a suspicious subject. The subject was report-
edly riding a skateboard and looking into the windows of vehicles
parked on 8th St. It mirrored dozens of others found weekly in the
police logs; individuals riding a bike while pulling another along-
side it, a car parked in a vacationing neighbor’s yard, a sound that
was too loud coming from a yard that’s usually silent.
CGPD says it encourages residents to report suspicious behavior
in their neighborhoods and it’s happy for the help. It’s about to get
a little more.
Dylan Mann and Shiloh Glaspell met with Cottage Grove Police
Chief Scott Lewis to put the fi nishing touches on outreach materials
aimed at informing the community about a new group in town: The
Community Observation Team. Not to be mistaken for a Neigh-
borhood Watch, which has strict requirements and fi nancial obliga-
tions, the Community Observation Team, or COT, is hoping to have
operations up and running in the coming weeks and will rely on
residents working in sync with the local police department to report
a variety of issues within the community.
“While crime prevention is part of COT, the goal of COT is for
members to observe and report any kind of safety issue that may be
hazardous to the community,” Mann said. “This could be crime but
also fl ooding, downed powerlines, road hazards or power outages
during extreme hot or cold conditions.”
COT is the fi rst in a string of projects from Mann and Glaspell
under what they call the Synergy Village Project. “The Synergy
Village Project is working to build a stronger community through
cooperation and participation of community members,” Mann said.
Future programs may include disaster response teams and emer-
gency relief.
“The premise, I think, is sound, “Shepherd said of COT. He met
with Mann and Glaspell to ensure the accuracy of the data in infor-
mation the pair will soon be handing out to community members
to educate them on COT and recruit members. He noted that he
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
cmay@cgsentinel.com
PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Dylan Mann and Shiloh Glaspell are working with Cottage Grove Police on efforts to bring a community watch-type organization to the city and encourage
residents to take part by reporting safety issues to the local police department.
Please see COT PG. A9
DOUGLAS COUNTY
EDUCATION
State tests results show work to be done
South Lane's performance tested "average"
Last Th ursday the Oregon Department of Education released test
results for the 2016-17 school year in English, math and science. The
scores come from the Smarter Balance state tests and are used to gauge
what level of profi ciency students are at.
In the South Lane School District, students as a whole performed right at average in all three tests.
The state average in English was 53.6 percent and SLSD was at 52.3; in math the state average is 40.8
and SLSD was at 37; and in science the state average was at 61.4 and SLSD came in at 71.1.
“It’s a conversation starter,” said Garrett Bridgens the SLSD Communications Coordinator of the
results. “It’s a way to look and analyze one data point of what kids are doing. Other data points we are
looking at are obviously attendance, kids participating in extra curricular activities, that’s also really
important. It’s one data point that we are looking at to kind of move the conversation forward with our
teachers and with our students.”
As a whole, the state of Oregon had lower scores than last year which seemed to go with the missed
school days from snow and an increase of students joining the opt-out testing movement.
Individually, the school that performed especially well was Cottage Grove High School. The school
was above the average in each category and 30 percentage points ahead of the English profi ciency
state average. With that information, Bridgens noted that the conversation has to then continue to high
school graduation rates.
“If you look at the graduation rate for us…in Lane County we were the highest of any comprehen-
sive high school so you have to ask the question if the test scores are a little bit lower then how are we
getting that graduation rate? What are the things we are doing if a kid is not meeting the standard at a
high school level,” said Bridgens.
By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com
Drain board approves
special district request
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
The Drain City Council ap-
proved a resolution supporting
a library district in the city on
Monday, September 11 during
a regularly scheduled meeting.
The request came from the
Friends of the Mildred Whipple
Library Group which has be-
gun an effort to fund the city's
library.
The library was closed after
the Douglas County Commis-
sion made the decision to cease
operations at all libraries within
the county due to budget con-
cerns. Diminished timber funds
and other factors played a part
in the commission's decision af-
ter the library funds were spent
in the fi rst half of the year. The
second half of the fi scal year
was expected to be funded by
a ballot measure that asked for
44 cents per $1,000 assessed
value. It would have to fund the
libaries at the county level but
was voted down by residents in
November.
However,
that
measure
passed in Drain and the Friends
of the Library group are hoping
to tap into the same electorate.
"We're asking for the same
Please see DRAIN PG. A9
COMMUNITY
One year as chief
Oregon State Trooper who
was shot during traffi c stop
recovering. PAGE A9
CGPD's Scott Shepherd
refl ects on his fi rst year as
chief. PAGE A8
INDEX
CRIME
Trooper recovering
English Profi ciency Num-
bers:
Bohemia 43.2
Dorena: 26.7
Harrison 47.3
Latham 52.7
Lincoln 53.3
London 48.1
CoƩ age Grove 83.8
Kenendy 46.2
SLSD Average: 52.3
State Averages:
All Grades: 53.6
High School: 69.4
Calendar ...................................... B11
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
AD 6x2
Middle School: 54.0 (6-8)
Elementary School: 55.5
(3-5)
Math Profi ciency Num-
bers:
Bohemia: 37.7
Dorena: 22.2
Harrison: 41.5
Latham: 46.4
Lincoln: 34.7
London: 37.3
Kennedy: < 5.0%
CoƩ age Grove High
School: 43.5
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 61
SLSD Average: 37
State Averages
All Grades: 40.8
High School: 33.9
Middle School: 40.9
Elementary School: 42.7
Science Profi ciency Num-
bers:
Bohemia: 82.2
Dorena (Grade 5): 63.6
Harrison (Grade 5): 85.1
Latham (Grade 5): 70
Please see TESTS PG. A10