$1.00
PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL
BENEFITS | SURETY
C ottage G rove
SOUTH LANE AND DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2017
PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove
SPORTS
Are the Lions still undefeated? Catch
up with boys' soccer and North
Douglas. B1
WED
86º/55º
FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL
Petition challenges investigation
outcome
Petition requests termination of SLSD Superintendent
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
A petition to terminate South
Lane Superintendent Dr. Krista
Parent made headlines after it ap-
peared on social media on Sep-
tember 17 accusing Dr. Parent of
“abuse of authority” and “misman-
agement of power.”
The South Lane School Board
has the authority to remove Dr.
Dr. Krista Parent
Parent from her position but ac-
cording to board president Alan Baas, that requirement is not legal-
ly tied to the number of signatures a petition gains. Baas said the
decision to terminate Dr. Parent would be a personnel matter and
take place in an executive session after conferring with the board’s
attorney and the Oregon School Board Association.
The petition, initiated by Cottage Grove resident Jennifer Hol-
loman, cites rumors that came before the school board earlier this
year claiming Dr. Parent was accessing the locker room at the high
school where male student athletes showered. It claims a subse-
quent coaches’ meeting was described by some attendees as “intim-
idating and bullying.” It does not specify who those meetings were
described to.
The school board addressed parental concerns surrounding the
rumors in February after taking a tour of the locker room area.
Board member Taylor Wilhour explained that the showers and
locker areas were separated and an existing procedure insured a
same sex staff member gave the all clear before an opposite sex
staff member entered the locker rooms. A newly instituted policy
required a female coach to enter the locker rooms via a storage
room to bypass the locker and shower area completely.
The petition also cites an alleged romantic relationship between
Dr. Parent and a subordinate employee and several complaints fi led
against Dr. Parent by former district employee David Presely.
The school board hired independent investigator Susan Nesbit, a
former investigator for the Teachers Standards Practices Commis-
sion, through its attorney to look into the allegations of inappropri-
ate behavior and reported romance.
A document summarizing Nesbit’s fi ndings state the investiga-
tion revolved around two questions. One asked if the allegations
made in the complaint asserted a potential violation of board poli-
cy, district rules or other legal or professional standards under the
board’s jurisdiction. The other inquired as to whether or not evi-
dence supported a conclusion that Parent engaged in behavior in
violation of board policy, district rules or other established expec-
tations for her position.
“Ms. Nesbit concluded that many, if not most, of the allegations
contained in the complaint did not rise to the level of alleging a
violation of any policy or rule under the board’s jurisdiction,” the
summary of the investigation stated. It went on to note the allega-
tions “primarily involved matters related to Parent’s personal life.”
The fi nal conclusion stated, “Interviews, research and documenta-
tion did not indicate Krista Parent used district staff time, district
equipment, or district funds nor made any offer of enticement or
accessed any district resource in the course of a personal relation-
ship with a district employee.”
Presley's complaints included allegations of neoptism as well
as complaints about the hiring pricess, compensation, sports fi eld
maintence and drug testing for student athletes.
During the fi rst school board meeting of the school year held on
September 11, Holloman addressed the board, asking why it had
not addressed the fi ndings of the investigation during a public board
meeting.
The board discussed the matter during a closed executive session
For a complete six-
day forecast please
see page A5.
CGSENTINEL.COM
Council approves
$267k for CGPD
PD will operate with digital
radios
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
“Holy crap, that’s a lot of money,” were the fi rst words from Cot-
tage Grove Police Chief Scott Shepherd when he fi rst saw the pro-
jected cost of a new radio system.
Shepherd came before the Cottage Grove City Council on Mon-
day, September 25 to request that the department be permitted to
lease a new digital radio system at a cost not to exceed $267,075.
“Our ability to communicate with other agencies is hampered by
our current radio system,” Shepherd told the council.
The Cottage Grove Police Department currently utilizes a UHF
analog radio system that has been in service for 16 years. In a memo
to the council, Shepherd described the current system as having
obsolete equipment, frequent system failure and poor transmission
quality. He also cited Cottage Grove’s rural setting as an obstacle
in maintaining the current system as well as its inability to interact
with outside agencies’ equipment.
“An example is when we had the OSP (Oregon State Trooper)
shooting,” he said. “We were one of the fi rst units on the scene be-
cause of our proximity and at times we couldn’t talk to someone on
the other side of the parking lot because our systems don’t mesh.”
Mike Harmon of the Lane Regional Interoperability Group was
also present and touted the benefi ts of the digital system to the
council noting that during the shooting of the OSP Trooper earlier
this month, there were 75 radios in use and 12 conversations taking
place among law enforcement personnel without service disruption
thanks to the county’s trunking system. The trunking system works
on the basis premise that individuals who use a certain channel or
frequency will not communicate on that channel at the same time
therefore allowing there to be more users than channels.
A coming federal law will mandate a switch from analog to digi-
tal, a step Shepherd told the council the local department could take
Please see RADIOS PG. A11
Please see PARENT PG. A8
Dog kennels prep for winter at CGPD Fire levy question
set for Nov. 7
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
PHOTO COURTESY KEN MICHAEL ROBERTS
The Cottage Grove Brewers Guild members pose with police chief Scott Shepherd at the beneift held on Saturday, September 23 to raise money for the
department's dog kennels.
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Saturday was for the dogs.
The Cottage Grove Brewers Guild hosted a fundraising event at
the BrewStation to help raise money for winter upgrades for the
dog kennels housed at the city maintanence yard and utilized by the
Cottage Grove Police Department.
It was a night of bingo and raffl es with $1 from every pint sold
going directly to the kennel fund during the event which was
dubbed, "Pints for Paws." Prizes for the raffl e included a date night
at the Village Green Resort dinner for two, Domino's Pizza gift
cards, Empire video gift card, two tickets to any performance of
Cottage Theatre's next show, "Jekyll and Hyde," gift cards to Sta-
cy's Restaurant, Bochetto Spa, Yamaha, Les Schwab tire alignment,
Cottage Bowl, Pinocchio's Pizza and Garden of Ink Tattoo.
Cottage Grove City Councilor Ken Roberts spoke of the event
during the Monday, September 25 Cottage Grove City Council
meeting. Roberts has been working closely with the Brewers Guild
to prep the kennels for the winter weather and was on hand Satur-
day for the event.
According to Roberts, the group has raised approximately $3,000
and has completed the heated dog bed installation and continues to
weatherize the kennels.
CITY
Faye Stewart
New librarian at genealogy
can help trace roots. PAGE
Faye Stewart has been
on the job for six months.
A10
PAGE A8
INDEX
COMMUNITY
Finding family
Calendar ...................................... B11
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
AD 6x2
Measure 20-278—a renewal of a 47 cents per $1,000 of assessed
value levy—is on the ballot in November and South Lane County
Fire and Rescue is asking residents to vote yes.
The levy, which was passed in 2012, has lowered insurance rates,
increased staffi ng and garnered new equipment for the fi re district,
according to Chief John Wooten who said the loss of the levy would
lead to service changes in the next fi scal year.
“When the levy passed in 2012, we had an out-the-door time of
three minutes and 30 seconds. The national standard is 90 seconds,”
Wooten said. “Now, after the levy, our time is one minute and 27
seconds.”
The change is reportedly due to an increase in staffi ng and per-
sonnel as well as updated equipment and an adherence to the master
plan created in 2011.
A third-party company completed a study that yielded the mas-
ter plan which included suggestions for improving the fi re district’s
Insurance Service Offi ce (ISO) rating. The rating system ranks dis-
tricts from one to 10 with one being the best and 10 signaling no fi re
protection in the area based on a district’s response time, training,
testing, equipment, dispatch and the water system in the area the
district serves. This information is then shared with insurance com-
panies which use it to write policies and determine rates.
“The better the fi re district’s services, the better the ISO, the bet-
ter the insurance rate,” Wooten said.
In 2005, the district’s rating was 5.9.
“What that means is inside the city of Cottage Grove and Cre-
swell you are a fi ve and outside those areas it was a nine which is
one away from not having any fi re protection,” Wooten said.
The current ISO rating is 2/4/10W.
To achieve that rating, the district has added 36 hours per day to
service as well as increased staff levels to include 21 full-time line
positions.
Please see FIRE LEVY PG. A11
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 62
CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK
S entinel
(541) 942-0555