$1.00
PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL
BENEFITS | SURETY
C ottage G rove
S entinel
(541) 942-0555
PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove
SPORTS
Lions head to the semi-fi nals. B1
SOUTH LANE AND DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2017
For a complete six-
day forecast please
see page A5.
WED
47º/40º
FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL
CGSENTINEL.COM
HEALTH
South Lane Mental Health names new director
South Lane Mental Health
has named Damien Sands as its
new executive director. Sands
will replace Tom Wheeler, who
announced his retirement in
April of this year after 25 years
Damien Sands
with the organization. The change is effective
January 2.
“Joining South Lane Mental Health is truly a
special opportunity,” Sands said. “I know I have
big shoes to fi ll. But I feel really blessed that I will
be working with such an outstanding staff that is
truly client centered.And I’m excited to become
part of the Cottage Grove community.”
Sands has extensive experience in the health
and human services fi eld, serving at local, coun-
ty, and state levels. Prior to becoming a Southern
Willamette Valley program offi cer for Oregon
Community Foundation, Sands was the executive
director of the Wellness & Education Board of
Central Oregon, overseeing administration of the
regional strategic goals and quality improvement
measures for behavioral health, public health, and
Early Learning Council in the Crook, Deschutes,
and Jefferson tri-county area. He was a senior
policy analyst for Oregon Health Authority’s
Addictions and MentalHealth Division, a public
health contract manager for Lane County Health
Please see SLMH PG. A9
COMMUNITY
GOVERNMENT
Residents ask for
help after city pipe
burst
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Community Development and Planning Director Faye Stewart
was hunting on Oct. 22 when he got a call. A 12-inch water pipe
burst, sending 1.23 million gallons of water fl ooding into the neigh-
borhood of S. 14th St.
It took 115 minutes to turn off 10 valves and stop the fl ow of
water. It took just under 12 hours to restore service. How long it
will take to clean up? No one seems to know. Who will pay for the
damage to houses in the area? The city isn't sure other than, it won't
be local government.
Stewart reported an update to the city council on Monday night,
roughly 22 days after the incident. It's the same amount of time
Barbara James Hunter has gone without heat.
"My house is severly damaged," she told the council Monday
night. "The water got to my duct work, it took out the lower section
of my home where my mother-in-law was staying, my studio apart-
ment in the backyard. There's six inches of soot under my house
that needs to be removed and it is contaminated. So far, it's cost
$14,500," she said. But according to Hunter, she's one of the lucky
ones. "I've watched my neighbors who are elderly sit in water and
soot and now they're in and out of the hospital."
Please see WATER LINE PG. A7
POLITICS
GREAT DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN
Great Days Early Learning Center received an extreme makeover on Friday, November 10. The changes, unveiled the same day, included a new parking lot,
a new sign, freshly painted classrooms and new fl oors in the building. Owner Barbara Howell, staff and students see the changes for the fi rst time, above.
See page A3 for complete story.
Pot vote fails in
Creswell
By Caitlyn May
Fire levy passes by wide margin
PHOTO COURTESY LANE COUNTY ELECTIONS
Measure 20-278 passed on November 7, extending the South Lane County Fire and Rescue levy, allowing the district to maintain services.
maintain current levels of service—which
included faster out the door times--if the
levy was not extended. Discontinuing the
ambulance service and cutting positions
were discussed as solutions to staying on
budget if voters had said no to the levy.
The levy, which continues a current tax
and does not create a new one, will help
Wooten continue to chip away at a to-do
list meant to make the district more effi cient
and expand services in the future.
“I’d like to get away from the reliance on
levies and bonds,” Wooten said. The long-
term plan, he said is to dissolve the district
and reform it under a higher tax rate. The
current tax rate is $1.03. Wooten’s plan is
EDUCATION
to combine the current rate with the 47-cent
levy and the 30-cent bond.
“It’s what people are paying now but we
won’t have to go out every fi ve years and
ask for money,” Wooten said.
For now, the passage of the bond allows
the district to keep two career positions in
Creswell and fi ve in Cottage Grove. The
division of assets, Wooten said, allows the
district to staff two ambulances.
“We’re extremely grateful,” Wooten said.
“The more we improve, the way we operate,
the more money to services and staffi ng.
We’re always re-investing and continuing
to be good stewards of taxpayer money.”
CRIME
Change your words
Triple homicide
Lincoln Middle School
takes on bullying. PAGE A5
Roseburg teen arrested
for reportedly killing three.
PAGE A8
INDEX
On the morn-
ing of October
8, South Lane
County Fire and
Rescue (SLFR) Chief John Wooten was
pretty happy. The months-long public ed-
ucation campaign concerning Measure 20-
278 had worked and the department would
keep its levy with 78 percent of the vote
coming back in favor of extending the tax.
“They’ll be no change to services,” Woo-
ten said of the immediate effects of the vote
that extended the 47-cent per $1,000 of as-
sessed value tax levy.
Prior to the November 7 vote, Wooten
had warned that the fi re district could not
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Calendar ...................................... B11
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
AD 6x2
cmay@cgsentinel.com
1,990 voters turned in a ballot for Measure 20-280 in Creswell--a
question asking whether or not to allow marijuana within city lim-
its--and 84.87 percent of them said no.
The Measure was subject of intense back-and-forth but included
more than two distinct camps. The standard pro and anti-marijuana
groups tossed their hats into the ring but many voters also fell into
a seperate category: anti- OneGro.
The company, based in Creswell, hoped to capitalize on a yes
vote on Measure 20-280 and add to operations it already has in
Lane County, including one a few miles outside of Cottage Grove.
However, two individuals on staff were found to have criminal
histories, including felony charges for dealing marijuana. More-
over, noise and odor complaints from neighbors of existing opera-
tions fueled anti-marijuana sentiments in Creswell.
Tensions rose just days prior to the election when a voters' pam-
phlet made the rounds in Creswell mailboxes. It appeared to be
from election offi cials and was made to look as though it was offi -
cial information about the measure. However, residents who looked
closely enough saw that it was distributed by Keep it Creswell, a
group staunchly against Measure 20-278 and OneGro. The pam-
phlet did not include both sides of the arguement--as is standard
in voting pamphlets--and had some voters confused and turning to
social media to sort out what information was accurate.
Social media was also the gathering place for those who celebrat-
ed the November 7 vote. A page dedicated to the Creswell commu-
nity had been drowning in conversation and argument focused on
the vote and while many took to the page to ask OneGro to leave the
community and congratulate those who voted against the measure,
administrators of the page asked that members refrain from posting
about the subject. "Alright Creswell, the vote is done and the unof-
fi cial results have been posted and hashed out a few times at least.
It is now time for us all to move on with important steps of healing
our community," the post read in part.
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 69