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CGSENTINEL.COM
Fire highlights zombie house dangers
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Usually, when Cottage Grove Mayor Jeff Gowing calls for public
comment for items not related to the council’s agenda, there’s si-
lence. But on Feb. 12, there was Jon Stinnett.
Hours before the meeting, Stinnett’s afternoon was interrupted
when smoke started drifting by his house. “My wife had left to go
to the gym and she came back in,” he told the council. There was
a fi re.
Stinnett described the heartbeats he had to decide what was im-
portant in his house. What, of the dozens and dozens of items his
family had amassed over the years, was worth saving as local law
enforcement urged neighbors to leave their homes. With his daugh-
ter beside him at the podium, Stinnett recalled his sleeping seven-
month-old, his hurried decisions on what to take and his anger.
“I’m terrifi ed,” he said. “My child is terrifi ed and that’s not ok.”
The city council is not permitted to enter into discussions during
public comment. But it didn’t matter, there was nothing the mem-
bers could say on the issue that they hadn’t already said.
Just week before, the body had voted to allow the city to begin
addressing the source of the Feb. 12 fi re. In a tangled, out-of-the-
box approach, city offi cials managed to take possession of an aban-
doned house on 6th St. and relayed their success to the council that
fi nally, there seemed to be a path to alleviating the problem that
had begun popping up shortly after the 2007 fi nancial crisis. But
less than 30 days later, a garage went up in fl ames and Stinnett
appeared before the board. Zombie houses, it seemed, had not been
vanquished.
“Two problems collided in one spot,” said city manager Richard
Meyers of the fi re on Adams Ave. The house had been abandoned
years before and a source of complaints from neighbors ever since.
It qualifi ed as a zombie house but city code, prior to November’s
council discussion, didn’t adequately address the designation and
Please see ZOMBIE PG. A9
"BAD
KIDS"
But they're taking back
the title because this is
their school.
And their story.
On an early September morning, the staff of Al Kennedy
High School gathered in a room at the South Lane School
District offi ces. The Sentinel had approached the district in
the prior weeks about chronicling the teachers and students
at Kennedy to tell the story of alternative education through
the lens of those on the ground. District administrators
thought it was a great idea. Kennedy staff had questions. Eight
educators sat in a room with a newspaper editor and had a
conversation. At the end, they’d come to an understanding:
The truth is the truth and the kids come fi rst. Over the course
of the 2017-2018 school year, the Sentinel will tell the story of
these educators and their students as they navigate a location
change, funding gaps and the unfortunately true narrative
that sometimes working hard isn’t enough and an education
doesn’t fi x everything. We’ll tell stories of triumph, tragedy
and truth as the tribe at Kennedy makes the most with what it
has in its continued effort to slingshot students up and over the
barriers to progress through understanding, commitment and
engagement while acknowledging the reality that some kids
won’t make it.
By Caitlyn May and Zach Silva
IV
Speaking in front of the South Lane School Board is part
of the prize for earning student of the month at one of the
community’s two high schools. It’s meant to be an honor
but for most, it’s nerve-wracking. Students approach the
dais and sit before the board to give updates on their schools
and tell the seven board members and superintendent how
they’ve grown, what they’ve learned and how they got there.
On Nov. 6, Kalie Heiser detailed her long road. She told
the board she had struggled with and beat addiction. She’d
faced homelessness and family tensions. The Kennedy se-
nior shared her hopes of becoming a beautician and, with her
belly rounded under the table, that she was scheduled to take
her GED exam the next day and give birth shortly after. She
Please see KENNEDY PG. A8
Amanda Mullen and her son Weston
GOVERNMENT
Crabfeed
Second dog park
Habitat for Humanity's an-
nual crabfeed held. PAGE A7
The city purchases land
near the high school for
second dog park. PAGE A9
INDEX
COMMUNITY
COFFEE WITH THE EDITOR
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community events? Have a question?
Stop by Backstage Bakery.
The LAST THURSDAY of every
month from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
Calendar ...................................... B11
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
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