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C ottage G rove
March
11
S entinel
SOUTH LANE AND DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7, 2018
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PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove
SPORTS
Cottage Grove players headed
to the chess championships last
weekend. B3
WED
58º/43º
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For a complete six-
day forecast please
see page A5.
CGSENTINEL.COM
He
Community conversation held
Ten years ago, there was a list of goals
meant
to outline the next 30 years in Cottage
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Grove and maintain a vision for the future. A
group of residents signed up to guide that plan, calling themselves
the Vision Keepers. Last Tuesday night, they opened the conversa-
tion up to the community.
By Caitlyn May
The Community Conversation, held in the Cottage Grove High
School cafetorium, was open to the public and focused on garnering
feedback on the current community plan including where it falls
short. Ten years in, the group has seen some of the tasks complet-
ed including the construction of a new high school and elementary
school but others are still unchecked such as a teen center.
No
au
bla
bla
Approximately 70 residents and community leaders attended the
event which included a free meal and raffl e prizes ranging from free
yoga classes to tickets for the Opal Center's latest play.
Topics fl oating across the round table discussions included how
to improve local institutions such as Bohemia Mining Days—the
annual four-day festival held every summer—and concerts in the
Please see CONVERSATION PG. A7
Guns
and
our
Schools
PART ONE
Buddies, not
bullies
Bohemia Elementary School
fights bullying with a new
program
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
There was a crowd of buddies, not bullies, at Bohemia Elemen-
tary School on Thursday, March 1. Parents and students fi led into
the school after hours for pizza, games and story time as part of the
schools anti-bullying program: Buddies, not Bullies.
“It’s all anecdotal but, yes, we haven’t had a lot of bullying this
year,” Heather Bridgens, Bohemia Principal, said.
The program is simple. Classes pair-up and students pair-off, en-
gaging in art projects and reading activities during class time. The
aim is to create relationships throughout the school in an attempt to
have students interacting with one another and stem bullying.
“It’s just something we started this year where it’s just one more
way to prevent bullying to form these relationships,” Nikki Mc-
Clean teaches fi rst grade at Bohemia and as part of the program,
she paired with a fi fth-grade class. On Tuesday night, the class had
artwork on display that was created through collaborating with its
fi fth-grade partners.
Projects and activities range throughout the Buddies, not Bullies
program from technology projects to simpler activities. In Lacie
Geizler’s kindergarten class, fourth-graders helped her students
create a collage that features magazine cut-outs of both buddies’
Please see BUDDIES PG. A6
Leaders in CG
A council resignation has left
Cottage Grove without a woman
in governmental leadership
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
By Caitlyn May and Zach Silva
Every second and fourth Monday night in the court room of
Cottage Grove City Hall, Amy Slay answers roll call, the last in
line behind Ken Roberts, Bob Ehler, Jake Boone, Mike Fleck and
Garland Burback.
On Feb. 26, she said “here” for the last time.
Slay announced her resignation from the Cottage Grove City
Council in mid-January after purchasing land just outside of city
limits. The move made her ineligible to hold her council seat and
marked the forfeiture of the only governmental leadership position
in Cottage Grove to be held by a woman.
“I became a city councilor by accident,” Slay said, fresh from
signing closing papers and moving one of the fi rst truckloads to
her new property. “(Mayor) Jeff (Gowing) asked me and told me
about the position being open. I submitted my application based
on the fact that I didn’t think I’d be selected,” she said. “The other
applicants were notable business leaders so I thought I could submit
my application, not get picked and Jeff would be happy.”
But Slay was selected. She landed on the committee to redesign
the community pool and as one of the councilors leading interviews
to fi ll empty positions on the forestry board. She lent her efforts to
the local police department, kick-starting an annual event—Kickin’
it with the Cops—allowing community members to engage with
local law enforcement and piped up on issues from crosswalk
requests and missing shopping carts to construction projects and
the housing crisis.
And while she plans to continue manning Kickin’ it with the
Cops, she’ll no longer have a voice on the council which means the
council will no longer have a female voice.
The application for Slay’s seat closed on March 5 and at noon, the
cmay@cgsentinel.com • zsilva@cgsentinel.com
“It’s clear, when you see high school students fi ling out of a school with their hands on top of their head or their
hands on the person in front of them and they’re being marched out, that looks like it’s a little over the top. But that’s
exactly what would happen.”-Scott Shepherd, Cottage Grove Police Chief
O
n Feb. 14, 2018, 17 students, teachers and administrators were killed when Nikolas Cruz opened fi re in Mar-
jory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The shooting came 13 days after two 15-year-olds
were shot—one in the head, one in the wrist—at Sal Castro Middle School in Los Angeles in an incident described
as an unintentional discharge of a fi rearm. On Jan. 23, 16 people were shot at Marshall Counter High School in
Kentucky; two people were killed. On Feb. 21, a 13-year-old boy shot himself in a middle school bathroom in Ohio.
Local police reported discovering messages on the boy’s phone; he had intended to carry out a school shooting.
Sandy Hook. Virginia Tech. Umpqua. Thurston. Columbine. Lines of students, their hands up, being marched out
of school.
The Parkland shooting has sparked debate on gun control and calls for safer schools while students plan na-
tionwide walk outs and demand answers from legislators. In the 19 years since Columbine, school shootings have
leaked into the news cycle at a steadier rate and continue to illicit the same list of questions including: What happens
if it happens here?
Garrett Bridgens was a junior at Cottage Grove High school when 15-year-old Kip Kinkel killed two of his fellow
students 20 miles away at Thurston High School in Springfi eld.
“Somebody who kind of experienced that kind of thing close to home and then here we are as teachers and work-
ing in a school now. Again, I think it really emphasizes the importance of how serious we take it,” said Bridgens.
“Because it has happened close to home and we want to ensure that nothing like that ever happens again. It had an
impact on me growing up for sure.”
Bridgens now serves as the communications coordinator for South Lane School District and teaches a media class
Please see GUNS PG. A3
Please see LEADERS PG. A10
SPORTS
Whale of a time
Positive thinking
Opal Center stages its
latest play. PAGE A3
Local weight lifter recovers
to set state records. PAGE B1
INDEX
ENTERTAINMENT
COFFEE WITH THE EDITOR
Have a news tips? Want to talk about
community events? Have a question?
Stop by Backstage Bakery.
The LAST THURSDAY of every
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Calendar ...................................... B11
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
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