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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 7, 2018)
10A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL MARCH 7, 2018 Leaders Continued from A1 city had only one application. A man. According to Dr. Barbara Spencer, chair for the “He’s a voice the council doesn’t have either Oregon Commission for Women, several factors though. He’s has a young family. There’s only contribute to the lack of women in these roles in- seven seats and a lot of voices,” Cottage Grove cluding time and finances. City Manager Richard Meyers said. “There is a confidence gap with women in run- It’s a nationwide trend with women occupying ning the rigors of campaigning,” she said. “Ask- fewer elected positions than men from Congress ing for money, it’s something women often do not to state houses to governorships, mayor offices like to do. Until they’re pushed and asked that and city councils. According to Represent Wom- they should run, they don’t do it.” en—a group dedicated to advancing institution- Women, Spencer said, often don’t have access al reforms that enable women to run for public to cash in the same way men do and local govern- office— in 2017, women made up 20 percent of mental positions don’t offer competitive salaries. mayors in cities with populations over 30,000, 24 Cottage Grove city councilor is a volunteer po- percent of state offices, 19 percent of the House sition with a relatively large time commitment. and 22 percent of the Senate. But in Cottage Councilors attend state-wide meetings such as Grove, the absence of women in leadership roles League of Cities conferences and serve on sub- extends beyond elected positions. Currently, the committees in addition to the two regular sched- mayor and city council are comprised entirely uled councilors meetings a month. of men but so are the positions of police and fire As superintendent, Parent routinely worked 70- chief, city manager, chamber of commerce direc- hour weeks partly to keep up with the demands of tor, school board president, acting superintendent the position and partly, she said, to make sure she and nearly every department head in the city other was prepared in ways she felt her male colleagues than finance which is headed by Roberta Likens. did not have to be. According to Meyers, the city has just hired two “Traditionally in school districts males will women; one in the planning department and one handle budgets, athletics, transportation and fa- water treatment plant, two women sit on the plan- cilities. I felt like I had to know more than a man ning commission and the current lack of women would about these things because school boards may just be a fad. in general, I found when studying this, will chal- “It’s hard when you have people who have lenge a female superintendent in these areas,” been here for 40 years and they haven’t retired she said. “I felt I had to prove myself. I had to be but when they start leaving, we can hire people better and work harder to be seen as a competent on and the city staff is becoming more diverse,” person in my position.” he said. Parent now teaches budget intricacies at the In 1993, the city council had two women on the university level but when she started in admin- board and a women in the mayor’s chair. But the istration in South Lane as athletic director and number of women in leadership positions in the vice principal at Cottage Grove High School, she city has always fallen short of the number of men faced challenges. and has traditionally been concentrated in the ed- “My first statewide meeting for athletics, I ucation and non-profit fields. thought I was in the wrong room,” she said, not- “We have amazing women leaders in t his com- ing that the space was full of men. “I attributed it munity,” Meyers said. “Why they’re not volun- to it being the field of athletics. There was a sense teering on the city council, I don’t know. I know that you had to be really good to be in that posi- they’re phenomenal in the positions they’re in tion as a woman.” now and would hate to rob one for the other,” he Prior to her promotion to superintendent, Parent said. “We were one of the first cities in the state worked under the last female superintendent who with a woman mayor so yeah, I don’t know why.” left the district in the mid-90s who had stayed in Neither does Dr. Krista Parent. “Yeah, I wonder the position for just over a year. In the 33 years what it is. Why?” Parent asked in regards to why women don’t seem to rise to leadership posi- tions within the city. Just prior With your subscription you receive access to the mobile to Slay’s resignation, the South friendly Cottage Grove Sentinel e-Edition. Lane School Board announced • Get Local & Breaking News, Sports and Classi�ieds Parent’s retirement from the dis- • View our News Archives trict and her position as superin- • Read Special Publications tendent—a title she had held for nearly two decades, well beyond the average district stay for a su- perintendent regardless of gen- der. Kyle Tucker was named as the acting superintendent through June 30 of this year. In researching her disserta- tion, Parent focused on the lim- ited number of female superin- View it on your computer, tablet and smartphone, with tendents and the obstacles they unlimited access, no need to download an app. faced. Not taking advantage? Call or email us today! “75 percent of the teaching workforce, K-12, are women. So, C ottage G rove why the disproportionate number of female superintendents? You would think that those teaching workforce would serve as a pipe- line to that position,” she said. “There’s got to be something there on why women aren’t run- ning or occupying those posi- You trusted local news, sports and special publications since 1889. tions.” Did You Know? S entinel www.cgsentinel.com 541-942-3325 Parent had worked in the district, Cottage Grove High School has had one female principal. How- ever, all five of the cities elementary schools are headed by women principals. “I think that’s where you see it,” Slay said of women leaders in local schools. “I didn’t realize, until you brought it up, that there weren’t more women leaders in Cottage Grove,” she said. “I know a lot of volunteers that have spearheaded projects, who are women. Projects are being com- pleted because of women.” While the executive director of the Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce is a man, the pres- ident of the board is female. A woman also heads the city’s only public transportation service, a non-profit organization dubbed South Lane Wheels. So, why are women volunteering for organiza- tions but not to serve in governmental positions? Aside from the financial commitment, it may boil down to representation. “If you don’t see women up there, you often don’t think of running yourself so it perpetuates itself,” Spencer said. “It’s hard to develop the idea of ‘I want to be a mayor’ on your own.” Statewide organizations such as Emerge Ore- gon and Vote Run Lead help women navigate the obstacles between them and undertaking a cam- paign but rural areas may have a slower start than their metro counterparts in name recognition for these groups or more localized organizations with the same goal. Cottage Grove does not have a regular women’s group within city limits. “That probably says something,” Spencer said adding that the lack of women in management positions was also not surprising. “Men pick the people they feel more comfortable with and unless it is very much involved in diversity and equity this is what tends to keep happening with organizations and cities,” she said. According to Meyers, the city is eager to in- clude women in the conversations, a sentiment shared by Slay who said her voice was always welcome. “It’s not only the right thing to say, it’s actual- ly what’s happening, it’s actually true,” he said, noting that the city has had 10 women on the city council dating back to 1996. “I think it sends a bad message to young wom- en,” Parent said, reflecting on her experience as an educator in a district situated in a city with- out women in government. “A city’s leadership should mirror the community. This tells young women, you can’t be leaders.” But if the lack of women leaders is supposed to send a message of exclusion to young women, Chelsea Armstrong hasn’t received it. She serves on the Cottage Grove Youth Adviso- ry Council, a program aimed at engaging young people in the legislative process. Members attend city council meetings, vote with the council and host their own meetings where they map out their approach to issues in Cottage Grove and the state as a whole. When she heard of Slay’s resignation, the 18-year-old contemplated throwing her hat in the ring. “The only reason I didn’t,” she said, “is because I’m leaving for college in the fall.” She’ll be studying political science with the hopes of finding a position in local or state gov- ernment in the future but she’ll also be leaving Cottage Grove, a city whose culture, she said, could contribute to the lack of women on the city council and local leadership positions and a city that may not hold opportunity for her. “I feel like one reason there’s a lack of women leaders in Cottage Grove is that Cottage Grove is old fashioned in the way it does things. In the past, men have taken on that leadership role and so getting women to take charge is pushing both sides. It’s getting women to recognize that they can take those roles and run and it’s asking men to recognize that too,” she said. “Not seeing women leadership in the city, it’s a little like, ‘What’s ac- tually here for me if I stay?’” Worship Directory DRAIN: HOPE U.M.C. 131 W “A” St. Drain, OR 541-315-1617 Pastor: Lura Kidner-Miesen Fellowship & Song: 11:30am Potluck Lunch: 12:00pm Worship: 12:30pm Cottage Grove Faith Center 33761 Row River Rd. 541-942-4851 Lead Pastor: Kevin Pruett www.cg4.tv Full Childrenʼs Ministry available Service: 10:00am Delight Valley Church of Christ 33087 Saginaw Rd. East 541-942-7711 Pastor: Bob Friend Two Services: 9am - Classic in the Chapel 10:30am - Contemporary in the Auditorium COTTAGE GROVE: 6th & Gibbs Church of Christ 195 N. 6th St. • 541-942-3822 Pastor: Aaron Earlywine Youth & Families Pastor: Seth Bailey Service times: 9am & 10:30am Sunday School: 9am for all ages Christian Education Nursery for pre-k - 3rd Grade www.6thandgibbs.com First Presbyterian Church 3rd and Adams St 541-942-4479 Pastor: Karen Hill Worship: 10:00am Sunday School: 10:00am www.cgpresbynews.com Calvary Baptist Church 77873 S 6th St • 541-942-4290 Pastor: Riley Hendricks Sunday School: 9:45am Worship: 11:00am The Journey: Sunday 5:00pm Praying Thru Life: Wednesday 6:00pm Calvary Chapel Cottage Grove 1447 Hwy 99 (Village Plaza) 541-942-6842 Pastor: Jeff Smith Two Services on Sun: 9am & 10:45am Youth Group Bible Study Child Care 10:45am Service Only www.cgcalvary.org Center for Spiritual Living Cottage Grove 700 Gibbs Ave. (Community Center) Rev. Bobby Lee Meets Sunday 3:00 p.m. cslcottagegrove@gmail.com Church of Christ 420 Monroe St • 541-942-8565 Sunday Service: 10:30am Cottage Grove Bible Church 1200 East Quincy Avenue 541-942-4771 Pastor:Bob Singer Worship 11am Sunday School:9:45am AWANA age 3-8th Grade, Wednesdays Sept-May, 6:30pm www.cgbible.org Hope In The Grove 700 E. Gibbs • 401-855-5668 Pastor: Wayne Husk Sunday services: Worship: 9am Coffee Fellowship: 10:15am Bible Study: 10:30am Hope Fellowship United Pentecostal Church 100 S. Gateway Blvd. 541-942-2061 Pastor: Dave Bragg Worship: 11:00am Sunday Bible Study: 7:00pm Wednesday www.hopefellowshipupc.com “FINDING HOPE IN YOUR LIFE” Living Faith Assembly 467 S. 10th St. • 541-942-2612 Pastor Rulon Combs Worship & Childrenʼs Church 10:00 am Youth 180 Mondays 5:30-8pm Non-Denominational Church of Christ 1041 Pennoyer Ave 541-942-8928 Preacher: Tony Martin Sunday Bible Study:10:00am Sunday Worship:10:50am & 5:30pm www.pennoyeravecoc.com Old Time Gospel Fellowship 103 S. 5th St. • 541-942-4999 Pastor: Jim Edwards Sunday Service: 10:00am Join in Traditional Christian Worship Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St. Philip Benizi Catholic Churches 1025 N. 19th St. 541-942-3420 Father: Joseph Hung Nguyen Holy Mass: Tue-Thu: 8:30am; Sat:5:30pm Sun: 10:30am Confession: After daily mass, Sat. 4-5pm or by appointment St. Philip Benizi, Creswell 552 Holbrock Lane 541-895-8686, Sunday: 8:30am St. Andrews Episcopal Church 1301 W. Main • 541-767-9050 Rev. Lawrence Crumb “Church with the fl ags.” Worship: Sunday 10:30am All Welcome Seventh-day Adventist Church 820 South 10th Street 541-942-5213 Pastor: Kevin Miller Bible Study: Saturday, 9:15 am Worship Service: Saturday, 10:40 Mid-week Service: Wednesday, 1:00 Trinity Lutheran Church 6th & Quincy • 541-942-2373 Pastor: James L. Markus Sunday School & Adult Education 9:15am Sunday Worship 10:30 am Comm. Kitchen Free Meal Tue & Thur 5:00pm TLC Groups tlccg.com United Methodist Church 334 Washington • 541-942-3033 Pastor:Lura Kidner-Miesen Worship: 10:30am Comm. Dinner (Adults $5, Kids Free) 1st & 3rd Monday 5-6:00pm umcgrove.org “VICTORY” Country Church 913 S. 6th Street • 541-942-5913 Pastor: Barbara Dockery Worship Service: 10:00am Message: “WE BELIEVE IN MIRACLES” Worship With Us! Our Worship Directory is a weekly feature in the newspaper. If your congregation would like to be a part of this directory, please contact the Cottage Grove Sentinel @ 541-942-3325
