Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 14, 2018)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL MARCH 14, 2018 5A Cottage Grove Retrospective A look back at Sentinel stories from 30 and 60 years ago Meat cutting school could be slaughtered A quar- By Pete Malliris ter-century Sentinel Staff Writer 1988 ago, when Frank and Joann Shirk opened what stands today as one of the nation’s most unique businesses, the Cottage Grove couple pioneered an in- dustry – educating people to become meat cutters. Over the years, the owners of Oregon Meat Cutting School have rather quietly gone about their job of training meat cutters to work in stores and shops throughout the nation The blood, sweat and tears the Shirks put into the school paid off both fi nancially and in the gratitude of its graduates. Some lead times have fallen on the Shirks recently. And now, like a rare species fi ght- ing extinction, the school fi nds itself in a battle with time and fi nance to keep its doors open. More than just the survival of a small business is at stake. The Oregon Meat Cut- ting School is the only one of its kind in the nation and perhaps the world. The area’s economy, the desire to keep student tuition reasonable and low meat prices have caught up with the Shirks. The school has two locations, one in downtown POLICE BLOTTER Cottage Grove and the other and the other in Eugene on 30th Avenue. The Shirks sold their Springfi eld outlet fi ve years ago. They had a store in the Bit Y shopping center be- fore the center’s owner went bankrupt. Meat sold through the school subsidized tuition in the past. Low prices have cut into the profi tability of those sales, Frank Shirk explained. Student body size has not been affected by the hard times. Shirk said the school hands 50 to 60 students per year. That num- ber has remained constant. Tuition currently is $200 per month, about half what Shirk has been told it needs to be. Until about a year ago, tuition was $100 per month for a six-month course. The Shirks have borrowed to their limit at banks and are seeking help wherever they can fi nd it. District 44 Rep. Peg Jolin joined the Shirks four months ago in their search. Both she and the Shirks agree that the school is running out of time. “We need some money to stay alive,” Shirk told the Legislative Joint Committee on Trade and Economy Friday in Eugene. The committee was the latest stop in a long trail of visits the Shirks have left in search of a solution. Conversations with the state department of Vocational Education, the Department of Economic Development and a host of other groups and individuals have brought some sympathy but no funding yet. Attempts to reach Gov. Neil Goldschmidt have been stymied by a seemingly endless sea of red tape. Jolin expressed frustration that the governor’s offi ce hasn’t gotten in- volved. She said his infl uence could make a big difference. Shirk said the ideal situation would be to have Lane Community College, or some similar institution, buy the business and allow him and his wife to run the school. Shirk estimated the cost of the business about $350,000 to #400,00. LCC President Richard Turner said his school can’t possibly afford to buy the busi- ness. He said there would be some diffi cul- ties in taking over the meat cutting school even if a state grant bought it for LCC. Turner added that LCC would like to help and will continue to listen to any sugges- tions. This story first appeared in the March 16, 1988 edition of The Sentinel National Beat News from the state and around the nation Around the state • January Neatherlin was sentenced to 21 years in pris- on last week after being found guilty of leaving seven children at her unlicensed day care—drugged—so she could go tanning. • 20-year-old Airion Grace fi led suit against Fred Meyer and BiMart after he was barred from buying ammuni- tion. The retailers have joined a larger movement to limit purchases of fi rearms and ammunition in their stores by individuals under the age of 21 after the dead- ly shooting in Parkland, Florida. The shooter, Nikolas Cruz, 19, legally purchased the AR-15 he used to kill 17 people. • According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Nat- ural Resources Conservation Service, Oregon is set to have a below-average stream-fl ow this summer due to a limited snowpack. • SafeOregon, a safety tip line for students to report bul- lying or threats against a school, has reported an in- crease in reports since the Feb.1 4 school shooting in Parkland, Florida. The tip line reported receiving 224 tips between Feb. 15 and March 5. • At least 17 people have fi led to run for governor in Ore- gon. A primary election will be held in May with ballots due May 15. Cottage Grove Police Department 24-Hour Anonymous Tip Line: 767-0504 Around the nation March 5 March 7 A man on Hwy. 99 reported that his son found a small quantity of both heroin and meth. Multiple callers reported that an intoxicated woman was hitting vehicles with a baseball bat in the Walmart parking lot. March 6 Two male subjects broke into Banner Bank and were the same suspects that had shoplift- ed from Grocery Outlet. The two 15-year-old male subjects were confi rmed runaways from Springfi eld and were transported into custody. Workers at a gas station on Main St. report- ed two men in their car drinking from open containers while they purchased gas. Offi cers contacted the subjects in possession of open container and had them pour out the contents on the side of the road. A woman reported that she let a female ac- quaintance stay at her house temporarily and when the woman who owned the property returned, she found that the acquaintance had broke a window to gain entry. The acquain- tance had been asked to leave but would not go. 6 -day A burglar alarm went off at Riverside Church when parishioners had entered the wrong code on the keypad. March 8 A backpack at the police station was found containing one hand saw and a bundle of rope during an investigation. A man with a car lock pick was seen trying to make entry into a vehicle on Pacifi c Hwy. The man did not appear to make it into the ve- hicle and the individ- ual who saw him then honked their car horn at him. The man then longboarded away from the area. A security offi cer at the Cottage Grove hospital reported that while he was doing his round his backpack was taken from the lobby. A man on Kalapuya Way reported seeing a “shady looking” door-to-door salesperson in the area offering carpet cleaning. A neighborhood problem on Daugherty Ave. was reported when an individual request- ed contact from an offi cer due to an ongoing problem with juveniles purposely interfering with their walkie-talkie frequency. March 9 A syringe was found on the running trail across from Cottage Grove High School. March 10 An individual reported an intoxicated and possibly high friend heading towards Dowens Lane. An hour after the call, a man called say- ing his niece was overdosing on alcohol and unknown other substances with other juve- niles at the same location. weather forecast THURSDAY March 15 FRIDAY March 16 48° | 34° 50° | 36° Mostly Cloudy Showers SATURDAY March 17 SUNDAY March 18 50° | 35° 55° | 35° Showers Showers MONDAY March 19 TUESDAY March 20 56° | 36° 56° | 37° Sunny Showers Transmissions Plus & AUTOMOTIVE SPECIALTIES PRACTICING THE ART OF TRANSMISSION REPAIR SERVICE SINCE 1991 Manual & Automatic Transmission Repair Tune ups 30-60-90K Services Brakes, belts, hoses and cooling system services Muffl ers & Custom Exhaust All makes and models. MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE AFFORDABLY You have a benefits budget. We have a way to make it work. Call today (541) 942-0555. WE LIVE IN THE SAME TOWN WE WORK IN “WE MAKE SHIFT HAPPEN!” www.automotivespecialties.biz PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove DUSTIN TULLAR & RUSS OWENS 541-942-8022 • COTTAGE GROVE • Two people have been killed in the last 10 days by bombs left at their homes in Austin, Texas. On Mon- day, a 17-year-old boy was killed after encountering an unexpected package at his home. A second explosion occurred hours later, critically injuring a 75-year-old woman. Local authorities reported that the packages were not delivered by the U.S. Post Offi ce and they have not ruled out the possibility of the attacks being classifi ed as hate crimes. The fi rst two victims were Af- rican-American. • Bill Dix, Iowa Senate majority leader, resigned after video of him kissing a lobbyist leaked online. The mar- ried father of three said he made the decision to step down in the best interest of his family. • Five people were killed on March 11 after a helicopter crashed into the East River in New York City. The pilot survived the crash and reportedly told law enforcement that a piece of luggage may have h it the emergency fuel shut-off button. • The Associated Press has reported that 78 percent of the requests made under the Freedom of Information Act were censored or denied over the last 10 years. • The woman alleging, she had an affair with President Donald Trump is willing to return the $130,000 she received from Trump’s personal lawyer. Stephanie Clifford also known as Stormi Daniels reportedly an- nounced through her lawyer that she would be willing to return the money in exchange for the freedom to speak openly about the alleged affair. State Representatives Oregon state representation Senator Floyd Prozanski District 4 State Senator PO Box 11511 Eugene, OR 97440 Phone: (541)342-2447 E-Mail : sen.fl oydprozanski@state.or.us Rep. Cedric Hayden, Republican District 7 State Representative 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301 Phone: (503) 986-1407 Website: http://www.leg.state.or.us/ hayden E-Mail : rep.cedrichayden@state.or.us Oregon federal representation Peter DeFazio (House of Representatives) 405 East 8th Ave. #2030 Eugene, OR 97401 Email: defazio.house.gov/contact/email-peter Phone: (541) 465-6732 Ron Wyden (Senator) 405 East 8th Ave., Suite 2020 Eugene, OR, 97401 Email: visit wyden.senate.gov Phone: (541) 431-0229 Jeff Merkley (Senator) Email: visit merkley.senate.gov Phone: (541) 465-6750
