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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 28, 2018)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL MARCH 28, 2018 9A Guns Continued from A1 dating back to the 1970s and there was an effort in the 1980s to resurrect the former. There’s never been a school shooting in Cottage Grove but nearly 20 years ago and 27 miles away, a gunman killed two students at Thurston High School in Springfi eld. The killer was a gun owner. So was the shoot- er responsible for the Sandy Hook massacre in Connecticut that killed 26 including 20 kin- dergarteners. Both boys were familiar with fi rearms and had been to shooting ranges, learn- ing how to handle the tools. It only added to the pile of ques- tions left behind after the shoot- ing in Parkland, Florida on Feb. 14 where the shooter, who killed 17 people, was also a gun owner. Is it the guns? Is it the kids? Is it us? * Cottage Grove City Coun- cilor Mike Fleck moved to Or- egon from California when he was 16. While his parents are both “adamantly against guns” Fleck, who attended McKenzie High School, began going hunt- ing because it was the thing to do. That thing to do has become a lifelong hobby that he has passed down to his two sons. “It’s so engrained in what we do. We go over east, we camp, we go target shooting. It’s just you know, part of that way of life. But I’m at the point where you know if it’s going to save lives, I’m willing to consider,” Fleck said about the possibility of reducing clip sizes in guns. With any law changes, he is just looking to fi nd a place where the two sides of the debate can n The Northwest’s Finest Gardening Seed n Flowers, Herbs, & Shrubs n Vegetable Transplants n Fruit Trees 20 Palmer Ave. n Cottage Grove n (541) 942-0510 see eye-to-eye. “On any subject you’re going to have people on both extremes and so I think the core here though is to fi nd out what in the middle can we all live with. Consensus being not that we all love a solution but we can all live with it.” * In February of this year, Gov- ernor Kate Brown signed a law that banned individuals con- victed of domestic abuse from buying or owning guns. The legislation closed what had been dubbed “the boyfriend loop- hole” after it closed a gap in the existing state law that allowed individuals not living with their partner, but still convicted of domestic abuse, to purchase and own fi rearms. It was the fi rst gun control legislation in the country to be signed after the Parkland shooting. Since then, further legislation has been proposed that would ban as- sault-style rifl es in the state in- cluding the AR-15, the weapon of choice in Parkland and Sandy Hook as well as the Las Vegas concert shooting in 2017 that killed 58 people and the 2016 Florida nightclub shooting that killed 49. “A lot of hunters are moving to the AR,” Gowing said. Why? Because according to Gowing, it’s lighter, more comfortable. “If you’re hunting elk, that’s a 700, 800-pound animal and you have to carry it out of the woods, you don’t want a 12-pound gun you have to carry out too,” he said. * 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 Worship Services Sundays: 9a & 11a Youth Worship Sundays: 11a (all ages welcome) Mondays: 5:30p (6th-12th grades) 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” After every shot, there’s a puff of smoke and a tinge of gun powder in the air. The four clay pigeons Gowing set out are still standing after two shooters. It takes about 30 minutes and four different guns for three of the four to fall. In between shots there’s reminders to keep the gun pointed away from people and assurances that every gun that’s handed to a new shooter is unloaded. Safety fi rst, Gow- ing says. “There’s a misconception about the AR because it looks meaner but it’s the same gun,” he said, pointing out a be- nign-looking rifl e that shoots the same ammunition as the AR. “It’s not a high-powered rifl e,” he said. He has the same gun used at Thurston, the gun he killed his fi rst deer with, a handgun that his wife shot so well with, he bought her one just like it—but purple instead the same NRA emblazoned gray his is. In the stockpile that made it up into the woods, at least two of the fi rearms would be banned under the proposed legislation in Or- egon. There’s talk of how that would interfere with generations of tradition. One of the would-be banned rifl es is something “al- most everyone” starts on. The conversation is the same one that happens around kitchen tables and in between re-loads during target practices every time another school shooting is reported. It’s not the guns, it’s the people. But we’re the same people we’ve always been. But it’s the video games. But they have video games in Lon- don. They have video games in Australia and in Asia has video games too. It’s a lack of respect for the guns, a lack of respect for people. Drunk driving kills people but we don’t ban alco- hol. We continue to regulate cars as society and technology changes, why not fi rearms? My guns are locked up. It’s tradition to learn to shoot and survival to learn to hunt. But the kids responsible for these shootings aren’t hunting; animals. It’s the mental health. There’s not one solution. Mayor Jeff Gowing illustrates the difference in ammunition * “I think there are reasonable gun laws, absolutely I support. I think background checks should be everywhere. Gun shows should not be exempt; I think there should be back- ground checks everywhere. I think that the state, if they’re going to require somebody pass it, makes sure that it actually is done in the timeframe. I don’t necessarily like wait periods but I suppose if that was necessary to make sure that everybody was checked then I’m okay with that,” Fleck said. There are currently 35 laws in Oregon that govern gun owner- ship, possession, sales and use. There are no regulations sur- rounding ammunition. To buy a gun, residents must submit to a background check. “If there’s something that should prohibit them from get- ting a gun, it will come up based on that form,” Gowing said of the paperwork potential gun owners must fi ll out. Reports noted that the Park- land shooter was the subject of multiple 911 calls related to violent behavior and had posted his intentions on social media. He legally purchased the fi re- arm the year before the shooting when he was 18-years-old. * Valeria Clarke is a counselor at South Lane Mental Health and has helped developed a program that sees counselors in every facility in the South Lane School District. She has never worked with a child who ex- pressed the intention of carrying out a school shooting. “If I had a concern that they were a danger to themselves or were planning to harm someone or someones, I’m mandated to report that to the proper author- ities,” she said. That authority could range from the local po- lice to the Department of Health and Human Resources. What happens to that report after it’s made and how it’s entered into the system responsible for pro- viding information for back- ground checks is out of Clarke’s hands. Since the latest shooting, South Lane Mental Health hasn’t launched specialized treatment but continues to be a constant presence in the school where Clarke says she’s seen a difference in her years as a counselor. “When, as adults, if a spree of crime is happening in a com- munity, all of us feel a lot more scared about going places, of being places,” she said. “It’s a bit simplistic thinking but that’s how our brains work. The place they thought was safe, isn’t safe. Kids get killed at school so school isn’t safe anymore.” * “Let’s go back to the high school scenario when Jeff (Gowing) and I were young, there were rifl es in the backs of our cars and we would never, it was never even conceivable back then that somebody would shoot people,” Fleck said. “How did we get there? Where did this change? And what can we do to solve it?” Gowing, like so many others, doesn’t know the answer either but is an advocate of educating people about fi rearms and cultivating the understanding that it’s not the gun, it’s the people. “Cain killed Abel with a rock. It’s something mankind’s always been good at, killing people.” Cottage Grove Sentinel delicious FAMILY DINING www.cgsentinel.com We’ll make you feel right at home with great food and friendly service! Daily Speicals 20% off for Active Military & Vets. Tuesday Night is Senior Night 4-8 pm. OPEN DAILY Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner 6am-10pm Sun-Th ur 6am-10pm Fri & Sat. @ cgsentinel @cgsentinel #cgsentinel Cottage-Grove-Sentinel 1590 Gateway Blvd. • Cottage Grove 541-942-7144 Th e News & So Much More Find Local Garage & Estate Sales In Print & Online Today! Worship With Us! Our Worship Directory is a weekly feature in the newspaper. 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