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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2018)
$1.00 PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL BENEFITS | SURETY C ottage G rove S entinel (541) 942-0555 PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove SPORTS Elkton's Luzier throws no-hitter against Lowell B1 SOUTH LANE AND DOUGLAS COUNTY'S MOST AWARD-WINNING NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1889 WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2018 For a complete six- day forecast please see page A5. WED 59º/37º FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL CGSENTINEL.COM He HARRISON PREPARES TO SAY GOODBYE When Lloyd Williams attended Harrison Elementary School, they cmay@cgsentinel.com removed the stage in the cafeteria/ auditorium to make room for an- other classroom. On Friday, Williams will be center stage for a "few minutes" to talk about the history of the school that will soon exist By Caitlyn May only in the memories of those who taught in, attended or otherwise loved Harrison. "I believe every little piece of history should be treated respect- fully," said South Lane School Board member Jerry Settelmeyer. "So, when it was very apparent that this place was going to no lon- ger be a Harrison school it should be recognized and celebrated." With a little planning and a lot of love, the Harrison Reunion was set. This Friday, members of the Harrison family will gather at the school for a tour and a program aimed at recognizing the school's history. Guests are set to include former principals such as current Oregon Education Innovation Offi cer Colt Gill, as well as students, Please see HARRISON PG. A10 Saying goodbye to Sharon Longtime resident Sharon Jean finds a new cook for the kitchen as she readies to retire By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com PHOTO BY CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL The above Sentinel fi le photo shows Sharon Jean dishing out food and orders to a volunteer during her Soup's On weekly dinner. Jean will retire this sum- mer and has already handed over the reins of the community meal. Sharon Jean had two reasons to be before the Cottage Grove City Council on April 9. She wanted to thank them for their support and make her thanks part of the public record. Second, to say ‘adios.’ Or maybe, ‘aloha.’ Jean, a 20-year resident of Cottage Grove, is retiring to Hawaii. The move isn’t scheduled until this summer and if she’s lucky, she’ll be able to tie up all of the loose ends she's been using to hold the community together. Jean has been on the board of the local chamber of commerce, chaired a committee aimed at bringing in tiny houses for the home- less, owned an antique store for six years, manned the Bohemia Mining Days festival bringing it out of the red (twice) and created Soup’s On—a weekly home cooked meal held on Sundays for any- one in the community regardless of income level. Last Monday, she introduced her Soup's On replacement. “I’m only taking on Soup’s On!” Kris Burke exclaimed. She walked into Soup’s On in October after reading a Sentinel article about Jean’s program that noted the need for volunteers. “All of the other things she does in the community, we talked about it and my focus is Soup’s On,” she said. And Soup’s On is a full plate. The program is different than other meal sites. Diners are seated Please see SUNDAY PG. A7 School district budget shows $425,000 defi cit Acting superintendent says district hopes to present a balanced budget next month By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Given the projected revenue and expenditures for the South Lane School District next year, the district is $425,000 short. However, it's nothing to worry about. This, according to acting superintendent Kyle Tucker who told the school board and seven budget committee members that in a $30 million budget, $425,000 was not something to panic about. "Hopefully, that based on what happens over the next month, we'll get us to a balanced budget," Tucker said. In May, the district is expected to have more concrete num- bers including an adjustment from the 2016-2017 school year. Last yeat, that adjustment was a negative number. This year, they're hoping for a positive. Tucker walked the budget committee through the process ex- plaining cost increases including a 2.1 percent salary increase that is non-negotiable and included in staff contracts. The dis- trict is also facing a 4.5 percent Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) increase as well as a projected increase in the cost of insurance. Eighty-fi ve percent of the district's budget is made up of Please see BUDGET PG. A6 By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com This summer is the last call for swimming laps at the Warren H. Daughtery Aquatic Center before the facility closes this September for an estimated 11 months. Pool manager Carrie Mc- Casline came before the Cottage Grove City Council on Monday, April 9 to update the board on the pool’s fi nances and plans for its closure. In 2016, the South Lane School District passed a bond totaling more than $30 million to upgrade HOUSING Lion Pride Cottage Village Students raise money for Children's Miracle Network. CVC expects to bring plans to the city this sum- mer. PAGE A9 PAGE A7 INDEX COMMUNITY POOL TO CLOSE IN SEPT. 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 month from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. technology and security around the district, construct a new ele- mentary school and update the community pool. The district set aside $5.1 million for the pool’s renovations but, according to the district, cost estimates for what it describes as the bare minimum from its wish list, total $5.7 mil- lion. A community fundraising effort headed by the district and community leaders started earlier this year and according to South Lane Communications Coor- dinator Garrett Bridgens, has raised approximately, $200,000. Calendar ...................................... B11 Channel Guide ............................... B5 Classifieds ...................................... B7 Obituaries ...................................... A2 Opinion ......................................... A4 Sports ............................................ B1 McCasline informed the board that the preliminary construction has not affected the number of visitors to the pool this year and that the facility has implemented minor changes to its fee schedule that alter the passes used for the pool and exercise classes. “We had some people who only use the pool for the classes and so they purchased those pass- es,” McCasline told the board. She also noted that the pool is expected to use $10,000 to $12,000 from its reserve fund to cover staff expenses. Councilor Ken Roberts asked if McCasline would continue to be employed during the pool’s closure and if that would affect staff costs. McCasline’s position, as well as two other positions at the pool are union positions and under the management of the school dis- trict, not the city. “They have to fi nd us jobs somewhere else,” McCasline said, noting that she would be working for the district in some capacity for the duration of the pool’s closure. The pool, which scored a 39.38 out of 100 on an aquatic evalua- tion report, will see new plumb- ing and electrical systems, a new pool tank, HVAC and updated locker rooms. A community task force was convened to create a list of necessary improvements with community needs and sports' re- quirements taken into account. Currently, the swim team can- not host meets at the Warren H. Daugherty Aquatic Center be- cause the tank is not regulation length. The new pool, however, will meet requirements and start at three-and-a-half-feet deep rath- er than four feet—a compromise McCasline said was representa- tive of the process in designing the pool. “We’re not having a three-foot shallow end but we have wider steps,” she told the council, not- ing that it was necessary to con- tinue classes with little swimmers which remain the pool’s most popular program. The pool will be running its normal summer schedule before closing in September. Sports teams will move to other facilities in the area to practice. cgnews@cgsentinel.com (541) 942-3325 ph • (541) 942-3328 fax P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 Corner of Sixth and Whiteaker, Cottage Grove _______________ VOLUME 130 • NUMBER 38 Rain Country Realty Inc. RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Licensed in the State of Oregon RainCountryRealty.com • raincountryrealty@gmail.com 1320 Hwy 99 • 541-942-7246 No au bla bla