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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
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