4A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL MAY 9, 2018
O PINION
Guest Viewpoint
Community conversation planned
Cindy Weeldreyer
Vision Keepers
Most people who call Cottage Grove
home were born here or transplanted here
by family or personal choice. Most will
agree we live in a remarkable small town
enjoying a lifestyle that is only a dream
for millions of people around the world.
As Grovers, we have a responsibility to be
thoughtful about how to preserve, protect
and enhance our community for the genera-
tions that will follow us.
The individuals and families who came
before us worked hard and invested their
time, talents, money and vision to create
the community we enjoy today. They built
roads, bridges, mills, mines, schools, hospi-
tals, homes, churches and businesses. They
joined granges, fraternal lodges and clubs
to strengthen the social fabric of Cottage
Grove. The relationships built within these
organizations sustained them through wars,
economic downturns, illnesses and natural
disasters.
That was then and this is now. Today,
those organizations that still exist have an
aging membership with few young people
to replace them. Technology, social media,
television and radio have contributed to the
increasing polarization of our citizenry by
repressing the conversations that build a
strong sense of community.
In 2007, more than 1,000 communi-
ty-minded volunteers participated in the
original interactive process that created a
shared vision for the future. In 2008, the city
council adopted Vision 2037 and appointed
Vision Keepers to ensure it remained a liv-
ing document. It was reviewed fi ve years
ago to acknowledge the actions completed,
those still in progress and added a few new
actions.
The plan is now 10-years-old; so it’s a
great time to once again engage the broader
community in its update. Some people who
developed this plan have died or moved
away. Students have graduated and left to
pursue their dreams. Many new people have
moved here. Many natives have returned to
raise their families here. Affordable housing
is a growing problem. Our country is dan-
gerously divided on major public policy is-
sues that affect our lifestyles and our future.
We will soon surpass 10,000 in population
that ushers expensive new state and federal
mandates to our door.
These are all good reasons to step away
from online games, TV programs and so-
cial media for two hours and re-invest that
time in a face-to-face chat with your fam-
ily, friends and neighbors. Spend the next
week thinking about what you hope The
Grove will be two decades from now when
we celebrate our sesquicentennial (150th)
anniversary. What kind of community will
the children of today and those who follow
them inherit from us? Come to the Cottage
Grove High School cafeteria next Tuesday
(5/15) from 6 to 8 p.m. and share your vi-
sion for our growing town.
Please join us for a productive and cre-
ative evening of refreshments and good
conversation. Bring the older kids to have
a voice in their future and we’ll provide
free, quality child care for your wee little
ones. For more information (and child care
RSVP) call Pete Barrell at 541-767-4147.
LETTERS
Teacher
Appreciation
Week
During Teacher Appreciation
Week, we should give thanks
to the amazing educators across
the country and in Cottage
Grove standing together to bet-
ter our public schools and im-
prove the lives of children.
Teachers are always there
for children. They get to school
early and stay late. They work
to ensure everyone from the
straight A student to the one
struggling to get by receive the
care, attention, and education
that they deserve. They dig into
their own pockets to corral sup-
plies for their classroom.
Teachers inspire students in
their classroom every day, the
teachers taking action across the
country inspire me as they stand
up for dignity in the workplace.
I'm in awe of the educators who
walked off the job to do right by
their students in states like West
Virginia, Oklahoma, Kentucky
and Arizona.
We all should be fed up with
politicians putting classroom
funding on the chopping block,
while giving massive tax breaks
to corporations. Our political
leaders need to recognize what
teachers contribute. It's time
they fund our public schools
and provide teachers with the
means to achieve high-quality
education so every child in our
community can learn, grow, and
thrive.
South Lane Educators, keep
up the good work and know that
YOU are appreciated!
-Diane Hicks
President South Lane
Education Association
Invite to community
conversation
In 2009 when I moved here,
enthusiasm around the 2008 vi-
sioning process was palpable. It
was the fi rst time I knew of this
kind of work—which involves
community members coming
together and creating a shared
vision of the future. How excit-
ing!!
I’ve since learned that the
year 2037 was chosen because
it is our town’s 150th birthday.
This living document was revis-
ited in 2013 during a series of
community meetings.
The Cottage Grove Vision
Keepers Committee, a volun-
teer group of stakeholders and
residents who support and help
coordinate the organizations
working on the tasks outlined,
are holding a series of con-
versations where community
members can share their ideas
and visions for Cottage Grove’s
future.
The second community con-
versation of 2018 will occur on
Tuesday, May 15th from 6-8
p.m. in the cafeteria at Cottage
Grove High School (1375 S
River Rd). You are invited!
The desire is for these com-
munity conversations to occur
more consistently. That will re-
quire the efforts of many. I’ve
volunteered to work with this
committee and I hope you, too,
will contribute your energy in
some way.
This work is sponsored by the
City of Cottage Grove and other
community organizations, both
through volunteer and fi scal
support, but it truly is a process
for the people and by the people
and could not occur without the
input of a wide variety of com-
munity members.
Read about the projects
that were envisioned in 2008
at
www.cottagegrove.org/vi-
sion2037. I invite you to envi-
sion what you would like to see
for the future of our community.
Then, please join us for a com-
munity conversation to share
those visions with each other.
Let’s each bring someone.
Reach out and invite someone
who consumes information in
a different manner than you.
All ages are welcome and en-
couraged. Childcare and re-
freshments are provided free of
charge!
-Rose R. Miller
Cottage Grove
Teacher Appreciation Week
Look for teacher testimonials in
this edition explaining why SLSD
teachers teach.
I became a teacher because:
There were several teachers in my extended family. It seemed to
be a part of who my family was. The teachers in my family were
loving, caring people who gave a lot of themselves to others. They
were highly involved in our community activities, church, social
gatherings, organized events etc. It was a small town and every-
body knew each other.
Having grown up in that environment and lifestyle, I suppose I
naturally gravitated toward the teaching profession. After a dozen
years of chasing life experiences it was time to pursue a teaching
career. I thought I wanted to be a college professor and that was my
goal starting out. But while in college I realized that standing at a
podium and lecturing to an auditorium of 100 or more students was
not what the teaching experience was going to be for me.
I thought about some of my favorite teachers from high school,
what impact they had made in my life and the fact that they will
always be part of the best memories of my teenage years. I wanted
to be a teacher like the ones I remember.
Kent Russo
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HOW TO CALL YOUR REPS
Oregon state
representatives
Oregon federal
representatives
Senator Floyd Prozanski
District 4 State Senator
PO Box 11511
Eugene, OR 97440
Phone: (541)342-2447
E-Mail :
sen.floydprozanski@state.
or.us
Peter DeFazio (House of
Representatives)
405 East 8th Ave.
#2030
Eugene, OR 97401
Email: defazio.house.gov/
contact/email-peter
Phone: (541) 465-6732
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
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
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