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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (May 16, 2018)
$1.00 PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL BENEFITS | SURETY C ottage G rove S entinel (541) 942-0555 PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove SPORTS Lions race to their third Districts Championship. B1 Est. 1889 WED 62º/50º For a complete six- day forecast please see page A5. SERVING COTTAGE GROVE, DRAIN, YONCALLA AND ELKTON WEDNESDAY, MAY 16, 2018 FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL CGSENTINEL.COM He Harrison nears completion: 'It's coming alive now' Housing plan may get help from state No au bla bla By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com City Councilor Jake Boone, sitting in for Mayor Jeff Gowing during the May 14 council meeting, announced that an oft en neglected item that allows council to add to the agenda would be neglected no more. At least, for one night. Th e council voted to add an item concerning a housing strategy implementation plan to Monday night's agenda aft er city staff learned of the oppor- tunity late Friday aft ernoon. "Th e Oregon Department of Lane Conservation and Devel- opment is currently accepting requests for planning assistance from cities and counties to update comprehensive plans...," public works and community See Housing A11 PHOTO BY ZACH SILVA/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Th e newly built Harrison Elementary School sits on Taylor Ave., a block from where the current school resides. Th e new building, that will be open for students next fall, is right on track and what was recently the outer shell of a school now has installed smart boards (in some classrooms), lighting and electricity throughout the school. New furniture will arrive in August, but until then, South Lane School District maintenance and facilities supervisor Matt Allen notes that the focus will be on the little things that make the building run. (To see more pictures of the inside of the school, turn to page A9.) SLSD budget Lincoln Middle School asks for help to sow school pride approved at $66 million PHOTO BY CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Above, vice principal Emily Wren points out improvements to the school's front courtyard. Right, one of the rocks painted by Cottage Grove Faith Center for the courtyard. By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com W hen vice principal Emily Wren got out of her car and crossed the Lincoln Middle School parking lot she saw a rare sight: middle-schoolers oohing and ahhing over plants. “Middle-schoolers don’t always notice every little thing and they noticed that,” Wren said. It would be hard not to notice the changes to the courtyard at Lincoln’s en- trance. Where there used to be unruly bushes, there’s now brand new plants and mulch. Where there used to be weeds and brush, there’s now blooming fl owers and garden poles emblazoned with Lincoln’s motto. Th e eff ort to transform the courtyard was undertaken by Cottage Grove Faith Center as an answer to a call for action from Wren: help transform Lincoln’s campus and instill a sense of pride in students and faculty alike. Wren initially asked community members and organizations to help the staff with the school’s neglected landscaping back in February. She had a hunch that the grounds were hav- ing an eff ect on Lincoln’s morale and earlier this month, her suspicions were confi rmed. Th e TELL survey, which asks teachers and administrators questions on several subjects ranging from curriculum to their future career plans, was released the fi rst week in April and showed that 30 percent of Lincoln’s faculty thought the building and its landscaping could do more to promote a positive atmo- sphere. “It was way above the average,” Wren said of the survey results. Wren is hoping to expand on the progress and have more organizations donate their time to “adopt” a court- yard. Some areas, though, the school will handle on its own. Tucked inside the campus is a court- yard where Wesley Meadows planned to build a fence as part of an incentive project. However, the 14-year-old was killed in December as he rode his bike on Hwy. 99. “He was going to work with the shop teacher and build a fence and so his friends wanted to do something,” Wren said. “We’re going to make a memorial here for him. Th ey’ve submitted plans and they’ll build little cedar fence and Pitching changes Bikes to Blooms Pitching makes the diff erence in N. Douglas. Groups come together to host community members amongst the wild fl owes. PAGE B1 PAGE A6 INDEX COMMUNITY SPORTS 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. we’ll have a memorial stone here for Wes.” Lincoln will continue to roll up its sleeves with teachers mowing lawns on the weekend and students spending detention hours outside in the fresh air weeding rather than sitting in class- rooms but the school isn’t opposed to help. In fact, it’s asking for it. “I would love to get a few more of these areas adopted,” Wren said. “We can’t thank the faith center enough, it’s beautiful and the work that went into it, we’re very grateful.” For more information or to adopt a courtyard, contact Emily Wren at emily. wren@slane.k12.or.us. Volunteers can also take part in a school clean-up event scheduled for Friday, May 18 from 3 to 6 p.m. Zach Silva zsilva@cgsentinel.com At Monday night's school board meeting the South Lane School District (SLSD) budget committee came together to approve the 2018-19 South Lane School District budget. Th e budget of $66,119,297 was unanimously approved by the committee. Acting superintendent Kyle Tucker – with added input from business supervisor Phil Scrima, special services coordinator Chad Hamilton and director of human resourc- es Brian McCasline – led the meeting by going page-by-page through the nearly 60-page document. Th e budget commit- tee and school board sporadi- cally asked follow up questions as the meeting pushed on. “Some places we will just say 'Hey, we’re going to point out See Budget A11 Calendar ...................................... B11 Channel Guide ............................... B5 Classifieds ...................................... B7 Obituaries ...................................... A2 Opinion ......................................... A4 Sports ............................................ B1 cgnews@cgsentinel.com (541) 942-3325 ph • (541) 942-3328 fax P.O. 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