COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL MAY 16, 2018
Willamette Watershed earns $4,880
Cottage Grove Retrospective
A look back at Sentinel stories from 30 and 60 years ago
Volunteer receives
prestigious award
The Siltez Tribe donated $4,880 to the Willamette Watershed Council on May 4. Pictured left to right: Amanda Gilbert, Mike Rundell and Kurt Arden.
Amanda Gilbert and Mike Rundell of the
Willamette Watershed Council accepted a
check from Siletz charitable fund member
Kurt Arden on May 4. Th e Siletz Tribal
Charitable Contribution Fund distributed
$202,557.74 to 48 organizations as it con-
tinued its quarterly donations to nonprofi t
groups. Th e Siletz Tribe has made contri-
butions through employment, monetary
donations and cooperative measures to the
Siletz community, Lincoln County and the
state of Oregon. Th e seven-member char-
itable fund advisory board has distributed
more than $11.6 million since its inception
in 2001.
Overall, the tribe has honored its tra-
dition of sharing within the community
by distributing more than $14.9 million
through the charitable fund and other
Tribal resources. Chinook Winds has
donated more than $2.8 million in cash and
fund-raising items since it opened in 1995.
Th e next deadline to submit applications is
May 28, 2018. Eligibility for money from the
charitable fund is limited to two categories:
Entities and activities located in the
Siletz Tribe’s 11-county service area (Lin-
coln, Tillamook, Linn, Lane, Benton, Polk,
Yamhill, Marion, Multnomah, Washing-
ton and Clackamas counties) or Native
American entities and activities located
anywhere in the United States. Applications
and requirements can be obtained at ctsi.
nsn.us/charitable-contribution-fund; by
calling 800-922-1399, ext. 1227, or 541-444-
8227; or by mailing Siletz Tribal Charitable
Contribution Fund, P.O. Box 549, Siletz, OR
97380-0549. Applications can be submitted
via e-mail at stccf@live.com.
Monica Alleven
Sentinel staff of 1988
C
Free press release
writing workshop
tonight at library
Writing a press release, or public service announcement
(PSA), to submit to a newspaper requires certain elements
to improve the likelihood of it getting printed or posted.
During a free one-hour workshop led by Cottage
Grove Sentinel managing editor Ned Hickson and
editor Caitlyn May, participants will learn the proper
formatting of press releases, including elements of
Associated Press style that are utilized by media outlets
around the world.
Th e workshop will cover what to include in a press
release as well as what to leave out; eff ective PSA
structure; standard photo formatting used by media
outlets; how to contact media outlets and which formats
are preferred by editors receiving submissions.
Th e workshop, sponsored by Th e Cottage Grove
Sentinel, will be held tonight, May 16, from 6 to 7:30
p.m., at the Cottage Grove Public Library, 700 E. Gibbs
Ave.
“Th e workshop will be a great opportunity for
publicists and individuals from local organizations of all
kinds to get the basics on eff ective press release writing
in a fun and relaxed setting,” said Hickson. “Newspaper
editors see hundreds of press releases each week, and
many submissions make the same mistakes. We’re
looking forward to helping folks improve their press
release writing, which helps get the word out about their
group or organization..."
6
Public invited to plant
fl ower boxes
Last week, community members
and South Lane Mental Health staff
created garden boxes with donated
materials.
Th e public is invited to partici-
pate in another free planting event
this Th ursday, May 17, from 1 to 4
p.m. at South Lane Mental Health’s
1345 Birch Ave. offi ces.
Anyone who plants a box is wel-
-day
come to take it home at no charge,
or donate it to a client.
Th e event is in celebration of
May as Mental Health Awareness
Month. According to Mental
Health America, one out of every
four adults and one out of every
fi ve children suff er from some
form of mental or emotional health
problem each year.
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SUNDAY May 20
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MONDAY May 21
TUESDAY May 22
70° | 49°
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onditions and rights for the handicapped have
come a long way since Becky Venice was told
22 years ago that her infant daughter should be
institutionalized.
So far, in fact, that many other children and young
adults are being integrated and made a part of society
along with her daughter.
Venice, 50, recently received the 1987-88 Sylvia Mann
Capper Memorial Award sponsored by the Arc of Oregon
for her outstanding contribution to the fi eld of special
needs. Th e most precious of Arc’s awards, it was named
for the founding members of Arc, and recipients of the
award are lauded for their accomplishments.
To say that Venice has accomplished much in the fi eld
of special needs would be an understatement; her life
has been fi lled with fi rsts. When she and her husband
Bob, were told that fateful May in 1965that their sixth-
month-old daughter had Down’s Syndrome, she would be
embarking on a course to make her daughter’s condition
not a curse, but a blessing of sorts.
Down’s Syndrome is a congenital condition with
physical characterizations, such as a broad, fl at face and
obliquely set, narrow eyes. Th e Venice family was one
of the fi rst to go through the March of Dimes clinic in
Eugene, where Monica participated in research on DNA
and Down’s Syndrome. No known cause or cure exits, but
“they’re still doing a lot of research,” she said.
While Monica was still an infant, Venice decided then
that if her daughter were ever going to be accepted, she
would have to use her resources to make that happen in
Cottage Grove.
Such boldness at that time was unique. Just 11 years
ago before federal legislation mandated public schools
to off er appropriate education for those with disabilities,
new handicapped students were in schools. “Back then
you didn’t see many handicapped people out in public,”
Venice says. “It was just due to ignorance on the part of
the public at large, but now that’s changing.”
She hopes to see even more people with handicaps
doing things that everybody else does. “Th ey enjoy doing
this everybody else does, and they should be able to.”
Venice gained her knowledge by attending training
sessions, workshops and reading on her own, she said.
When she fi rst started her eff orts to help improve the
lives of the handicapped, she visited libraries, seeking
books and informing herself on the subject of special
needs and disabilities.
Over the years, she has been steadily and diligent-
ly working to improve conditions for those who have
disabilities. In 1978, she was named the 1978 woman
of the year in Cottage Grove. She was instrumental in
organizing Cottage Grove’s Special Olympic and other
local support groups. About eight years ago, she helped
launch the local Independent Opportunism Unlimited,
a group of parents and families who want young adults
with disabilities to have the opportunity to be integrated
with others.
“We want them to be part of the community, apart
of the neighborhood in which they live, “she says of
the IOU. Venice is also a member of the ARC board of
directors.
She’s done more than “a lot” of advocating for the rights
and other issues pertaining to handicapped children and
adults. Many other children have benefi tted from her
determination, and some are working in the community.
But even though the movement has come a long way,
there’s still more to be done. Venice acknowledges that
there’s much more to be done. She would like to get
more younger children involved in Special Olympics, for
example.
“Th ings are getting better,” she says. “We’re looking
toward more integration. Th ey need to be integrated into
the schools and into the community – into society – at
large.”
*Th e story has been updated from the 1988 version to
refl ect updated use of language around individuals with
5A