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C ottage G rove
Est. 1889
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SPORTS
Special Olympics cuts summer
state competitions B1
Serving the communities of Cottage Grove, Dorena, Drain, Elkton, Lorane and Yoncalla.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27, 2018
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By Caitlyn May
Community rallies
to help family of
fi ve aft er home is
consumed by blaze
On June 22, Elasah Smith
and her husband Isaac left
their home on Highway 99 to
visit her mother. Less than 30
minutes later, their roommate
called, panicked.
Th e house was engulfed in
fl ames.
“Th at’s the strangest thing
about it,” she said. “We could
have been in the house.”
Th e Smiths and their three
sons, ages 10, eight and four,
PHOTO COURTESY SOUTH LANE FIRE
weren’t in the house that night
Firefi
ghters
work
to
create
ventilation
after
knocking
down
a structure fi re at the home
but everything they owned
of
the
Smith
family
last
Friday
off
of
Highway
99.
was including the laptop
10-year-old Phoenix received a cook at Jack Sprats, had spent really strange,” Elasah said. “I I have that.’ But we don’t.”
for his birthday three days ear- years developing.
keep thinking, when people
Since the fi re, the family has
lier and all of the recipes Isaac,
“We’re starting over and it’s ask what we need, I think ‘Oh, seen an outpouring of dona-
tions and Isaac’s sister has set
up a GoFundMe page for the
family that has raised $885.
Th e morning aft er the fi re,
Elasah said she was grateful
for the donations because she
didn’t have new clothes for her
sons to wear, their wardrobes
having burned in the fi re.
“It’s funny,” she said. “Th ere
were only a few things not de-
stroyed and one of them was
the suitcase full of photos of
the family and they didn’t even
get wet. Th ey weren’t stuck to-
gether or anything and it’s lit-
erally all of what I had of the
boys growing up and it was all
in one place.”
Elasah, who was born in
Cottage Grove when the city
still had a maternity ward, said
the family is staying with her
parents until they can get back
on their feet.
Th ey were renting the house
See FIRE A8
New mural
carries
national
cause
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
See MURAL A10
CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
The dream of turning the area on Row River Rd. into a BMX track could become a reality with community support.
Getting BMX ‘back on track’
Th e grassroots project hopes to bring
BMX racing back to Cottage Grove
with the community’s help
“It had been on my radar for a couple of years, ever since
they fl attened it,” he said. “I heard that the city might be ok
with building it again, so I called the city, met with Richard
Meyers and they’re totally down with it.”
Britz, a fi ve-year resident of Cottage Grove, works full-time
and has taken on the BMX project with a few other “solid”
dads. But according to city manager Meyers, there’s no city
funding to replace the track.
“It’s going to be really expensive,” Britz said, estimating a
total cost of between $50,000 and $100,000. “It’s going to be a
very big project. It will depend on the community to get
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Brandon Britz has had a BMX track on his mind for years.
He grew up near a track in Eugene and when his oldest son
recently took an interest in the sport again, he approached
the city.
COMMUITY
HISTORY
Grovers Relay for Life
Wedding Tree topples
Community members
show support for cancer
survivors
High winds knock over a
local iconic tree
PAGE A3
PAGE A7
INDEX
A new mural has landed
in Cottage Grove and it’s
carry a cause.
Th e butterfl y mural that
has attracted attention on
10th St. is part of a larger
project that was presented
to the city council Monday
night.
Planning and develop-
ment director Faye Stew-
art presented a resolution
to the council in support
of the Endangered Species
Mural Project being coor-
dinated by Portland-based
artist Rodger Peet.
“Peet reached out to Kim
Johnson, an old friend
and owner of the Bohe-
mia building at the corner
of 10th and Washington
streets, to see if she might
be interested in hosting one
of the murals on the wall
of her development Food
Hub,” Stewart wrote in his
recommendation to the
council.
Th e mural project, spon-
sored in party by the Cen-
ter for Biological Diversity,
is a national eff ort to create
murals featuring endan-
gered or threatened species
in the areas they’re found.
Th e resolution passed
Monday night aims to sup-
port the project’s goal of
raising awareness and the
Calendar ...................................... B12
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Th e Cottage Grove City
Council agreed to cover the
permit fees for Habitat for
Humanity’s latest project,
house number 14.
Linda Oxley, fi eld oper-
ations manager for Habitat
for Humanity, appeared
before the council Monday
night to inform the board
that the organization had
approved a homeowner for
its 14th house to be com-
pleted in Cottage Grove.
Th e house, which will
be located on Harvey Lane
on the last of three parcels
owned by the organization,
will have two bedrooms
and, in total, be comprised
of approximately 936
square feet.
“Th e individual that was
approved is currently living
in substandard conditions,”
Oxley told the board, not-
ing that the organization
helps those who can’t af-
ford a home by off ering an
aff ordable mortgage and a
no-interest loan.
Last year, Habitat for Hu-
manity completed “lucky
house number 13” and,
according to the city, the
latest project’s permit fees
should be less than the
$3,074 paid on house 13.
Councilor Jake Boone
inquired as to the exact
amount the city was agree-
ing to cover but, according
to city manager Richard
Meyers, the exact amount
cannot be calculated until
the plans are submitted to
the city.
Oxley informed the
board that plans are due
into the city by July.
“With our new building
inspection program, we
will not be paying a con-
tracted inspector to per-
form the plan review or
inspection,” Meyers wrote
in his recommendation to
the board. “All the services
would be performed with
staff . We would only have
to pay the state surcharge.”
Habitat for Humanity
See HABITAT A10
EARLY
DEADLINE
The Sentinel will be
closed in observance
of the Fourth of July
holiday. Deadline for
the July 4 edition will be
June 28 at noon for all
editorial and advertising
submissions.
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 37
Rain Country Realty Inc.
RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL
PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
Alan D. Walker
A Masters Level Christian Counselor
Offi ces in Cottage Grove, Yoncalla, and Roseburg
541-817-6271
AlanWalkerPACf@gmail.com • AlanDWalkerCounselor.com
Council votes
to cover
‘Habitat’ fees
See BMX A8
Marriage & Family Counseling
Learn to positively overcome confl icts
and create stronger relationships for life.
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see page A5.
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