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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (July 11, 2018)
$1.00 S entinel C ottage G rove Est. 1889 PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL BENEFITS | SURETY (541) 942-0555 PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove SPORTS Take a ride along the Row River Trail B1 WED 88º/58º Serving the communities of Cottage Grove, Creswell, Dorena, Drain, Elkton, Lorane and Yoncalla. WEDNESDAY, JULY 11, 2018 FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL For a complete six- day forecast please see page A5. CGSENTINEL.COM Sign of times, progress on Main St. By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Craig Compiano got a call one day about a property in Cottage Grove. A musician had been in town scouting lo- cations for a venue that would house a summer series concert when he stumbled upon 522 E. Main Street. Th e building, part of the city’s downtown historic district and formally known as the Stewart and Porter build- ing, was vacant and had been for more than a year. Compiano, who said he enjoys renovating historic buildings, said the building will house eight one-bedroom apartments upstairs while the downstairs space will be avail- able for lease for a business. While the grand opening is months away and the building is not currently taking appli- cations for renters, one bit of activity has garnered attention: Th e old sign that used to hang on the building has been refur- bished and was replaced earlier this month. “Th e sign is the fi rst step and most visible step in the project,” Compiano said, noting that the windows on the building’s exte- rior have also been repaired. He expects that once the exterior is fi nished, the property manage- ment company can begin tak- ing serious lease applications for the space downstairs. “We want to retain the fl a- vor of the building,” Compiano said. See SIGN 9A Workers install the newly refurbished sign on the Stew- art and Porter building on E. Main Street. C/O KENNETH ROBERTS BUILD Grant draws both concern, support City approves IGA with Creswell Patriotic fl y-by By Caitlyn May By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com cmay@cgsentinel.com See GRANT 10A See COUNCIL 9A 59th annual Bohemia Mining Days coming to town next week By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com For the 59th time, Coiner Park on Highway 99 will transform into Bohemia City in a three-day festi- val meant to honor Cottage Grove’s history and serve as the city’s largest tourism draw of the year. On Monday night, the Bohemia COMMUNITY Mining Days (BMD) board came before the council to give an update on the festival that relies on spon- sors, carnival revenue and some help from the city to fund its $52,000 budget. Festival coordinator Cindy Weel- dreyer, who has been involved in the festival for more than 30 years, introduced several board members EVENT Message for drivers Final Pool Race Local billboard reminds drivers not to text and drive Coach Bud Taylor will host a “last race” at the old pool Saturday PAGE A3 Cottage Grove is in the building inspection busi- ness. Th e result of a maze of mandates handed down by the state of Oregon and subsequently rescinded, the city formed an in- spection department, sent employees to certifi cation training and began mak- ing deals with neighboring cities to provide inspection services. Monday night, the city council approved a slight- ly tweaked version of its intergovernmental agree- ment with Creswell, the fi rst municipality to part- ner with Cottage Grove. Earlier this year, the state argued that cities who con- tract building inspection services to a third party were violating the state’s constitution. According to the city manager’s offi ce, while the state and cities grappled over what exactly the deci- sion meant, Cottage Grove opted to form its own in- house building inspection department. City Manager Richard Meyers previously told the Sentinel that the move has Residents throughout the area celebrated our nation's Independence Day on July 4th. This photo, submitted by Enya McKinnon, is one of several submitted by readers of The Sentinel capturing the spirit of patriotism. See more photos on page A7. PAGE AX INDEX Th e Cottage Grove City Council heard more than 40 minutes of public com- ment during the June 9 meeting aft er city staff put an agenda item before the board requesting permis- sion to apply for a $10 mil- lion grant. Th e meeting, which rou- tinely draws single-digit audiences, saw a protest sign, passionate speech- es and an extended public comment period; a fi rst in at least two years. Th e BUILD Grant (Bet- ter Utilization of Transpor- tation to Leverage Devel- opment), and the question of whether or not Cottage Grove should apply for it, drew a line between those who felt the grant signi- fi ed a possible change to down town Cottage Grove and those who believed the funds were needed for fu- ture projects that could be decided at a later date. Both board members and city staff repeatedly re- minded that audience that Monday night’s vote was not an approval of the Main Street Refi nement plan, but rather a vote that gave the city’s staff permission to ap- ply for the grant. Th e refi nement plan was approved two years ago and was conceptual, rather than detailed and lacked engi- neering specifi cs, accord- ing to City Manager Rich- ard Meyers. Th e details, he said, would be ironed out by a committee made up of residents, city staff and the city council if Cottage Grove was selected as a grant recipient. Currently the plan, lo- cated on the city’s website, mentions the narrowing of Quality Vision Care for You Comprehensive family, medical eyecare and optical services We provide exams for Cataracts, Glaucoma, Diabetic and Lasik Serving Cottage Grove since 2006 Mon-Thurs 9M-5PM FRI 9AM-4PM 257 N. 8th St 541-942-5000 | www.PCVI.com and gave a rundown of activities and events at this year’s festival to a coun- cil that was sorely divided. While all of its members support- ed BMD, lines were drawn between the residents of Slabtown and Lema- ti. A long-held tradition, BMD sees residents don buttons identifying them as a resident of either town and re-enacting the feud that saw a Calendar ...................................... B12 Channel Guide ............................... B5 Classifieds ...................................... B7 Obituaries ...................................... A2 Opinion ......................................... A4 Sports ............................................ B1 very real fi ght break out in the 19th century that eventually split Cottage Grove into two; Slabtown and Lema- ti. City councilors donned old-west- ern gear and chided each other over the state of their respectful cities in-between updates from Weeldryer See BMD 11A 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 39 Rain Country Realty Inc. RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Licensed in the State of Oregon RainCountryRealty.com • raincountryrealty@gmail.com 1320 Hwy 99 • 541-942-7246