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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 2018)
$1.00 S entinel C ottage G rove PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL BENEFITS | SURETY (541) 942-0555 PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove INSIDE: FALL SPORTS PREVIEW Est. 1889 WED 84º/53º Serving the communities of Cottage Grove, Dorena, Drain, Elkton, Lorane and Yoncalla. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2018 FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL State withholds marijuna tax totals CGSENTINEL.COM Grove falls short of Toga record Helping hands By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Th e air, which had been tinged with ex- citement, went out of the room Monday night when Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Com- merce Executive Direc- tor Travis Palmer an- nounced that the city had fallen short of taking back its world record for biggest toga party. “Did we set the re- cord? No,” Palmer said to an audible collection of sighs and groans. Th e announcement came during Monday night’s city council meet- ing and Palmer’s annu- al report to the council where he called the re- cord attempt a “success- ful failure.” Th e city needed to herd more than 3,700 to- ga-wearing partiers into Bohemia Park to beat the current record held by a school in Australia. Cottage Grove’s at- tempt was waylaid by several factors, accord- ing to Palmer. He in- formed the council that 30 percent of the tick- ets sold online prior to the event were never scanned. “We know those peo- ple showed up,” he said. “You don’t lose 30 By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Th e city council’s Aug. 27 agenda listed a tax report from the state of Oregon’s Department of Revenue in regards to recreational marijuana, but failed to include the tax receipts for the city at the direction of the de- partment of revenue. In November of 2016, Cottage Grove residents voted to implement a three percent tax rate on recreational marijua- na sold within the city’s boundaries. Th is was in addition to the 17 per- cent tax issued by the state which would, in turn, distribute funds back to cities aft er col- lecting the entirety of the tax funds. Cottage Grove City Manager Richard Mey- ers noted that the state has been slow to release those funds as it contin- ues to pay state agencies and rules surrounding marijuana continue to evolve. However, he told the council that he believed the amount the city re- ceived this year would be indicative of what it would receive in the future if consumption stayed relatively even and cities that did not legalize recreational dis- tributors within their boundaries did not at- tempt to enter the pool. He did note that con- sumption may decrease as the “newness” of le- galized marijuana wore off , and that the exact tax revenue was redacted by the department of reve- nue — essentially mak- ing it diffi cult to even know how much the city made this year. Th e state of Oregon prohibits tax revenue in- formation for cities with fewer than 10 dispen- saries from being made public citing privacy for the retailers. An individual retailer’s profi ts could be See TAX 7A CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL O n Friday, Aug. 24, more than 300 community volunteers lined 10th Street to help the staff of Harrison Elementary School move an estimated 9,000 books to the new Harrison Elementary School library located a quarter of a mile up the road. Volunteers passed books down the line from the old library to the new library, managing about one quarter of the books in just over an hour. South Lane School District Communications Coordinator Garrett Bridgens said the books would most likely not be completely moved to the new school by the time the event ended near mid-day, but said he was was impressed with the turnout and community support. The new Harrison Elementary School is scheduled to open in time for the 2019-20 school year and was built with the lion’s share of the $35 million bond passed in 2016. A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the school will be held tomorrow, Aug. 30, beginning at 5 p.m. Voters will have a full docket of choices as fi eld for council positions grows By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com When former councilor Amy Slay forfeited her council seat in Febru- ary of this year, it left Cottage Grove without a single woman in local government. Th is November, three women will take a stab at fi lling the gap. Jill Hermansen, Candace Lamb-Solsbee and Ashley Rigel have fi led to run for seats on the Cottage Grove City Councilor with Hermansen and Lam-Solsbee chal- lenging sitting councilor Garland Burback from Ward 3, and Rigel running for the councilor-at-large seat currently held by councilor Mike Fleck. Burback is also facing a challenge from Raymond Ackerman. Mayor Jeff Gowing and councilor Jake Boone will run unopposed. Also running unopposed is Greg Ervin, who was appointed to the seat formally held by Slay aft er her resignation. According to election fi lings, Her- mansen currently works as a speech therapist and obtained a master’s degree from California State Uni- versity, Fresno. She lists no previous governmental experience. Solsbee, who has been active in the local chamber of commerce CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL See ELECTION 7A ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Ice Cream Social CG Theatre remodel Community turns out for second-annual Ice Cream Social at the CG Armory The Cottage Grove Theatre announces remodel plans, new season of shows PAGE A6 PAGE A5 Rain Country Realty Inc. RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Licensed in the State of Oregon See RECORD 9A Election fi lings show crowded races for council seats INDEX COMMUNITY For a complete six- day forecast please see page A5. RainCountryRealty.com • raincountryrealty@gmail.com 1320 Hwy 99 • 541-942-7246 Council members listen to citizen input during Monday night's meeting. Calendar ...................................... B12 Channel Guide ............................... B5 Classifieds ...................................... B7 Obituaries ...................................... A2 Opinion ......................................... A4 Sports ............................................ B1 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 45 The Flower Basket and Gift Boutique “A Flower Shop and so much more” Creative Floral Arrangements • Jewelry • Balloons Home Décor • Fine Gifts • Boutique Clothing & Accessories 119 South 6th Street • 541-942-0505