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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2018
Unknowns
remain for
Measure 105,
SL School
District
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Local fi lmmaker takes home top prize
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
See UNKNOWN 6A
COURTESY PHOTO
Marc Waszkiewicz and Lee Jones took home the award for best documentary at the Oregon
Independent Film Festival on Sept. 20. Their fi lm, "Vietman: An Inner View" took decades to create with
footage from Waszkiewicz’s tour in Vietnam and interviews with his fellow soldiers. Waszkiewicz and his
service dog, Ben, have been steadily working to increase awareness of veteran suicide and encouraging
veterans to speak about their service and subsequent eff ects.
It’s been two years since the Swinging
Bridge was deemed unsafe for residents
to use and its closure has led to subse-
quent discussions by city council on how
best to address its repairs as well as fund-
raisers headed by community organiz-
ers. And while no solid plan has emerged
from the city on a timetable for when the
bridge may begin swinging again, the
project got a boost last week when it re-
ceived $200,000 in grant funds.
City Manager Richard Meyers an-
nounced that the Swinging Bridge was
one of 18 projects to be selected by the
Oregon Parks and Recreation Depart-
ment from 39 applicants.
Th e bridge has been out of service
since 2016 when the city’s engineer
deemed it unsafe. Th e city has since con-
sulted with engineers and architects to
determine how to repair the bridge with
several options from a pre-fabricated re-
placement to a fully swinging bridge be-
ing considered.
Last year, the city council was present-
ed with three options that ranged be-
tween $150,000 and $370,000. However,
the latest estimate made public reached
$1 million which included engineering
costs of approximately $500,000 that
could potentially be completed by the
city, reducing the cost of the repair by
nearly half.
Residents have had their fair shot at
raising money for the bridge as well with
several fundraisers having been held by
the Friends of the Swinging Bridge—a
community led, grassroots group that
formed shortly aft er the bridge’s re-
pair costs were fi rst addressed. Th e city
has also off ered residents the chance to
“round up” their water bills to the next
closest dollar amount with the excess
funds going toward the bridge’s repair.
Cottage Grove City Manager Rich-
ard Meyers traveled with several city
employees and Friends of the Swinging
Bridge member Dana Merryday to pres-
ent the Swinging Bridge as a potential
See BRIDGE 6A
Money to be returned to Cottage Grove Special Olympics
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Th e Cottage Grove Special
Olympics team is getting its
money back.
Th e announcement came
early last week via local coor-
dinator and volunteer Carmen
Dowell who posted the news to
a local social media page. Th e
news was confi rmed by Ore-
gon Special Olympics, directing
questions to a statement posted
on the organization’s website
that read, in part, “… We are
excited to have resolved the is-
sues surrounding the gift from
Michelle Portmann’s Living
Trust and return the focus to
our athletes.”
Dowell stated that the organi-
zation had “acknowledged the
plan.” Special Olympics Oregon
would not confi rm specifi cs
concerning the agreement.
Portmann, who passed away
suddenly in 2012, left $50,000
to the organization specifi cal-
ly earmarked for the Cottage
Grove program. Dowell began
asking where the money was.
“I noticed in June,” she said.
“Something wasn’t right. Th ey
told us that they were going to
do quotas so we kept waiting.
Th ey said they would tell us
about the plans for the games
on Friday and then they would
CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL tell us on Monday and then
they said Summer Games are
Community members show support for Special Olympics
cancelled. Th en, the CFO was
during a demonstration last month in Cottage Grove.
fi red.”
funds should have stayed local organization’s current fi nancial
Special Olympics announced
and we will be getting them state and noted the two parties in June that it was suspending
back.” She also pointed to the had “negotiated a fair payment the summer games — expected
COMMUNITY
Peggy's Connection
A donation of $50,000
brings project a step
closer.
Local resource program
fi nds a permanent home
PAGE A7
PAGE A5
INDEX
HOUSING
Tiny House project
Calendar ...................................... B12
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
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to draw approximately 1,500
athletes — citing fi nancial
problems. In 2016, the organi-
zation took a $325,000 loss on
$4.5 million in revenue.
When questions surrounding
Cottage Grove’s program funds
were raised, Special Olympics
Oregon CEO Britt Oase re-
leased a statement noting that
local program coordinators
were simply misunderstanding
how the organization’s money
was handled.
“In our recent conversations
with local program coordina-
tors, in both group webinars
and individual calls and meet-
ings, we have found there to be
an inconsistent understanding
of the Special Olympics Oregon
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
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Licensed in the
State of Oregon
Swinging Bridge
project awarded
$200,000
cmay@cgsentinel.com
By Caitlyn May
In April of last year, South
Lane School District joined
dozens of districts across
the state of Oregon in pass-
ing resolutions aimed at
solidifying the school’s po-
sition that Oregon Revised
Statute 181A.820 prohibit-
ed the use of local resourc-
es to detect or apprehend
undocumented individuals
and barred Immigration
and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) from entering dis-
trict facilities.
In November, voters will
decide whether or not to
repeal ORS 181A.820 un-
der Measure 105, poten-
tially leaving thousands
of residents vulnerable to
questions concerning their
immigration status and
creating a gray area around
resolutions like the one
passed by South Lane and
other districts.
Resolution 17-15, passed
in 2017 by South Lane cites
ORS 181A.820 and lists
seven policies and proce-
dures that include no lon-
ger asking for or recording
a student’s immigration
status; prohibiting ICE on
school property without
parental permission, court
order or other legal author-
ity and requests adequate
notice from agencies prior
to their arrival so the su-
perintendent can assess the
legal validity of the request,
obtain legal advice and
contact parents.
But what happens when
parents who may be facing
immigration issues arrive
at the school?
“We haven’t got to that
yet, it’s something I’m look-
ing at since you’ve now
brought it to my attention,”
said interim superinten-
dent Larry Sullivan.
Resolution 17-15 was
passed under former su-
perintendent Krista Par-
ent who left the district in
June of this year. Sullivan,
who has been on the job
since July, was not part of
the discussion. He cited
his previous work in For-
est Grove and noted he
would be looking to that
district for guidance as well
as a question and answer
component on the Eugene
School District’s website
concerning immigration.
He stated the informa-
tion would be available in
Spanish as well as English.
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VOLUME 130 • NUMBER 49
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