COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL OCTOBER 3, 2018 5A
Mayor’s Ball planned for Saturday
Pet tips
‘N’ tales
By Mary Ellen
“Angel Scribe”
Th e ‘Starr’
A
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL ARCHIVE PHOTO
Pictured left to right: Tom Munroe, Jeff Gowing, Bill Whiteman, Jim Gilroy, Gary Williams and Darrell Williams. The men at-
tended last year's Mayor's Ball, held at the Cottage Grove Armory.
Cottage Grove has been prac-
ticing sustainability long before
it became fashionable.
Such is the message of a
promotional video prepared
for the third-annual Cottage
Grove Mayor’s Ball, scheduled
Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Cottage
Grove Armory.
Built in 1931 for the Or-
egon National Guard using
local materials and labor, the
Armory was purchased by the
City of Cottage Grove aft er the
building was decommissioned
in 2009.
Now, restoring Cottage
Grove’s most iconic downtown
building is the community’s
next exercise in sustainabili-
ty — and the Mayor’s Ball will
help fi nance the complete res-
toration of the Armory’s exte-
rior.
Mayor Jeff Gowing will wel-
come guests to the Armory,
located at 628 Washington
Ave., downtown. Th e evening
features a catered dinner, si-
lent and live auction and the
remarks of a featured guest
speaker with insight into near-
ly two decades of military ser-
vice.
Restoration of the Armory
will include the construction
of a north tower to facilitate
access to all levels of the build-
ing, an HVAC overhaul and the
construction of new restrooms.
Th is year’s Mayor’s Ball aims
to bolster the funding need-
ed to renovate the Armory’s
exterior façade, according to
Christina Lund, leader of the
development team charged
with overseeing the fundrais-
ing eff ort.
“Renovating the exterior of
the Armory is a crucial step in
its revitalization,” Lund said.
“Th rough restoring its façade,
we’ll be able to showcase the
beauty that the Armory’s de-
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6
-day
weather forecast
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
65° | 43°
60° | 48°
Sunny
Showers
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
64° | 44°
66° | 44°
Showers
Mostly Sunny
MONDAY
TUESDAY
64° | 44°
62° | 42°
signers originally intended and
reintroduce countless locals
and visitors to downtown Cot-
tage Grove’s most iconic build-
ing.”
Th e ball’s distinguished guest
speaker, Lt. Col. Geoff rey G.
Vallee, currently serves as the
Deputy Brigade Command-
er for the 82nd Brigade of the
Oregon Air National Guard.
Lt. Col. Vallee served as com-
mander of the C/7-158 AVN
in support of Operation Iraqi
Freedom.
Guests at the Mayor’s Ball
will also be treated to the
sounds of the Emerald City
Jazz Kings. Th e group covers
a wide range of popular music
with emphasis on the classic
American songbook, swing
and jazz standards, and danc-
ing will follow an elegant meal
prepared by Oakway Catering.
Th e event is supported by
title sponsor PakTech, a Eu-
gene-based company that
manufactures many of the
plastic can and bottle holders
seen in today’s markets.
Th ose interested in more
information about the May-
or’s Ball, including ticket,
sponsorship and volunteer
opportunities, can call 541-
942-2441.
Lights go up at the library
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
Before the Cottage Grove
Library was a library it was
a grocery store and aft er it
was a grocery store, it was an
offi ce and call center for the
hospital; the lights worked
just fi ne.
But no one in a grocery
store or an offi ce or a call
center had to crouch to see
book titles a foot away from
the fl oor in between shelves
that reached toward the ceil-
ing.
“It was dark,” said Library
Services Director Pete Bar-
rell. “Th e lighting wasn’t de-
signed for a library.”
Over the month of August,
the library saw construction
crews installing brand new
lighting; new LED lights re-
placed the circular dimmed
lights of the past aft er an en-
ergy audit conducted by the
city yielded a savings for fu-
ture costs.
According
to
Public
Works and Development
Director, Faye Stewart, the
audit is part of a city-wide
examination of lighting at
all city buildings and the op-
portunity to reduce costs.
“Th e street lights are being
looked at and I know at Bo-
hemia Park we installed LED
and one LED bulb used less
energy and costed less than
all of the other lights,” Stew-
art said.
At the library, the cost
diff erence hasn’t been made
readily available yet, but
people have noticed things
are looking brighter.
“People searching for
books couldn’t see and we
used a fl ashlight at times,”
Barrell said. “Patrons have
notices and will say, ‘Wow,
we can see the books.’”
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pregnant great dane, Chica, had 24 hours to
live when a Great Dane group rescued her
from the kill shelter and fl ew her 1,400 miles
to a new shelter. An email arrived in Heather’s mail:
Volunteer urgently needed! Someone to foster and whelp
puppies.
“I had no idea what it meant,” admitted Heather. So,
she innocently wrote back, “I’ll step up to bat.”
Two days later, an extremely pregnant Chica was de-
livered to Heather. And two days aft er that, 13 pure-
bred puppies arrived. Talk about a big litter; they all
weighed over a pound at birth.
“Trust me, a house full of Great Danes was not on my
bucket list or calendar,” said Heather.
Now they fi lled it.
Heather kept records of the puppies’ weight and tem-
perature and ribbons were put around their necks for
identifi cation.
“It was fun naming them. One pup had a comma
and a period marking, so we called him ‘Dot Com,’”
said Heather. “Another had a star on her forehead. We
named her ‘Starr,’ aft er Ringo Starr’s spelling, and we
kept her.”
Each puppy had a white tip at the end of its tail and
Heather said sher has the cutest video of them nursing
with all their tails wagging like metronomes.
“Everyone came to see the babies: kids, friends, neigh-
bors, etc. We took the fosters to the park and one lady
screamed, ‘Stop the car,’ to her husband,” said Heath-
er. “It was a cuteness overload that she couldn’t resist.
She laughed and played under a mound of Great Dane
puppies.”
Chica was so gentle, according to Heather, that she
would let her son’s bearded dragon, Beardy, ride on her
back. “Her mothering instinct was amazing,” Heather
PHOTO BY MARY ELLEN “ANGEL SCRIBE”
There is no doubt that there is only one "Starr" in
Heather's family.
said. “We would look in the puppy pen and she would
have gently carried Beardy in to join them.Dogs love
yams and ours are kept in the pantry. One morning, we
awoke to pieces of yams all over the new Persian rug.
We followed the bits, like Hansel and Gretel followed
bread crumbs, to the puppy pen. Chica was feeding her
babies the left overs. To this day, Starr still loves yams.”
Amazingly, Chica and her puppies’ adoptive parents
all became close friends. Each year, on “our pups”
birthday, said Heather, Th ey gather and celebrate at a
park.
“Th ere is no question that Starr is a star. When we are
out walking, she stops traffi c and other walkers. She
volunteers at nursing homes and special needs school,
the library for children and as a visitor to a 911 call
center to de-stress staff ,” Heather said. ”In our recent
parade, everyone was calling out ‘Starr!’ as we walked.
She has touched the lives of so many children and rel-
atives and the staff at nursing homes that at least three
folks a day say ‘Hi’ to her when we are out, no matter
where we are.”
One special needs student, known for screaming fi ts,
has been asking for a kiss from Starr, who would refuse
the gesture by tilting her head away. Th is went on for
months.
Th en, one day, the child arrived tense and ready to
explode. Upon thumping into the room, unprompted,
Starr walked up to the child and gave the nicest kiss on
the grumpy little face. Th e child smiled and the angry
mood evaporated.
“It is an honor to watch the magic a dog has on others’
lives. Everyone should put fostering pets on their buck-
et list,” said Heather. “It was the best thing I ever did.”
TIPS:
Prepare early for future easy grooming and vet visits
by familiarizing puppies with gentle touches to their
body, face and paws. Open their mouths so they be-
come accustomed to someone checking their teeth.
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ciety at 541-942-2789.
