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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 2018)
$1.00 S entinel C ottage G rove Est. 1889 PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL BENEFITS | SURETY (541) 942-0555 PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove SPORTS North Douglas' Nicki Derrick returns after injury. B1 Serving the communities of Cottage Grove, Creswell, Dorena, Drain, Elkton, Lorane and Yoncalla. WEDNESDAY, OCTOB ER 24, 2018 Swinging Bridge in arm's reach of restoration For a complete six- day forecast please see page A5. WED 63º/43º FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL CGSENTINEL.COM No place like Homecoming By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Th e Swinging Bridge may have just swung over the last hurdle to its restoration. On Tuesday, Oct. 16, City Manager Richard Meyers, Public Works and Development Di- rector Faye Stewart and City Planner Amanda Ferguson attended the Parks and Recreation Department’s Recreation Trail grant committee meeting to make a case for the Cottage Grove landmark. “Th is grant would be the fi nal piece of the puzzle for funding the Swinging Bridge resto- ration,” Meyers wrote in an update on city aff airs. Th e grant, issued by the state’s parks and recre- ation department, would total $150,000. Com- bined with the $200,000 grant the bridge received earlier this year and the $13,981.43 raised local- ly, construction on the bridge could begin in June of 2019. “Th e committee was impressed by the large group supporting the application,” Mey- ers said. “Two mem- bers of the committee bought Swinging Bridge T-shirts.” Th e Friends of the Cottage Grove Swing- ing Bridge, a grassroots community group that formed shortly aft er the bridge was deemed un- safe, has been steadily holding fundraisers for the bridge’s repair and sent several members to the presentation includ- ing Dana Merryday. Merryday has been a vocal supporter of the bridge, collecting letters from city residents cit- ing their support of the bridge and their desire to see it repaired—letters that Meyers said oft en help committees gauge community support and ultimately, award funds. Th e bridge was deemed unsafe by city engineers in 2016 aft er several de- fi ciencies were found in See BRIDGE 10A PHOTOS C/O GARRETT BRIDGENS Cottage Grove High School cheerleaders make their way down Main St. during last Thursday’s Homecoming Parade. CGHS celebrated homecoming throughout the week with dress-up days, the announcing of the homecoming court at Friday’s football game and the dance on Saturday. Seniors on the school's football team scored a victory in their last home game, beating out Junction City for a chance to play- in for championship. The CGHS marching band (left) and football team (right) join in on the parade fun. For additional photos, see A8. Commission candidates talk housing, economics By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com On Tuesday, Oct. 16, the Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee hosted its second candidate forum of the year, hosting Gary Williams and Heather Buch as the pair race toward election day and a chair on the Lane County Commission. Th e evening was scheduled to in- clude questions pre-selected by the legislative committee as well as au- dience questioned bookmarked by the candidates’ opening and closing statements and was live streamed on COMMUNIITY Halloween Helping the homeless Main Street will host its annual Trick-or-Treating event Oct. 31 Beds for Freezing Nights readying for winter PAGE A5 PAGE A6 INDEX EVENTS Facebook. Both Williams and Buch applied for the position of East Lane Commissioner when former com- missioner Faye Stewart resigned his post prior to the fi nish of his term to take a job with the city of Cot- tage Grove has the head of its newly combined planning and develop- ment department. Williams was appointed to the seat to fi nish out Stewart’s term. Buch, a small business owner and military spouse, fi elded the fi rst question asking candidates what they thought of using tax incentives to increase economic development. “I think there’s a time and a place Michili Monroi, LCSW Counseling Services for incentive programs depending on the issue,” she said. “It’s specifi c for me, issue by issue.” Williams, born and raised in Cottage Grove where he served as mayor for 12 years, said, “To cre- ate housing, to create jobs, to cre- ate economic development several things need to exist. One is we need to be able to partner with diff erent people and businesses.” He cited an instance of moving System Devel- opment Charges (SDC fees) to the back end of the construction process to help foster the building of Ballots for the Nov. 6 general election should be hitting mailboxes in Cottage Grove this week and in between races for statewide positions and ballot measures, voters will choose four city coun- By Caitlyn May cilors and a mayor. cmay@cgsentinel.com Th e city’s council is a seven-member board including the mayor. Th is year, the mayor and four of the council seats are up for re-election. See CANDIDATES 9A Calendar ...................................... B12 Channel Guide ............................... B5 Classifieds ...................................... B7 Obituaries ...................................... A2 Opinion ......................................... A4 Sports ............................................ B1 See BALLOT 7A 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 53 Rain Country Realty Inc. 541-255-8822 • 1450 Birch Ave • Cottage Grove, OR 97424 • Individual and Family Counseling • Insurance and Sliding Scale • Accepting New Clients • Weekend and Weekday Appointments Available A look at the city council ballot RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Licensed in the State of Oregon RainCountryRealty.com • raincountryrealty@gmail.com 1320 Hwy 99 • 541-942-7246