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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 31, 2018)
$1.00 S entinel C ottage G rove PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL BENEFITS | SURETY (541) 942-0555 PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove SPORTS Lions stay alive in playoff s with win against Newport. B1 Est. 1889 Serving the communities of Cottage Grove, Creswell, Dorena, Drain, Elkton, Lorane and Yoncalla. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2018 FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL WED 58º/52º For a complete six- day forecast please see page A5. CGSENTINEL.COM What are the In their own words: Candidates for Congress, governor pros and cons of Measures 102-106? By Mark Brennan For The Sentinel (Editor’s Note: What follows are in- depth looks at the measures voters are considering for the Nov. 6 election — what they mean and the potential con- sequences and benefi ts. Th e STAR voting measure was covered in Oct. 17 edition of Th e Sentinel) Measure 102 Measure would help fund aff ordable housing by eliminating restrictions on combining government loans or credits with private funding. Currently, the Oregon Constitution bars local government from loaning credit or raising money for private busi- nesses. Measure 102 By Caitlyn May would add an excep- cmay@cgsentinel.com tion to the rule for housing developers, allowing private entities a tool to help pay for aff ordable housing projects. Aff ordable housing has been described as a “crisis” statewide. According to data released by Oregon Housing and Com- munity Services, the state as a defi cit of almost 90,000 housing units for residents who earn less than 50 percent of the state’s median income currently estimat- ed at just over $60,000 a year. In Cottage Grove, local offi cials have addressed the lack of housing citing its eff ect on the community. City Councilor Mike Fleck and Planning and Develop- ment Director Faye Stewart met with re- altors and developers to assess the great- est hurdles in providing more housing and while System Development Charges (charges levied to a project to off set the impact to the community in regards to water, sewer, traffi c and roads) were on the list, the number one issue was being able to make it through a lagging permit process with the city. Under Stewart, that system has since changed, making it easier for developers to make their way from point A to point B. A recent housing analysis conducted by a third party estimated that Cottage Grove’s population would increase by just over 3,000 residents in the next 20 years, creating the need for at least 1,379 new housing units. Rental rates in the city have followed regional and national trends, increasing each year as inventory becomes scarce, currently landing any- where between $600 to $1,200 a month depending on the number of bedrooms. Measure 102 does not defi ne “aff ord- able housing,” instead it allows each mu- nicipality to choose its own defi nition. It also allows the bonds to be paired with incentives like waived permit fees — a benefi t the city of Cottage Grove already off ers based on the project. Municipalities can already issue bonds to help fund housing. In 2016, Portland approved a bond measure mounting $250 million and residents will vote again this year on a $653 million measure. Howev- er, the current rules set out in the con- stitution that bar local governments from loaning credit or raising money for See MEASURES 6A To provide voters with a closer look at the candidates for Or- egon's Governor and Oregon's Fourth Congressional Dis- trict, what follows is a Q&A with the primary candidates for those races... Governor’s Race Th e race to occupy the Or- egon Governor’s Mansion, Mahonia Hall, is offi cially a contest between four candi- dates. However only two of these individuals are likely to receive enough support from her fi rst full term in the offi ce. Both Brown and Buehler are polling in the 40 percentiles among voters, with Starnes and Chen trailing far behind. Kate Brown Art Robinson Knute Buehler Peter DeFazio Th e political sta- tistics fi rm Real Clear Politics is calling voters to become Oregon’s limited media presence, with no major television or radio the race to lead Oregon a “ next Governor. Nick Chen is running as ads airing in the week lead- toss-up.” Th e 2018 Governor’s race the candidate of the Libertar- ing up to the election. Oregon State Representa- is the second time these can- ian Party and Patrick Starnes is running as an Indepen- tive Knute Buehler is the Re- didates have competed for dent. Neither candidate has publican candidate for Gov- the same offi ce, with Buehler a statewide ground organi- ernor and sitting Democrat being defeated by Brown for zation, and both have a very Kate Brown is running for the position of Secretary of See CANDIDATES 9A SLSD gets its report card By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com COURTESY PHOTO Don Williams stands on the nearly completed carousel that is still in need of volunteers and a location. Carousel clears major hurdle By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com A ft er more than 20 years of false starts and abrupt stops, the carousel meant for Main Street in Cottage Grove is closer than ever to fi nding a home within the city’s boundaries. According to Friends of the Carou- sel committee, the carousel is 90 per- cent complete and has taken up resi- dence at the King Estates Warehouse aft er restoration eff orts began at the W.O.E. Fairgrounds earlier this year. “Ed King read a newspaper article describing the open house held at the fairgrounds,” said Friends of the Carousel Committee President Don Williams. “In that article it was stated we would need a larger building with at least a 20-foot high ceiling to erect the carousel indoors to fi nish the chariots, all the lighting, the mirrors, and the rounding boards.” As a result, King granted use of a 40’ by 80’ section of the warehouse for the carousel where the attraction will be completed. Th e space marked the latest hur- dle cleared by the group in bringing the carousel to Cottage Grove. Th e attraction originally made its way to down aft er former resident Judy Cash cashed in on a childhood dream of owning a carousel. Aft er inheriting money from a family friend, Cash traveled across the country to pur- chase the carousel with the hopes of placing it on Main Street. Soon aft er, various eff orts to fund the restoration of the carousel came and went with groups falling short of success over the years. UPDATE Whitsell set to rebuild With the time change, drowsy drivers become a concern City meets with tax offi cials, Whitsell owner on mill future. PAGE A3 INDEX SAFETY Time Change PAGE A2 State in 2015. Brown than served as Secretary of State under former Governor John Kitzhaber and ascended to the state’s highest offi ce aft er Kitzhaber’s unexpected res- ignation in 2015. Brown won a special elec- tion in 2016 to fi nish the re- mainder of Kitzhaber’s term and is now running for her fi rst full term as Governor. Brown’s educational back- ground includes a Bachelor of Art degree from the Uni- versity of Colorado in 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 54 Rain Country Realty Inc. RESIDENTIAL • COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Alan D. Walker A Masters Level Christian Counselor Offi ces in Cottage Grove, Yoncalla, and Roseburg 541-817-6271 AlanWalkerPACO@gmail.com • AlanDWalkerCounselor.com See SCHOOLS 5A See CAROUSEL 5A Calendar ...................................... B12 Channel Guide ............................... B5 Classifieds ...................................... B7 Obituaries ...................................... A2 Opinion ......................................... A4 Sports ............................................ B1 Marriage & Family Counseling Learn to positively overcome confl icts and create stronger relationships for life. "Where else can you take your family now where you can leave your worries at the doorstep and just be in a happy place? It's a happy place,” Cash previously told the Sentinel, noting that she would have liked to see children smiling, enjoying the ride. Cash passed away in Nov. of 2017 aft er a battle with cancer, leav- ing behind an agreement with the Friends of the Carousel to continue toward her dream of seeing the car- ousel functional and attracting tour- ists in Cottage Grove. To accomplish the goal, the group reached out to the community, re- ceiving in-kind donations mount- ing $67,000 and cash contributions reaching more than $14,000. Art stu- dents at Cottage Grove High School It’s only two months into the 2018-2019 school year but South Lane School District already has its report card. Th e Oregon Department of Education released the annual report on Wednes- day, which details everything from teacher turnover to state test scores for every school in the state. South Lane School Dis- trict’s 10 schools fell below state standards and averages in several categories across the board but the shortcom- ings adhered closely to trends found across the state and the district managed to buck trends that have plagued the Oregon school system in re- cent years. Chronic absenteeism—de- fi ned as missing more than 10 percent of school days-- has been a source of concern for districts around the state. However, according to the 2018 state school report card, South Lane Schools have im- proved their attendance rate. Regular attenders, meaning students who attend more than 90 percent of the days they’re enrolled in school, increased or remained the Licensed in the State of Oregon RainCountryRealty.com • raincountryrealty@gmail.com 1320 Hwy 99 • 541-942-7246