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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 2018)
$1.00 S entinel C ottage G rove Est. 1889 PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL BENEFITS | SURETY (541) 942-0555 PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove SPORTS Sports Preview section inside! B1 WED 45º/25º Serving the communities of Cottage Grove, Dorena, Drain, Elkton, Lorane and Yoncalla. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2018 FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL For a complete six- day forecast please see page A5. CGSENTINEL.COM Charges brought against CGHS music teacher By Caitlyn May and Zach Silva cmay@cgsentinel.com•zsilva@cgsentinel.com Investigation includes multiple charges related to sexual misconduct with a minor Cottage Grove High School music teacher Gabe Dickinson, 37, is the subject of a police investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct with a minor. According to Cottage Grove Police, Dickinson was being investigated for sexual misconduct, sexual abuse-3, sexual abuse-2 and sodomy-3. During an arraignment held on Friday in Lane County Circuit Court, Dickinson was charged with three counts of third de- The search for Anna gree sodomy. district alerted the “Offi cers and detec- Cottage Grove Police tives learned that this Department, working relationship began ap- cooperatively with po- proximately two years lice as they conduct an ago when the student investigation. was 15 years of age “Mr. Dickinson is on and in the 10th grade. leave, and is currently Th e sexual relation- not at school,” Ingman ship continued into stated in the email, November 2018,” a adding that, “While I COURTESY PHOTO statement released by cannot comment on CGPD stated. the specifi cs of the al- Gabe Dickinson On Th ursday, Nov. legations or the investi- 29, an email was sent gation, I can assure you to Cottage Grove High School parents that nothing is more important to this from principal Mike Ingman that stat- school and district than the safety and ed, in part, “Upon learning of the al- well-being of each of our students. legations, Cottage Grove High School “I hope you will not let the alleged and South Lane School District moved misconduct of one person cast a shad- quickly to respond.” ow over all of our staff members, who Th e letter explained how the school demonstrate their commitment to ed- ucation and to our students every day.” Ingman also noted that counselors would be available to students aff ected by the situation. Dickinson was detained and is be- ing held at the Lane County Correc- tions Facility. He was placed on leave from CGHS. According to SLSD Human Resources Director Brian McCasline, Dickinson was still on leave as of Monday, Dec. 3. According to his personal Linke- dIn account, Dickinson has worked at CGHS since 2015. He previously worked in the Bethel School District from 2010 to 2015. Th e district offi ce later released a statement on its website saying it could not comment further on the sit- uation but was cooperating fully with law enforcement offi cials. “Our staff work diligently and suc- cessfully teaching our students and ensuring that they are safe and se- cure in their school environment,” the statement read, repeating in part, “We hope that the alleged misconduct of one person does not cast a shadow over all of our staff members, who demonstrate their commitment to ed- ucation and to our students every day. We have a care plan in place at Cottage Grove High School to meet the needs of staff and students at this time.” Both CGPD and CGHS ask that anyone with relevant information call Det. Tami Miles at 541-942-9145 ext. 224, or school resource offi cer Chris Joyce at 541-942-9145 ext. 214. Parents with questions or concerns can contact McCasline at the district offi ce at 541-942-3381 ext. 133. It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas SLSD talks Latham future By Zach Silva By Caitlyn May zsilva@cgsentinel.com cmay@cgsentinel.com Cassie Asleson is devas- tated. She answers her cell phone on the fi rst ring hop- ing for good news but as the days trudge closer to a week, the voice that meets callers grows heavier — sadder. Asleson, who lives in Washington, has plastered Cottage Grove with fl iers, assembled a small band of volunteers on Facebook and has driven the city’s streets for 15 hours a day, desperate to fi nd her dog, Anna. Th e white pit bull pup- py has been missing since Friday, Nov. 23 aft er she es- caped from the family’s car at the Village Green Inn. “I had a pit bull I got in North Carolina,” Asleson said. “I was in an abusive marriage and I left him with just the dog, Roxy. She got cancer this summer.” Once it was clear Roxy’s chemotherapy treatments had stopped working, a heartbroken Asleson start- ed talking to breeders and looking online for another white pit bull, to ease the pain of losing eight-year- old Roxy. “I couldn’t fi nd one. I texted the vet on Oct. 8 to schedule Roxy’s at-home euthanasia and an hour later, I got an email about See ANA 10A CHRISTMASTIME IN THE CITY-Cottage Grove ushered in the holiday season with a visit from Santa Claus on Saturday, Dec. 1. South Lane County Fire and Rescue escorted Santa into town along with carolers who gathered in All-America Square to see the lighting of the Christmas tree. Santa hung around for photos with local children and to make note of what they wanted for Christmas. PHOTOS C/O GREG LEE Th e South Lane School District took its next step to deciding the future of Latham Elementary School. At Monday’s school board meeting, interim-su- perintendent Dr. Larry Sullivan, assisted by oth- ers who contributed to the report, guided the board page-by-page through the 40-page “Latham School Report.” Th e report – that was made public on the school district’s website at 5 p.m. on Monday while the board received the document on Friday aft er- noon – was an attempt at an all-encompassing look at the future of Latham. Th e report was made with the help of Communications Coordinator Garrett Brid- gens and an estimated eight to 10 other individuals. It covered the factors involved in either closing the 165-year old school or allowing it to remain open for another fi ve years and how that decision may im- pact everything from en- rollment to transportation to technology. It also in- See BOARD 7A Cottage Grove population tops 10k, could prompt mandated changes By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com Th e latest Portland State University population estimate placed Cottage Grove’s popula- tion at 10,005, triggering man- dated changes that all cities in the state of Oregon must adhere to aft er reaching more than 10,000 residents. “Once the population esti- mate is certifi ed the city of Cot- tage Grove will be over 10,000 in population,” City Manager Richard Meyers offi ce wrote in a weekly statement. “With that designation we have addition- al requirements in solid waste and recycling programs and in storm water treatment pro- gram. Staff has been preparing to meet the new requirements.” Th e estimate is expected to be certifi ed aft er a review period on Dec. 17. Once the estimate is certifi ed, Cottage Grove will be considered a city with a popula- FEATURE Cowboy 911 Lincoln Middle Schoolers collect socks, donation to help those in the cold Cottage Grove man joins others in helping rescue animals after wildfi res. PAGE A6 PAGE A3 INDEX COMMUNITY Helping the homeless Michili Monroi, LCSW Counseling Services 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 tion over 10,000 and the num- ber can be used by state and local governments for revenue sharing, fund allocation and planning purposes. As a city with more than 10,000, Cottage Grove will have to add an additional garbage service. When the city failed to hit 10,000 people in 2017 (com- ing in at 9,920), Meyers sug- gested the city may lean toward opting for a weekly yard debris service that would either be Calendar ...................................... B12 Channel Guide ............................... B5 Classifieds ...................................... B7 Obituaries ...................................... A2 Opinion ......................................... A4 Sports ............................................ B1 billed separately or increase the cost of the current garbage bill. Th e city must also address its waste water system by installing catch basins to separate debris. “We started doing this but we have hundreds of storm water outlets throughout the city and we’ll probably have a new staff member for this but it’s budget- ed in our fi ve-year plan,” Mey- ers previously told Th e Sentinel in 2016 when the population hovered dangerously close to 10,000 residents. Th e new em- ployee would be responsible for checking the stormwater outlets and ensuring the collectors are functioning properly. In addi- tion to budgeting for an addi- tional employee, the city also attempted to stay ahead of the 10,000-resident curve by pur- chasing a vactor truck earlier this year. “We use it now but it can also suck up the storm catch basin debris,” Meyers previous- ly said. 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 59 Quality Vision Care for You Comprehensive family, medical eyecare and optical services We provide exams for Cataracts, Glaucoma, Diabetic and Lasik Serving Cottage Grove since 2006 Mon-Thurs 9M-5PM FRI 9AM-4PM 257 N. 8th St 541-942-5000 | www.PCVI.com