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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 12, 2018)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • DECEMBER 12, 2018 • Church hopes boughs can help repair bells 5A Pet tips ‘N’ tales By Mary Ellen “Angel Scribe” A ‘Precious’ Miracle CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Completed boughs made from a 100-year-old holly bush owned by the church line chairs at the London Grange. Funds raised from the sale of the handmade wreaths will go toward repairing the Church at London's 159-year-old bells. By Caitlyn May London. It’s not a big church; just 20 or so parishioners. It’s where the pews accommodate just one or two worshippers each and where they still hand-make the confi rma- tion bread. It’s where mem- bers mark their pews with blankets the night before service and where some of those blankets mark the seats of those who have left the church to settle in the salvation they once sought there. It’s where preachers pre- fer to be called teachers and cmay@cgsentinel.com Hope travels south from Cottage Grove. It rides the sways and swerves of the road that stretches passed Sixth Street and the railroad crossing; beyond the quaint din of downtown Main Street to where houses — not busi- nesses — dot the spaces be- tween old fi r trees. It hugs London Road into the rural stillness until it fi - nally settles in the hearts of the ladies of the Church at Imagine The Difference You Can Make DONATE YOUR CAR 1-844-533-9173 FREE TOWING TAX DEDUCTIBLE Help Prevent Blindness Get A Vision Screening Annually Ask About A FREE 3 Day Vacation Voucher To Over 20 Destinations!!! NOTICE OF CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE HISTORIC LANDMARKS COMMISSION VACANCIES The City of Cottage Grove Historic Landmarks Commission has two vacancies. Commissioners are appointed to this volunteer body by the City Council for three year terms (2019-2021). Applicants must show a demonstrated positive interest, knowledge or competence in historic preservation, and must complete a Historic Landmarks Commission application (available at the Public Works & Development Department at City Hall and on-line at www.cottagegrove.org). Incumbents are eligible to apply for these positions. The deadline for receiving applications is January 2, 2019 by 5:00 p.m. For further information please contact the Public Works & Development Department at 541-942-3340. 6 -day weather forecast THURSDAY FRIDAY 52° | 41° 44° | 38° Partly Cloudy Rain SATURDAY SUNDAY 46° | 43° 47° | 42° Cloudy Rain MONDAY TUESDAY 50° | 44° 49° | 43° Rain Rain where the fence was paint- ed by practiced hands and where, for the fi rst time in decades, the bells no longer ring. “Well, this whole thing is her fault,” said Sandy Tul- lar. She’s part of the small group of women gathered at the London Grange, just down the street from the Church at London. Th ey have a sort of assembly line in place where holly from a 100-year-old bush is paired with greenery and donat- ed decorations to become Christmas wreathes. “She got us started on this,” Tul- lar said. “She” is Gretchen Spears and “this” is an all-out ef- fort to save the 159-year- old bell tower at the Church at London. Th e church, fi rst founded just aft er the Civil War in 1888 as the Liberty Church, was undergoing repairs earlier this year when the congregation discovered the problem. “Th ey told us, the worker, told us not to ring the bell because someone could get hurt,” Spears said. Th e bell had already been silenced aft er parishioners discov- ered that, if they rang it, dead fl ies would come tum- bling into their sanctuary. “Th e fl ies were attracted to the bell because of the rot,” Spears said. Th e estimate to repair the bell totaled between $4,000 and $6,000 — funds the church didn’t have. So, the bell lay silent and the con- gregation continued its re- pairs. Until Spears got a call from Tullar. She had been painting the fence one day when she says her age and a holly bush stopped her from going any farther. “Sandy called me and said she couldn’t squeeze past the holly bush so we went out there to cut it and I saw it and just said, ‘this is gold,’” Spears said. Th e holly was from a 100-year-old bush the group hopes will stretch into enough wreathes to raise the thousands of dollars it needs to repair its bell. With hope in their hearts, they’ve gathered every day — seven hours a day — for the last two weeks in the meeting room at the Lon- don grange, where they twist and tie greenery and holly together, their fi nger- tips blackened with the ef- fort. Th is past Saturday they lined a festival booth at Shady Oaks with their wreaths hoping to garner additional funds. “We painted the church white,” Spears said of the group’s repair eff orts. “It’s been a place for marriages and baptisms and funerals and we painted it white be- cause we wanted it to look shining and welcoming and to hear that bell ring again.” To purchase a wreath or donate to the bell’s repair fund, contact Spears at 541- 844-6616 or email her at gretchenspears@msn.com. Transmissions Plus & AUTOMOTIVE SPECIALTIES PRACTICING THE ART OF TRANSMISSION REPAIR SERVICE SINCE 1991 Manual & Automatic Transmission Repair Tune ups 30-60-90K Services Brakes, belts, hoses and cooling system services Muffl ers & Custom Exhaust All makes and models. MAINTAINING YOUR VEHICLE AFFORDABLY You have a benefits budget. We have a way to make it work. Call today (541) 942-0555. WE LIVE IN THE SAME TOWN WE WORK IN “WE MAKE SHIFT HAPPEN!” www.automotivespecialties.biz PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove DUSTIN TULLAR & RUSS OWENS 541-942-8022 • COTTAGE GROVE When Heather’s marriage ended she declared to God, “Phoo- ey! I am done with men! Send me a dog!” Shortly aft er, at a Christmas gathering, she met an Australian Shepherd and fell in love with the breed. She put a photo of her- self with the Aussie on her car’s sun visor and asked in prayer for one. She volunteered at the SPCA and saw hundreds of dogs. In- explicably, she never saw one with a pinch of Aussie in it. She also scanned newspaper ads and the Internet for “her dog.” She wondered, What is up? because she never saw “her” Aussie res- cue. Aft er two years, she looked at the faded photo on her visor, removed it and angrily tore it up. As she tossed the remains into the air, she looked heavenward and declared, “Phooey on you, too! Two years I’ve been waiting. Praying. And nothing!” For the fi rst time in her life she began doubting her faith. A few days later, while on the phone with her friend, Heather told Kim about the faded photo incident. Kim declared, “We’ve been looking for a home for an Aussie, ‘Precious,’ for months now! She’s been breaking into our yard. My husband was in- censed at watching our vicious neighbor beating Precious. So one day he marched over to the abuser and demanded, ‘I am sick of you beating your dog in front of us. Give it to me now.’ Th e abuser threw the dog and her leash at him.” Heather immediately hung up and drove to Kim’s home for “her” dog. A few months later, Heather’s new cleaning lady, June, asked, “Where did you get that dog? She sure looks like the dog I res- cued in Tampa before we moved here to Key West.” Th e next week, June arrived with Heather‘s dog’s baby photos. How was this possible? June had moved from 450 miles away! Im-paws-ible! What miracle led June to walk into the very home, in a city of 27,000 people, of the people who had also rescued her once It is a miracle to be rescued once, but Heather’s dog, Pre- cious, was rescued three times. rescued puppy. “I was driving in Tampa and saw a nasty bugger, in a pickup truck, toss a puppy out onto the six-lane freeway,” said June. “I slammed on my breaks, ran over and rescued the animal.” June named the injured baby, Precious. Aft er a hurricane forced her family to move, her new landlord would not let them keep the dog. Sadly, unknowingly, in her innocence she gave the young dog to the abuser. What is lacking in someone’s mind and heart to beat and ter- rorize sweet innocence!? Th e puppy, now grown, still cowers when she rides in Heather’s pickup truck — but not in her car. Heather eventually moved to Canada and Precious, who was born on the east coast, did what most people never do — she had lived in two countries and swam in the Atlantic and Pacifi c oceans. Precious trained and became an amazing therapy dog. She uplift ed children at elementary schools while they read and off ered compassion and comfort to seniors in care homes. She loved people and they loved her. She earned medals for her hours of volunteering dedication and received a letter of acknowledgment from Queen Elizabeth in gratitude for her services. “Precious taught many of us about love, patience, faith, trust, friendship, faith in a higher Power and in life's amazing coinci- dences,” said Heather. Who was luckier for fi nding each other? Heather or Precious? Paws-ibly Heather, because aft er she divorced a “dog” and found her true love. TIPS: • Animals are not dumb. Treat their spirits, hearts and bodies with respect. Th ey have feelings and feel physical pain just like us. • Never underestimate a dog’s intelligence or depth of their heart and understanding of humans. • Precious knew commands in English, German, French and Italian. Even though she held memories of her early abuse, her forgiveness and love for others left over 1,000 people mourning her upon her passing. Very few humans leave a legacy like Pre- cious a three-time rescued dog! In her honor, consider having your pet become a service animal. Share your fun, amazing or crazing pet tips and tales at an- gelscribe@msn.com or Follow Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PetTipsandTales. Adopt loving pets online at www.PetFinder.com. For spay or neutering, call the Humane So- ciety at 541-942-2789.