$1.00
S entinel
C ottage G rove
Est. 1889
PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL
BENEFITS | SURETY
(541) 942-0555
PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove
SPORTS
Local teams compete at North
Douglas Winter Invitational B1
Serving the communities of Cottage Grove, Dorena, Drain, Elkton, Lorane and Yoncalla.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2018
FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL
By Caitlyn May
A
nna was last seen bolting
from a car on Friday, Nov.
23. Her disappearance ignit-
ed a frantic search eff ort, mobilizing
dozens of volunteers and plastering
the city in posters bearing her image
before it all culminated in a dramat-
ic story of theft and abuse until she
appeared, stuck in a blackberry bush
less than half a mile from where she
had vanished 18 days before.
“Th e craziest thing is all the magic
that has happened,” said Cassie Asle-
son from her home in Washington.
When she lost Anna, her white pit
bull on Black Friday, she was devas-
tated and in the weeks that passed,
her weight fell, her mood darkened
and her hope dashed. “Th e peo-
ple that had her told us I was never
going to get her back because they
loved her more than I did. It was
such a dark time for me.”
Asleson had been visiting Cottage
Grove for the Th anksgiving holiday
and had brought along her new dog.
It was Anna’s fi rst trip out of state
and Asleson had been nervous about
it. Anna didn’t know her name yet,
was skittish and her new
mom could not stom-
ach another loss. Just
weeks before, Asleson
had to say goodbye to
her companion of eight
years, Roxy — another
white pit bull — aft er
Roxy was diagnosed
with cancer and the che-
motherapy treatments
had stopped working.
“I texted the vet on Oct.
8 to schedule Roxy’s at-
home euthanasia and
an hour later, I got an
email about Ana. It felt
like Roxy’s way of say-
ing it was going to be
ok,” Asleson said.
So, Anna made the
trip from Washington
to Cottage Grove set-
ting off what would be
COURTESY PHOTO
an 18-day ordeal that Greg Howe emerges from blackberry bushes with Anna during her rescue Dec. 11.
would rally the commu-
munity sites and creating her own
Spevak, a Creswell resident, does
nity and provide a rare
page: "Bring Anna Home." Th e page business in Cottage Grove and be-
happy ending.
When Anna jumped from the racked up 498 followers within days gan spending time searching for
Asleson’s parked car at the Village and eventually hit 50,000 engage- Anna a few times a week. It fi lled the
Green Inn, her mom immediately ments. It’s the page Roxann Spevak
See ANNA 8A
took to Facebook posting on com- was on and followed closely.
Habitat for Humanity dedicates 14th home
By Caitlyn May
cmay@cgsentinel.com
MUSIC SCENE
Th e next step in the
march toward Latham’s fu-
ture was taken at Monday
night’s school board meet-
ing as the board discussed
in great detail the “Latham
School Report” that was re-
leased earlier this month.
While the decision of
whether to close the school
or have it remain open for
at least the next fi ve years
is set to be made at the up-
coming January 7 board
meeting, it appears the
writing is on the wall. And
the outcome seems bleak
for those in favor of seeing
the school remain open.
“I guess, there’s nothing
good to say about facilities
and maintenance. And the
commitment this district
would have to make for the
students and staff and the
school to continue, it just
does not – I don’t know
of any person who would
say that would be a good
investment,” said board
member Jerry Settelmeyer
during the meeting.
Aft er the December 3
meeting, the board request-
ed additional information
on funding around the dis-
trict and how Latham com-
pares. At Monday’s meet-
ing the district presented
fi ndings in an amended
version of the report in-
cluding a section detailing
where $2 million in main-
tenance funds across the
district would go next year.
If Latham were to
stay open, it would cost
$775,000 to repair and up-
grade the building. How-
ever, only $353,000 of the
district’s total $2 million
deferred
maintenance
funds are currently bud-
geted for Latham. In order
to make up the $422,000
diff erence, the board would
have to direct funds away
Due to the Christmas
holiday, the deadline for the
Dec. 16 edition will be this
Th ursday at 5 p.m.
CAITLYN MAY/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Misty Hutchinson poses with her family outside her new home as part of the Habitat for Humanity program.
family who put in the hundreds of
required sweat equity hours into the
construction.
Th e event didn’t go off without a
hitch when, hours before a trailer full
of tools and material was stolen from
the job site. DeVore thanked the com-
munity for its response to the social
media call and eventual help in track-
ing down the stolen cart.
HISTORIC DISTRICT
A new (old) narrative
Jill Cohn will perform this
Friday at CG Events Venue
Cottage Grove
Local writer creating
narrative for historic
Downtown Walking Tour.
PAGE A3
www.homesteadcg.com
By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com
Deadlines to advance
for holiday:
Seattle singer in CG
PAGE A7
Latham
decision
looms
See LATHAM 10A
Chair
Side
Tables
On
Sale!
INDEX
Misty Hutchinson is in love with
her house. She loves the color—a soft
gray with a white trim—and the small
porch. Th e big windows in the front let
light into her living room that, on Dec.
15, was absent of furniture, but full of
love.
More than two dozen people
crammed into the house, a pile of
shoes on the front porch to protect the
new fl oors. Th ey were there to see how
far construction had come, to wish
Misty well and to celebrate the 71st
home built in the region by Habitat for
Humanity.
Th e celebration took place three
months to the day of the raising of the
fi rst wall for the house located on Har-
vey Ln. Th e area is home to at least two
other Habitat for Humanity homes
and marks the 14th in Cottage Grove.
Hutchinson will join homeowners
Bryan and Lindsey Parsons who stood
in her shoes last March, receiving the
keys to their own Habitat for Human-
ity home, along with their three chil-
dren.
“I walk into this house every time
knowing that I didn’t do this on my
own,” Hutchinson said during Satur-
day’s dedication. A single mother of
two grown daughters, Hutchinson is a
Cottage Grove resident and currently
lives in an area apartment complex—
until the fi nal touches on Harvey Ln.
are completed.
Both Habitat executive director Kel-
lie DeVore and fi eld offi ce manager
Linda Oxley reiterated that the eff ort
was made by a team from contractors
to volunteers to Hutchinson and her
For a complete six-
day forecast please
see page A5.
CGSENTINEL.COM
Community rallies to ‘Bring Anna Home’
cmay@cgsentinel.com
WED
54º/45º
Additionally, the dedication unex-
pectedly fell short
Calendar ...................................... B11
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
See HABITAT 10A
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 61
Emerald Valley Armory, LLC
Handguns • Long Rifles
Concealed carry classes
Tues. - Sat. 10-6
147 E. Oregon Ave. Creswell, OR 97426
541-895-2666