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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 26, 2018)
$1.00 S entinel C ottage G rove Est. 1889 PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL BENEFITS | SURETY (541) 942-0555 PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove SPORTS All-State teams announced B1 WED 44º/34º Serving the communities of Cottage Grove, Dorena, Drain, Elkton, Lorane and Yoncalla. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2018 FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL For a complete six- day forecast please see page A5. CGSENTINEL.COM Excavators break ground on Cottage Village By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com The Cottage Village Coalition ‘tiny house’ project will help serve those in danger of becoming homeless The ground at the corner of E. Madison Ave. hadn’t yet gone soft from winter storms when the heavy machinery rolled onto the property last Monday. Excavators and dump trucks took turns lumbering over the empty, uneven ground that is set to hold something very big in a very small package. The site is the future home of Cottage Vil- lage, a 13-house development comprised en- tirely of tiny houses. Conceptually, the proj- ect would serve those in danger of becoming homeless and potential renters range any- where from individuals receiving social se- South Lane spreading ‘Roots of Empathy’ curity benefits to single, working mothers or small families struggling to make ends meet. The project was announced in 2016 ini- tially as a 14-home community for homeless individuals before neighbor input and addi- tional changes were taken into account and the land on E. Madison was purchased with a grant from the Meyer Memorial Trust. Lo- cal group Cottage Village Coalition (CVC) partnered with SquareOne in Eugene to ap- ply for funding and manage the project. In October, the project earned another $50,000 donation, behind a $100,000 grant from the Edwards Mother Earth Foundation and additional funding from a Presbyterian Church group. It’s that church funding that Bruce Kelsh — CVC Chair — says will be used in the coming weeks to construct the first tiny home. “All this happened very quickly,” he wrote in an email inquiring about the activity on the property. “I didn’t think site preparation COURTESY PHOTO After more than a year since the project was introduced, excavators broke ground on the tiny house village planned for E. Madison Ave. could happen until January… between storm fronts, E&J Excavating took advantage of the break in the weather to prepare the site for our first tiny house.” CVC went before the city’s planning de- partment earlier this year after the state See VILLAGE 6A Swinging Bridge design coming in January By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com For three months, a baby has been visiting Deb Henderson’s sec- ond-grade classroom at London School. He vis- its with his older brother who attends fourth grade there and his mother, once Henderson’s stu- dent herself chats with the staff but that’s not why they’re there. Little Paeson, now four months old, is one of South Lane School District’s Roots of See ROOTS 7A Preparing for the ‘Big One’ By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com See QUAKE 9A The bridge may be steel instead of wood, and may not move quite as much as the original 1960s bridge By Caitlyn May cmay@cgsentinel.com T he city of Cottage Grove held an open meeting on Dec. 19 with more than a dozen private engineers, contractors and residents to discuss the repairs for the Swinging Bridge, out of commission since 2016. The aim of the meeting was to have discus- sions with engineers and contractors who were interested in submitting proposals to complete FEATURES EDUCATION Pet Tips ‘N’ Tales New budget The tale of Terry, the miracle cat Government releases proposed education budget PAGE A5 the necessary repairs. “The intent,” the city manager’s office wrote in a project update last week, “will be to main- tain the existing appearance as much as possible while also maintain public safety.” The bridge was deemed unsafe in 2016 after several structural issues were discovered by city engineers. The bridge drew passionate support from residents who campaigned the city coun- cil to repair the bridge in a way that maintained its ability to move. The grassroots organization, Friends of the Cottage Grove Swinging Bridge, held fundraisers and yard sales to raise mon- ey for the repairs which, at last count, totaled $500,000 in actual repair costs and $500,000 in en-gineering costs. However, the $500,000 engi- PAGE A3 INDEX When the “Big One” hits, Interstate-5 may not be functional. The 9.0 earthquake originating at the Cascadia fault line is set to decimate infra- structure and cause at least five solid minutes of rolling waves rather than traditional shaking. Heavy furniture will fly; buildings will fall and bridges are sure to col- lapse. And it’s no longer a question of if, but when. The Cascadia PHOTO BY KENNETH ROBERTS Several engineers and contractors toured the site of the Swinging Bridge last week. Designs for the repaired bridge are expected in January. Calendar ...................................... B12 Channel Guide ............................... B5 Classifieds ...................................... B7 Obituaries ...................................... A2 Opinion ......................................... A4 Sports ............................................ B1 neering costs could be absorbed by having the city complete the work in-house. The city also applied for various funds for the bridge’s repairs (earning at least one) including a $200,000 grant from the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. However, the grant was not awarded to the city. Public funds, however, reached more than $3,000 through a round-up program that allowed city residents to round- up their water bill to the closest whole dollar amount each month. According to city council member Kenneth Roberts, the bridge may be steel in-stead of wood and may not move quite as much as the original bridge built in the 1960s. See BRIDGE 6A 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 62 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