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Cottage Grove participates in county-wide homeless count
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
Statistics gathered will
help determine services,
funding for homeless
V
olunteers around Lane
County
participated
Th ursday in the annual
Point-in-Time (PIT) Homeless
Count coordinated by Lane Coun-
ty Human Services. Wielding clip-
boards, free bus passes and snacks,
local volunteers solicited surveys
from people experiencing home-
lessness in and around Cottage
Grove.
Required by the Department of
Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) to be done at least once
every two years, the count is con-
ducted by Lane County Human
Services annually.
Th e count is intended to pro-
vide a “snapshot” of the degree of
homelessness in targeted areas.
Th e data is used to measure prog-
ress and demonstrate the extent of
need for funding and services in
each community.
“Each area gets allocated a per-
centage of the total money based
on their number of homeless in
this count,” said Cottage Grove
City Councilor Mike Fleck. “Th is is
why it’s critical to make sure you’re
counting everybody.”
Fleck volunteered this year to
coordinate surveys in the Cottage
Grove area, including in the Cre-
swell and Lowell areas.
“Key pieces they’re looking at
are number of times homeless,
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
As cities around the state
grapple with what’s been
called “Oregon’s housing
crisis,” Cottage Grove does
not stand among them with
any special immunity. Low
vacancy rates and scarcity
of choice have burdened
home-seekers,
reaching
unbearable levels for many
in a community with a
high demand for aff ordable
housing.
In a Jan. 28 City Council
meeting, eff orts to address
the issue passed an vital
milepost when councilors
See HOUSING A11
From left: Allan Katz, Annie Odean and Karen Munsell search along I-5 for people experiencing homelessness to participate in this year's Point-in-
Time Homeless Count survey.
the amount of time homeless …
and demographic information,” he
said. “It’s actually a pretty painless
survey.”
All volunteers are required to
receive training prior to the count.
For security, volunteers work in
teams of two or three, trained to
always stay within line of sight
Th e PIT count surveys are part
of the Continuum of Care, a HUD
program dedicated to ending
homelessness by easing the burden
on individuals or families in need
of housing and promoting self-suf-
fi ciency.
While self-suffi ciency is a de-
sirable goal, many in the commu-
Promotions, new hires at SLCFR
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
On Jan. 24, four members of the
South Lane County Fire & Res-
cue (SLCFR) were sworn in and
pinned with new ranks. Th e Sen-
tinel interviewed each to discuss
their accomplishments.
Danny Alton
Resident Reserve Firefi ghter:
Moving from his hometown of
San Diego, Danny Alton fi rst be-
came acquainted with the area
when he matriculated to the Uni-
versity of Oregon to study human
physiology.
“I fell in love with Eugene be-
cause of the university. I really en-
joyed the trees,” Alton said. “Th e
greenery wasn’t something I was
used to. A lot more than in San
Diego.”
Aft er receiving his EMT basic
certifi cation and working for a
time in the area with ambulance
COMMUNITY
agencies, he pursued a career in
the fi re service. It was only in the
last couple months Alton was in-
troduced to Cottage Grove.
Secretly cooking with
cottage cheese
Specializing in Gas & Diesel Engines Most Makes and Models
FORD • GM • DODGE
80408 Delight Valley School Road
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Cottage Grove can expect more
wheels on the road this September.
Cycle Oregon, a nonprofi t which
organizes annual bicycle trips
around the state, has made public
its routes for this year, including
a Sept. 13 arrival in the Cottage
Grove area as part of its longest
loop.
Th e loop, dubbed the Classic, is a
week-long journey from Sept. 7 to
Sept. 14, rounding out the penulti-
mate day of the trip with a stop on
the shores of Dorena Lake. Billed
as “showcasing some of Oregon’s
most spectacular vistas, pristine
waters and fi ne Oregon
From left: Newly hired Alex Wales, recently promoted Dylan Fitz-
gerald and Tim Heuser, and newly hired Danny Alton of South Lane
County Fire & Rescue.
A world renouned wooden
horse carver will contribute
to the project
Performing All Phases of Automotive Repair
Cycle Oregon
to return to
Cottage Grove
DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
BETTY KAISER
PAGE A5
See COUNT A10
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
Cook’s Corner
PAGE A3
nity agree that shelter services are
among the greatest of the city’s im-
mediate needs.
Allan Katz, who volunteered at
the Th ursday homeless count, is
involved in several local programs
addressing the concerns of
By Damien Sherwood
CG Carousel Project
w w w. h u d d l e a u t o m o t i ve . c o m
of each other and are restricted
from entering structures or any
non-public property.
Getting accurate information is
important to the mission; if enough
people meet the criteria of “chron-
ically homeless,” for instance, the
kinds of programs made available
in an area can change.
INDEX
‘Momentum’
gaining in CG
housing plans
DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
“It’s an awesome community. I
love how tight all the people here
See CYCLE A7
See SLCFR A8
Calendar ...................................... B12
Channel Guide ............................... B5
Classifieds ...................................... B7
Obituaries ...................................... A2
Opinion ......................................... A4
Sports ............................................ B1
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
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VOLUME 131 • NUMBER 6
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