Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 13, 2019)
$1.00 S entinel C ottage G rove 3 PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL BENEFITS | SURETY (541) 942-0555 PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove SPORTS Basketball coach, principal and athletic director, James Ellis, finds success at Elkton and Days Creek Est. 1889 Serving the communities of Cottage Grove, Creswell, Dorena, Drain, Elkton, Lorane and Yoncalla. B1 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019 FACEBOOK.COM/CGSENTINEL • TWITTER.COM/CGSENTINEL WED 50º/32º For a complete six- day forecast please see page A5. CGSENTINEL.COM New rental law signed by Governor focuses on renter protection But property owners, landlords express concern that restrictions are example of government overreach. By Mark Brennan for The Sentinel Gov. Kate Brown recently pushed Oregon to the heart of the national housing debate by signing the nation’s first state- wide rent control measure late last month. Brown signed Sen- ate Bill 608, which caps the amount a landlord can raise the rent on a particular rental loca- tion to 7 percent per year, plus the amount of any increase in the cost of living. The law also limits rent in- creases for residential tenan- cies to one per year and bars no-cause evictions for tenants with one year of occupancy. The bill was passed as an emergency measure, allowing for its imme- diate implementation. “This is a groundbreaking piece of legislation as we are the first state in the nation to enact this level of protection for our renters,” Brown said Thursday. “The bill is a critical tool for stabilizing the rental market throughout the state of Ore- gon. It will provide immediate Community rallying to help house fire victim By Ned Hickson nhickson@cgsentinel.com Just days before the March 3 snow- storm that temporarily changed the daily lives of those in Cottage Grove and the surrounding area, the Wilson family was dealing with the aftermath of a tragedy that has meant changes in their lives that are anything but temporary. The early evening of March 1, neigh- bors of Jared Wilson and his family were awakened by a loud explosion that prompted frantic calls to emergency re- sponders. According to South Lane County Fire & Rescue Division Chief Joe Raade, fam- ily members had been evacuated by the time SLCFR crews arrived, with Wilson, who suffered severe burns, being tend- ed to by neighbors. Though the home’s smoke detectors had awakened the two children at home during the incident, Wilson presumably didn’t exit the home until after the explosions. Though the explosion and fire, be- lieved to have been the result of an acci- dent involving a turkey fryer, was quick- ly contained, Wilson was transported to the hospital before eventually being moved to a burn center in Eugene. Two days later, the tragedy was com- pounded by the worst snowstorm in nearly a century as the family of four was already trying to recover from the devas- tating house fire. Shortly after power and Internet ser- vice were restored to the area, communi- ty members began rallying for the Wil- sons, collecting donations of food and clothing, setting up a GoFundMe page and organizing a benefit set for this Sat- urday at Cottage Bowl, where Jared Wil- son’s wife, Andrea, works. “We’re like family here, so it was dev- astating when we got the news about her husband and home,” said Cottage Bowl owner Natalie Cardoza. “They can use any help that they can get. The family is looking at a rough recovery.” This Saturday’s fundraiser for the Wil- sons includes three games of bowling for $20, including shoes as well as a 9-pin no-tap, 8-pin no-tap and 3,6,9 strike. In addition to bowling, there will be a relief to Oregonians struggling to keep up with rising rents in a tight rental market. But it doesn’t work on its own. It’s going to take much more work to ensure every Oregonian has access to housing choices that will ensure that they and their families can thrive.” Consumer advocates and housing alliances across the state supported the bill, which was motivated by the dramati- cally increasing rental costs in Oregon, coupled with the slow pace in constructing affordable housing units. Patty Wentz is with Stable Homes for Oregon Families and she believes the law will make a major difference in the lives of those at the edges of society. “Passage of SB 608 shows that lawmakers recognize that rent- ers across Oregon have liter-ally been left out in the cold during the housing crisis, especially in the rural parts of our state,” Wentz said. “Now fewer chil- dren will be showing up at See RENT A3 COURTESY IMAGE Rolling with the snow Dorena students find temporary home at Harrison ZACH SILVA/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Students from Dorena Elementary enjoy recess while temporarily relocated to Harrison Elementary following the recent snowstorm. Schools across area still recovering from ‘Snowmageddon’ Students, faculty in Dorena take detour to Harrison By Zach Silva By Zach Silva nhickson@cgsentinel.com nhickson@cgsentinel.com A week of snow was promptly followed by a week of re- covery for local schools. Af- ter the snow storm blitzed the area starting on Feb. 24, schools across the area — for the most part — were able to open their doors once again on March 4. While some schools it was business as usual, the snow that continues to stick around presented a unique set of problems for schools all the way from Yoncalla to Cottage Grove. But no area was more impacted by the storm than Elkton where the city is still without power. “The freaky part about that is once things started to go down and the power went out, we lost all communication with everybody up here,” said Elkton superintendent Andy Boe. “Every redundant sys- tem (was down): cell towers, inter- net, pigeons, whatever. I didn’t talk to anybody up here until basically Thursday morning.” See SCHOOLS A7 I t was a homecoming of sorts for Dorena School on Mon- day morning. After weather kept the school closed for the past two weeks, the doors were back open and school was in session once more. “It’s felt just like back to nor- mal,” said Dorena principal Linda Folkman on Monday morning as she went from classroom to class- room welcoming students back to their building. “I think we’re to- tally back to normal, back to what we do.” The historic snowfall that be- gan on Sunday Feb. 24 closed school throughout the South Lane School District from Feb. 25 through March 1. On Mon- day March 4 schools across the district were hit with a two-hour delay before starting school once again while power outages at Dorena kept the school without power until Thursday. Folkman See WILSON A3 FEATURED COLUMN Offbeat Oregon Learn about the Lurch Family history Old-time country doctors led colorful lives. PAGE A5 PAGE A10 INDEX LOCAL HISTORY CG Historic Society The Flower Basket and Gift Boutique “A Flower Shop and so much more” Creative Floral Arrangements • Jewelry • Balloons Home Décor • Fine Gifts • Boutique Clothing & Accessories 119 South 6th Street • 541-942-0505 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 _______________ VOLUME 131 • NUMBER 11 Performing All Phases of Automotive Repair Specializing in Gas & Diesel Engines Most Makes and Models FORD • GM • DODGE 5 41 - 9 4 2 - 2 5 21 80408 Delight Valley School Road Cottage Grove, OR 97424 ww w. h u d d l e a u t om o t i ve . c o m See DORENA A7
