WEDNESDAY EDITION | APRIL 10, 2019 | $1.00
CGSENTINEL.COM
3
Est. 1889
VOL. 131, NO. 15
S ERVING
THE COMMUNITIES OF
C OTTAGE G ROVE ,
D ORENA , D RAIN , E LKTON
AND Y ONCALLA
WEATHER
Clouds and rain with
a high of 55 and a
low tonight of 46.
Full forecast on A5
S entinel
C ottage G rove
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Supporting those without shelter
Conditions associated with homelessness dramatically increase the likelihood of suicide.
By Stephanie Blair
Editor’s note: This is the second
in a four-part special collaboration
between the Cottage Grove Sentinel,
The Creswell Chronicle, Siuslaw
News and Newport News-Times fo-
cusing on the rising suicide rate in Or-
egon. Each Wednesday through April,
the four newspapers in this collabora-
tion will each be contributing a part to
the series and will be publishing them
together. The hope is that, by sharing
our resources and readerships, we can
begin establishing a dialogue within
each of our communities about this
important subject.
Newport News-Times
H
omeless individuals are
10 times more likely to
commit suicide than their
general population counterparts,
according to the findings of a 2012
study conducted by A. A. Patterson
and R. R. Holden.
“We know that people with se-
vere mental illness, or especially
psychotic disorders, are more vul-
nerable,” said Sena Benson-Arb, a
clinical counselor in the Lincoln
See SERIES 8A
COMMUNITY
Business as usual
while Latham
prepares for closure
A schoolwide
celebration will be
held May 31
Family Fishing Day
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CGHS track and field
take on Sky-Em
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By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com
541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax
P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
With just a few months left
in the school year, Latham
School is preparing for its fi -
nal days.
With the school closing at
the end of the year, the com-
ing weeks will be full of fi -
nalizing information about
where staff and students will
be placed next year in addi-
tion to updated school district
lines.
But for now, Latham is
about business as usual.
“We’re trying to stay the
course so the kids don’t see
this as being much of a differ-
ent year,” said Latham princi-
pal Anne Fisk at this month’s
school board meeting.
As old traditions such as
a penny war, lap-a-thon and
fi eld day are still in play, the
school and the district are
also getting ready for a cele-
bration.
Fisk added, “We’re just
staying the course and just
having as many as little cel-
ebrations and big celebrations
as we can until the end of the
year.”
While there will be various
classroom and school-wide
celebrations, there is also a
community celebration of
Latham that will be at 5 p.m.
on May 31. The celebration
will give members of the
community a chance to take
in the Latham building in ad-
dition to hearing from speak-
ers and seeing a video about
the history of the school.
The district and Latham
are also looking for those
who were connected to the
school in some way to share
their favorite memories of
the school. There is a link on
the school’s website (latham.
slane.k12.or.us/) for individu-
als to make sure their memory
is included.
PHOTOS BY DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Floodwaters encroach on a section of Row River Road (above) and in Riverstone Mobile Home Park (below)
following sustained heavy rains over the weekend. Rain is predicted to continue for the next several days.
Flooding prompts area evacuations
More than 8,000 cubic feet per second was released from Dorena Reservoir.
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
Level 3 evacuation notices were
issued Sunday evening to residents
within the 100-year floodplains of
the Row River and Coast Fork of the
Willamette as intense rainfall over
the weekend increased fears of area
flooding.
The Level 3 notices warn that dan-
ger is current or imminent and citi- visement, you must understand that
zens should evacuate immediately.
emergency services may not be avail-
“If you choose to ignore this ad-
able to assist you further,” the Lane
County Sheriff ’s Office wrote in a
Facebook post. “DO NOT delay leav-
ing to gather any belongings or make
efforts to protect your home.”
Historic rates of water were re-
leased from Dorena Reservoir Sun-
day night to prevent overflow of the
reservoir. By midnight, the reservoir
was reportedly releasing 8,000 cubic
feet per second (cfs), matching the
amount released in Cottage Grove’s
See FLOOD 9A
Kennedy High School recognized for going green
By Zach Silva
zsilva@cgsentinel.com
Al Kennedy High School
(AKHS) has gone green.
And now they have been
rewarded for their work.
On Thursday, AKHS
was honored as the newest
Oregon Green School in
Lane County by the group
Partners for Sustainable
ZACH SILVA/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Joshua Frankel speaks to AKHS last Thursday as the Schools. The distinction
school was honored as Oregon’s latest green school. places the school as the
148th school in the state
– and the first in the
South Lane School Dis-
trict – to have taken steps
to engrain sustainability in
the school.
“It means a lot because
we are known to be the
smaller school. We’re
known to not be the best
kids out there, but for us to
See GREEN 9A
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SESSION 1 • July 22-26
SESSION 2 • July 29-August 9
513 E. MAIN ST.
COTTAGE GROVE, OR 97424
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