4A | WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 2019 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Cottage Grove Sentinel
116 N. Sixth St.
Cottage Grove, Ore. 97424
NED HICKSON , MANAGING EDITOR |
Opinion
541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ CGSENTINEL . COM
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ongress shall make no law respect-
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to assemble, and to petition the Govern-
ment for a redress of grievances.
“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800)
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Con artists devising new way to scam older Oregonians
Identity theft, invest-
ment fraud and scams
rob millions of Amer-
icans of their hard-
earned money every
year.
Research shows that
more than $20 billion
was stolen from about
13 million victims in
2017, according to the
latest Javelin Strategy
and Research reports on
identity fraud.
Losses from inter-
net crimes are up 91
percent, with people
over 60 often the targets,
according to a new
report from the FBI that
shows cybercrimes cost
Americans more than
$2.7 billion in 2018.
Con artists use a
myriad of scams to steal
people’s hard-earned
money, including phish-
ing scams, tech-support
scams, gold coin scams,
oil and gas scams,
sweepstakes and lottery
scams, grandparent
scams and many more.
Although their
methods are different,
research shows that the
tactics scammers use
are the same. When
authorities ask convicted
they will “throttle up”
on that trigger and get
the person to focus on
it until they are in a
heightened emotional
state and ready to open
A free workshop open to all
ages will be held this Friday,
May 17, beginning at 10 a.m.
at the Cottage Grove
Community Center.
con artists to describe
the trick to scamming
people out of money,
they all say the same
thing: “Get them under
the ether.”
The ether is a height-
ened emotional state
that makes it hard to
think clearly and make
rational decisions. Con
artists ask questions that
trigger an emotional
response. Once they
find something their
“target” cares about
that triggers emotions,
their wallet.
This information and
more can all be found in
the “Con Artists Play-
book.” The Con Artist’s
Playbook is part of the
Fraud Watch Network,
which contains this
interview and others,
along with access to
information to help pro-
tect people from theft
and fraud.
More tools and tips on
how to spot and prevent
scams will be offered by
AARP Oregon and the
Lane County Senior &
Disability Services fraud
division at a free work-
shop this Friday, May
17, beginning at 10 a.m.
at the Cottage Grove
Community Center.
The Fraud Watch Net-
work gives people free
access to information
about how to protect
themselves and families.
Membership is not
required and the work-
shop is open to people of
all ages, allowing them
to talk with others about
active scams and how to
find resources.
In keeping true to its
mission of protecting
the financial security of
older adults, AARP has
been working on this
local campaign to fight
identity theft and fraud
in Oregon.
Get more information,
watchdog alerts and
more by visiting aarp.
org/fraudwatchnetwork
or call 877-908-3360.
From the perspective of a law
enforcement officer, I want to of-
fer a few reasons why our current
courthouse is inadequate and why
we need to replace it now.
Our deputy sheriffs are charged
with serving the circuit courts and
providing for the safety of the pub-
lic, the court staff, the in-custody
defendants and the individuals
seeking justice at the Lane County
Courthouse.
Because of the courthouse’s
outdated and inadequate layout,
inmates must be moved through
public spaces where crime victims
and witnesses are waiting. This
leads to confrontations, stress,
outbursts and even violence; that
should be unacceptable to all of
us and yet is unavoidable with the
current building.
For similar reasons, inmates can
enter courtrooms only by going
through the workspaces of court
staff and judges. These same in-
mates share our single elevator
with staff, judges and attorneys.
This is especially dangerous be-
cause the elevator breaks down not
infrequently.
The remodeling of the existing
courthouse over time in order to
accommodate three times as many
courtrooms as originally designed
has not allowed for an appropriate
emphasis on space design for safety
and security.
When a community member
wishes to seek a domestic violence
protective order, they must do so
waiting in a small public hallway.
No separation of space results in
deputy sheriffs having to respond
to domestic disputes within the
courthouse — or worse — in vic-
tims who are too afraid to come to
the courthouse to seek an order.
Our courthouse was built for a
different time before we had the
security concerns of today. The
courthouse is not as secure from
external access as it needs to be.
Measure 20-299 will allow us to
build a courthouse to meet today’s
needs. I will be voting “yes” for a
new Lane County Courthouse.
—Cliff Harrold
Creswell
Following example set by
Clarence ‘The Waver’
Cottage Grove is such a caring
community on so many different
levels it makes me proud to be a
Grover!
The most recent example of that
is how quickly we came together to
create a beautiful memorial bench
for the late Clarence “The CG Wa-
HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS
Oregon state
representatives
Oregon federal
representatives
• Sen. Floyd Prozanski
• Rep. Peter DeFazio
District 4 State Senator
PO Box 11511
Eugene, Ore. 97440
Phone: 541-342-2447
Email : sen.fl oydprozanski@
state.or.us
(House of Representatives)
405 East 8th Ave.
#2030
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Email: defazio.house.gov/
contact/email-peter
Phone: 541-465-6732
• Rep. Cedric Hayden
Republican District 7 State
Representative
900 Court St. NE
Salem, Ore. 97301
Phone: 503-986-1407
Website: www.leg.state.or.
us/hayden
Email: rep.cedrichayden@
state.or.us
• Sen. Ron Wyden
405 East 8th Ave., Suite
2020
Eugene, Ore. 97401
Email: wyden.senate.gov
Phone: (541) 431-0229
• Sen. Jeff Merkley
Email: merkley.senate.gov
Phone: 541-465-6750
S entinel
C ottage G rove
541-942-3325
Administration
Jenna Bartlett, Group Publisher
LETTERS
Old courthouse doesn’t
meet new security needs
Send letters to:
nhickson@cgsentinel.com
ver” Kreamier on the corner of
16th and Main streets.
The community Facebook page
has many heartfelt stories about
how his effort to brighten a per-
son’s day really did for some. As a
community, we came together to
honor a neighbor who served our
country, supported his family and
encouraged our community.
I “tip my hat” and applaud the
efforts of those involved who made
it happen.
Today as I drive through the in-
tersection, I see a beautiful bench
just begging for someone to sit for a
spell and carry on Clarence’s legacy
of sprinkling a little goodness upon
all who pass that way. Last week, I
saw my friend, Dana Merryday, sit-
ting on the bench waving at drivers
passing by.
It made me smile as I tooted my
horn and waved back at him. I plan
to follow his example when I have
a bit of time. I’ll just park my car
on 16th Street and spend 15 to 20
minutes waving to all of you.
I encourage others to follow Da-
na’s example and make it a new tra-
dition we share together.
I think “The Waver” would love
it!
—Cindy Weeldreyer
Cottage Grove
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