WEDNESDAY EDITION | MAY 22, 2019 | $1.00
CGSENTINEL.COM
3
Est. 1889
S entinel
C ottage G rove
VOL. 131, NO. 21
S ERVING
THE COMMUNITIES OF
C OTTAGE G ROVE ,
D ORENA , D RAIN ,
E LKTON , L ORANE AND
Y ONCALLA
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PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL
BENEFITS | SURETY
Stage becomes home to immigrants’ stories
By Damien Sherwood
Performers read from a
script in the one-act play
“We Are Neighbors” on
Saturday at the First
Presbyterian
Church.
Stories told during the
play reflected some per-
formers’ real experiences.
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
(541) 942-0555
PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove
WEATHER
Partly cloudy with a
high of 69 and a low
tonight of 50.
Full forecast on A5
THEATER
Elena’s uncle was killed by a car-
tel gang in Mexico.
Fearing a similar fate, her par-
ents made separate dangerous
journeys to America, all while Ele-
na was still in her mother’s womb.
Because she had heard undocu-
mented women could be deported
from hospitals, Elena’s mother re-
lied on the kindness of a neighbor
to act as a wet nurse as she endured
18 hours of labor in a cabin before
finally giving birth in Red Bluff,
Calif.
Though playing a character in a
DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
play, performer Isabelle Her-
nandez did not have to dig
deep to empathize with the
experience of her character
Elena.
“I’m a first-generation
American citizen,” she said.
Both her parents came from
Mexico. Her mother fled the
country with other family mem-
bers and, while on her way to meet
her brother at the border, he was
murdered. She eventually gave
birth in Los Angeles.
“I relate to Elena’s story very
much,” Hernandez said. “My fam-
ily could not go back to see my
grandmother before she died.”
The play, “We Are Neighbors,” is
a half-hour, one-act performance
sharing real stories of immigrants
in Lane County. It is a touring ver-
sion of the longer “Now, I Am Your
Neighbor,” a one-hour show put on
in fall of 2017 by the Community
Big Top
comes to
Th e Grove
Local postal
workers help
‘Stamp Out
Hunger’
By Damien Sherwood
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
Review “The King Is
Dead!”
A9
SPORTS — B
Krokus claims state
title.
B1
• RECORDS
Obituaries
Police Logs
State news
A2
• LORANE NEWS
A5
• CLASSIFIEDS
Listings and public
notices
B7-B9
dsherwood@cgsentinel.
com
C
ottage Grove welcomed the
return of the Culpepper &
Merriweather Great Com-
bined Circus last week for two
nights of entertainment.
Situated on a southern plot of
Bohemia Park, the company per-
formed two 90-minute shows each
night, displaying an array of animal
and human talents. Over the course
of about a dozen acts, classic circus
sights wowed the crowd as jungle
cats were tamed, fi re was juggled,
acrobats soared and a trapeze artist
swung high above the crowd in a
production peppered with comedic
interludes by the circus’ own Leo
the Clown.
“For a circus, we’re a younger
business, but for a family-run busi-
ness, we’re an old business,” said
Leo Acton, clown and self-pro-
claimed “world’s freest funny-
man.”
Cottage Grove is just one stop
on the company’s 32-week tour
this year.
“We’re going to cover about
15,000 miles over the western
United States and we’ll have been
in 17 states by the time we’re
done,” Acton said.
Culpepper & Merriweather Cir-
cus began in 1985 as a small show
run by three men who alternated
announcing, performing and sell-
ing concessions. Gradually, ani-
mals, staff and performers were
added over the years.
Now in its 33rd season, the cir-
DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Trapeze artist Miss Simone performs a swinging stunt as she soars
above the crowd on Friday night. Nearly a dozen acts accompanied
the two-night production.
cus employs a rich cast of human
talent as well as two tigers, a lion,
several dogs, ponies and a perfor-
mance duo of a 1,800-pound draft
horse and his pint-sized counter-
part.
“It’s a good combination of two-
legged and four-legged stars,” said
Acton.
The circus boasts of being fea-
tured on National Geographic’s
“Explorer” TV series, “Entertain-
ment Tonight,” and on the A&E
special “Under the Big Top.”
Though turnout for the show
was high, some in the Cottage
Grove community were less than
thrilled about the prospect of using
wild animals for entertainment as
some protestors stood by the circus
entrance with signs.
“We believe they should not be
kept in captivity and forced to en-
tertain,” said protestor Kylee Mc-
Mahan. “We believe their exploita-
tion is not our entertainment.”
See CIRCUS 11A
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CG Bridge project swings into second phase
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See STORIES 6A
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax
P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
With the first phase of the Swing-
ing Bridge Project completed, city
councilors voted on May 13 to
move ahead with Phase 2 of recon-
struction at a guaranteed maximum
price (GMP) of $803,355.
Previously, at a Jan. 14 city coun-
cil meeting this year, councilors
selected Hamilton Construction
and Ausland Group to commence
planning and reconstruction of
the Swinging Bridge at a GMP of
$688,457.
The $114,898 net increase from
the original GMP raised some eye-
brows among city staff, though the
change was allowed under terms
stipulated by the contract.
The contract allowed, before
initiating Phase 2, the GMP to be
revised as the bridge design pro-
UPCOMING AT OPAL
SUMMER CAMP
SESSION 1 • July 22-26
SESSION 2 • July 29-August 9
513 E. MAIN ST.
COTTAGE GROVE, OR 97424
Theater Camp for ages 5-18
5 41 . 6 2 3 . 0 51 3
VISIT US ONLINE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OPALCENTERCG.ORG
gressed, enhancements were made
by the city or materials increased in
cost due to economic supply.
“Any modification to the Con-
tract Price for Phase 2 shall be
developed during Phase 1 on an
‘open-book’ basis,” reads a line in
the contract.
Open-book contracts ensure
competitive pricing by allowing
See BRIDGE 7A
Letter carriers around
the country were check-
ing mailboxes for more
than just mail on May 11
– they were also hoping
to grab a bit of food.
Stamp Out Hunger,
billed as the largest one-
day food drive in the
country, launched its
27th annual nationwide
effort this year, led by the
National Association of
Letter Carriers (NALC).
“The idea is, clean out
your pantry,” said food
drive coordinator for lo-
cal NALC Branch 916
Bruce Meier. “Anything
you want to get rid of,
put it in your mailbox.”
The food drive re-
stocks the shelves of area
food banks, ensuring that
local efforts have local
impact.
“The fact that it stays
in your own community
is really benefi cial,” Mei-
er said. “All your food
stays in Cottage Grove.”
While national tallies
are not due to come in
until next month, NALC
Branch 916 reported
that Cottage Grove has
brought in 3,157 pounds
of donated food, substan-
tially less than previous
years.
“It’s been as high as 6
or 7 thousand pounds,”
said Meier.
See HUNGER 7A
EARLY
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