Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (June 19, 2019)
CGSENTINEL.COM 3 Est. 1889 WEDNESDAY EDITION | JUNE 19, 2019 | $1.00 S entinel C ottage G rove VOL. 131, NO. 25 S ERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF C OTTAGE G ROVE , D ORENA , D RAIN , E LKTON , L ORANE AND Y ONCALLA Your Local News Delivered Your Way: In Print. Online. On the Go! Plans for Territorial improvement get traction PERSONAL | COMMERCIAL BENEFITS | SURETY (541) 942-0555 PayneWest.com/Cottage-Grove WEATHER By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel. com June 23 to 25. “I’m so nervous, yet so excited,” said Kassity. “It’s only my second plane ride.” The conference, offered by New Territorial Highway is getting a long-overdue upgrade. Lane County improve- ment plans for a 5.7-mile stretch between Gillespie Corners and Lorane will include widening shoul- ders for biking, realign- ing sharp corners, replac- ing defi cient culverts, raising and widening bridges, and stabilizing a landslide at Stony Point. The design plan re- fl ects community input gathered in a 2014 pro- cess. “It’s been a long pro- cess and we’re at the point we feel confi dent we can build what the community wanted us to build and we fi nally have the funding to construct it,” said Lane County’s senior transportation planner Becky Taylor. The highway is a pop- ular corridor for cyclists and sees an estimat- ed 1,700 vehicle trips per day, 10 percent of which Taylor estimates is freight traffi c. Farmers taxiing their tractors fi eld to fi eld are also a com- mon sight. The rural roadway also features some infamous- ly sharp corners with minimal shoulder space. “The entire highway is in terrible condition,” said Taylor. “If you’ve driven the entire high- way, you’ll experience lots of potholes and no shoulders.” According to coun- ty data, there were 24 crashes along the corri- dor between 2011 and 2017, resulting in a vari- ety of injuries. For years, the county has been working with the community to im- prove the safety of the corridor, but it was fund- ing provided by the Ore- gon Legislature in 2017 for a jurisdictional trans- fer to county control that really got the ball rolling. The prospect of shovel fi nally meeting ground is an emotional moment for some. “It’s really an opportu- nity to celebrate because I think for a lot of people this project was just a dream,” said Taylor. Besides the general dangers posed by the highway’s design, a sig- nifi cant catalyst for the project was the tragic See HONORS 9A See HIGHWAY 6A Sunny skies with a high of 75 and a low tonight of 49. Full forecast on A5 COMMUNITY DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL YAC leaders Fernando Soto-Cruz (left) and MJ Raade set the format for the audience and panelists at City Hall during the youth town hall event held June 5. Travis Palmer speaks at Florence Chamber A3 Local students share thoughts, perspectives at youth town hall SPORTS — B By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel.com (Editor’s Note: In the interest of full disclosure, the reporter for this story performed the role of facilitator for the meeting.) C ottage Grove youth gath- ered in City Hall June 5 for a town hall to discuss local issues and pose questions to adults from various sectors of the commu- nity. Lions wrap suc- cessful equestrian season B1 • RECORDS The town hall, spearheaded by the Youth Advisory Council (YAC), saw the attendance of around 20 young people in the audience and a panel of nine adult representatives who offered their insights and solutions to problems affecting area youth. Panelists included Chamber of Commerce Board President Danny Solesbeee, School Resource Officer with the Cottage Grove Police De- partment Chris Joyce, South Lane School District Board Chair Alan Baas, Lane County Commissioner Heather Buch, Program Supervisor for Looking Glass Community Ser- vices Amanda Hampton, Mayor Jeff Gowing, Executive Director at the Coast Fork Willamette Watershed Council Amanda Gilbert, South Lane Mental Health Counselor Al- ison Canino and Lane County Sui- cide Prevention & Mental Health Promotion Coordinator Roger Bru- baker. YAC, which serves as a local See YAC 8A Habitat celebrates 150th ‘month-aversary’ milestone Obituaries Police Log A2 • LORANE NEWS A5 • CLASSIFIEDS Listings and public notices B8-B9 FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS : /CGS ENTINEL @CGS ENTINEL CGS ENTINEL . COM 541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 www.homesteadcg.com By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel.com When word was circulating that a new venue called Axe & Fiddle was opening in 2006, local musician Roger Kahane was in the right place at the right time. Seeing an opportunity to blend his love for music and inclination to help the Cottage Grove Habitat for Humanity, Kahane floated the idea of accepting donations at open mic nights in the new establishment. By the time doors opened in De- cember, Kahane was already on the schedule. “We were here with the first open mic a week and a half later and we’ve been doing it ever since,” he said. “Always on the second Tuesday of the month.” On June 11, Kahane and a hand- ful of musicians celebrated 150 months of music and charity at the Axe & Fiddle with a diverse mix of musical styles such a flute solo, uku- lele cover songs and a duet. Though the show is meant in part to put local talent on display, its core function is as a fundraising tool for Habitat, which has since merged See HABITAT 8A CG student selected for national honors program By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel.com Around the country, 1,500 stu- dents were selected this year as delegates to attend the honors-only program Congress of Future Medi- cal Leaders in Lowell, Mass. One of Cottage’s Grove own is among them. Kassity Hanks-Cave, a sopho- more at Cottage Grove High School, was chosen in April to attend the event, which will take place from Chair Side Tables On Sale! CGHS Sophomore Kassity Hanks- Cave was one of 1,500 delegates selected from around the country to attend the Congress of Future Medical Leaders in Lowell, Mass. (courtesy photo) Emerald Valley Armory, LLC Handguns • Long Rifles Concealed Carry Classes Tues. - Sat. 10-6 147 E. Oregon Ave. Creswell, OR 97426 541-895-2666
