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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
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Plans for
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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
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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)
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Tues. - Sat. 10-6
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