2A | WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, 2019 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
On The Record
Lane County Sheriff’s Office issues new phone scam alert
Phone scammers are at
it again. The Lane Coun-
ty Sheriff ’s Office has re-
ceived several reports from
community members who
have received calls from
scammers pretending to
be Sheriff ’s Office employ-
ees.
Scammers are telling
community members they
have a warrant for their ar-
rest and can pay a fine or
fee to clear the warrant.
These calls are a scam.
Scammers often ask for
payment in the form of gift
cards or cash cards to rem-
edy a fictitious warrant for
missing jury duty or un-
paid parking tickets.
The Lane County Sher-
iff ’s Office does not make
phone calls to community
members regarding war-
rants and would never ask
a community member to
purchase “cash cards” to
pay fees.
These calls are a scam,
and community members
should hang up immedi-
ately and not engage with
the caller. Help us stop
these scammers from vic-
timizing others by telling
your friends and family
about these scam calls so
they recognize the call for
what it is and hang up.
If you are the victim of
a phone scam and have
lost money as a result of
the scam, please report it
to your local law enforce-
ment agency. If you did not
lose any money, you do not
need to call and report it.
Below are some tips to
decrease your chances of
becoming a phone scam
victim:
• If you receive a call that
you believe is a scam, stop
and take a minute to think.
If you are still unsure, hang
up and call the person
back at the publicly listed
number for that agency.
• Never provide person-
al information to callers,
including your name, ad-
dress, or banking informa-
tion.
• Be aware of callers who
are unprofessional, pushy,
or use scare tactics such as
threatening arrest if pay-
ment is not made.
• Callers asking for pay-
ment through wire trans-
fer, cash cards such as
green dot cards, or other
non-trackable methods are
signs of a scam. Legitimate
government agencies will
not ask you to provide pay-
ment using these methods.
• Do check the caller’s
information. If they claim
to be from a law enforce-
ment agency or other gov-
ernmental agency, call the
publicly listed phone num-
ber for that agency to ver-
ify the caller’s authenticity.
Scammers have used the
names of actual Sheriff ’s
Office employees in the
past so simply verifying
that the agency has some-
one with that name doesn’t
mean it isn’t a scam.
Community members
can also report fraud to the
Oregon Attorney General’s
Consumer Hotline by call-
ing 1-877-877-9392.
Community input sought for Wildfire Protection Plan update
For residents living in or
near a forested area with
concerns about the grow-
ing risk of wildfire, Lane
County and its partners
want to hear from you.
Lane County, Oregon
Department of Forestry
and other partners are
updating the community
wildfire protection plan to
better reflect communities
and resources at risk of
wildfire.
The electronic survey
aims to gather residents’
perceptions of wildfire
risk, what type of help is
needed and ways to fund
the work.
Lane County residents
in the wildland-urban in-
terface are encouraged to
take the survey at www.
lanecounty.org/fireplan.
Results from the sur-
vey will help local officials
better prioritize where to
put scarce resources.
The existing commu-
nity wildfire protection
plan was first developed
in 2005. That plan iden-
tified which places were
most at risk for wildfire
and helped direct grants
and community-funded
fuel reduction projects to
lower wildfire risk around
homes and property.
“We continue to expe-
rience hotter, drier and
longer fire seasons across
much of the Pacific North-
west,” said Lane Coun-
ty Emergency Manager
Patience
Winningham.
“Most of Lane County
is forested. The updated
plan will prioritize where
Final
Arrangements
Handled with Care
• Cremation Options
• Memorial & Funeral Planning
• Monuments & Memorials • Cemetery Options
• Family Owned & Operated
123 South 7th • Cottage Grove, Oregon
541.942.0185 • smithlundmills.com
work to reduce wildfire
risk should occur and sur-
vey responses will help us
understand how to get the
most bang for our buck.”
The survey will be
available through August.
Residents living in the
wildland-urban interface
(typically in unincorpo-
rated Lane County) are
encouraged to respond to
the online survey.
Printed copies of the
survey are available by
contacting Lane County
Emergency Management
at 541-682-6999.
Learn more at www.lan-
ecounty.org/fireplan.
Bob Noah
1957-2019
Bob Noah, 62, of Cottage
Grove, Oregon, passed away,
Monday, July 1, 2019 sur-
rounded by loving family. He
was survived by his daughter’s,
Bretlin Noah and Courtney
Rowe.
A celebration of life service
will be held at 2:00 pm, Satur-
day, July 27th at  the Cottage
Grove Elks Lodge.
DEATH NOTICES
HALL—Wayne Hall,
87, of Cottage Grove,
passed away July 19,
2019.
A celebration of his
life will be held Satur-
day, July 27, beginning
at noon at the London
Grange, 72746 London
Rd., in Cottage Grove.
Arrangements are in
the care of Smith Lund
Mills Funeral Chapel.
Laurita Ann (Lundbom) Berg
1932-2019
Th e high point of every
summer was camping at Wick-
iup reservoir in Oregon where
family and friends gathered
around Grandmas kitchen.
She experienced much joy
in her grandchildren and great
grand children.
She was preceded in death
by Bob who passed in 2012, her
parents Elsie and Einar, broth-
Laurita passed away May
31st, 2019 at her daughter’s
home aft er a long battle with
dementia. She was 87 years
old.
Laurita was born February
20, 1932 in Cottage Grove Or-
egon to Einer and Elsie Lund-
bom. Aft er graduating from
Cottage Grove High School in
1950 she worked in Medford
as a secretary for a dairy farm
before returning to Cottage
Grove. Th ere she worked as a
telephone operator and also
worked in the bean and hop
fi elds in the area.
On May 23, 1953 she mar-
ried Robert “Bob” Berg of
Drain Oregon.
Rita, as she was known, was
a dedicated mother and navy
wife who raised six children
while frequently moving from
coast to coast as Bob served as
a submariner in the U.S Navy.
Aft er Bob’s retirement
from the Navy, they settled in
Oakville where she was an ac-
tive member of the Oakville
Grange serving as secretary.
She also assisted in the annual
fourth of July celebrations.
Rita loved gardening, bak-
ing, knitting, crocheting, sew-
ing and could even occasion-
ally be found fi shing with Bob.
ers Richard and Gerald and
half brothers Oscar, Roy and
Gus as well as grandson Daniel.
She is survived by her sons
Mike (Alyce) of Oakville,
Joseph (Tammy) of Mystic
CT, John (Sheri) of Oakville,
Patrick (Donna) of Centra-
lia, James (Carol) of Oakville,
daughter Susan (Chris) Kins-
man of Mill Creek, sisters
Deanna of Oakville and Lou-
ise of Port Orchard, and her
18 grandchildren and 13 great
grand children as well as nu-
merous nieces and nephews.
Graveside service will be
held Aug 3rd, 2019 at 1:30 PM
at the Oakville Cemetery with
a celebration of life to follow at
2 PM at the Oakville Assembly
of God Church 114 W. Cedar
St. Oakville WA.
Remembrances
may
be
made to Alzheimer research.