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WEDNESDAY EDITION | AUGUST 7, 2019 | $1.00
S entinel
C ottage G rove
VOL. 131, NO. 31
P OSTAL C USTOMER
C OTTAGE G ROVE , O RE .
97424
S ERVING
C OTTAGE G ROVE ,
D ORENA , D RAIN , E LKTON ,
L ORANE AND Y ONCALLA
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‘Are We Ready?’ Part I — Cottage Grove’s Grade Report
In recent months, residents have contended with a 100-year snowstorm, fl ooding and fi res.
What do they tell us about our area’s readiness in the event of a major disaster?
(541) 942-0555
By Damien Sherwood
PayneWest.com /Cottage-Grove
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
WEATHER
Partly cloudy with a
high of 80 and a low
tonight of 59.
Full forecast on A5
Editor’s Note: This is Part I of
a three-part series that will look at
the state of emergency prepared-
ness in the Cottage Grove area,
examine solutions and identify
possible future threats.
T
his year has been a trial
by fire — and water — for
the Cottage Grove area. In
a three-month span, locals found
themselves subject to a diversity of
disasters which tested the resolve
and readiness of not just individ-
uals, but the systems in place to
guard against such onslaughts of
nature.
Beginning with a once-in-a-cen-
tury snowstorm at the end
of February, heavy rain and
flooding followed in April
only to be topped off with a
massive hillside fire outside
the city on Dowens Road a
month later.
While many viewed the or-
deal as a wake-up call, coor-
dinators of some response ef-
forts saw the events as proof,
to a degree, of readiness.
Lane County Emergency Man-
ager Patence Winningham, who
had freshly accepted the position
only four days before the snow-
storm, found Cottage Grove to
be a relatively unassuming hum
among the cries for county assis-
tance during the incident.
“I actually didn’t hear a whole
lot from Cottage Grove based on
wants and needs, which is out-
standing,” she said.
Cottage Grove city officials
chalk that up to a level of self-re-
liance that fortified the city against
the storm’s severity.
“For the snowstorm, we were
independent and successfully
See READY 7A
COMMUNITY
‘Swing shift’
Residents
weigh in on
Sears Road
Residents, fi rst responders
and county administrators
exchange thoughts on
improving safety along
Sears Road
Carousel steps closer
to completion
A5
SPORTS — B
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
SOPHIA EDELBLUTE/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Antique planes
dazzle at OAHS
B1
Cottage Grove’s Swinging Bridge is moving towards completion. As of Friday, Aug. 2, 15 cubic
yards of concrete was poured on each side of the bridge, amounting to 30 cubic yards in total.
The concrete will aid in ensuring the bridge can support heavier loads and will cure over sev-
eral days from Aug. 5 to Aug. 8. Steel columns are scheduled to be installed early September
and the entire project is set to be completed in early November.
• RECORDS
Obituaries
Official reports
Births
A2
• LORANE NEWS
A5
• CLASSIFIEDS
Listings and public
notices
B6-B7
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Sounds of symphony echo in The Grove
By Sophia Edelblute
Cottage Grove Sentinel Intern
541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax
P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
The sun set over Bohemia
Park on Monday, July 29, to
the sound of music. The Eu-
gene Symphony, conducted
by Francesco Lecce-Chong,
played through a number of
pieces — from John Williams’
“Harry’s Wondrous World” to
Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture.”
Mayor Jeff Gowing even con-
ducted a piece called “Tritsch-
Tratch Polka” by Strauss Jr.
The music may have started at
7:30 p.m. but the event prepara-
tion started far earlier. The back
was put on the amphitheater’s
dome about a week in advance.
The day of the event, set up of
chairs, tables and equipment
started at 8 a.m. The sympho-
ny’s own equipment — music
stands, stand lights, instruments
and their own chairs — arrived
in rental trucks later in the after-
noon.
SOPHIA EDELBLUTE/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
The amphitheater at Bohemia Park was packed as residents
gathered to hear the Eugene Symphony Orchestra July 29.
The overall cost of the event
was about $24,000, down from
just over $30,000 in past years,
according to Cottage Grove City
Manager Richard Meyers.
“We’re not renting the lights
anymore, we’ve whittled down
Emerald Valley Armory, LLC
Handguns • Long Rifles
Concealed Carry Classes
the number of port-a-potties we
rent so we’ve just been able to
whittle those costs away,” Meyers
said.
The costs are covered by the
City of Cottage Grove and the
Consensus on how best to ad-
dress safety issues and whether
or not to cut trees on Sears Road
was hard to reach at a community
input meeting July 29. Nineteen
residents of Sears Road assem-
bled in the Cottage Grove Com-
munity Center to brainstorm solu-
tions with fi ve county and two
Oregon Department of Transpor-
tation (ODOT) representatives.
“I was really happy with the
meeting, especially having about
20 area residents show up,” said
Lane County Senior Transporta-
tion Planner Becky Taylor. “I felt
that was a pretty good turnout.”
Community preferences were
collected during a break-out ses-
sion which asked residents what
their specifi c concerns were with
the county’s proposed tree re-
moval, if there was community
support for other roadway depar-
ture countermeasures, if the com-
munity would support widening
the shoulder to four feet and if
there was community support for
making other physical changes to
Sears Road to improve safety.
Though residents and offi cials
were largely pleased with the
input process, residents in atten-
dance were, for the most part,
not agreeable to proposed tree re-
moval in front of their properties,
a key element to the grant funding
behind the project.
Last week’s community input
meeting was held in response to
a Feb. 12 Lane County Board of
Commissioners meeting in which
residents of the rural road testifi ed
in opposition to the plan, con-
vincing commissioners to vote to
delay the project until a suitable
compromise could be found.
The proposed Sears Road Fixed
See MUSIC 6A
See SEARS 10A
&
Tues. - Sat. 10-6
147 E. Oregon Ave. Creswell, OR 97426
12 pk. Only $ $ 15.99
541-895-2666
911 E. Main • Cottage Grove • OPEN 24 HRS.