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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2019)
CGSENTINEL.COM 3 Est. 1889 WEDNESDAY EDITION | AUGUST 21, 2019 | $1.00 S entinel C ottage G rove 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 Your Local News Delivered Your Way: In Print. Online. On the Go! PERSONAL | BUSINESS BENEFIT PLANNING | SURETY ‘Are We Ready?’ Part III — Future threats to The Grove 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 PayneWest.com /Cottage-Grove WEATHER Mix of sun and rain with a high of 75 and a low tonight of 58. Full forecast on A5 By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel.com Editor’s Note: This is the final instalment in a three-part special series, which began Aug. 7, looking at the state of emergency prepared- ness in the Cottage Grove area, identify possible future threats and examine solutions. W hen it comes to emergency planning, no one has a crys- tal ball. “It’s a never-ending process,” said Cottage Grove City Manager Richard Meyers. “If we think we’re going to prepare for every possible situation, we’re kidding ourselves.” In enduring the natural disasters that swept Cottage Grove this year, many found that they were personally unprepared for a survival situation while gov- ernment agencies retrospec- tively attested that there was room for improvement. As this year gave area resi- dents a taste of how uncom- promising nature can be, future threats undoubtedly linger on the horizon and the way in which we ought to prepare is not, for each case, im- mediately obvious. It’s also important to note that disasters have no obligation to oc- cur at our personal convenience, adding an extra dice roll to poten- tial scenarios. “Any of these incidents could occur at any time,” said Meyers. “They’re not going to occur when everybody’s at home watching TV all together. Somebody’s going to be at basketball practice. Some- body’s going to be having a ham- burger at a restaurant. Somebody else is going to be on the road go- ing home. That’s when it’s going to happen. And how are you going to See FUTURE 7A COMMUNITY Workshop off ers authorship to veterans By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel. com Mayor’s Golf Tourney benefits H2O A3 SPORTS — B Heritage Fair celebrates past skills B1 DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL A structure fire damaged a house on Main Street over the weekend, the fifth in a spate of local fires. String of fires hits The Grove • RECORDS Obituaries Police Logs A2 • LORANE NEWS A5 • CLASSIFIEDS Listings and public notices B6-B7 FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS : /CGS ENTINEL @CGS ENTINEL CGS ENTINEL . COM By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel.com 541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 In a little over two weeks, a spate of five fires have occurred in and around Cottage Grove, raising concerns and speculation among residents as to the cause of the blazes. “South Lane County Fire and Rescue (SLCFR) averages about 36 structure-type fires in the course of a year,” said SLCFR Division Chief Joe Raade. “So, it averages out to about three a month.” Structure fires can vary, from room and contents fires to the full loss of a structure. The sudden spike in structure fires has not gone unnoticed. “That is definitely concerning to us,” Raade said. “We have dug into all of these fires — all five of them.” Two of the fires have occurred on Main Street and the others on Sev- enth Street, Tenth Street and Birch Avenue. Three of the fires’ causes have been positively identified. “They are unfortunate accidents,” said Raade. “Two of them are elec- trical in nature.” A member of the Cottage Grove Police Department keeps an area clear off of Main Street as firefighters work to extinguish a home fire over the week- end. were mixed. Raade predicted that two looked to be total losses, but no serious NICK SNYDER/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Another was the result of an un- injuries or deaths re- attended candle. sulted from the emergencies. “We see both of those — elec- “I know we did have some people trical and open flame accidents — get a little bit of smoke exposure, throughout the year,” Raade said. but none of them sought any fur- “They’re probably some our most ther care,” said Raade. common causes of fire.” The presence of Deputy State Regarding the other two fires, Fire Marshal Kristina Deschaine “They’re currently being investigat- has also roused public speculation ed further,” said Raade. on social media that an arson in- In response to speculation occur- vestigation is underway by the state ring on social media that an arson fire marshal’s office. may be loose, Raade said, “There’s Raade said that Deschaine’s pres- no connection between the fires.” ence was not out of the ordinary. Conclusions to the investigations “She’s an ally of ours that we see are expected within the next week or two. See FIRES 8A The severity of the five fires Jan McHenry is trying to help troubled veterans and their families rewrite the narratives of their lives — one workshop at a time. “My commitment is that every person who does the workshop is free from the constraints of their past,” McHenry said. Around 20 people at- tended McHenry’s work- shop, “Operation Veteran Freedom,” in the Cot- tage Grove Community Center on Aug. 10. The workshop is a program out of National Alliance to End Veteran Suicide, a nonprofi t which has spent the last decade or- ganizing events and con- necting veterans, mainly in Oregon and Washing- ton. McHenry’s own story starts with his service in Vietnam as a marine in the infantry. Fifty years ago to the day of Saturday’s work- shop in Cottage Grove, McHenry was on a hill in Vietnam with about 100 other marines when they were suddenly overrun by the North Vietnamese Army. “They estimated 550 to 650 NVA soldiers,” McHenry said. “Five of us walked off the hill.” During the battle, McHenry was knocked unconscious from an ex- plosion. Still engaged in combat the next morn- ing, McHenry carried a friend to a medivac landing spot and then re- turned to the carnage to help more injured men. Mortar bombardments began again and the he- licopters stopped coming in. Upon returning to the See VETS 11A