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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
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Listings and public
notices
B6-B7
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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