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S entinel
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VOL. 131, NO. 34
P OSTAL C USTOMER
C OTTAGE G ROVE , O RE .
97424
S ERVING
C OTTAGE G ROVE ,
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Rural-aimed grant spurs NAMI outreach in Cottage Grove
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
(541) 942-0555
PayneWest.com /Cottage-Grove
WEATHER
Sunny skies with a
high of 81 and a low
tonight of 55.
Full forecast on A5
COMMUNITY
In many rural towns, finding ad-
equate mental health services can
be a challenge. Though Cottage
Grove has its own share of resourc-
es, it may soon be adding more to
that list.
As a result of a recent $230,000
grant commitment by Pacific-
Source Foundation for Health Im-
provement, six nonprofit organi-
zations based in Oregon, Montana
and Idaho, were chosen to receive
funds. Lane County’s branch of
National Alliance on Mental Ill-
ness (NAMI) has received $20,000
as part of that grant to expand its
peer-led programs in rural areas.
“We have already started to do
more outreach within Cottage
Grove,” said Jennifer MacLean,
executive director of NAMI Lane
County.
It won’t be the nonprofit’s first
activity in Cottage Grove, howev-
er.
“It’s ebbed and flowed over our
whole history of being NAMI in
Lane County,” MacLean said. “At
one time we had multiple support
groups happening on a weekly ba-
sis in Cottage Grove. Currently we
have zero and we’ve been trying to
reinvigorate that.”
That reinvigoration involves
outreach efforts that have seen
See NAMI 11A
Beetle threat
prompts local
tree survey
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
CG Carousel project
holds final concert
A3
SPORTS — B
Fall sports get
underway
B1
• RECORDS
Obituaries
Official
announcements
A2
Tree surveys performed by the Coast Fork Youth
Conservation Corps (CFYCC) this summer are giv-
ing youths a chance to gain real-world environmental
work experience — but they’re also gathering infor-
mation for an impending invasion.
“It’s something the Midwest and the East Coast have
been struggling with for a number of years, since the
early 2000s,” said Coast Fork Willamette Watershed
Council Projects Coordinator Reilly Newman, “and
now we’re understanding that it’s actually coming west
and we have an opportunity to prepare for its eventual
arrival.”
The emerald ash borer, an invasive insect species
sweeping across North America, has prompted the
City of Cottage Grove and environmental organiza-
tions to take index of their trees, a project which had
been sluggish to gather momentum until this year.
With indexing having started in June, Newman said
it may take “multiple years” to get a comprehensive in-
ventory of all the trees in Cottage Grove’s city limits.
Meanwhile, cities and states across the country have
developed preparedness plans for the insect.
The Oregon Department of Forestry calls the em-
erald ash borer “the world’s costliest forest pest,” es-
timating the bug had done $3.5 billion in damage to
U.S. forests as of 2017. Over the next 10 years, costs to
municipalities could exceed $12 billion by some esti-
mates.
The green, wood-boring beetle comes from Asia and
is thought to have been introduced to North America
in the 1990s by being carried over on shipping pallets
and packing materials.
Since first being discovered in 2002 in Michigan, the
See BEETLES 7A
DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Coast Fork Youth Conservation Corps members gather around what is thought to
be the oldest tree within Cottage Grove city limits.
• LORANE NEWS
A5
• CLASSIFIEDS
Listings and public
notices
B6-B7
Safe Routes project schedule
temporarily delayed
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
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P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Construction plans on
streets leading to Cottage
Grove schools as part of
the Safe Routes to School
(SRTS) program are taking a
slight detour.
“Between the survey-
ing and design changes, it’s
thrown the project off,” said
Public Works and Develop-
ment Director Faye Stewart.
“The project was actually
scheduled in the application
to be done in February. It
looks like the project’s going
to be about six months longer
to complete provided we can
get it out to bid toward the
middle to end of September.”
SRTS is a nationwide ef-
fort to assist communities in
identifying and reducing bar-
riers and hazards to children
walking or bicycling to and
from school through infra-
structure improvements and
safety education.
At an estimated cost of al-
most $1.7 million, the proj-
ect will address key safety
concerns on fi ve routes to
Cottage Grove schools. For
most of these routes, safe
sidewalks are an issue.
A $1,272,143 grant from
the Oregon Department of
Transportation (ODOT)
See SAFE 9A
Local diff erence-makers in CG
recognized by Vision Keepers
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
Cottage Grove’s Vision Keep-
ers committee presented an annual
progress report and honored local
difference-makers at a City Council
meeting Aug. 26.
The committee, which is charged
with tracking the progress of com-
munity goals, reported great success
in implementing some 78 identifi ed
accomplishments across 20 Vision
Keepers strategies.
“What was kind of amazing was
to look through and see how much
has been accomplished in the last
year,” said the city’s Community
Coordinator Teresa Cowan.
Cowan highlighted activities
such as producing a new local re-
source guide, the Cottage Village
Tiny House project, the Business
Challenge and improved school dis-
trict shop classes with the help of
local wood manufacturing company
Weyerhaeuser as examples of recent
successes.
Next, Vision Keepers Co-chair
Holly Turpinand Chair Travis Palm-
er presented awards to individuals
and organizations which had pro-
vided exceptional service toward
meeting the goals of the community.
The Expanding and Integrating
Community Networks Award went
to game store Delight for its various
activities available to youth.
“They provide a safe and
See VISION 6A
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