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WEDNESDAY EDITION | OCTOBER 16, 2019 | $1.00
S entinel
C ottage G rove
VOL. 131, NO. 40
S ERVING
THE COMMUNITIES OF
C OTTAGE G ROVE ,
C RESWELL ,
D ORENA , D RAIN ,
E LKTON , L ORANE AND
Y ONCALLA
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PERSONAL | BUSINESS
BENEFIT PLANNING | SURETY
YMCA expands services into Cottage Grove
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
(541) 942-0555
PayneWest.com /Cottage-Grove
WEATHER
The YMCA has expanded its af-
ter-school enrichment program to
Harrison Elementary School this
year, adding options for a commu-
nity that is often in search of af-
ter-school care.
Rachel Jackson, associate youth
development director for the
YMCA, is excited to show the pro-
gram off to Cottage Grove.
“I like that we’re able to not just
be an after-school, but an enrich-
ment program,” said Jackson. “[The
children] are learning and building
new skills, whether its personal re-
lationships or any of the other en-
richment activities that we’re offer-
ing.”
The expansion into Cottage
Grove comes as the organization
opens more programs in the Bethel
School District.
“High-quality after-school pro-
grams have consistently been found
to contribute to student success
and higher graduation rates,” said
YMCA CEO Brian Steffen in a
statement. “This expansion of our
See YMCA 7A
Clouds and rain
with a high of 57 and
a low tonight of 48.
Full forecast on A5
COMMUNITY
Carousel closing in
on completion.
A3
SPORTS — B
PHOTOS BY GREG LEE/FOR THE COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Cottage Grove Mayor Jeff Gowing and his wife, Celia, greet arrivals at last weekend’s Mayor’s Ball.
Mayor’s Ball makes for ‘Timeless’ evening
Lions close in on
postseason.
B1
• RECORDS
Obituaries
Police Logs
Wedding Anniv.
A2
• LORANE NEWS
A5
• CLASSIFIEDS
Listings and public
notices
B8-B9
to celebrate and
support one of
Cottage Grove’s
most important
historic
build-
ings,” said Mayor
Jeff Gowing.
The
night’s
theme, “Time-
less as the Stars,”
paid tribute to
this history as the
musical tone for
the night was set
by the early-20th
century
swing
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
Dining, dancing and
music filled the Cottage
Grove Armory Saturday
night for the fourth annu-
al Mayor’s Ball.
The ball served as a
fundraiser for the con-
tinued restoration of
the Armory, bringing in
thousands of dollars in
donations and auction
events during the night.
“We’re here tonight
tunes of The Jewel Tones
and the 17-piece Blue
Skies Big Band.
Cottage Grove city of-
ficials and local business
leaders populated the
guest list alongside Ore-
gon state senators James
Manning, Jr. and Floyd
Prozanski, Lane County
Commissioner Heather
Buch and Eugene Mayor
Lucy Vinis.
The night also marked
See BALL 11A
Veteran housing project moves forward
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By Damien Sherwood
541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax
P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
on a parcel of land behind
American Legion
building between Main
Street and Ash Avenue.
The meeting gave com-
munity members an op-
portunity for feedback.
“When we start talking
about any new develop-
ment in our communities,
we like to come out and
meet the people who will
be future neighbors to
talk and show you what
our thought process is,”
said Homes for Good
Communications Direc-
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com the
Another step toward
veteran housing in Cot-
tage Grove was made
Oct. 10 as the county’s
housing authority Homes
for Good Housing Agen-
cy presented plans to the
community at the Ameri-
can Legion.
The presentation put
potential designs on dis-
play for Legion Cottages,
four proposed tiny homes
for low-income veterans
OUR TOWN,
Not Defi ned by Borders,
But by People
44 YEARS
Cottage Grove
Genealogical Society
700 Gibbs Ave.
P.O. Box 388
Cottage Grove, OR 97424
541-942-9570
tor Ela Kubok.
Homes for Good pur-
chased the property from
the American Legion and
secured a $225,000 grant
from Lane County to help
with construction of the
new homes.
At the meeting, Kubok
presented designs creat-
ed by University of Ore-
gon architecture students
through the university’s
OregonBILDS program
under the direction of
professor Rob Thallon.
Thallon’s class has al-
ready made five afford-
able housing units in Eu-
gene in partnership with
Homes for Good.
“It’s a fantastic experi-
ence for the students to
understand the relation-
ship between what they’re
designing as future ar-
chitects and how it gets
built,” Thallon said.
The homes, about
400 square feet, are each
equipped with a bath-
room, kitchenette, living
space, loft and a small
See HOUSING 10A
Input sought in
search for new
superintendent
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.
com
South Lane School
District’s search for a
new superintendent has
begun and community
input is being solicited
as part of the process.
School board mem-
bers, staff and commu-
nity members gathered
at the Cottage Grove
High School Oct. 8 for a
community input session
facilitated by the Oregon
School Board Associa-
tion’s Director of Board
Development Steve Kel-
ley.
The
superintendent
position will be vacated
June 2020 by Larry Sul-
livan, who was initially
named to the position
as an interim superin-
tendent May 2018 after
his predecessor, Krista
Parent, was ousted by
the school board amid
misconduct allegations
and a scandal involving
a workplace affair.
The Oregon Teacher
Standards and Practices
Commission later dis-
missed the misconduct
allegations against Par-
ent.
In the coming search
process, key priorities
and standards for a new
superintendent will be
identifi ed by community
members and a screen-
ing committee.
“That becomes the lens
by which your school
board will look through
the entire process,” Kel-
ley said. “That’s what
we will look at the appli-
cations through. That’s
how we’ll develop the
interview
questions.
That’s how we’ll judge
the answers.”
Kelley elicited ideas
from the audience during
the night’s session, ask-
ing for opinions about
community and school
district strengths and
challenges.
Audience comments
on strengths revolved
around Cottage Grove
characteristics such as its
rural atmosphere, its lev-
el of cooperation, wel-
coming nature, a sense
of its own identity and
the longevity of stay of
its long-term citizens.
Kelley articulated his
own personal impres-
sions of the town as well.
“I’ve gained an appre-
ciation for your small-
town feel — your ru-
ralness, if you will,” he
said.
Community member
Jimmy Schaper added,
“We are a micropolitan.
We are the obverse of
See SEARCH 8A
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