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WEDNESDAY EDITION | OCTOBER 30, 2019 | $1.00
S entinel
C ottage G rove
Est. 1889
VOL. 131, NO. 42
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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CGHS locker room hazing leads to citation of two students
Investigations by SLSD and Cottage Grove Police provide answers but also leave questions
(541) 942-0555
PayneWest.com /Cottage-Grove
By Damien Sherwood
Ned Hickson
Nick Snyder & Joshua Leach
The Sentinel
WEATHER
A
Sunny skies with a
high of 55 and a low
tonight of 37.
Full forecast on A5
COMMUNITY
Making tracks with
tiny trains.
A3
n alleged hazing incident
at Cottage Grove High
School has resulted in the
criminal citation of two 15-year-
old boys and the discipline of at
least seven others following a
police and school district inves-
tigation.
The allegations surfaced after a
freshman junior varsity football
player reported that he was ha-
rassed by two older varsity play-
ers in the school locker room.
Following an investigation by
the Cottage Grove Police De-
partment, as well as a separate
victim as being sexually assaulted
with as many as 10 people pres-
ent, as reported to the Eugene
newspaper by what it identified
as a “member of the victim’s fam-
ily.”
Subsequent reports by local
news stations and comments and
allegations on social media have
revolved around the sexual na-
ture of the incident as well as the
possibility of more victims, lead-
ing to outrage among some in
the community in regard to what
complainants felt were light con-
sequences for the students who
were cited.
SLSD released a letter to stu-
dents and parents on Oct. 24,
stating that, “the reports of rape
and other sexual crimes … are
“We had to tell [kids] to quit ...
chasing people or snapping
them with towels, but we never
dealt with anything like this.”
— Scott Shepherd, CGPD Chief and past CGHS basketball coach
SPORTS — B
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elimination.
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investigation by the South Lane
School District (SLSD), two stu-
dents were cited for harassment,
a Class A misdemeanor, which
carries a maximum $6,250 fine
and/or one year in jail. The Sen-
tinel learned at least seven other
students were disciplined, with
some receiving suspensions, after
the school investigation revealed
other incidents that the district
said were less severe and not re-
lated to the hazing incident. The
school district would not com-
ment further on the reasons for
the other student reprimands
due to student privacy concerns.
The case was first made pub-
lic in an Oct. 21 Register-Guard
article which characterized the
Elementary, middle school
programs focus on lowering
district’s high bullying rates
The relatively new ‘Buddy’ and other
programs are aimed at a long-term solution
By Joshua Leach
Intern for The Sentinel
Catherine Coffrini’s class-
room, crowded but cozy, erupt-
ed when a gaggle of students
marched through her front
door. Brenna Fairchild’s fifth
grade class entered the room,
faces etched with smiles, and
traipsed into the waiting arms
of more than a few seven-year-
olds. It was time for Buddies.
Out came the papers covered
with pumpkins. Out came the
crayons and began the color-
ing. The kids raced to build
their pumpkin faces, taking
turns rolling dice and drawing
whatever shape the numbers
told them to, peals of “Baby
Shark” ringing out over the ca-
cophony of tiny voices.
“She won,” said Boston, 11.
“I couldn’t get a nose in time.”
Boston and Payton, 7, have
been paired up as buddies, col-
not consistent with the findings
of our investigation.”
The following day, on Oct. 25,
three parents protested outside
the high school in response to the
district’s handling of the incident. the Cottage Grove Police Depart-
ment and SLSD began separate
investigations.
The Case
That night, at least a dozen var-
Sources close to the investi-
gation have confirmed to The sity football players were missing
Sentinel that around 11 a.m. on from the roster of a high school
Sept. 27, the school district was football game in Cottage Grove.
notified of a complaint about When asked that evening at the
harassment in the school locker event, school staff would not
room. When it became apparent comment on the reason for the
a possible crime had occurred, lack of active players for the Sept.
school officials contacted local 27 game.
As part of the Cottage Grove
police. By 12:25 p.m. the school
resource officer had requested a Police Department’s investiga-
case number for the incident as tion, separate interviews were
oring pumpkins that will soon
hang in Grocery Outlet.
“I’m your BFF, right?” Pay-
ton asked Boston.
“Yep!” said Boston with a
wry smile.
Boston and Payton met only
a few weeks ago when their
classrooms were paired up as
part of the “Buddies, not Bul-
lies” program at Bohemia Ele-
mentary School. The program
is designed to help build con-
nections across grade levels
and create a stronger school
community. It’s one of the ways
the South Lane School District
(SLSD) is trying to combat bul-
lying.
“What we really try to pro-
mote is this idea of family and
how we take care of each oth-
er at Bohemia,” said Principal
Heather Bridgens.
Previous reporting by The
See BULLYING 10A
conducted with the alleged vic-
tim, witnesses and suspects.
Conversations with the victim
led to the freshman boy being
referred to a children’s advocacy
group in Eugene, where a foren-
sic interview was conducted the
following Tuesday on Oct. 1.
Through the investigation,
it was determined that on or
around Sept. 16, a member of the
varsity football team picked up
the freshman victim in the
See HAZING 7A
City seeks community input for housing code changes
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.
com
541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax
P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
The city held an open
house in the Community
Center on Oct. 22 to share
information on recom-
mendations made by the
Development Code Audit
Committee and gather in-
put from the public.
More open houses are
to follow and will present
an opportunity for the
community to weigh in
on changes to the city’s
housing code.
“They’re real informal,”
said Public Works and
Development
Director
Faye Stewart. “It’s gener-
ally a one-on-one with
city staff who are present.”
Attending staff at the
Oct. 22 open house ex-
plained the process for
code recommendations,
the reasons for the change
and took comments from
the public.
Stewart felt public input
was an important part of
the process.
“We want to protect the
values that people want
in our community and
we want to make sure the
things we’re doing don’t
negatively impact their
lives or the quality of life
in Cottage Grove,” he
said.
The passage of House
Bill 2001 this year re-
quired updates to city
codes and comprehensive
plans around Oregon.
UPCOMING AT OPAL
The bill is an effort to
curb rising housing costs
by increasing supply of
smaller homes.
Among mandates was a
stipulation that cities with
at least 10,000 residents
allow development of du-
plexes in lands zoned for
single-family dwellings.
Cottage Grove has
recently
passed
the
10,000-resident mark.
To comply with the leg-
islation, the audit com-
mittee has adjusted the
city’s code to allow du-
plex development on any
lot where single-family
homes are allowed. The
city has previously al-
lowed duplexes only on
certain lot sizes in town,
but the code change will
effectively allow their de-
velopment in any residen-
tial zone.
The code audit com-
mittee is also taking the
opportunity to address
housing needs in the
community as detailed by
the city’s 2018 Housing
Needs Analysis.
Policy recommenda-
tions from the analysis
were adopted by the city
in January.
The analysis report-
ed a lack of housing
across low-, middle- and
high-income levels as
the city’s vacancy hovers
around 1 or 2 percent.
The report recom-
mended a growth rate of
69 units per year to help
the city meet a goal of
1,379 more units by 2038.
The analysis also not-
ed that the city would be
able to achieve its housing
goals without expanding
its urban growth bound-
ary.
In looking for solu-
tions, the city considered
if codes or costs were
hindering development
in Cottage Grove, a con-
versation out of which
the Development Code
Audit Committee was
born. The committee has
since been exploring the
impacts of modifying
development code to en-
courage a greater range of
housing mix and housing
density.
See CODES 11A
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