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WEDNESDAY EDITION | NOVEMBER 20, 2019 | $1.00
S entinel
C ottage G rove
VOL. 131, NO. 45
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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BENEFIT PLANNING | SURETY
Park clean-up prepares for holiday festivities
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
(541) 942-0555
PayneWest.com /Cottage-Grove
WEATHER
Community members came
out on Nov. 16 to clean up the
All-America Park in anticipation
of the city’s Christmas celebration
on Dec. 7, which will include a
Christmas tree lighting.
“Today was another step forward
in making our community better
by getting community to work to-
gether,” said City Councilor Ken-
neth Roberts, who organized the
clean-up. “I just saw a need to get
the park cleaned up and to make
it the best it could be for the city
Christmas tree.”
Members of the Cottage Grove
Garden Club and others cleared
the park of debris, weeded gar-
dens, planted flowers and removed
a tree to improve visibility from the
street.
The Dec. 7 celebration and hol-
iday festivities will include light
displays, scavenger hunts, refresh-
ments and shopping specials from
businesses downtown as well as
other attractions throughout the
city.
A list of businesses that will
be open, discounts offered and
planned activities will be published
in the Cookies & Carols section of
The Sentinel.
Beautifying the downtown area
is part and parcel of Roberts’ goal
to energize the historic district and
bring in more visitors.
“We have a very unique, beauti-
ful downtown,” he said. “As some-
one who has traveled a lot … I’ve
seen a lot of towns and this town
is very special. And I’m just trying
to show people how special it is —
Partly cloudy with a
high of 52 and a low
tonight of 31.
Full forecast on A5
See PARK 11A
Letter carriers
help ‘Stamp
Out’ hunger
COMMUNITY
Mail carriers will
be collecting food
this Saturday
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@
cgsentinel.com
ally liked it and thought it would be
appropriate for high school. It’s fun,
the kids get into the campiness of it
and I have the right kids for it too.”
Juniors Enzo Valdez (Gomez),
Alex Keedy (Morticia), Darcy Rust
(Wednesday) and sophomore Maia
Wilhour (Lucas) take on the leading
roles, while fellow sophomore John
Swanson gives a particularly mem-
orable performance as Uncle Fester.
“Our Fester, John, it took us a
month to be able to do those scenes
with him while keeping a straight
On Nov. 23, letter car-
riers across Lane County
will be expecting more
than letters in mailboxes.
Stamp Out Hunger, a
nationwide food drive
led by the National Asso-
ciation of Letter Carriers
(NALC), is gearing up
for its November col-
lection period in Lane
County.
“The idea is, clean out
your pantry,” said food
drive coordinator for lo-
cal NALC Branch 916
Bruce Meier. “Anything
you want to get rid of,
put it in your mailbox.”
The food drive re-
stocks the shelves of area
food pantries, ensuring
that local efforts have lo-
cal impact.
“The fact that it stays
in your own community
is really benefi cial,” Mei-
er said. “All your food
stays in Cottage Grove.”
Now in its 27th year,
the food drive collects
non-perishable
food
items such as pasta, rice,
beans and canned goods;
Meier pointed to a par-
ticular need for canned
protein such as tuna and
chicken in the area.
Participants are en-
couraged to leave their
donations in weath-
er-proof bags if possible.
The food drive runs
every May across the
nation, but Lane County
uniquely commits to a
second drive every No-
vember.
“It works out real-
ly well because they’re
spaced far enough apart
that, for example, Food
for Lane County shelves
start to run dry about the
time a drive kicks in,”
Meier said.
Though now a national
project, the food drive’s
origins are in Eugene,
See CGHS 7A
See HUNGER 10A
Local “Rosie”
featured in calendar.
A3
SPORTS — B
PHOTOS BY DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Creative Chaos founder Carmen Dowell (left) rehearses a scene with actor Ian Miller.
Creative Chaos expands its reach
By Damien Sherwood
Fall sports come to a
close.
B1
• RECORDS
Obituaries
Police Logs
Regional News
A2
• LORANE NEWS
A5
• CLASSIFIEDS
Listings and public
notices
B8-B9
FOLLOW US FOR THE
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
Acting troupe Creative Chaos is
ready to expand beyond the stage.
Beginning February next year,
monthly social events will become a
regular fixture for the group, which
has provided a theatrical outlet for
people with disabilities for the past
three years.
After experiencing the draw of
social programs for people with dis-
abilities in Eugene, Creative Chaos
founder Carmen Dowell saw the
potential for the troupe to extend
its reach into the social lives of its
members and others in the Cottage
CGHS drama department offering range of theater experience
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Grove community.
“The sad thing is, we don’t have
anything like that down here,” said
Dowell. “I just thought about my
mission of Creative Chaos and said,
‘There’s no reason why we can’t do
it.’”
The events aren’t limited to Cre-
ative Chaos members, however.
“It’s open to the whole commu-
nity and surrounding areas,” said
Dowell. “I just want a social event
once a month for them.”
The new monthly events will kick
off on Feb. 7 with a “Sweetheart
Dance,” opening up the Opal The-
Creative Chaos actor Monica
ater with music and refreshments.
Venice (left) hams it up during
rehearsal.
See REACH 9A
By Nick Snyder
nsnyder@cgsentinel.com
541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax
P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
The Cottage Grove High School
(CGHS) drama department kicked
off its 2019-20 season last weekend
with two showings of “The Addams
Family” musical, one each on Friday
and Saturday evenings. Based on
audience numbers, it was a success-
ful opening run for director Janet
Rust and her talented cast of actors
and actresses.
“We had to put up three extra
rows of chairs last night,” Rust said
when asked about Friday’s premiere.
The comedy production — which
will have two more shows at 7:30
p.m. on Friday, Nov. 22 and Sat-
urday, Nov. 23 — centers around
Wednesday Addams, daughter of
Gomez and Morticia, who falls in
love with a “normal” boy, Lucas Be-
ineke. The two star-crossed lovers
from divergent backgrounds must
find a way to obtain both parents’
approval with help — and occa-
sional roadblocks — from the other
zany members of the titular family.
“I really loved the Addams Fam-
ily when I was a kid,” Rust said. “I
also listened to the music and I re-
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