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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 30, 2020)
S ERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF C OTTAGE G ROVE , C RESWELL , D ORENA , D RAIN , E LKTON , L ORANE AND Y ONCALLA THURSDAY EDITION | JANUARY 30, 2020 | $1.00 S entinel C ottage G rove VOL. 131, NO. 5 • Est. 1889 Visit cgsentinel.com to play Your Local News Delivered Your Way: In Print. Online. On the Go! Could you be saving on home and auto policies? Curtis historic thread of Yoncalla’s fabric Marge Curtis is a living history and icon of the Yoncalla community By Nick Snyder nsnyder@cgsentinel.com Call a local agent today (541) 942-0555 PayneWest.com/CottageGrove WEATHER M arge Curtis’ house over- looks the Yoncalla High School grounds, as is only fitting. For over 65 of her 85 years of life, Curtis has lived in Yoncalla, watch- ing over the comings and goings of the town, seeing young people grow up and move away — or sometimes remain. She continues to be a wit- ness to vast changes in economy and industry, all the while fulfilling her voluntary role of Douglas County matriarch, repository of history and a bygone era that fades more with each passing day. “Well, I’m one of the older ones now,” said Curtis, “because most of the older ones have passed. Not all of them yet.” The way Marge Curtis tells her life story is bucolic and modest, in many parts distinctly matter of fact. Over the last 20 years or so, Curtis has tak- en time every now and again to write down her memories of a life spent entirely in Douglas County. The sto- ries now take up the large part of a 70-page spiral notebook. Its distance from the current digital age and myriad tales of a simpler time where See CURTIS 7A Clouds and rain with a high of 58 and a low tonight of 52. Full forecast on A5 COMMUNITY Housing program awards fi rst applicants By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel. com The Cottage Grove City Council has re- ceived and approved its fi rst three requests for as- sistance under the city’s new Housing Develop- ment Cost Assistance Program. The program was ad- opted when councilors voted for the housing policy during the Jan. 13 City Council meeting. Under the new assistance program, which targets nonprofi ts and govern- ment agency developers, applications may request assistance from the city on development costs See PROGRAM 8A Booher celebrates 100th birthday. A3 Resignations shake up carousel board SPORTS — B By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel. com ND girls gear up for playoffs. B1 • RECORDS Obituaries Police Logs Official reports A2 • LORANE NEWS A5 • CLASSIFIEDS Listings and public notices B8-B9 Ground breakers DevNW and community leaders celebrate construction on six new affordable homes NICK SNYDER/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS : Cottage Grove Mayor Jeff Gowing (center) welcomed members of nonprofit DevNW to the community for a ceremony marking the construction of six new community land trust homes last Friday. /CGS ENTINEL @CGS ENTINEL By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel.com CGS ENTINEL . COM 541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 Nonprofit DevNW celebrated the continuing construction of six com- munity land trust homes in Cottage Grove Jan. 24, a project which will offer permanent homeownership for low- and middle-income fami- lies in the area. “This particular project was a la- bor of love and we ran into a lot of hurdles along the way,” said DevNW CEO Emily Reiman at the event. DevNW was created last year when nonprofits Neighborhood for Economic Development Cor- poration and Corvallis-based Wil- lamette Neighborhood Housing Services united to increase regional impact. The nonprofit aims to em- power communities through a va- riety of methods such as financial counseling, revitalization projects and assistance programs. The six new homes under con- & 18 Pk. $13.99 + Dep. 16oz. 911 E. Main • Cottage Grove • OPEN 24 HRS. struction on Arthur Avenue are being sold to homebuyers below 80 percent of the area median income (AMI). Cottage Grove’s AMI was estimat- ed to be as high as $47,000 accord- ing to U.S. Census Bureau data from 2014-2018. Eligibility for ownership of the new land trust homes will be de- pendent on family size and annual income, ranging from an income See HOMES 9A Friends of the Cottage Grove Carousel accept- ed resignations from the board’s president Don Williams and board member Linda Sexton last week amid disagree- ments over handling of the project and other con- fl icts within the board. “It is with a broken heart that I come to the community, the donors, volunteers and Board of Directors to tender my resignation as president and board member of Friends of the Cottage Grove Carousel,” wrote Williams in his letter. “It is my sincere regret that I am unable to fulfi ll the commitment to many — that I would see the job through to completion. … I think it best, for the health and well-being of the project, to step aside.” Williams had led the project since 2014, when he resurrected the dream of late Cottage Grove resident Judy Cash to establish a carousel in town. Though still support- ive and optimistic about the carousel’s resto- ration, Williams said the aggregation of several minor incidents and an atmosphere of confl ict See CAROUSEL 11A Emerald Valley Armory, LLC Handguns • Long Rifles Concealed Carry Classes Tues. - Sat. 10-6 147 E. Oregon Ave. Creswell, OR 97426 541-895-2666
