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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 27, 2020)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Blues from A1 turnout. This year’s show drifted across the musical genres of jazz, blues, rock, pop and scat singing and featured perfor- mances by the high school’s jazz band, jazz choir and the Microphonics vocal group. Adult performers also par- ticipated in various songs and acts such as a tap dance performance by Darcy & The Hot Mamas. Opening with a Beatles set of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lone- ly Hearts Club Band” and “With a Little Help From My Friends,” the show wove through the decades with crowd-pleasers such as Sam Cooke’s “Bring It On Home,” Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie” and Ah-ha’s “Take On Me.” Several of the musical numbers were arranged by Wright, who also corralled a selection of local talent to par- ticipate. “All of the adults from this incredible community are SLCFR from A1 strategic plan when it formed in 2003. Wooten cited several is- sues with the current station as reasons for replacement, not the least of which was its failure to meet seismic safety standards, summarizing the building’s safety assessment as: “if the ground shakes, it’s coming down.” Wooten also noted that the current station is not ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant, meaning it cannot serve as a site for pub- lic meetings. Taking up less than 6,000 square feet, said Wooten, the station also is running into space issues as service de- mand and technology grow. The bay doors, for exam- ple, are at risk of becoming obsolete as emergency vehi- cle sizes have grown over the years, Wooten said. Currently only one bay can house a fire engine. “If we wanted to put a sec- ond fire engine in here, we really couldn’t,” he said. “And the new ambulances that are coming are bigger.” With steady population growth in both Cottage Grove and Creswell, in- creased demand will require various forms of SLCFR ex- pansion. “In order for us to do any- thing in terms of even plan- ning for expanding service in this area, that fire station needs to be replaced,” said Wooten. The community center was chosen after deliberation by the Creswell Station Adviso- ry Committee, which includ- ed Creswell Mayor Richard Zettervall. Several locations were under consideration, including a Cuddeback fami- ly-owned property and a Clo- verdale Road property for- merly owned by the district. Wooten explained the rea- soning for the selection of the community center site. “Most of the calls are on this side of the tracks,” he said. “The highest dollar val- ue for the city is in the cur- rent area where the station is and the property that we had on Cloverdale is in the AE floodplain.” Public Notices The Lowest Rates in Lane County PUBLIC MEETINGS, TRUSTEE NOTICES, PROBATE, AUCTION & FORECLOSURE NOTICES, AND MORE. what make the Metropoli- tan Rhythm & Blues Revue such an intriguing event,” said Wright in a press release. “This 19-year-old vision to create a venue where the com- munity and the high school can collaborate on a profes- sional show has certainly come true. It is a remarkable event.” Wright put the total number of students involved at more than 50 and applauded the amount of time they invested. Students started brain- storming and preparing for the show just after Thanks- giving, giving them about two months to put a show togeth- er. Some elected to perform solos while others suggested more ensemble sets. “We try to stretch that and give them some room,” said Wright. “It lets them know that they can come together and do big things.” The open room for ideas al- lows students to play around with more modern pop music as well. “I think that’s a unique hallmark of the show,” said Wright. Wright also feels the production fi lls a gap in youth-oriented arts in the community. “It gives the community some insight into the good things that are going on at Cottage Grove High School – that we still are strong in the arts in our community and the kids are still working together and doing big things and it’s not just turning into an isola- tionist world,” he said. Besides the community connection, Wright hopes the production can provide an entry point for musically-in- clined students. “The way I see it is, there will always be those who mu- sically rise to the top and will follow their dreams in music,” he said. “And that’s awesome and of course this show sup- ports that, but it also supports the student who’s going to go directly into the work force. It may bring them back to the arts in some way either as a patron or a community mem- ber participant.” In addition to putting talent on display and inspiring in- terest in the arts, Wright esti- mates the production pays for 75 percent of the yearly bud- get for the music department. “That is very big for us,” he said. “We would not be able to do most of what we do throughout the school year if we didn’t do this show and raise these funds. … We’re one of the few school dis- tricts around that still has in- struments that are owned by the school and our students don’t have to go out and pay 50 bucks a month to rent an instrument.” An estimated $8,000 comes in from the production to aid with other expenditures such as entrance into music com- petitions and participation in music camps. Referring to his years liv- ing outside Oregon, Wright painted the production as one- of-a-kind. “I have never seen a show like this anywhere,” he said. “I think you would be hard- pressed to fi nd any show like it anywhere else in the coun- try.” Properties zoned AE are considered to be at high risk of flooding under the Nation- al Flood Insurance Program. “A consensus was formed that the district and the city would basically swap proper- ties,” said Wooten. At more than 17,000 square feet, the new proposed station would serve as a sec- ond master station for the district and a standalone sta- tion in the event of a disaster. The proposal specifica- tions call for a generator that could last up to four days, effectively providing SLCFR with a northern response station which would be in- dependent from its southern battalion headquartered in Cottage Grove. The three-story station would also bring the struc- ture into ADA compliance and include office space. With some elements of the construction meeting “green- er” standards, Wooten said the new station’s plans also include amenities tailored toward emergency responder staff. Drive-thru bays, for ex- ample, would allow vehicles to pull straight through the building to reduce accidents. With the inclusion of four sleep rooms and six dorm rooms, the station would also be fitted with alarms which gradually increase in volume to reduce stress on emergen- cy responders’ health. The project would also include a retrofit for the Cot- tage Grove station to extend its lifespan by 40 years, Woo- ten said. The construction on the new station would take place while the current station is still in service so as to con- tinue service throughout the project. With a $3 million contin- gency built in to the plan, Wooten estimated the project budget would hover around $12.5 million if the project went into action immediately. Construction is expected to see funding in the form of a bond measure in 2021. Wooten stressed, however, that the new bond would in essence be an extension of a 2015 bond, which is slated to expire in 2021. The 2015 bond currently levies .30 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value on the tax district. “It’s not an ask for new money,” said Wooten. “If the board decides to put it on the ballot, it would be to contin- ue that .30 cents for facilities.” Monday night’s presen- tation was intended for in- formational purposes. No agreement currently exists between Creswell and SLCFR and no bond effort has yet begun. S entinel Contact: Meg Fringer 541-942-3325 x1200 mfringer@cgsentinel.com Free Appraisals I’ll Come to You! BUY & SELL Gold, Silver, Scrap, Men’s Jewelry, Costume Jewelry, Pieces & Parts. Even Junk! 25+ Years Experience 2001 Franklin #3 Eugene, Oregon The Jewelry Girl, LLC L ISA R USSELL (541)556-9598 SOUTH LANE COUNTY FIRE & RESCUE The Only Emergency Medical Transport Service in South Lane County Call 541-942-4493 for info. FOR EMERGENCY DIAL 911 Serving South Lane County. www.southlanefi re.org Come to the Humane Society of Cottage Grove’s & Tucker’s Cupboard Happy Hour 5:30-7pm NAME YOUR PRICE SALE Only senior pricing in town Fri.Feb 28th & Sat. Feb 29th 10am-4pm & 10am-3pm SUNDAY NFL & NASCAR All Proceeds Help Animals In Our Area Cottage Grove Community Center 700 E. Gibbs Ave., Cottage Grove Come experience our new laser Dentistry without anesthesia We know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two. #SeenItCoveredIt. Jim Goodling - Mike Grant 330 OR-99 Suite C • Cottage Grove, OR 97424 541-942-0165 Full-Service Detailing Protect your investment with interior and exterior detailing designed to safeguard against wear, tear and extreme weather. 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