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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 12, 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 | MARCH 12, 2020 | $1.00 S entinel C ottage G rove VOL. 131 131, NO NO. 11 • VOL Your Loca Local al N News ews Delivered D e l i veer e d Your Y ou ur Way: W ayy: In I n Print. P r i n t Online. O n l i n e On O n the t h e Go! G o ! Get an insurance plan —not just a policy. County, local authorities take precautions for COVID-19 spread By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel.com (541) 942-0555 WEATHER Sunny skies with a high of 55 and a low tonight of 31. Full forecast on A5 Est. 1889 School News C section With a first presumptive posi- tive case of coronavirus in Douglas County announced on March 8, local entities have increased pre- cautionary measures and released advisory statements for locals. While national and local author- ities urge citizens to take precau- tions such as good hand hygiene, they have also maintained that the spread of COVID-19 is not cause for panic. “If confirmed cases develop in Cottage Grove, we will be follow- ing the recommendations from health authorities on what actions to take. Those could range from cancellation of public meetings or closure of buildings to the public,” said Cottage Grove City Manager Richard Meyers. “We want to be sure that we aren’t raising concerns to fear or panic — but we are ex- ercising and instructing staff to take extra precautions to maintain a healthy environment for citizens and for staff.” As of press time (March 11), the Oregon Health Authority has iden- tified 15 cases of the novel corona- virus (COVID-19) in seven coun- ties. None have been confirmed in Lane County. On Sunday, Governor Kate Brown freed up additional state resources by declaring a State of plications including pneumonia, Emergency, which will remain in kidney failure or even death. Those effect for 60 days. over 60 or who have existing health problems are considered at higher risk. Is it serious? In the majority of cases, those Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses which cause a wide range who have caught COVID-19 have of illnesses such as a common cold recovered in a matter of weeks. or more serious diseases such as However, no vaccine currently ex- Middle East Respiratory Syndrome ists to combat the virus, which has (MERS) and Severe Acute Respira- contributed to its spread. While some studies give the vi- tory Syndrome (SARS). COVID-19 is a new strain that rus a fatality rate as high as 3.4 has not been previously identified percent, much of the data and re- search is considered preliminary. in humans. Health authorities note that the While most cases exhibit mild or moderate symptoms such as fever, number of cases may actually be coughing or shortness of breath, See COVID 5A some may experience severe com- COMMUNITY — D Final SLSD ‘Super’ candidates 2020 Census arriving by mail this week The offi cial Census count begins April 1 By Mark Brennan for The Sentinel Vision for The Grove is more than building D1 SPORTS — B PHOTOS BY DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL As the search for South Lane School District’s new superintendent narrows, final candidates Yvonne Curtis (left) and Andy Dey answered questions Monday from a crowd of district staff, city officials and community members in a public question and answer session. The new superintendent is slated to be chosen this week and begin work on July 1. On to the Elite 8 for the Lady Lions. B1 CG Chamber names Neigh as new president • RECORDS Obituaries Police Logs Official releases A2 • LORANE NEWS A5 • CLASSIFIEDS Listings and public notices D7-D8 FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS : /CGSentinel @CGSentinel Though the title has changed, Neigh will be filling the shoes of Palmer, who held the position of ex- ecutive director of the Chamber for eight years. Neigh cited her admiration for Palmer’s commitment to community during his tenure. “And that’s what I want to contin- ue. I want to continue that passion “We have a cute downtown,” she said. “We have two lakes. We have hiking trails. We have the #1 fami- The Cottage Grove Chamber of ly-friendly bike trail. … So there’s a Commerce has announced its new lot of other things we can tap into in CEO/President, Shauna Neigh, to tourism. And also the movie history. lead the organization. We need to tap into that movie his- Following the departure of Ex- tory.” ecutive Director Travis Palmer in Neigh said she is also looking at December, the Chamber board re- tapping into the area’s youth. viewed 11 applications, “We have such talent eventually settling on in our kids these days,” Neigh, who will begin em- she said, adding that she ployment with the cham- would like to see a greater ber on April 1. social media presence of “We are very excit- the things Cottage Grove ed about the direction has to offer through the of the Chamber and our eyes of local youth. — Danny Solesbee, Chamber Board Chair new CEO/President,” said Neigh moved to Cot- Chamber Board Chair tage Grove from Ohio Danny Solesbee in a press release. for wanting to make this community eight years ago and was taken with In Neigh’s eight years in Cottage move into its next steps,” she said. the community as soon as she and Grove, she has worked as coordina- Neigh said her first step will be to her husband drove through it. tor of the city’s Main Street Program assess perceptions and programs the “It was just the feel of the town. and has been affiliated with South Chamber has created in the city, lis- Just as soon as I got here, I knew,” Valley Farmers market, worked with tening to opinions and hearing from she said. the Vision Keepers, served on the businesses which are no longer a Neigh previously worked for a Chamber of Commerce board, and part of the Chamber. software company handling doc- helped run a recycling program with “It’s very important to me to fig- ument management, assessing the local nonprofit EcoGeneration. ure out the health of the program, so flow of paper and finding ways to With the acceptance of the cham- that’s what I’m going to do first,” she make business a paperless process. ber position, Neigh is stepping down said. After retiring from the industry, she from her work in the city’s public Looking to the future, Neigh is said she sought a simpler life. works department as administrative interested in seeing the area benefit See NEIGH 7A assistant. from more advertising. By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel.com “We are very excited about the direction of the Chamber and our new CEO/President.” 541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 It’s time once again to stand up and be counted. Beginning today, March 12, Oregonians will start to receive “in- vitations” from the U.S. Census Bureau in their home mail delivery. This invitation will ask that households go on- line to respond to a series of questions asking for household information regarding the ages, num- ber of residents and gen- der of all of those living in each household. The answers to these questions are critical to future programs and ef- forts in a wide variety of categories. Households can also contact the Cen- sus Bureau by phone or respond using traditional paper questionnaires. The official count for this year’s Census begins April 1, but the federal government wants to get a head start on the pro- cess by providing an early opportunity for citizens to complete the Census survey. The Census Bureau is required, by law, to col- lect information related to every person living in America every 10 years. The information gath- ered in the 2020 Census will be used to determine action or spending on an array of issues which ef- fect nearly every aspect of our lives. Perhaps most impor- tantly, seats in the House of Representatives are allocated by the number of citizens in a particular area of the state, which is referred to as a district. See CENSUS 6A Free Appraisals I’ll Come to You! BUY & SELL Gold, Silver, Scrap, Men’s Jewelry, Costume Jewelry, Pieces & Parts. Even Junk! 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