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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (May 14, 2020)
S ERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF C OTTAGE G ROVE , C RESWELL , D ORENA , D RAIN , E LKTON , L ORANE AND Y ONCALLA C ottage G rove THURSDAY EDITION | MAY 14, 2020 | $1.00 S entinel VOL. 131 131, NO. VOL NO 119 • Get an insurance plan —not just a policy. Your Loc Local ca l N News ew ws Delivered D e l i v e r e d Your Y o u r Way: W a y : 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 ! The Grove loses iconic councilor, community member By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel.com (541) 942-0555 WEATHER Mostly rain with a high of 60 and a low tonight of 44. Full forecast on A5 LIFE — B Est. 1889 Cottage Grove lost a city coun- cilor and committed community member with the passing of Bob Ehler on May 10 at age 67 due to complications related to cancer. “My brother Bob was the kind of person who was so much involved in helping others that he didn’t have time to take care of himself,” said Ehler’s sister Shelly Duncan. “He will be missed by all who came into contact with him.” Brothers fondly remembered motorcycle trips with Ehler while other family members recalled his love for the outdoors. “Our dad was an ‘enjoy the open road’ type of guy,” said daugh- ters Adriana Morgan and Sabrina Ehler. “He loved it when we would call him and tell him we were pick- ing him up to go on a drive. We never knew where we’d end up next, just that we needed a coffee, some old country music and the open road — even if he’d fall asleep every time. If we weren’t going to the coast, driving through Wildlife COURTESY PHOTO Cottage Grove City Councilor Safari, or taking a random back Bob Ehler passed away May 10. road, then we would be at his fa- vorite fishing spot or watching a movie together. We were lucky enough get to spend our time with him outdoors where he loved it the most.” Ehler spent the last years of his life serving Cottage Grove as a city councilor, a position he had been keen on for some time. After serv- ing on the city’s Planning Com- mission and Budget Committee for several years, Ehler took the councilor seat of Cottage Grove’s Ward 2 in 2016 after a four-way race. City to off er loan program for small businesses Lane County could reopen tomorrow By Damien Sherwood The county says it has met the metrics for Phase 1 dsherwood@cgsentinel. com Celebrating 99 years B1 COMMUNITY Celebrating our heroes A3 • RECORDS Obituaries Official releases A2 • LORANE NEWS A5 • CLASSIFIEDS Listings and public notices B7-B8 FOLLOW US FOR THE LATEST NEWS : /CGSentinel @CGSentinel See EHLER 6A City councilors dis- cussed the prospect of Cottage Grove establish- ing its own small busi- ness emergency loan program during a City Council meeting on May 11, ending with a unani- mous vote to move for- ward with a plan. Since the onset of the lockdown resulting from COVID-19, the city has been in talks with local entities such as the Cot- tage Grove Chamber of Commerce, Community Development Corpora- tion and the Economic and Business Improve- ment District to fi nd fi nancial solutions for small businesses strug- gling from the economic downturn. “We’ve saved some money,” said City Man- ager Richard Meyers, who helped draft the pro- gram. “We’ve accumulat- ed about $100,000 … to do loans for small busi- ness in Cottage Grove.” Cuts to a planned “vi- sioning” project, recent city layoff s and taxes from alcohol, cigarette and marijuana sales con- tributed to the city’s abil- ity to establish the fund, according to Meyers. By Jared Anderson for The Sentinel PHOTOS BY DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL South Valley Farmers Market opened up May 7 to a handful of vendors and a turnout of masked shoppers keeping their distance. Local farmers market returns with preorder options By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel.com S 541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 Th e Program To develop the plan, the city contacted Com- munity Lending Works, a fi nancial institution based in the Willamette Valley which works with organizations to create community loan and grant programs. Under the proposed plan, companies within Cottage Grove city limits could apply for a maxi- mum of $10,000 during a set application window. “Turning [applica- tions] in the fi rst day or See LOAN 9A outh Valley Farmers Market took its first tentative steps back to the street on Thursday, May 7. With the market restricted to just a handful of vendors, masked patrons perused homegrown and homemade wares down the market’s usual Seventh Street half-block stretch. Opening amid a public health crisis, market organizers have instituted new rules of conduct for customers such as keeping a six-foot distance, refraining from food consumption, leaving pets at home, keeping hands off products, using washing stations and trying to avoid hugs. Guidelines also recommend wearing facemasks (though vendors are required to wear them) and sending one person per household to shop. In addition to SNAP/EBT and Dou- ble Up Food Bucks still featuring at the market, organizers introduced a new online preorder system to the fold this week. Produce, nuts, soap, pastries and fledgling plants make up the virtual aisle of the market’s latest online store- front, allowing customers to browse through the vendors from the comfort of their homes. To allow farmers and producers time to prepare by Thursday afternoons, or- ders for each week’s market start the previous Fridays and close at 8 a.m. on Wednesdays. Orders after this deadline may be made by contacting a vendor di- rectly. Preorders can be picked up during Assisted Living & Memory Care Join us for a tour 1425 Daugherty Ave, CG 541-942-0054 regular market hours at the informa- tion booth, but patrons who would like to maximize social distancing can have orders delivered to their vehicles at a parking zone on the corner of Main and Seventh streets. Meanwhile, a number of local non- profits and community-oriented pro- grams recently received financial awards from the Taubert Foundation and Healing Matrix. Among the re- cipients, South Valley Farmers Market took in $7,000, enabling the market to expand several aspects of its operations, including food equity programs, a kids’ produce club and a permanent storage site for market property. Though recycling collection has tem- porarily suspended at the market, local recycling nonprofit EcoGeneration has announced plans to introduce a modi- fied drive-through recycling system in the near future. The farmers market new preorder site can be found at southvalleyfarmersmar- ket.square.site. On May 8, Lane Coun- ty submitted its proposal to the state of Oregon on its plans to begin the pro- cess of reopening aft er two months of restric- tions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Th e 40-page submis- sion lists details on the county’s preparedness, including rates of hospi- talizations, plans for a re- surgence of the virus and testing capabilities. While at press time the state has not offi cial- ly announced whether or not the county will be al- lowed to reopen on May 15, representatives have stated that the “majority” of counties that have ap- plied will see applications approved. “Th e health and safety of Lane County residents must be the top priority as Lane County prepares to relax restrictions im- plemented as part of Governor Brown’s Stay Home, Save Lives exec- utive order,” the county wrote in its application for reopening. “While there is no expectation that COVID cases will get to zero in the near fu- ture, a phased approach to reopening the com- munity and allowing commerce to resume will help limit the number of people impacted by the new disease.” Lane County’s appli- cation stated that during the past weeks, it has been carefully planning and building capacity to limit the spread of COVID as the communi- ty resumes more normal levels of activity. Rotary members are making an impact in the fi ght against COVID-19 in our community. Rotary members around the world persevere. No challenge is so big that we can’t make a diff erence. Rotary Club of CoƩ age Grove 541-554-6946 See LANE 7A