Cottage Grove Sentinel
Community & Lifestyle
B1
THURSDAY | MAY 14, 2020
•
CONTACT SPORTS REPORTER NICK SNYDER AT
942-3325 OR NSNYDER@CGSENTINEL.COM
Challenges, changes abound for SLSD board
By Nick Snyder
nsnyder@cgsentinel.com
Umpqua National
Forest announces
phased reopening
of recreation areas
The Umpqua National Forest
(UNF) is announcing the fi rst
phase of reopening the forest to
recreational users. Beginning Sat-
urday, May 9 some boat ramps
and most trail heads on the forest
will be re-opened to the general
public for use.
The boat ramps that are remain-
ing closed have not been cleared
from winter debris or are located
within areas designated as closed
under the current Regional Clo-
sure Order. The trailhead to the
Umpqua Hot Springs will remain
closed. For a complete list of boat
ramps, both open and closed,
please check the Umpqua Nation-
al Forest’s website at: https://bit.
ly/3chpx1H.
Reservations for campsites, fi re
lookouts, cabins, and picnic sites
will remain unavailable through
Recreation.gov. Existing reser-
vation holders will be notifi ed if
there are any changes affecting
their reservation. Refunds will be
issued for all cancelled reserva-
tions.
To align with Governor Brown’s
executive order directing peo-
ple to stay home to save lives,
the Umpqua National Forest will
continue the closure of all other
developed recreation sites, to in-
clude campgrounds, cabins and
fi re lookouts. This closure order
is still in effect through September
30, 2020 unless rescinded earlier.
The remaining recreation clo-
sures are necessary to address
social distancing guidelines pro-
vided by the Centers for Disease
Control, align with Oregon State
Governor Kate Brown’s Executive
Order and to help reduce pressure
on emergency services in already
stressed local communities. To
this end, we strongly encourage
the public to be cautious while
recreating outdoors and not take
any undue risks. As always, tell
someone of your plan, where you
intend to go, what time you plan
to be back and any specialized in-
formation in the event emergency
crews may need it.
“While we are happy to begin
the process to reopen previous-
ly closed areas of the forest, the
health and safety of the public and
employees remains our number
one concern,” said Alice Carlton,
Umpqua National Forest Supervi-
sor. “This is foremost in our mind
as we continue our coordination
with our local Counties and State
leadership through this crisis.”
Some facilities, such as vault
bathrooms, will remain open for
public use but will not be main-
tained as UNF does not have the
proper personal protective equip-
ment necessary to ensure the safe-
ty of their employees. Members of
the public wishing to utilize these
facilities are doing so at their own
discretion and must take all neces-
sary precautions to ensure for their
own personal health and safety.
UNF cannot guarantee a COVID-
free facility. It is suggested that
as you plan to recreate you make
preparations to provide your own
sanitation and be as self-contained
as possible on your outing.
Please remember to review cur-
rent recommendations from the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and focus on protect-
ing yourself, your family, and
your community.
Cottage Grove — and the world at large
— has been rife with changes both big and
small over the past two months and another
is coming to the South Lane School District
(SLSD) board.
On Monday, May 4, board vice chair Alan
Baas stepped down from his position while
remaining a member of the board, allowing
first-year board member Dustin Bengtson
to step into a leadership role.
Sherry Duerst-Higgins will continue on
as the board’s chair.
While there were multiple reasons for the
decision, Baas said recent health concerns
are the primary catalyst for his decision.
“My health has been getting me down
for a couple years,” said Baas, who resigned
from his position as board chair last year.
“And then, my health got messy months
back and I kept trying to resign.”
The board has been exceptionally busy
the last couple of years with its normal
month-to-month work as well as multiple
superintendent searches and, now, a global
pandemic to consider.
For Baas, just getting his resignation as
vice chair on the board agenda took some
time, but now that it’s complete, he’s more
than happy handing the reins over to Bengt-
son.
“The board is very comfortable with
Dustin coming on,” Baas said. “He’s coming
with a lot of experience in doing manage-
ment thinking and we’re at a time where the
kind of thinking that Dustin’s trained in is
good for us.”
On top of health issues, Baas — who takes
board members’ roles as community repre-
sentatives seriously — also felt it was time
for a new perspective in the vice chair posi-
tion with his prior work experience having
fulfilled its usefulness leading up to the cur-
rent viral crisis.
“I will claim that the training I had in my
work experience was good for where we
were at,” Baas said. “I was a research analyst
and a magazine editor, so I came on when it
was time to pay attention to a whole lot of
different kinds of details and be ready to lis-
ten to everybody and not make judgments.
That’s sort of what I did for all these years.”
At a time when institutions both public
See SLSD 2B
Big turnout for turning 99
PHOTOS BY NICK SNYDER/CG SENTINEL
L
ong-time Cottage Grove resident Mickey
Partney turned 99 years old last Friday, May
8 and family, friends and a couple first re-
sponders turned out to give their well-wishes with
flowers, signs and socially-distant waves from their
vehicles.
Partney, born in South Dakota, has lived in Cot-
tage Grove since she was a teenager, but made her
way here via Boulder City, Nev. where she lived for
a number of years as her father helped build the
Hoover Dam during the Great Depression. Partney’s
four daughters all grew up in Cottage Grove and
joined her — along with a host of grandchildren and
great-grandchildren — to celebrate her birthday.
Top causes of wildfires can be prevented
For many, the term “wildfires”
conjures up large forest fires in
remote, unpopulated areas. And,
in many cases, these “wildfires”
are believed be the from light-
ning. The truth, however, is just
the opposite. People, and things
created by people, are actual-
ly responsible for 70 percent of
wildfires in Oregon. And the
majority of these fires start near
homes and communities. The
top three human-caused wild-
fires are escaped, or rekindled,
debris burns; sparks or exhaust
from power equipment, and es-
caped campfires; all of which can
be prevented.
Escaped debris burns is, and
has consistently been, the num-
ber one cause of wildfires in
Oregon for decades. While the
general cause falls under debris
burning, the specific cause may
result from a number of reasons.
Burning during windy condi-
tions; not having adequate clear-
ing around the burn pile; leaving
the burn site unattended; rekin-
dling days or weeks after the ini-
tial burn due to increased wind
and/or heat; or not having water
and tools immediately available
to manage the burn site. What-
ever the reason, all of these fires
can be prevented by following
this simple checklist.
• Call before you burn. Local
regulations may restrict or pro-
hibit burning altogether.
• Place yard debris in an open
area away from structures, trees
and power lines.
• Create small piles (4’ x 4’) to
better manage the burn.
• Cover portions of piles with
polyethylene plastic (landscape
material) to keep a portion dry
for lighting later.
• When conditions improve,
check with your local fire agency
for any regulations in place.
• Never burn under windy
conditions.
• To maintain containment,
create a perimeter around the
pile at a minimum of 3 feet,
scraped clear to bare mineral
soil.
• Keep a shovel and charged
hose nearby to manage the burn.
• Make sure the pile is dead
out before leaving.
• Return periodically over sev-
eral weeks to make sure the pile
is still out: No heat, no smoke.
Wildfires sparked from pow-
er equipment can happen when,
in many cases, property owners
are trying to reduce fire hazards
around the home. The leading
culprit in recent years has been
mowing dry, cured grass during
periods of high or extreme fire
danger. While hot exhaust com-
ing into contact with dry grass
could start a fire, the most com-
mon ignition source is the lawn
mower blade striking a rock or
other spark emitting surface.
Other equipment known to start
fires are power saws, weed eat-
ers, motor vehicle exhaust (in-
cluding motorcycles and ATV’s),
cutting and welding, and power
lines. Keep these things in mind
when working with or using
power equipment.
• Check local regulations.
Some activities may be restricted
or prohibited due to fire danger.
• When allowed, mow grass
COURTESY PHOTO
early in the morning when mois-
ture is present.
• Keep vehicles and other
equipment in good working
condition, including exhaust
systems.
• Create defensible space ear-
ly in the spring before the on-
slaught of fire danger.
While escaped campfires
ranks third on our list, it does
not account for the hundreds
of abandoned campfires fire-
fighters extinguish during their
routine patrols. Campfires lead
to wildfires when people build
them in unsafe areas, leave the
site without properly putting
them out, or don’t carry the
proper tools to care for and fully
extinguish the fire. Follow these
simple guidelines when having a
campfire.
• Call before you go. Camp-
fires may not be allowed due to
fire danger.
• Carry a bucket for water and
a shovel.
• Campgrounds are the safest
place to have a campfire, com-
plete with open areas and estab-
lished fire pits.
• Where dispersed camping is
allowed, build campfires in open
areas away from grass, brush and
overhanging trees.
• Keep fires small and man-
ageable.
• Put the campfire complete-
ly out before leaving or going
to bed. To do so, drown the fire
with lots of water from your
bucket, stir the coals and drown
again. Using the back of your
hand, determine that the ashes
are cool to the touch and won’t
rekindle under warm, windy
conditions.
Finally, May is Wildfire
Awareness Month and fire offi-
cials from multiple protection
agencies are encouraging ev-
eryone to do their part to Keep
Oregon Green. Log on to keep-
oregongreen.org for more infor-
mation.