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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (June 18, 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 | JUNE 18, 2020 | $1.00 S entinel VOL. 131, NO. 25 • Your Y our Loc Local ca l N News e w s 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 ! Bundle home & auto to save $$. SLSD budget grapples with economic challenges By Nick Snyder nsnyder@cgsentinel.com (541) 942-0555 WEATHER Chance of showers with a high of 78 and a low tonight of 53. Full forecast on A5 Est. 1889 bers ratified a tentative budget for the upcom- ing school year but were aware that changes could come soon and fast. Former Roseburg city manager Lance Colley — who along with his wife Janice serve as advi- sors to the SLSD budget committee — presented the most recent updates to the budget which in- clude: • An increase from $350,000 to “The timeline is set by the virus, not by the rest of us. We have to respond to individual needs and requests of families.” The school year ended prema- turely for students in the South Lane School District (SLSD), but board members and administrators re- main hard at work preparing for the 2020-21 school year. On Monday, June 15, the SLSD — Yvonne Curtis, board and budget committee met SLSD Superintendent for their final scheduled meeting of the 2019-20 school year, going over changes and issues regarding COVID-19 closures continues to next year’s school budget as well as evolve on an almost daily basis. discussing upcoming challenges the Earlier this month in the budget district will face as the landscape of committee’s previous session, mem- See SLSD 7A COLUMNIST Betty Kaiser ‘Chatterbox’ — A5 COMMUNITY — B DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL EcoGeneration returned to service on June 13 with a safety plan, making it the only community collec- tor in the county to accept recycling amid COVID-19 concerns. Pool opening delayed B1 ‘Take-backs’ making a comeback Obituaries Official releases A2 • LORANE NEWS A5 • CLASSIFIEDS Listings and public notices B7-B8 dsherwood@cgsentinel. com Cars stuffed with plas- tic, cardboard and other recyclables lined up at the Cottage Grove Communi- ty Center on June 13 with the return of EcoGenera- tion’s recycling take-back LATEST NEWS : /CGSentinel @CGSentinel program. “Today is really import- ant because it’s our first official take-back since COVID-19 started,” said Eco-Generation’s founder and executive director Da- vid Gardiepy. EcoGeneration, a lo- cal recycling nonprofit, works with Lane County as a community collector and also recycles within several other streams of waste unique to the orga- nization. Gardiepy said the return to service came as a result of mounting demand from Cottage Grove and sur- rounding communities. “So after a lot of work we came up with a safety plan that made it safe for us to do this,” he said. “It’s a big thing because we are the only community col- lectors for Lane County See RECYCLE 10A Drain nightclub draws concerns, controversy By Damien Sherwood FOLLOW US FOR THE Multi-county spike in COVID cases raises concern. By Ned Hickson nhickson@cgsentinel.com As of Wednesday (June 16), Lane County report- ed 88 positive test results for individuals infected with the novel coronavi- rus COVID-19, with 3 of those individuals dying from the disease. Of those, 79 individu- als have recovered and 8 of those with confi rmed cases are resting at home. Th e relatively small number of cases re- ported in Lane County came through the 2,370 COVID-19 tests con- ducted last week, which brings the total number of tests given to 12,051 since the beginning of February. Meanwhile, neighbor- ing Douglas County re- ported a total of 29 cases as of Tuesday, with no new reported cases in the last 11 days (as of June 16). Both Lane and Doug- las counties are currently in Phase II of the state’s reopening plan, with any future changes now de- layed by at least one week — possibly longer. While both counties have seen a comparative- ly small increase in con- fi rmed cases of COVID See PAUSE 7A EcoGeneration returns to accept recyclables from the community By Damien Sherwood • RECORDS Governor presses ‘pause’ on reopening dsherwood@cgsentinel. com 541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 A newly established nightclub in Drain has irked several members of the small community due to its inclusion of nude dancing as entertainment. The issue was given public spotlight as a dis- cussion item at a June 8 Drain City Council meet- ing, where a stream of concerns and allegations were presented against the establishment from community members — sometimes to cheers and clapping from the audi- ence. “Pornography, nudity and illicitness is wrong,” community member Barbara Evans said to the council. “It’s a sin and, I’m sorry, but it is not good for our communi- ty in any way shape or form.” The establishment, Top of the Bowl, is owned and managed by Drain local Jamie Henn- ricks with help from boy- friend Rik Marin. While See CLUB 11A DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Top of the Bowl, a nightclub located above Family Fun Bowling in Drain, has unsettled some commu- nity members in the small town. Construction season ramps up in CG By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel. com With warmer and lon- ger days approaching, construction is under- way on several projects in Cottage Grove. By the start of next year, the city will see sig- nifi cant expansion of its water treatment plant, construction of storage for recycled water and safer routes to schools. Water Treatment Expansion Project Following the deliv- ery of a new membrane fi lter rack this week, the city will soon begin ex- pansion of its water treat- ment plant. Assembly and installation by the subcontractor PALL See RAMP 9A Emerald Valley Armory, LLC Handguns • Long Rifles Concealed Carry Classes Assisted Living & Memory Care Tues. - Sat. 10-6 147 E. Oregon Ave. Creswell, OR 97426 541-895-2666 Join us for a tour 1425 Daugherty Ave, CG 541-942-0054