Cottage Grove Sentinel
Community & Lifestyle
B1
THURSDAY | JUNE 18, 2020
•
CONTACT SPORTS REPORTER NICK SNYDER AT
942-3325 OR NSNYDER@CGSENTINEL.COM
Virtual race to raise money for seniors
By Nick Snyder
nsnyder@cgsentinel.com
As summer
approaches,
hot car is no
place for pets
While many of us welcome the
warmer weather this time of year,
we must remind ourselves that
some of our loved ones may fi nd
themselves in an uncomfortable
predicament.
It could even result in their death.
We are speaking about our pets
who accompany many of us on our
trips and errands in a motor vehi-
cle. We should never leave our pet
unattended in a parked car.
On warm days, and even cloudy
days, the temperature in a car can
rise to dangerous levels in minutes,
even with the windows cracked
open.
Th e brief stop we plan to make at
the store could stretch to 15 min-
utes or more before we know it.
Our mistake could cost our pet
its life.
Leaving the windows cracked
won’t cool the car enough to pro-
tect our beloved pet, even if we
have made water available.
In June of 2017, Governor Kate
Brown signed into law House Bill
2732 to protect dogs and children
left in hot places.
Oregon was the 11th state to pass
such a Good Samaritan Law, which
provides that anyone — not just
fi rst responders — can enter a ve-
hicle (by force or otherwise) to re-
move an unattended domestic ani-
mal without fear of civil or criminal
liability.
If you come upon a scenario like
above where you believe an animal
could perish, call 911 before decid-
ing to enter the vehicle.
Be ready to convey your location,
the vehicle description, and a de-
scription of yourself.
Animal Service Deputies will
make every eff ort to respond quick-
ly.
If you determine that more im-
mediate life-saving action is nec-
essary, please ensure that you: have
a reasonable belief that the animal
is in imminent danger of suff ering
harm; notify law enforcement or
emergency services either before or
soon aft er entering the vehicle; use
only the minimum force necessary
to enter the vehicle; and stay with
the animal until law enforcement,
emergency services, or the owner
or operator of the vehicle arrives.
Recent crises around the coun-
try have revealed gaps in a great
number of areas where govern-
ment funding and existing struc-
tures come up short in their abil-
ities to care for citizens. Seniors
are often all too familiar with
those gaps.
The Lane Council of Govern-
ments (LCOG) — a public agen-
cy founded 75 years ago — has
continued to address these areas
of need in its partnership with a
number of local organizations.
From Jul. 22-26 the LCOG will
host a virtual race called the Race
for the Rest of Us, a fundraising
effort in its ongoing support of
the Senior & Disability Services
(S&DS) Senior Meals Program.
LCOG serves as a regional
planning, coordination, program
development and service delivery
organization in local commu-
nities across all 12 incorporated
cities in Lane County, including
Cottage Grove where they have
a satellite office and senior meals
site.
The council works in conjunc-
tion from a wide-ranging vari-
ety of local groups, including six
school districts, utilities compa-
nies, Lane Community College,
Lane Transit District and Willa-
malane Parks and Recreation, but
one primary area of focus is to
provide support for S&DS.
“One of our programs is senior
meals,” said Brenda Wilson, the
executive director of LCOG. “So,
we are Meals on Wheels for all
of Lane County and we contract
with Food for Lane County to de-
liver our meals within the City of
Eugene and we deliver the meals
throughout the rest of the county.”
As one of the most vulnerable
groups in communities around
the country, seniors are often
heavily impacted by economic
downturns — particularly with
recent coronavirus closures and
subsequent budget shortfalls all
over the public and private sectors
— and LCOG is doing their part
to alleviate these hardships.
“A lot of people don’t know that
our seniors struggle to make dif-
See RACE 2B
False start for Daugherty reopening
NICK SNYDER/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
W
hile Lane County entered Phase Two reopening on Fri., Jun. 5 — allowing for larger indoor and outdoor gatherings, bars
and restaurants to stay open until midnight, the opening of pools and spas and a number of other updates — Cottage
Grove residents will have to wait a bit longer to use the Warren H. Daugherty Aquatic Center as it’s considered a “school district
facility” and thus must remain closed through Jun. 30.
Local, regional camping continues to reopen
Economic fallout from COVID-19 closures presents a challenging future for OPRD
By Nick Snyder
nsnyder@cgsentinel.com
As Oregon enters Phase 2 re-
opening from coronavirus clo-
sures and the weather turns to
summer, now is a good time for
a reminder on the current sta-
tus of local recreation opportu-
nities.
Following the reopening of
various businesses and services
across several Oregon counties,
outdoor and recreation author-
ities at the state and local level
began further loosening re-
strictions to camping facilities.
On Jun. 12 Siuslaw National
Forest reopened most remain-
ing day-use sites while a num-
ber of campgrounds will be
opening today. Visitors, howev-
er, should be prepared to prac-
tice safe social distancing and
be self-sufficient as they may
encounter a reduction in or
lack of services, such as bath-
rooms and trash collection.
“We know visitors are excit-
ed to get back to recreating on
public lands, and we want them
to do so safely,” said Donna
Mickley, acting forest super-
visor. “We’re asking visitors to
please provide adequate phys-
ical distancing and to avoid
gathering in large groups. We
can all do our part to ensure
we’re keeping everyone, includ-
ing local communities, safe by
being prepared to recreate re-
sponsibly.”
In addition, Lane County
Parks and Recreation (LCPR),
the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment (BLM), and the Willa-
mette and Umpqua National
Forests continue to open access
Yard of the Week
brought to you by:
Cottage Grove Sentinel
116 N. 6th • (541) 942-3325
Week of June 18th Winner is: 247 S 2nd Street
Yards will be selected each week by nominations.
To nominate a yard you can call City Hall (942-5501)
or Chamber of Commerce (942-2411)
ical challenges due to the eco-
nomic fallout from COVID-19.
The agency does not receive
state General Fund tax dollars
to operate any service, includ-
ing its popular, heavily visited
state park system.
A decline in its main reve-
nue sources — Lottery Fund
and park visitors — has left it
offering reduced services and
facing layoffs to fill an estimat-
ed $22-million gap in its July
2019-June 2021 budget.
OPRD’s budget is 44 percent
Lottery Fund dedicated by Or-
egon voters in 1999 and 2010;
50 percent “Other Fund” from
OPRD facing layoffs in wake park visitors, a portion of rec-
of revenue drop
reational vehicle registrations,
and other sources; and 6 per-
The Oregon Parks and Recre- cent Federal Fund, mainly for
ation Department (OPRD) will
face months, even years, of crit-
See OUTDOORS 2B
to campgrounds.
To check the current status
of a particular campground
in the national parks, visit the
forest service’s interactive map
at https://www.fs.fed.us/ivm/
index.html.
While LCPR sites are open
for camping, visitors must
make reservations in ad-
vance at https://reservations.
lanecounty.org/ or by calling
541-682-2000. For updates
on BLM-managed areas vis-
it
https://www.blm.gov/or-
egon-washington/covid-ac-
cess-restrictions.
In spring, avoid ‘helping’
young wildlife
Oregonians are getting back outdoors just
in time to encounter newborn fawns, elk
calves and other young wildlife in the wild
or even in their backyard.
This is the time of year when deer fawns
are born — and there is a chance you will
come upon one that’s all alone.
Don’t assume any young animal is or-
phaned just because it’s alone — and don’t
pick it up. It’s natural for mother animals to
leave their young alone for extended periods
of time while they go off to feed.
The mother will return when it’s safe to
do so (when people, pets or predators aren’t
around).
Unfortunately, every year around this
time, ODFW offices and licensed wildlife
rehabilitators are flooded with calls from
people who picked up a deer fawn, elk calf,
fledgling bird learning to fly, or other young
animal they assumed was orphaned because
it was alone.
Wildlife rehabilitators are licensed and
trained to care for truly orphaned or injured
wildlife and return them to the wild, but
spots in their facilities need to be saved for
real cases — especially this year, as the coro-
navirus has led to more limited capacity at
these facilities.
Animals taken away from their natural
environment miss the chance to learn im-
portant survival skills from their parents
like where to feed, what to eat, how to be-
have as part of a group and how to escape
from predators.
Usually this leads to a shortened life span
for the animal — or a life in captivity.
Because of the damage it can do, remov-
ing or capturing an animal from the wild is
a violation of state law (ORS 497.308—No
person shall remove from its natural habi-
tat or acquire and hold in captivity any live
wildlife in violation of the wildlife laws).
A woman in Union County found a red
See WILDLIFE 2B