Cottage Grove Sentinel
Community & Lifestyle
B1
THURSDAY | JULY 9, 2020
•
CONTACT SPORTS REPORTER NICK SNYDER AT
942-3325 OR NSNYDER@CGSENTINEL.COM
SLSD releases tentative fall plan
ODFW R ECREATION AND
F ISHING R EPORT
www.dfw.state.or.us/RR
BEST BETS FOR WEEKEND
FISHING
• Coast cutthroat trout can be
found in almost all rivers and
streams along the coast. The
Trask River historically has had
the best numbers of fish. The
Kilchis has the best bank access.
• Summer steelhead are avail-
able in the Nestucca and Wilson
rivers.
• Bass fishing has been good
just about anywhere in the
Umpqua Basin recently. Anglers
should consider places like Ford’s
Pond and Cooper Creek Reser-
voir.
• Bass fishing at Lost Creek
Lake also can be very good this
time of year.
• Places like Henry Hagg Lake,
Detroit Reservoir and Foster
Lake continue to boast good trout
fishing because they have deeper,
cooler waters for trout to retreat
to during the warmer parts of the
day.
• This is a great time of year to
fish the high elevation, hike-in
lakes. The fishing stays good
throughout the summer.
• Anglers have been enjoying
some very good trout fishing
on several eastside lakes and
reservoirs, including Yellowjacket,
Delintment, Malheur, Anthony,
Balm Creek and Fourmile.
• If ocean conditions permit,
the ocean salmon season is open
along much of the coast.
WEEKEND WATCHING OP-
PORTUNITIES
• Burrowing owls near Agate
Lake in Jackson County.
• Sandhill cranes and their
colts at the Ladd Marsh Wildlife
Area.
• Mountain goats in the Straw-
berry Mountains, just above Little
Strawberry Lake.
• Short-eared owls near Ladd
Marsh.
• Mourning doves throughout
the Rogue Valley.
TAKE A HUNTER EDUCA-
TION CLASS
Upcoming hunter education
field days and traditional classes
have resumed and are now being
posted. For a list of upcoming
classes visit https://myodfw.com/
articles/hunter-education-class-
es-field-days.
See ODFW 2B
In an email to district families and staff last
week, South Lane School District (SLSD) be-
gan outlining its education plans for Fall 2020
as they relate to the threat of COVID-19.
“We are very eager to have our students back
with us in the fall,” Superintendent Yvonne
Curtis wrote in the email.
“We know that students have missed out
on valuable instruction due to the COVID-19
pandemic, and we have already begun compre-
hensive planning to be prepared when students
return to school. We have created work teams
with over 50 of our staff members to carefully
plan how we will welcome back students in a
manner that is safe, but that also provides qual-
ity instruction and learning opportunities.”
SLSD has formed three distinct work teams
and they are as follows:
• Hygiene and Organization: This team will
focus on procedures, protocols, and conditions
in each building and on buses to keep children
and staff safe. This team is already working
closely with county health officials.
• Social Emotional Needs: This team will
focus on student wellness, and preparing stu-
dents to meet the expectations of learning in
the fall.
• Content and Delivery: This team will focus
on teaching and learning, whether it is person,
or distance learning.
In addition to these work teams, SLSD will
also seek input from community leaders, com-
munity members, parents and students.
Throughout the summer, SLSD plans to pe-
riodically provide updates on the work of these
3 teams, and what the fall will look like for stu-
dents, families and staff.
The Oregon Department of Education has
provided a guidance document to inform this
first round of planning. They will provide an
update every three weeks, which may require
school districts to change their plans as they
continue to study and learn about the impact
of the coronavirus.
Fall 2020 Work Team Progress
Hygiene and Organization: This team is
currently creating district-wide standards for
health-related protocols that include social
distancing, entry screening and procedures,
face coverings, communication, and illness re-
sponse. They are also preparing facilities to be
safe for students and staff by setting standards
for sanitization in all areas of a school (includ-
ing playgrounds), setting safe capacity
See SLSD 2B
Celebrating the Fourth
PHOTOS BY DAMIEN SHERWOOD/CG SENTINEL
M
any Cottage Grove residents celebrated the evening of July 4
(above, top right and bottom right) this year from their front lawns,
using residential streets as staging grounds for their stockpiles of store-
bought fireworks. Block by block, families gathered outside to enjoy
their neighbors’ displays in a series of citywide celebrations.
Meanwhile, Yoncalla (top left) went ahead with its annual Independence
Day firework display, provided by nonprofit North Douglas Betterment.
In keeping with social distancing guidelines, onlookers were asked to
stay in their vehicles at designated parking areas as the display launched
higher and wider than previous years, enabling residents to enjoy the
show from their homes. “This year, more than ever, we felt it was import-
ant to celebrate our community spirit, our freedoms, and our country,”
stated North Douglas Betterment Director of Development Jennifer
Bragg.
Lions hire new football head
By Nick Snyder
nsnyder@cgsentinel.com
With whispers swirling
around the community for
the past few weeks, Cot-
tage Grove High School
(CGHS) has now officially
announced the hiring of a
new head football coach.
“I’ve known for a couple
of weeks,” said CGHS ath-
letic director Matt Myers.
“But I’ve just kind of been
waiting to make sure that it
was totally [done].”
After a lackluster year
which saw the Lions go
winless under first-year
head coach Chad Smith,
the Lions now put their
hopes in the hands of Joe
Polamalu who comes to
Cottage Grove after six sea-
sons as head coach of the
Sandy Pioneers.
Notably, Polamalu brings
with him an illustrious
family pedigree in the game
of football. Coming out of
Winston, Ore. Polamalu’s
cousin is Troy Polamalu, re-
tired eight-time pro bowler
for the Pittsburgh Steelers,
2010 NFL Defensive Player
of the Year, 2020 NFL Hall
of Fame inductee, and an
alumnus of Douglas High
School and the University
of Southern California.
But the football connec-
tions between the cousins
are far from superficial as
Joe Polamalu was a stand-
out athlete himself – play-
ing linebacker for the Or-
egon State Beavers from
1987-88 – and arrives in
Cottage Grove with 12
years of head coaching ex-
perience at the high school
level.
“We got somebody with
a lot of experience,” Myers
said about the hire, and the
experience doesn’t stop at
football. Polamalu also has
18 years under his belt as a
school counselor and will
take over the position at
Lincoln Middle School.
“He knows the drill. He’s
dialed in. He’s a great hire
and he was the one we were
holding out for and really
hoping for the last couple
months and it worked out.
We’re really happy.”
Polamalu most recently
spent six seasons at Sandy
High School (2013-2019)
compiling a 29-30 overall
record, though with the re-
moval of one glaring down
year – when the Pioneers
went winless in 2015 – the
record improves to 29-21
See LIONS 2B