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 | JULY 16, 2020 | $1.00
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INSIDE: Your 2020 edition of “The Nugget”
LCPH urges people to ‘stay home’ as COVID cases rise
A spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in rural communities raises concerns for health officials
By Jared Anderson &
Ned Hickson
(541) 942-0555
WEATHER
Sunny skies with a
high of 87 and a low
tonight of 57.
Full forecast on A5
CONSTRUCTION
for The Sentinel
“The best thing to do is try and
stay home as much as you can,”
said Lane County Public Health
(LCPH) Public Information Offi-
cer Jason Davis when asked what
area residents should do to com-
bat the rapidly growing spread of
COVID-19 in Oregon.
“This virus, for it to succeed, has
to have close contact between peo-
ple,” Davis continued. “We are di-
rectly contributable to its success.
If we take close contact out of the
equation, and essentially cut the
gas lines for the disease, we make
it so it can’t do its job. Stay home.
Don’t be the person that contracts
it.”
The advice comes just days after
Cottage Grove recorded a spike in
COVID-19 cases, which now sits
at 10. While that number seems
small, the issue is the virus’s ca-
pacity for exponential community
spread.
“COVID spreads quickly,” Davis
said. “It can go from no communi-
ty spread to community spread in
two days. These definitions aren’t
really super helpful, other than
‘Right now, right here, I’m safe.’ But
DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
As Phase Two of the state’s re-opening continues, the inevitable in a few hours, you might have
increase of visitors to rural areas has coincided with an increase in
confirmed COVID-19 cases in those areas, including Cottage Grove.
See LCPH 6A
City creates loan
program for
small businesses
All charged up
The city has set aside
$100,000 for small
business assistance
Update on area
improvement
projects — A3
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
COMMUNITY — C
The Gran Fondo
returns July 25
B1
DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
• RECORDS
Obituaries
Police Logs
Official releases
A2
• LORANE NEWS
A5
On July 9, Cottage Grove city staff completed installing and activating two new electric vehicle (EV)
stations, allowing EV owners to now charge their cars while shopping or eating downtown or using
the Community Center or library. Less than two hours after activating the stations, the city had its
first customer. The EV stations are located at the Community Center and in the parking lot across
from City Hall on East Main Street. The stations were funded by a grant from Pacific Power.
Podcast ‘Encounters’ topics in The Grove
• CLASSIFIEDS
Listings and public
notices
B7-B8
FOLLOW US FOR THE
LATEST NEWS :
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
Binding people of diverse view-
points poses a challenge in turbu-
lent and polarizing climates, but
podcasters Josh Fattal and Rosie
Foraker are hoping a modern solu-
tion can help solve this age-old
problem.
The hosts of the Encounter Cot-
tage Grove podcast have been dig-
ging their fingers into the soil of
small-town concerns for a couple
months now, while attempting to
place the community in a broad-
er national and sometimes global
context.
“It’s the idea that each person is
a mystery unto themselves and we
are encountering each other,” said
Fattal. “And part of the podcast is
exploring each other. But it’s also
exploring each other and hav-
ing the town encounter itself in a
sense.”
Foraker also sees the podcast as
a timely project allowing the hosts
See PODCAST 7A
Emergency loan and grant
programs have launched in
both Cottage Grove and oth-
er Lane County cities in an
effort to provide relief for
small business suffering from
the economic slump caused
by the public health crisis of
COVID-19.
“We encourage everyone
to share the word, spread it
around and get some applica-
tions in from Cottage Grove
for that funding,” said City
Manager Richard Meyers at a
July 13 City Council meeting.
The City of Cottage Grove
has set aside $100,000 for
small business assistance as
part of the city’s 2020-21 bud-
get.
Part of these funds will be
used as a match for $25,414
from Business Oregon in a
grant program and a remain-
ing $74,500 will be loaned
through the city’s own loan
program.
The grant was established
by Lane County and third-par-
ty fi nancial institution Com-
munity Lending Works, in
partnership with the cities
of Coburg, Cottage Grove,
Creswell, Eugene, Florence,
Lowell, Springfi eld and
See LOAN 8A
/CGSentinel
@CGSentinel
City applies for ODOT grants to improve vehicle, pedestrian pathways
541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax
P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
The Cottage Grove City Coun-
cil voted Monday to authorize
the city’s application for two Or-
egon Department of Transporta-
tion (ODOT) Transportation and
Growth Management grants to
improve vehicular and pedestrian
Jim Goodling - Mike Grant
330 OR-99 Suite C • Cottage Grove, OR 97424
541-942-0165
pathways in town.
The council had previously iden-
tified a high-priority need for im-
provement of the city’s pedestrian
and bicycle system, particularly
those relating to the Safe Routes to
School project.
A grant request of $150,000 was
approved to fund the development
of a bicycle and pedestrian plan,
which will include a Safe Routes
to School action plan and a com-
prehensive ADA (Americans with
Disabilities Act) transition plan for
public rights-of-way and facilities.
A 12 percent local match of
$18,000 will be provided through
engineering and planning staff
support.
A second ODOT Transportation
and Growth Management Grant
request for $200,000 was also au-
thorized to fund the development
of a Highway 99 Corridor Plan
through the city.
The plan will study ways to im-
prove the function, access, accessi-
bility, multi-modal use and
See CITY 8A