Cottage Grove Sentinel
Community & Lifestyle
B1
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THURSDAY | JULY 23, 2020
CONTACT SPORTS REPORTER NICK SNYDER AT
942-3325 OR NSNYDER@CGSENTINEL.COM
SLSD board meeting offers insight into fall
By Nick Snyder
nsnyder@cgsentinel.com
Boating tips for
safe summer fun
Summer is here and in the coming
weeks more people will be pulling
out their boats from winter storage in
preparation for launch in the waters
of this state. Below are suggestions
which can contribute to your safety
and add to your boating pleasure.
• Know the legal requirements for
your size vessel. Safety equipment
must be accessible and in working
condition.
• Wear your life jackets!! 85% of
the boating fatalities could be avoid-
ed by wearing a personal fl otation
device.
• Have children and non-swim-
mers wear a personal fl otation device.
• Be prepared and carry extra
equipment such as a bailer (bucket),
anchor, fi rst aid kit, visual distress
signal, tool kit, fl ashlight with extra
batteries, and a cell phone.
• Don’t over load your boat.
• Capsizing, sinking, and falling
overboard account for 70% of boat-
ing fatalities.
• If your boat should capsize, your
best chance for survival and rescue is
to stay with the boat. Pull as much of
your body out of the water as possible
to preserve body warmth.
• Hypothermia can be a killer;
keep your body as dry and warm as
possible.
• It is illegal to operate any boat
while under the infl uence of alcohol
or other drugs.
• Stressors such as exposure to sun,
wind, cold water, vibration, noise,
and alcohol all aff ect your ability to
react.
• Don’t run out of fuel. Practice the
1/3 rule: 1/3 for trip, 1/3 for return,
and 1/3 for spare.
• Fuel vapors are heavier then air
and collect in the bilge. Never fi ll
gasoline cans in the boat.
• When anchoring, use a line that
is several times longer than the depth
of the water and never anchor by the
stern.
• File a fl oat plan. Let someone
know where you’re boating and when
you’ll be back.
• You’re responsible for damage or
injury caused by your wake. Exercise
caution around other boaters and
docks.
• As of January 2009, all persons
operating a motor boat greater than
10 horsepower are required to carry
a Boater Education Card. Th e card
shows that the operator has passed
an approved boater education course
or equivalency exam.
For further information on Boat-
ing in Oregon, visit the Oregon State
Marine Board web site: www.boat-
oregon.com
The debate over school reopen-
ings for the 2020-21 school year
is raging nationally and, despite
ongoing work from local officials,
the situation in Cottage Grove is
just as muddled.
The South Lane School Dis-
trict (SLSD) board met remote-
ly on Monday, July 20 to discuss
the most pressing issues facing its
member schools as well as elect
new officers for the upcoming
school year.
With a lack of concrete direc-
tion from the Oregon Depart-
ment of Education – due to the
ever-changing situation regard-
ing COVID-19 - superintendent
Yvonne Curtis and the seven
members of the SLSD board dis-
cussed a number of options and
ideas, but the difficulty of the
school reopening topic, and its
far-reaching effects if done un-
safely, still elicit more questions
than answers.
Nonetheless, the first order of
business for the board on Monday
was the election of new leadership
for 2020-21 and, in stark contrast
to the planning for fall, the pro-
cess was as smooth as could be.
Dustin Bengtson, who was re-
cently elevated to the vice chair
position at the end of his first year
on the board, was unanimously
approved as the new board chair.
He takes over for outgoing head
Sherry Duerst-Higgins.
“I appreciate the vote of con-
fidence,” Bengtson said after the
vote. “I will certainly make mis-
takes this year, so I ask for your
patience. I will do my best to do
my part to get us through this
challenging time.”
Assisting Bengtson in his role
as a new board officer will be both
Taylor Wilhour and long-time
board member and former chair
Sherry Duerst-Higgins, who were
also unanimously approved to be-
come co-vice chairs. The shared
position was created in order to
blend Wilhour’s fresh perspec-
tives as a relatively new member
of the board with Duerst-Higgins’
vast experience.
“I’m certainly going to look to
Sherry and her depth of experi-
ence for pointers and, especially,
her vast network of connections
within education throughout
the state and, to some extent,
throughout the country,” Wilhour
said.
Bengtson,
Wilhour,
Du-
erst-Higgins and the rest of the
board, however, had no time to
rest as the conversation pivoted
immediately to questions sur-
Gran Fondo set for Saturday
PHOTOS BY DAMIEN SHERWOOD/CG SENTINEL
D
uring a summer nearly devoid
of sports and athletics due to
COVID-19 concerns, the return
of the Gran Fondo cycling tour - which
means “Big Ride” in Italian - to Cottage
Grove is a welcome sight.
The race will begin at 7 a.m. on Sat., Jul.
25 at the intersectino of 6th and Wash-
ington St. Riders can choose between the
untimed gravel ride, the 71-mile medio
course or the full 117-mile Gran Fondo.
Last year, over 250 riders came to the
Grove to participate. Racers and visitors
alike will still be asked to follow COVID-
safe procedures throughout the duration
of the event.
Beat the heat, learn history, get outdoors
Museums
through-
out Lane County offer a
glimpse into our past, so
why not plan an outing
that gives your family an
opportunity to beat the
heat and the crowds while
learning about the people
who shaped our past.
With a variety of muse-
ums you’ll find something
interesting for everyone.
Museums focused on
everything from air and
space, military, pioneers,
gold miners and more can
be found in Lane County.
Many of the museums are
free while others charge
a nominal fee. What is
common is the uncom-
mon hours and days of
week these museums op-
erate, so be sure to check
their website or give them
a call to ensure operating
hours haven’t changed.
In some cases you’ll
find a museum closed,
but that doesn’t mean you
can’t enjoy their content.
The Lane County History
Museum continues add-
ing online content that
provides an opportunity
the past is the Eugene
to learn in the comfort
Science Center’s planetar-
of your own home.
Another way to look at ium shows. Limited op-
portunities are currently
offered, so act quickly to
secure your spot to view
an amazing celestial show.
From viewing some-
thing
far far away to
brought to you by:
viewing birds of prey up
Cottage Grove Sentinel
close and personal, the
116 N. 6th • (541) 942-3325
Cascades Raptor Center is
a great venue for learning
about raptors that live in
our region and view them
in specially designed out-
door living spaces. Learn
about a large variety of
raptors and how Cascades
Raptor Center restores to
health injured wildlife.
How about giving the
kids a chance to expe-
rience adventure, play,
nature, science, art and
gardening. Nearby Na-
ture’s day camps are
now underway and are
easily accessible at Al-
Week of July 23rd Winner is: 928 Birch Avenue.
ton Baker Park. While
Yards will be selected each week by nominations.
Dorris Ranch’s outdoor
programs are not operat-
To nominate a yard you can call City Hall (942-5501)
ing the whole family can
Yard of the Week
or Chamber of Commerce (942-2411)
COURTESY PHOTO
experience a self-guided
tour and history lesson
about the ranch and the
Dorris Family.
Don’t let COVID get
you down. Go out and ex-
plore Lane County’s past,
present and future.
Overnight It - Make
your day trip and over-
nighter. Travel Lane
County’s lodging part-
ners are offering stayca-
tion packages that will
stretch your budget. View
our newest staycation of-
fer from the Hyatt Place
in Eugene. More offer-
ings may be found on
ourDeals page.
Whatever adventure
you choose as part of
your summer staycation,
please be prepared. Our
Adventure Checklist is
available for planning a
safe and fun outing and
Travel Oregon’s Prepare
and Care information is
another valuable resource
for those heading out-
doors.
See SLSD 2B
Round Room
Retailers host
Backpack
Giveaway
Students in Cottage
Grove are about to benefi t
from a national backpack
giveaway
More than 800 partic-
ipating TCC and Wire-
less Zone stores across
the U.S. – including the
Verizon Wireless store in
Cottage Grove - are in-
viting families to visit se-
lect locations on Sunday,
July 26, between 1-4 p.m.
where they will donate
140,000 backpacks fi lled
with various school sup-
plies including pencils,
paper, a pencil box, fold-
ers and glue.
One backpack per child
will be given away to fam-
ilies, but to limit the num-
ber of people at the event,
children are not required
to be present to receive
the backpack. Backpacks
will be given out on a fi rst-
come, fi rst-served basis
while supplies last.
Each participating store
location will follow the
CDC’s social distancing
and state guidelines to en-
sure the safety of employ-
ees and event attendees. In
an effort to promote safe-
ty, stores will host either
distanced walk up or con-
tactless drive up events for
customers to pick up back-
packs. Check your local
store location for specifi c
instructions.
In addition to the back-
pack donations, TCC and
Wireless Zone stores will
be awarding fi ve $10,000
college scholarships. Chil-
dren in grades K-12 are
eligible for entry and can
be registered at their local
stores during the Back-
pack Giveaway event. En-
tries will be accepted July
24-31.
“We love helping stu-
dents obtain essential
supplies before they be-
gin their school year
each summer,” said Scott
Moorehead, CEO of
Round Room, parent com-
pany of TCC and Wireless
Zone.
For a list of participat-
ing stores and to learn how
your local store location
will commence its Back-
pack Giveaway event,
visit www.tccrocks.com/
locations and shop.wire-
lesszone.com. Each par-
ticipating store will donate
up to 180 backpacks. Any
leftover backpacks will be
donated to local schools.
Supporters
of
the
School Rocks Backpack
Giveaway are encouraged
to use hashtags #School-
Rocks and #BetterTo-
gether on Instagram and
Twitter to help spread the
word.