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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2020)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Betty Kaiser: Chatterbox Betty Kaiser “Violence doesn’t work. Communication and dialogue do.” —Doug Still, 2006 (He passed away in 2007) I recently received an email from an old friend in high school days. It is a photograph of a gigantic elephant carrying a tiny lion cub in his trunk with a mama lion walking along- side. The story was that a lion- ess and her cub were cross- ing the Savannah. The heat was excessive and the cub had difficulty walking. The dialogue said an elephant picked up the cub and carried him in his trunk to a pool of water with his mother walking alongside at Kruger National Park. I got so excited! Look! Even wildlife animals can get along. Bitter enemies were cooperating for the good of the future. Yea! Sadly, a little re- search revealed that it wasn’t true. It was an April Fool’s joke! Still, I find it a great visu- al example for us humans who are always fighting over our differences when we could be communicat- ing daily with others in the urgency of life and death “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the children of the world.” We took it to heart. We believed we were all loved and we practiced manners and respect as much as kids do. How? Well, my schools had students from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some of my friends were from Watts. We all got along. My husband lived in the Preserving Your Pet’s Memory We off er a full line of aftercare services to honor the life of your beloved pet. Cremation Services • Burials • Memorials • Urns • Keepsakes • Grief Support 123 S. 7th St. Cottage Grove 541.942.0185 smithlundmills.com 6-day weather forecast FRIDAY SATURDAY 80° | 53° 82° | 51° Sunny Sunny SUNDAY MONDAY 85° | 55° 89° | 55° Sunny Sunny TUESDAY WEDNESDAY 84° | 51° Sunny eration for four counties and 2,200 churches. He shared this story at the meeting: “A wire came to the Chi- cago clergy from Martin Luther King saying that the people of Albany, Georgia needed help. They were in trouble and needed us to come and stand with them in their efforts to deseg- regate the city’s libraries, parks, schools, churches and hotels. (City officials were closing them rather than integrate them). “We formed a commit- tee representing the three major faiths and boarded a bus. About 50 of us — Catholic, Protestant, cler- gy and lay people — rode about 800 miles to Albany to show our concern for our brothers and sisters. “We arrived at night and the next morning we wor- shipped together (Blacks and whites). Martin Luther King spoke. Our strategy was to gather in front of city hall and offer a very brief prayer. The sheriff im- mediately arrested us and locked us up in jail. Even then we were segregated with the Black people being put in the stables at the fair- grounds. We returned to Chicago.” He shared other similar experiences as did others in the audience. Many of them showed seemingly little progress in race relations. Still then asked rhetori- cally: “So, what do we learn from all of this?” “Violence doesn’t work,” he answered. “Communi- cation and dialogue do.” Can I get an Amen? (Contact Betty Kaiser at bchatty@bettykaiser.com.) LORANE NEWS Contributed by Lil Thompson for The Sentinel • We are in high fire dan- ger in Lorane and all West- ern Lane Forestry. That means mowing of dried grass, chainsaw use and oth- er spark emitting engines must be done before 10 a.m. and after 8 p.m. There is no burning at all. There have already been small brush and grass fires, so please Do Not ignore these restrictions. • Here are a few tips to help prevent your vehicle from sparking a fire: 1) Make sure no part of your vehicle is dragging in- cluding tow chains; 2) Reg- ular maintenance on your tires as a shredding tire can shower sparks; 3) Main- tain your exhaust system; 4) Avoid parking or idling on dry grass; 5) Stay on the road. Off-road is restricted during this time; 6) Always be prepared. Be able to call for help, when in woodland areas you are required to have an axe, shovel and a 2.5-pound or larger fire ex- tinguisher and/or a gallon of water. You can help prevent a forest fire by always being very careful and prepared. • Crow-Applegate-Lo- rane School District is very pleased that 60 percent of families have added input on a survey for fall reopen- ing and they “Thank You.” The family input is vital in the planning. The survey closed in Aug. 5. If you wish to contact them, use https:// www. Cal.k12.or.us/ • Lorane Grange meets today, Aug. 6, at 7 p.m. with potluck snacks. Distancing and masks will be used. SOUTH LANE COUNTY FIRE & RESCUE SAVE MONEY. SAVE LIVES. 80° | 51° Sunny Save your money by bundling home & auto. (541) 942-0555 center of town and experi- enced something different. He was in the ROTC in high school. Once a week, he and his buddies wore their uniforms to school. After school, they were chased home by gangs with Zip Guns made from bro- ken car antennas. It was a terrifying time both in and out of classes and he trans- ferred schools. I became acutely aware of racial discrimination about the time that Martin Luther King, Jr. burst onto the national scene in 1955. He was a Black man, a Bap- tist minister, a student of Ghandi and well-versed in non-violent persuasion. His dream was that his country’s vision of liberty and justice for all would be- come color-blind. He was a man on a mis- sion who led eight peaceful protests that bolstered Civil Rights and would win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. In my lifetime, he was one of the most inspiring, ar- ticulate, learned and char- ismatic Civil Rights leaders this country has known. His assassination was trag- ic. In 2006, I attended a Cot- tage Grove Rotary meet- ing to hear a speaker who knew King. His name was Doug Still. He had lived in Oregon for 31 years and focused his interests here on local energy and social issues. He had, however, anoth- er life as an ordained Pres- byterian minister. In 1962, the Reverend Still was serving in Chica- go as the executive director of the department of social welfare of the Church Fed- Ground Ambulance Memberships $65 per year Ground Ambulance & Air Membership $124 per year Call 541-942-4493 for info. FOR EMERGENCY DIAL 911 Serving South Lane County. AUGUST 6, 2020 | 5A Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales Communication, dialogue make the difference situations. If only we would stop and act like I believed this ele- phant and lion did. This summer, as the on- slaught of the deadly coro- navirus pandemic contin- ued, I thought that nothing else could be worse. I cer- tainly didn’t anticipate the brutal, unnecessary killing of a Black man, George Floyd, in Minneapolis. Or that it would trigger a nationwide outrage not seen since the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. My husband and I grew up in Los Angeles in the 1950s, unaware of how privileged we were and of the racial boycotts, move- ments and marches that were brewing. In Sunday School, we had learned a song written during the Civil War: | By Mary Ellen “Angel Scribe” Welcome Home, Mr. Clif Ford 4-year-old HaDassah loves Mr. Clif Ford. A year ago, Pam and her family moved to Cottage Grove, Oregon to start a family farm. Besides the beautiful scenery they quickly realized the town is full of beautiful people. Once their garden and baby chicks were growing, they recognized an important farm ingredient was missing, a dog. They found a handsome two-year-old Bernese Mountain dog, Clif Ford, who was gentle with children, other dogs and small animals. A few days into his arrival, he broke his leash and ran off. “I have had dogs for 70 years; this was my first experience of losing one,” said Pam. “He shot out of the yard like an arrow, across a busy road and vanished into the woods. My vantage point didn’t allow me to see which way he went. I was scared because he wasn’t here long enough to know this was his home.” Pam took off in one direction and her friend in another along the trails. Pam met a neighbor, Anna, on her bike. “Luckily, she is a bona fide dog-lover and posted Clif Ford’s flight alert on the ‘What’s Going On in Cottage Grove, Oregon’ Facebook page. Within minutes, even during this world-wide pandemic, people responded that they were helping to look for Clif Ford.” This missing dog’s previous owner was notified and ar- rived with a dog that Clif Ford knew. The Facebook page attested that many others had joined in the dog-hunt as people, from 35 minutes away, arrived and began searching. “A small army of people, many I have never met, spent three days searching for Clif Ford,” said Pam. “Anna and her mom rode the bike trail; Jim and Michael kept a look out while jogging with their dogs. We notified our vet and groomer, and Steve our computer expert soon had 180 shares/likes/sad faces on his Lost Dog Facebook post. We contacted the Cottage Grove Sentinel, neighbors, strang- ers, police, county sheriff and put flyers up all over town. KNND radio station broadcasted announcements. So many people were looking for Clif Ford. Areas that had been searched were rechecked. Logical places and not so logical places were scoured.” Three days later, they double-checked their property again, venturing into nooks and crannies; anywhere an 80-pound dog could hide. Their lives were on hold. Clif Ford must have heard his old dog friend. Pam couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw him skipping with a bounce through the grass, broken leash in tow towards the other dog. He appeared none the worse for the ordeal, but Pam and her crew were worn out! Facebook posts were updated, everyone celebrated Clif Ford’s return. “Clif Ford’s story is about; the goodness of people, the love of strangers, and the value of community,” said Pam. “We saw first-hand, the generosity and concern of so many people for a dog they didn’t know. This has been an illustra- tion of ‘Little deeds of kindness, Little acts of love’ touching lives making Cottage Grove home. In the end the terror of losing Clif Ford reaffirmed the goodness of humanity. We have met many new friends who helped in his search. The intrinsic value of a community and goodness of people have never touched us more closely. We love Cottage Grove, its people and our SoulShine Family Farm.” A poem taught to Pam by her grandmother by Julia Abi- gail Fletcher Carney is her life’s mantra. Little drops of water, Little grains of sand, Make the mighty ocean, And the great big land. Little deeds of kindness, Little acts of love, Make the world we live in, Like the heaven above. “The concern and support shown by so many new friends have touched me deeply,” Pam said. “It is good to be reminded of how things we do can mean so much to someone else. Thank you, Cottage Grove!” What about Pam’s four-year old granddaughter, HaDas- sah? The child is thrilled that Mr. Ford is home and spends hours brushing him. She wants him to know that she loves him as much as he loves her. TIPS: Dawn, a Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales reader in Montreal, Canada writes, “Mary Ellen, Thank you for these informative arti- cles. Years ago, your column was helpful when I had my kit- ty Wisdom. Also, your pet food alerts helped save a friend’s dog’s life when I forwarded one of them.” Write us about your fun pet at angelscribe@msn.com
