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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 2020)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL | AUGUST 20, 2020 | 5A Honoring a local veteran with a ‘Quilt of Valor’ At age 100, Cottage Grove resident Robert Grimes, a veteran of World War II, received a quilt from the nonprofit group Quilts of Valor on Tuesday. The ceremony took place as Grimes’ home. “[He] was very touched by being hon- ored with the award of a Quilt of Valor made for him,” said Quilts of Valor State Coordinator Bobbie Sanford. The group’s mission is to offer comfort and healing to service members and veter- ans touched by war with its high-quality quilts. COURTESY PHOTOS South Valley Resource Alliance moves to new location in Cottage Grove South Valley Resource Alliance (SVRA) an- nounces that the Fri- day Food Share, serving South Lane county res- idents who experience hunger or food insecuri- ty, will begin distributing food from its new loca- tion in Cottage Grove to- day, Aug. 21. The group will join other community-mind- ed organizations operat- ing from the Rural Orga- nizing Project building at 632 Main Street. The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic forced SVRA from its location at the Community Center and since April the group has from A1 be on Main Street.” Neigh herself was mo- tivated to move to Cot- tage Grove when she first passed the intersection and caught sight of down- town. “Driving by right here is what sold me on moving to this town,” she said. “So that was my reasoning for wanting to be here.” The new location in- cludes a large space for parking in the back, which Neigh hopes will encour- age visitors to take a stroll through the area. Along with the move, Neigh is interested in up- grading the technological Move working on finding a new location for some time, said Neigh, and she was an advocate for moving the chamber to the bustling corner as she felt it was the best return on investment — especially in terms of tourism. “I thought the chamber needed to be more visu- al so that we could really represent the businesses in a place that would have more eyes on us,” she said. “And I always though the tourism portion of the chamber should definitely served the community from an outdoor loca- tion at the Health Hub on Main and 11th streets. The next Friday Food Share is scheduled for to- day, Aug. 21, at the new location on Main and Seventh streets. SVRA and its dedi- cated core of volunteers sorts and packages about 4,000 pounds of food received from Food for Lane County every other Friday, feeding about 180 people during each Fri- day Food Share. Individuals and fami- lies with incomes up to 300 percent of the pov- erty level are welcome to take advantage of the free program. Prior to March of this year, Food for Lane County estimated that nearly 42 percent of Lane County households suf- fered from some sort of food insecurity. That number has grown dramatically since the outbreak of the pan- demic along with busi- ness closures and mass layoffs. SVRA relies on the generous support of our community to provide the Friday Food Share. Contact us at svra4cg@ gmail.com to volunteer or donate. 6-day weather forecast FRIDAY SATURDAY 78° | 55° 84° | 51° Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy SUNDAY MONDAY 85° | 53° 87° | 53° Sunny Sunny TUESDAY WEDNESDAY 85° | 53° Sunny 87° | 53° DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL The new Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce office is located at the entry into the city’s historic down- town district, with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for early September. side of chamber, including the website. “With the website up- grade, it’s going to include a lot more advertising possibilities for our mem- SOUTH LANE COUNTY FIRE & RESCUE The Only Emergency Medical Transport Service in South Lane County Sunny Get a plan—not just a policy. (541) 942-0555 Call 541-942-4493 for info. FOR EMERGENCY DIAL 911 Serving South Lane County. www.southlanefi re.org bers,” she said. “It’s just go- ing to be an easier way for them to advertise.” Already, she said, peo- ple are frequently using the visitor center and picking up pamphlets for businesses and activities around town. It’s a trend Neigh would like to help along. “We’re lucky enough to live in an area where there’s so much to do and remain socially distanced,” she said. Using funds from last year’s Concerts in the Park, Neigh intends to create videos based off tourism pamphlets. Five are cur- rently scheduled, which should come out within the next few months. “So instead of people coming in to get a pam- phlet, people can access it from their phones and do the tours,” explained Neigh. The chamber is also looking into establishing youth mentoring pro- grams in partnership with local businesses. “It would be interesting to work with the kids and businesses and show them what it’s like to work in a trade,” said Neigh, adding that she is interested in breaking stigma and help- ing youth who may prefer learning a skill to receiv- ing a college education. “They can earn a good living and it’s not some- thing to be ashamed of,” she said. The idea, however, is dependent on the future state of public health re- strictions due to the coro- navirus pandemic. The chamber is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, though public health re- strictions for volunteers has slowed the process of moving in and a rib- bon-cutting ceremony is tentatively planned for the beginning of September.
