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 |
SEPTEMBER 17, 2020 | $1.00
S entinel
VOL
VOL. 131
131, NO.
NO 37 •
Est. 1889
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COLUMNIST
Mary Ellen
Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales.
B1
COMMUNITY
DAMEIN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
Community members collect donated items for those in the area forced to evacuate their homes due to the wildfires.
CG accepting donations for displaced families
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
Local Rosies
celebrated
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The City of Cottage Grove
opened the Community Center
last Wednesday (Sept. 9) after-
noon to begin accepting dona-
tions for people impacted by the
area’s wildfires.
“The goal is to help affected
members who have been dis-
placed by the fires and whatever
immediate needs they have as
they’re evolving,” said Patrol Ser-
geant Shawn Branstetter, who co-
ordinated the donation drive.
After noticing some online ef-
forts of Cottage Grove residents
to help those in need, Branstetter
decided to use the police depart-
ment’s Facebook platform to bet-
ter organize the response.
Branstetter himself will be tak-
ing Community Center collec-
tions up to the Springfield area.
While the items are being col-
lected as part of a relief effort for
people displaced in the Thurston/
Springfield area, anyone who has
been affected are encouraged to
make use of the collection.
“Plenty of people who have
been affected by it are in our
community now … or have
family members who have been
affected in the Springfield and
Thurston area,” said Branstetter.
“It’s close enough that affects ev-
erybody.”
Hotels in Cottage Grove have
South Lane School District delays start of school
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
The South Lane School District
(SLSD) Board voted on Monday
(Sept. 14) to adopt a revised calen-
dar for the 2020-21 school year, de-
laying the start of the fall term until
Sept. 28.
Officials proposed the week-long
delay of the first day of school due
to the challenges posed by the com-
pounding impacts of the pandemic
and area wildfires.
“We simply need more time to get
all of the conferences done,” said Su-
perintendent Yvonne Curtis during
the meeting. “We also need time for
transportation to get all of the bus
routes done.”
Curtis said she had received many
messages from district staff about
the level of stress caused by the re-
cent fires, including the amount of
smoke in a building causing head-
aches.
“There was quite a bit of feed-
back from staff on this and it was
all very much in favor of delaying,”
said board member Taylor Wilhour.
“People were saying things like,
See SLSD 9A
Though improving, air quality remains unhealthy
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By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.
com
541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax
P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Extreme fire events in
the Pacific Northwest con-
tinue to impact the daily
lives of those in the Willa-
mette Valley and beyond.
Darkened skies and air
filled with particulate mat-
ter have forced much of
the population indoors to
wait out the smoke blan-
keting the region.
In just a week, more
than a million acres of
Oregon have burned, said
Gov. Kate Brown in a press
briefing, compared to the
500,000 acres which burn
in a typical year.
Across the western
United States, at least 87
wildfires are still burning,
according to the National
Interagency Fire Center.
Oregon itself has so
far lost or sustained sub-
stantial damage to several
towns such as Detroit,
See SMOKE 6A
PHOTO BY SAMANTHA DUNCAN
Smoke and haze blots out the sun in Cottage
Grove as regional fires continue to burn.
See DONATIONS 7A
City donates to USS
Oregon; makes fi rst
use of MUPTE
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.
com
In a 3-2 vote, the Cot-
tage Grove City Coun-
cil opted to contribute
$1,000 to support the
commissioning ceremo-
ny of the newly-named
USS Oregon (SSN 793)
submarine.
“If we do contribute,
we can be named as the
‘City of Cottage Grove’
on the plaque that’s in-
side the boat so that the
crew will recognize those
entities or communities
that are part of Oregon,”
explained City Manager
Richard Meyers before
the vote.
According to a letter
sent to the City of Cot-
tage Grove by the USS
Oregon (SSN 793) Com-
missioning Committee, a
See CITY 8A
Assisted Living & Memory Care
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170 Melton Rd. Creswell, OR • (541) 658-5301
1425 Daugherty Ave, CG
541-942-0054