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 | OCTOBER 1, 2020 | $1.00
S entinel
VOL. 131, NO. 39 •
Est. 1889
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‘COVID-19 is very much still with us’
Lane County’s confirmed cases of novel coronavirus see resurgence
By Mark Brennan
For The Sentinel
(541) 942-0555
WEATHER
Sunny skies with a
high of 87 and a low
tonight of 55.
Full forecast on A5
The COVID-19 curve has
started to shift upward in the
state as the Oregon Health Au-
thority (OHA) reports 2,540 in-
dividuals have tested positive for
the virus in the past week, result-
ing in five deaths.
While the rate of confirmed
infections had been trending
downward, the recent wild-
fires and numerous evacuations
around the state put in place by
civic authorities are believed to
be main contributors to the pre-
vious weeks’ lower rate of report-
ing on confirmed cases of the
virus, which included 457 new
cases between noon last Thurs-
day and noon last Friday — 50
in Lane County, with 1,164 cas-
es currently reported by Lane
County Public Health, including
18 deaths.
As of Sept. 30, the 97424 ZIP
code totaled of 45 reported cas-
es, with 18 reported cases in the
97426 ZIP code.
At this point in the pandem-
ic, there have been 32,315 con-
firmed cases of COVID-19 (as
of Sept. 25) in the state and 542
individuals have perished due to
the virus.
The steadily rising number
of cases since Labor Day Week-
end prompted a strong warning
Thursday from Dr. Jim McGov-
ern, Vice President of Medical
Affairs for PeaceHealth Oregon
network, on behalf of the Lane
County Public Health Medical
Advisory Group.
“More than six months have
passed since the pandemic be-
gan and COVID-19 is very much
still with us. In fact, it appears as
though the preparations made
by hospitals and other care pro-
viders at the beginning of the
outbreak will now need to be uti-
lized,” he said in a statement
See COVID 6A
EBID merges
with Main
Street
Program
COMMUNITY PRAYER
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.
com
Oregon Department of Education
(ODE) allows an exemption for K-3
students to attend in-person classes
providing certain metrics are met.
Lane County surpassed those met-
rics during the week of Sept. 13.
With the increased coronavirus
rates, the district’s goal to transition
The Cottage Grove
Main Street Program
and Economic and
Business Improvement
District (EBID) formal-
ly merged last week,
bringing the full scope
Main Street and down-
town projects under one
roof.
Following the deci-
sion to merge the pro-
grams, Danny Solesbee
was appointed chair of
the nonprofi t, which is
to be named “Down-
town Cottage Grove.”
“Main Street, now, is
bigger,” said Solesbee.
“It allows the people
east of [Highway] 99
and Ninth Street to be
part of programs na-
tionwide — education
and grants and so forth
— so we increased that
footprint.”
Merging the two
entities was largely
motivated by the over-
lapping goals and per-
sonnel associated with
each body.
“They were doing a
lot of the same things
downtown,” said Soles-
bee. “A lot of the peo-
ple on those two boards
were the same faces. So
instead of having two
meetings, we’re a little
bit more effi cient this
way.”
Still, the “footprints”
of the two entities had
their differences.
The Main Street Pro-
gram, which receives
offi ce support from the
city, has been doing
work in line with the
goals of national Main
Street America pro-
gram, which aims to re-
vitalize downtowns and
commercial districts
See SCHOOLS 9A
See EBID 7A
Grovers gather for
National Day of
Prayer — B1
PARADE
Dorena to celebrate
new fire truck with
parade — A3
• RECORDS
Obituaries
Official releases
A2
• LORANE NEWS
B1
• CLASSIFIEDS
Listings and public
notices
B5-B6
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PHOTO COURTESY OF KENNETH MICHAEL ROBERTS
Candidate Jon Stinnett (left) is sworn in as councilor of the Ward 2 seat, which was left vacant by the passing of Councilor Bob Ehler.
Stinnett appointed to Ward 2 council seat
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
The Cottage Grove City Council
convened as a full seven-person
body Monday night for the first
time since the passing of Councilor
Bob Ehler in May this year.
In a unanimous vote, the council
decided to appoint candidate Jon
Stinnett as councilor of the Ward 2
seat, a position Stinnett is currently
vying for in the General Election
on Nov. 3, 2020.
In the council’s memorandum,
it was reasoned that appointing
Stinnett before the election would
not only fill the seat with a voting
body, but provide an opportunity
for Stinnett to get accustomed to
the role of councilor.
At the council’s June 8 meeting,
councilors discussed the possibility
of filing the Ward 2 seat. Several
See SEAT 8A
/CGSentinel
@CGSentinel
Schools back in session with CDL model
541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax
P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood@cgsentinel.com
Students of the South Lane School
District (SLSD) returned to school
on Monday, Sept. 28, putting into
motion months of preparation for a
Comprehensive Distance Learning
(CDL) model, a public health-con-
scious approach to education.
Though grades K-3 had been
planned to be phased into a hy-
brid model of in-person and CDL
schooling, COVID-19 metrics for
Lane County have increased in
recent weeks, forcing school dis-
tricts throughout the county to
put in-person education for lower
grades on hold.
OUR TOWN,
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But by People
45 YEARS
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Cottage Grove, OR 97424
541-942-9570
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