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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2020)
Cottage Grove Sentinel Community B1 THURSDAY | OCTOBER 15, 2020 Humor at the Speed of Life Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales James Kazad — (Remembrances of life before COVID) T hough it’s been 20 years, I still remember our youngest son’s first Hal- loween costume. Because he was too young to walk, the choices were limited to things that could be carried under one arm and then planted on the doorstep. Eventually, I narrowed the options down to the fol- lowing: A pumpkin. A legless pirate. A meteor. When considering the merits of each costume op- tion and which elements should be incorporated into them, parents really have only one consideration: “How do I get the most candy out of my child?” To me, the sympathy factor for the legless pirate made it a no-brainer. However, I couldn’t over- look the power of cuteness — a quality that was miss- ing from the legless pirate and meteor concepts. I eventually settled on “The Pumpkin, which I’m sad to say, fell short of my candy-yield expectations for that year. To make matters worse, that was also the year our oldest daughter became an active member of Young Advocates for Keeping Kandy (YAKK). I realize, for some par- ents, Halloween is an excit- ing time that allows them to bond with their child by making their Hallow- een-costume dream come true. For the rest of us, it means actually making something, and therefore putting our child’s emotional wellbeing at risk by creating a cos- tume that could potentially scar them for life. After nearly 40 years, I still remember my mother carefully wrapping me in layer after layer of tissue in order to turn me into a frightening replica of The Mummy — and how it took less than five minutes for a light drizzle to turn me into the considerably LESS frightening Soggy Toilet Paper Man. Things weren’t much bet- ter the following year, when I dressed up as a pirate and missed out on all of the good candy after spending 45 minutes with my plastic hook stuck in the car door. By the time I hit the streets all that was left were Sweet Tarts and half- opened rolls of Rolaids. However, as Count Drac- ula the following Hallow- een, I knew it was going to be MY year. Aside from maybe swallowing my own fangs, there wasn’t much that could go wrong. I remember leaping from the porch and sprinting into the night with my long cape flapping behind me; I remember the sound of my polished shoes clattering across the pavement, and the eerie, greenish tinge of my glow-in-the-dark teeth — particularly as they flew out of my mouth after my cape caught on the neigh- bor’s fence. Granted, these situations weren’t entirely about de- sign flaw. In fact, I’m willing to ac- cept the small role my own flawed coordination skills might’ve played in all this. However, that only adds to the pressure of coming up with a costume that can be safe, functional and, if necessary, used as a stretch- er. Fortunately, my son was still too young to remember when, a year later when, the cardboard robot costume I made him cut off the circu- lation to his arms, render- ing them unresponsive for a full two minutes. This was discovered on our third stop of the night, when he tried to lift up his plastic jack-o-lantern for candy and, instead, fell headfirst through the screen door. Now that our kids are in their teens, my wife and I no longer have to worry about creating costumes for them that could prove em- barrassing or leave an emo- tional scar. Then again, my wife and I are now free to create our own costumes — which, for our teenagers, could be even more frightening. Applicants needed for Douglas County Senior Services Advisory Council The Douglas County Board of Commissioners are accepting applications for volunteer representa- tives for the Douglas Coun- ty Senior Services Advisory Council. Currently, they are re- cruiting for the following positions: • 3 Positions represent- ing Central Douglas Coun- ty (Roseburg, Winchester, Melrose, Winston, Green, Dillard, Lookingglass, Camas Valley) • 1 Position represent- ing West Douglas County (Reedsport, Winchester Bay, Gardiner, Scottsburg) Members of the Doug- las County Senior Services Advisory Council assist in identifying needs, evalu- ating programs, as well as planning and developing services for older persons in Douglas County. Meetings are held quarterly on the second Wednesday of March, June, September and December, at 1:30 p.m. Citizens residing in Douglas County and in the specified regions who are interested in serving on this board, are urged to submit an application to the Doug- las County Board of Com- missioners. Applications are available online at www.co.douglas. or.us, or in person at the Board of Commissioners’ Office, located in Room 217 at the Douglas Coun- ty Courthouse, 1036 SE Douglas Avenue in Rose- burg, or by calling at (541) 440-4201. Applications are being accepted until position(s) are filled. stabilization in the slide area and are now working on what they call “the Big Fill.” In the mean time, due to community concerns, the Lane County staff and contractor have been working on safety mea- sures to see us through the winter. So far: New pavement over the active slide areas to seal that area, new cen- ter line and fog lines, plus reflective delineators will be installed on the inside curves in the area of the tie-back stabilization sys- tem. In an estimated two weeks, a section of the existing road will be con- verted to a single lane con- trolled by traffic lights. The construction will continue as long as weath- er permits, resuming in the spring. The transportation de- partment planners and supervisors are doing all they can to keep us safe throughout the winter months. • Our school district is doing everything it can to meets the learning needs of the students. Several ideas are in the works to help some stu- dents lacking technology. LORANE COUNTRY NEWS Contributed by Lil Thompson for The Sentinel • The Lorane Chris- tian Church will continue with indoor services using masks and distancing and outdoor on FM 89.1. Pastor Dave, Heidi and several come out with masks, keeping the re- quired distancing, to make sure you feel welcome and see if you have prayer re- quests. • The church members will have their annual Trunk ’n’ Treat on Hallow- een night from 5 to 7 p.m. Masks required and dis- tancing plus please put your candy in sealed bag- gies so children may just pick one. It is planned to keep ev- eryone safe, following all the guidelines including sanitizer, and still let the kids have fun. Come join in the fun! • As you know, Rural Art Movie night was can- celled for October. The RAC board members are currently discussing if it will happen this season. • The Territorial Rd Project Phase 1-Stoney Point will continue for about 45 days weather permitting. They have worked on What’s Rotary? Magnolia Gardens Senior Living has We are expanding! completed construction of 37 new suites. Visit us for a tour and see the construction of 37 new luxury suites in progress. Our new luxury suites will be available for move-in October 2020. Renting soon! We focus our time, energy, and efforts on service projects encompassing: Local Projects: High School Scholarships, Bike Helmets for Lincoln Middle School, Literacy, Crousel Wheelchair Space, Aquatic Center Mural, downtown Bike Lockers and Playground Equipment for Coiner Park Global Projects: Thai Library Project, Clean Water in Central America Become a member today. 1425 Daugherty Ave., Cottage Grove Call for more information or a tour: (541) 514-2485 Contact Karol Kuhn Simons rotary424cg@gmail.com Service Above Self By Mary Ellen “Angel Scribe” ‘Super’ Pets! Edith, her daughter, Kate, and Kate’s first “child,” De- nali the Super Cat. (This column was first published Oct. 10, 2018) D ogs and cats are amazing. They teach us to be kind and compassionate while wiggling their way into our hearts, making us feel loved and they make us laugh. We call them family, but for many they are also our best friend. Edith’s border collie, Batman, flew in as a pup- py on a rescue mission to help her young daughter, Kate, conquer her fear of dogs. His super hero powers worked so well that years later, Kate supplemented her college tuition with dog sitting. “Batman was our son, Ain’s, only brother,” said Edith. “When the kids and the dog were little, my husband played ‘football’ with them. Their game con- sisted of a child kicking the ball to the other two at the other end of the yard. Dad would protect or dodge helping both sides in the mad dash to get a touch- down. Dad would ‘throw’ the ball and Katie would kick the ball while Batman zipped around herding them.” The one exception was when Ain’s turn came to kick. Batman jumped in and ‘blocked’ each of Ain’s kicks midair. “He only blocked our son’s kicks… That beloved dog also helped my son learn soccer by trying to get the ball from him while Ain practiced,” said Edith. “On another note, the dog walked into Ain’s room to specifically ‘pick out’ a toy BATMAN figurine — to munch on.” Once, Edith found Batman on the wrong side of their fence. When he heard his name called, instead of crawling back home, Batman spidey-crawled like Spider-Man under the neighbor’s side fence — then walked to their front yard and happily bounded home. “Like, ‘Oh! Here I am! Did you want me?’ We were blessed with that spunky, fun-loving dog for 16 years,” said Edith. When Kate married, she adopted Denali, the cutest soft-as-a-bunny white and black fur ball kitten. For their “baby’s” pleasure, Kate’s iPad has a swimming fish app that Denali plays with for hours. He then cre- ated the game “cat tag” by stalking his parents, hiding and, when he deems it the right time, running and pouncing on his ‘prey,’ tagging them with light touch- es to an ankle. Then he zooms off. Kate’s superhero nickname for their fun-loving cat is Catman. TIPS: “While Denali was on ‘vacation’ with us, I bought him a pet stroller after reading about Mary Ellen An- gel Scribe’s success with her pets’ stroller,” said Edith. “Well, our furry house guest loves it. I cut and fit foam for his mattress and his comfort. He sleeps in ‘his’ buggy through the day and enjoys snooper-vising us outside while we garden. My daughter and son-in- law were embarrassed by the stroller, until they saw how much Denali loves it and they are enjoying tak- ing him out, too. The stroller makes their walks enjoyable and De- nali naps from the fresh air. How much does he love his new stroller? He considers it his condo and won’t sleep with his pet parents!” It keeps cat hairs off their bed and it has made its purr-chase worthwhile. Also, collapsible-canvas wagons work wonders for elderly dogs. Adding a mattress comforts old bones and elevates the dog so they can see over the wagon’s edge. The wagons fold up into almost nothing for storage, and in the summer transport lawn chairs to the beach or use it to fill with plants at the garden store when your pet opts to stay home! Oh! And it is great for walking tired “real” children too. Write us about your fun pet at angelscribe@msn.com
