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