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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2021)
Cottage Grove Sentinel Sports & Leisure B1 THURSDAY | MAY 13, 2021 Note: Game times and dates are subject to change May 13 • Elkton baseball hosts Umpq. V. Chr. 4:30 pm • ND/Yon baseball hosts N. Bend JV 5 pm May 14 • CGHS track & field Districts (Day 1) at Siuslaw HS 11 am May 15 • CGHS baseball at Elmira Noon and 2 pm • CGHS softball at Elmira Noon and 2 pm • CGHS track & field Districts (Day 2) at Siuslaw HS 11 am May 17 • ND/Yon baseball at Umpq. V. Chr. 7 pm May 18 • ND/Yon baseball hosts Marshfield JV Noon May 21 • CGHS track & field Districts (Day 2) at Siuslaw HS 11 am May 22 • CGHS track & field Districts (Day 2) at Siuslaw HS 11 am • Yoncalla T/F State meet La Grande, Ore. 10 am • N. Douglas T/F State meet La Grande, Ore. 10 am • Elkton T/F State meet La Grande, Ore. 10 am Racers gear up for Wallbanger Cup this Saturday T he annual Wallbanger Cup is set for this Sat- urday, May 15, at Cot- tage Grove Speedway. The Wall- banger Cup is one of the most prestigious Street Stock races in the Northwest and is held in memory of the late Mark “Marky Wallbanger” Howard. Howard was not only ma- jor force in the Cottage Grove Speedway but in racing through- out the Northwest. “You would be hard pressed to find a person that Mark didn’t help during his time here,” gen- eral manager Heather Boyce said on the speedway’s website. “He was definitely one of the good ones. It is our huge honor to run this race in memory of such an amazing man. Boyce said the best of the best will be in attendance Saturday night battling it out for the cov- eted Wallbanger Cup — and to be the one to scrape it along the front stretch, as is the races tra- dition. Races returned to the speedway in April and will continue through the summer. (Photo by Madman Photography) Saturday’s races will also fea- ture 360 Sprints, IMCA Mod- ifieds and IMCA Sport Com- pacts. Tickets are very limited due to Covid restrictions and can be purchased in advance on- line at www.cottagegrovespeed- way.com Front Gates open 3:30 p.m., with Hot Laps/Qualifying taking place from 5 to 6 p.m. The format will consist of a pill draw for heat race position- ing, with each heat race group qualifying in order; heat race/ hot lap groups will be the same. Heats will be lined up with a 6-car invert. Failure to run hot laps in your group will result in being lined up in the rear of the heat. For more information, call the Cottage Grove Speedway at 541- 729-8666. Cottage Theatre begins construction on major remodeling project Cottage Theatre is beginning construction on its ACT III re- modeling project, an effort that has been ten years in the mak- ing. The remodel will add 50 seats to the theatre’s auditorium and make a variety of safety and technical upgrades to enhance audience and participant enjoy- ment at the 39-year-old com- munity theatre. Design for the project is being handled by GMA Architects of Eugene, and Ordell Construction will be serving as the general contractor. “This project was conceived following years of capacity crowds and multiple sold-out performances,” comments Cot- tage Theatre Executive Director Susan Goes. “At the same time, our old seats had passed the end of their useful lifespan and some chronically-underfunded por- tions of our budget provided a strong incentive to look for a way to grow revenues. Adding more seats emerged as the most practi- cal way to accomplish this.” To make room for 50 more audience members, the theatre will “re-rake” the auditorium by adding concrete on top of the existing levels to make a steep- er slope. The far side seating sections will be eliminated and more rows added to the center three sections. “One of the things we’re most excited about is the improved view from every seat post-remodel,” adds Goes. The lobby also will be updated, with new, larger bathrooms added, along with a community room that can host pre- and post-show receptions, classes, and private meetings. Safety and accessibility im- provements to the facility include the addition of a fire sprinkler system (which was not required The remodel of the theater will include the addition of 50 seats to the three center sections (courtesy photo) by code when the building was constructed in 1998), aisle light- ing, additional ADA seating, and a Hearing Loop Assistive Listening System. The latter will greatly improve the theatre ex- perience for all patrons with tele- coil-equipped hearing aids. Longtime Cottage Theatre vol- unteer Board Treasurer Mark Al- len has led the fundraising effort for the $2.4MM ACT III project. “We are so excited to finally be- gin construction on this project,” said Allen. “This moment has been a long time in coming! We had originally hoped to complete what was to have been a $1.5MM project in 2019, but an unexpect- ed construction cost increase caused us to delay the project so we had additional time to raise more money. We are so very grateful to the hundreds of the- atre patrons who have stepped forward to support this project, by sponsoring one of our new seats or making an even more substantial contribution.” The largest single source of support for Cottage Theatre’s Athlete of the Week remodel comes from individual donations, a fact which helped CT attract additional foundation and government support. Major funders include the State of Or- egon, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Ford Family Foundation, Woodard Family Foundation, Fred W. Fields Fund of the Or- egon Community Foundation, Faye and Lucille Stewart Foun- dation, Sunderland Foundation, and the Oregon Cultural Trust. “At this point, we have raised about 95% of what we need,” comments Goes. “But we are far enough along with our fundrais- ing that we are confident we can complete construction this year.” Construction on the remodel is expected to continue through the summer. Assuming con- struction occurs on schedule and COVID guidelines permit, Cottage Theatre hopes to resume performances in October with their long-postponed produc- tion of Mamma Mia. “We cannot wait to welcome everyone back to the theatre!” states Allen. Now in its 39th year, Cottage This week’s athlete of the week is Elkton High School senior Margaret Byle, who won three races at last week’s May Showers meet at Reedsport High School Theatre has grown tremendous- ly since humble 1982 beginnings under a parachute on the lawn of Cottage Grove’s Village Green. After operating out of a small storefront for many years, the theatre’s current facility was built in 1998 (ACT I). A Rehearsal Hall was added in 2006 (ACT II). Cottage Theatre normally pro- duces plays and musicals year- round, typically presenting 80 performances annually. (The theatre has been closed since March 2020 due to COVID re- strictions.) The theatre also of- fers children’s theatre camps and partners with Cottage Grove High School to produce the an- nual Rhythm & Blues Revue each February. A member of the American Association of Community Theatre (AACT), Cottage Theatre was one of six theatres in the nation selected to produce a world premiere in the AACT 2018 NewPlayFest. Cottage Theatre will share construction updates on its website at www.cottagetheatre. org. Lady Elks senior Margaret Byle won the 100M, 200M and 400M races during the May 7 Reedsport HS May Showers Meet. SENTINEL FILE PHOTO
