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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (June 17, 2021)
4A | JUNE 17, 2021 | COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL Cottage Grove Sentinel 116 N. Sixth St. Cottage Grove, Ore. 97424 Damien Sherwood, editor | 541-902-3520 | dsherwood@cgsentinel.com Opinion The First Amendment C ongress shall make no law respect- ing an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Govern- ment for a redress of grievances. “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800) A preview of Bohemia Mining Days to come... These downtown businesses are familiar to Grovers as they regu- larly drive by them on their way to somewhere else. This year, BMD gives them a purpose to stop and enjoy them. Another reason for the move downtown is to respond to the hundreds of attendees who remem- ber BMD’s longtime roots there and have asked us, in surveys and on social media, to come back. Who knew it would, sadly, take a global pandemic to fulfill their request? In 1980, after 21 years downtown, the celebration grew so big, Bohemia City had to move to various larger venues before settling comfortably After more than a year of being apart for health and safety reasons, let’s pour out our pent-up desire for fun by participating in this newest Bohemia Mining Days tradition. Throw down a challenge to your One month from now, Bohemia competitive friends, family mem- Mining Days returns to Cottage bers and co-workers. Let’s see some Grove’s historic downtown for two green and yellow carts squaring off days. As the severe COVID-19 re- against black and orange ones. We strictions we’ve been living with for encourage businesses and organi- the past 15 months are now lifting, zations to field a promotional team BMD 2021 affords us the opportu- using a cart emblazoned with their nity to come back together as sur- business name. vivors of a deadly global pandemic One of the most important les- and learn to accept a new normal in sons we’ve learned from COVID- how we go forward with our lives. 19’s impact on our organization is “Grovers are Survivors” is the how utterly dependent we are on a theme we’ve chosen for three-day event to provide a this year. We all have our year’s worth of administra- survivor stories to share. tive and program revenue. For Bohemia Mining So, we are trying a few new Cindy Weeldreyer & Don Williams Days, our festival spon- fundraisers to diversify our BMD Board officials sors still made their an- revenue streams in the fu- nual contributions that ture. financially “kept the lights Transitioning our on” for us. Planning BMD Slabtown vs. Lemati Feud 2021 has been quite the challenge in Coiner Park. The last time BMD into a hybrid online/real world for our board and production team. was staged downtown was in 1999 virtual game is a unique strategy Since January, we’ve remained pos- for its 40th anniversary celebration. to bring our community back to- itive and determined to continue gether and seek fun ways to deliver our efforts as the risk levels went up Mine Ore Cart Races a spectacular BMD 2022. The Food and down. We also faced the real With only a month to go we ab- Feud is our yummy new mon- possibility that two weeks after all solutely need more racers to make ey-maker. Inspired by the Food for the Fourth of July celebrations a se- this first year both fun and suc- Lane County annual Grilled Cheese rious spike in COVID cases might cessful. We believe it is a unique Experience, we are partnering with force us to cancel our event at the opportunity to pair up our young local eateries to provide “a passport last minute. With high vaccination whippersnappers with our old-tim- to culinary adventures” during July rates now the threat of cancelling ers. The young ones will set the 6-20. the event is low. record of race times in this new To join in the fun go to our web- competition all others have to beat. site: www.BohemiaMiningDays. Why the move downtown? The experienced builders, with a org. The Coiner Park venue is too workshop or garage, will build the There you can download applica- small to space 75+ vendor booths fastest carts. Cart materials can be tions to be a vendor or to volunteer, six feet apart and leave room for reinforced cardboard, scrap wood, to enter the Grand Miners parade, attendees to maintain the required or metal with flames and a powder to register for the Mine Ore Cart social distance. Relocating Cottage coat finish. The minimum con- Races, to participate in the Food Grove’s largest event of the year struction safety standards leave Feud or to learn how The Feud downtown spreads it out across much to imagination and creativity. Game is designed to bring our com- eight city blocks to give us safety We are happy to match up willing munity back together in healthy space and it creates the potential builders and wannabe racers, so we ways after a global pandemic. for an economic boost to business have lots of competitors on Main BMD is back! We thank Sentinel owners. Street on the third weekend of July readers for choosing Bohemia Min- Our hope is locals and out-of- for this inaugural race. To make ing Days as the most missed com- town guests discover a unique trea- your match and to get help with munity event in 2020. On behalf of sure in one of our small specialty cart construction, call Dick Secord the Board, and our BMD 2021 Pro- shops, enjoy dining in one of the at 541.942.7138 or visit the Bohe- duction Team, we invite you to par- downtown eateries, or throw back mia Gold Mining Museum (red ticipate in all the fun we have wait- a cold one on a hot day in one of barn across from Bohemia Park) on ing for you on July 17-18 in historic the watering holes in The District. Thursdays between 1-4 pm. downtown Cottage Grove. (Editor’s Note: Viewpoint sub- missions on this and other topics are always welcome as part of our goal to encourage community discussion and exchange of perspectives.) Guest Viewpoint USPS#133880 Copyright 2021 © COTTAGE GROVE SENTINAL Letters to the Editor Policy The Sentinel welcomes letters to the editor as part of a community discussion of issues on the local, state and national level. Emailed letters are preferred. Handwritten or typed letters must be signed. All letters need to include full name, address and phone number; only name and city will be printed. Letters should be limited to about 300 words. Letters are subject to editing for length, grammar and clarity. Publication of any letter is not guaranteed and depends on space available and the volume of letters received. Letters that are anonymous, libelous, argumentative, sarcastic or contain accusations that are unsourced or without documentation will not be published. Letters containing poetry or from outside The Sentinel readership area will only be published at the discretion of the editor. Political/Election Letters: Election-related letters must address pertinent or timely issues of interest to our readers at-large. Letters must: 1) Not be a part of letter-writing campaigns on behalf of (or by) candidates; 2) Ensure any information about a candidate is accurate, fair and not from second-hand knowledge or hearsay; and 3) explain the reasons to support candidates based on personal experience and perspective rather than partisanship and campaign-style rhetoric. Candidates themselves may not use the letters to the editor column to outline their views and platforms or to ask for votes; this constitutes paid political advertising. As with all letters and advertising content, the newspaper, at the sole discretion of the publisher, general manager and editor, reserves the right to reject any letter that doesn’t follow the above criteria. Send letters to: dsherwood@cgsentinel.com HOW TO CONTACT YOUR REPS Oregon state representatives • Sen. Floyd Prozanski District 4 State Senator PO Box 11511 Eugene, Ore. 97440 Phone: 541-342-2447 Email : sen.floydprozanski@ state.or.us • Rep. Cedric Hayden Republican District 7 State Representative 900 Court St. NE Salem, Ore. 97301 Phone: 503-986-1407 Email: rep.cedrichayden@ state.or.us • Rep. Peter DeFazio (House of Representatives) 405 East 8th Ave. #2030 Eugene, Ore. 97401 Oregon federal representatives Email: defazio.house.gov/ contact/email-peter Phone: 541-465-6732 • Sen. Ron Wyden 405 East 8th Ave., Suite 2020 Eugene, Ore. 97401 Email: wyden.senate.gov Phone: (541) 431-0229 • Sen. Jeff Merkley Email: merkley.senate.gov Phone: 541-465-6750 • Heather Buch Lane County Commissioner - District 5 Email: Heather.Buch@lane countyorg.gov 125 E. Eighth Ave. Eugene, OR 97401 Or call 541-682-4203 S entinel C ottage G rove 541-942-3325 LETTERS Hoping to see Public Works work with public It was with great interest that I read the June 10 edition with the article titled “Coastal redwoods considered for removal”. What I found gratifying was the collaboration of the Public Works department, various city staff, property owners, utility companies, and all stakeholders. The trees’ removal must be both a heartbreaking and necessary action to be taken by all involved parties. My sympathies. This brings to mind my current situation with the Public Works Department of Cottage Grove. My story: I own a small 107-year-old home on a tiny piece of property in the historic northwest side of town. For the past 10 years I’ve main- tained this home to the highest standard possible with my limited resources. Besides having pride in living in this home, I’ve made it a point for it to be a standout in appearance and aesthetic appeal. The land- scaping has garnered praise both in person and being “Yard of the Week”. At night its first floor win- dows are illuminated stained glass. Over the years the city has al- ways advised me to trim my birch trees to conform to ‘code’. There have been instances where city workers would approach me and offer to do the trimming on the birch trees while promising not to compromise the aesthetic value of them. A great and wel- come help! This year one of my birch trees had really taken off and crowded out the street corner I live on. I re- ceived a letter from Public Works concerning this. I hired, at a price out of my bud- get, a tree care company. They cut so much off of the birch that it’s almost unrecognizable. I consoled myself by thinking that it will al- ways grow back. Soon I received a more serious letter from Public Works giving me a firm deadline to trim trees, the letter being festooned with bright red underscores. I checked out my trees. The only tree that could possibly raise any ire was a long-established Japanese Maple. This was never an issue with the city for the past 10 years. It doesn’t quite meet the “8 feet above the sidewalk” requirement. But it has always been a shady rest- ing place in the summer for pedes- Administration Jenna Bartlett, Group Publisher trians all these years. Unless they were seven plus feet tall. I found myself greatly distressed and anxious about this second let- ter. Almost threatened. The tree presents no threat to utilities, pave- ment, sidewalk or any pedestrian under seven feet tall. This serious anxiety has led to loss of sleep and reoccurrence of my PTSD. When I was a duly elected fire chief in NW Arizona, I always en- gaged the citizens, in person, when there was a problem. Through collaboration and co- operation these problems were al- ways solved with all parties happy. I learned early that authoritarian behavior engendered defiance and bad feelings. The behavior of Public Works is both needlessly aggressive and sad. The public would be better served if Public Works accompa- nied letters with offers to meet and discuss. Come to me personally, let’s talk. Let me know what your com- plaints are. I did my part to the best of my ability. —Stephen Themmes Cottage Grove Gary Manly, General Manager... Ext. 1207 gmanly@cgsentinel.com Gerald Santana, Multi-Media Sales Consultant... Ext. 1216 gsantana@cgsentinel.com Carla Skeel, Inside Multi-Media Sales Consultant... Ext. 1203 csummers@cgsentinel.com Kurt Krueger, Multi-Media Sales Consultant/Circulation... Ext. 1213 kkrueger@cgsentinel.com Editorial Damien Sherwood, Editor... Ext. 1212 dsherwood@cgsentinel.com Customer Service Office Manager, Legals, Classifieds... Ext. 1200 mfringer@cgsentinel.com Production Ron Annis, Production Supervisor... 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