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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2021)
THURSDAY EDITION | OCTOBER 21, 2021 | $1.00 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 S entinel VOL. 132, NO. 42 • Est. 1889 Your Local News Delivered Your Way: In Print. Online. On the Go! Get an insurance plan —not just a policy. Residents react to sidewalk order By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel.com (541) 942-0555 WEATHER PM rain with a high of 73 and a low tonight of 49 Full forecast on A5 ‘Living Art’ to be on display for October Art Walk Following a Cottage Grove City Council decision to issue a side- walk order to property owners on Taylor Avenue last week, residents have spoken up to air their frustra- tions over the move. “They’re not representing us when they behave this way,” said resident Sherry Hallum, adding that the order felt overly aggressive. The sidewalk order applies along Taylor Avenue eastward from 10th Street, impacting 11 properties. It gives property owners six months to bring their abutting sidewalks up to city standards. If property owners do not want or refuse to perform the work, the city has the right to do the work and put a lien on the adjacent property. Though the municipal code re- garding sidewalk responsibilities and liabilities dates back to 1996, the fact that property owners are responsible for their abutting side- walks has taken many residents by surprise. Under Chapter 8.12 of city code, it states that “the owner of real property abutting a sidewalk shall maintain the sidewalk in good re- pair and safe condition” and “the owner of real property abutting a sidewalk shall be liable to any per- son injured because of failure by the owner to maintain the sidewalk in good repair and safe condition.” Elsewhere, Chapter 12.08 de- scribes the duties of Cottage Grove landowners to improve adjacent sidewalks that have fallen into dis- repair when required by order of the city council and the city’s right Halloween ‘spirit’ livens the weekend COLUMNIST See ORDER A2 OHA to test water systems for PFAS By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel.com Betty Kaiser Chatterbox A5 SPORTS & REC Photos by Damien Sherwood Obituaries Official releases A2 • LORANE NEWS A5 • CLASSIFIEDS Listings and public notices B5-B6 follow us for the latest news: /CGSentinel @CGSentinel Friends of CG Library awarded federal grant 541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424 Friends of the Cottage Grove Public Library has received a $70,560 grant to enhance and create c o m mu n i t y - o r i e nt e d library programs. The grant will aid in better serving Spanish and Mayan-language speaking communities and support a community health worker who can act as a resource navigator for individuals and families who come to the library, community center, or Senior and Disabled Services offices for information and services. “I’m really excited about the opportunity to help connect our Latine com- munity to resources and a place where they feel wel- come,” said Head Librar- ian Natasha Chitow. “It’s especially important for us to support our local mar- ginalized communities, including those who have sought refuge in our com- munity from untenable situations.” “Latine” is a neologism intended to replace “Lati- no” as a gender-neutral term. The Friends of the Li- brary is a nonprofit orga- nization providing sup- port to the library and promoting it within the community. The nonprof- it received the grant in a very competitive process; less than a third of the to- tal funding requested was approved. In a release, the group said the federal funds will be used to support library staff in designing pro- gramming, classes, and trainings, as well as curat- ing collections specific to the interests and needs of the Latine and Guatema- lan communities. D I N LICENSED N I SURE Test Water Quality And Water Flow Rate D ON E D Install, Service, and Replace Pumps and Water Filtration Systems D • RECORDS B Creswell volleyball edges out ND B1 The Drain community gathered at the Pavilion and Civic Center to celebrate Oktoberfest on Oct. 16. The all-day event featured a giant Jack O’Lantern (center), which was eventually burned, trebuchet pump- kin tossing (left), tractor rides, pumpkin carving and a beer garden. Meanwhile, a fully decorated out- side gathering at Shady Oaks Plants and Produce in Cottage Grove (right) got people into the Halloween spirit with pumpkin carving, live music from the Julie Neadle Band and fire dancing after sunset. SURE Bonded Licensed Insured CCB# 225978 Brandon Ervin (Owner) Tel: 541.649.8100 • For service after hours, Call (503)991-9159 For service after hours, Call (503)991-9159 Email: ervinfamilypumpervice@gmail.com “We hope to see an ex- panded user base, with in- dividuals and families who are not only more com- fortable in participating in library programs and accessing materials, but may be actively involved in feedback, suggestions, and facilitation,” said the nonprofit in its release. In addition, it is hoped that an expansion of broader cultural program- ming and activities will help diversify the expe- riences and awareness of English-speaking patrons. Meanwhile, the library is on the lookout for more paid workers to take on the added responsibilities. “It’s a job where you’re working with everybody in the community,” said Chitow. Though it has been See GRANT A3 Drinking water sys- tems in the Cottage Grove and Creswell area will be among about 150 across the state tested for PFAS (per- and poly-fluorinat- ed substances) as part of an Oregon Health Au- thority (OHA) drinking water monitoring project to be conducted this fall. Local systems in the project include the City of Creswell, Emerald Val- ley Mobile Home and RV Park, Latham Elemen- tary, Riverstone Mobile Home Park and Saginaw Park Water System. All tests will be conducted on groundwater sources except for the City of Cre- See PFAS A11 High school safety threat ‘not credible’ By Damien Sherwood dsherwood@cgsentinel.com South Lane School Dis- trict (SLSD) and the Cot- tage Grove Police Depart- ment (CGPD) have issued statements asking the pub- lic not to worry after an investigation of a possible safety concern at the Cot- tage Grove High School turned out not be a “credi- ble threat.” After school on Oct. 18, Cottage Grove High School administration learned information of a possible safety threat and immedi- ately notified CGPD and school district officials. “CGPD investigated, the involved party was contact- ed and it was determined that the concern was not a credible threat,” said the SLSD statement. Still, additional officers have been assigned to pa- trol schools in the commu- nity. “The school district and police department are committed to provide a safe place for our stu- dents,” stated SLSD. “We appreciate the commitment of students, staff and the community to keeping our school safe.” On Oct. 19, CGPD re- leased a statement confirm- ing additional officers on patrol “to try to alleviate any fears parents may have.” However, the police de- partment reinforced that the supposed threat was thoroughly investigated and determined not to be a concern. “Please do not let social media skew the actual situ- ation,” said the department in its statement. “We under- stand how frightening a real threat is and you can expect that we would communi- cate that if there truly was a situation to be wary of.”
