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:
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@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.”