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
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WEATHER
DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
COURTESY OF GREG LEE
Spooky fun kicks off inaugural
Rain with a high of
56 and a low tonight
of 42
Full forecast on A5
‘Halloween Hootinanny’
COLUMNIST
Mary Ellen
Pet Tips ‘n’ Tales
A5
DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
SPORTS & REC
DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
DAMIEN SHERWOOD/COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL
By event orgranizer estimates, at least 3,500 costumed trick-or-treaters turned out for the inaugural “Halloween Hootinanny” in
Bohemia Park on Oct. 29. Thousands of pieces of candy were distributed from at least 60 businesses and nonprofits participating in the
event, which was sponsored by the Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce, the City of Cottage Grove and nonprofit Downtown Cottage
Grove. The three-hour celebration directed families through a winding gauntlet of Halloween-inspired tents and a seemingly endless
supply of candy. Organizers are already planning to institute the event as an annual Cottage Grove feature. “We haven’t had a single
negative response,” said Events Coordinator Shane May. “It was 1,000 percent a success. It was so cool to see our community and busi-
nesses come together. Everybody wants us to redo it.” Local restaurant Jack Sprats (center) was voted “Coolest Overall” for its “Candyland”
tent decoration.
Lions send
Cheesemakers packing
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SLSD staff, students navigate 2021 challenges
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood
@cgsentinel.com
With the Oct. 18 vaccine
deadline for school dis-
trict staff in the rearview
mirror, South Lane School
District (SLSD) is still
finding its center of gravity
amid a staffing crisis and a
challenging environment
for mental wellness for
both students and staff.
In August, Governor
Kate Brown announced
that all adults in K-12
school campus commu-
nities and all healthcare
workers must be fully vac-
cinated against COVID-19
by Oct. 18, though reli-
gious and medical excep-
tions could be granted.
Despite retaining most
of its workforce after the
deadline, SLSD is not out
of the woods on the staff-
ing issue yet.
“We’re still dealing with
it,” said SLSD Superinten-
dent Yvonne Curtis, add-
ing that, though a chal-
lenge, the situation looks
manageable as solutions
are being implemented.
SLSD was able to keep
much of its staff largely
due to allowing religious
and medical exceptions to
the vaccine mandate — a
leniency not all districts
have been willing to grant.
Still, other hurdles have
impeded a smooth transi-
tion into the year.
Through the school year,
there have been sporad-
ic positive COVID cases
causing absences. Near the
end of October, the district
reported at that point in
time some 14 positive cas-
es in the schools, though it
has not released specifics
on whether they were staff
or students.
“I know people have
been frustrated about, you
know, ‘Why are you not
showing transparency,’ but
we have FERPA (Family
Educational Rights and
Privacy Act) requirements
and we have to make sure
that the data doesn’t reveal
staff or students who are
out and reveal that they
have COVID,” said Curtis.
With flu season in full
swing as well, staff num-
bers have seen period-
ic dips. These dips have
had impact in some areas
where there are already
lower numbers of staff,
such as in Dorena Elemen-
tary School.
“When you’re in a small
school, if you’re missing
a teacher and two educa-
tional assistants, you’re
pretty handicapped,” said
Curtis, adding that staff
have been exhausted try-
ing to fill others’ spots.
“We’re trying to make
sure people have breaks
and lunches and duties are
covered and all of that, so
it has been challenging.”
Transportation, too, as
a high-turnover depart-
ment, has been a struggle
to fill. The district started
Community
health center
receives Pacific-
Source grant
By Damien Sherwood
dsherwood
@cgsentinel.com
Last week, the Pacif-
icSource Foundation for
Health
Improvement,
PacificSource, and Pacif-
ic Health Associates col-
lectively approved a joint
grant funding request
totaling $275,000 to help
support the opening of
the
much-anticipated
community health cen-
ter on the Cottage Grove
Lane Community Col-
See SCHOOL A8
@CGSentinel
See GRANT A10
Season begins for Community Sharing Warming Shelter
541- 942-3325 ph • 541-942-3328 fax
P.O. Box 35, Cottage Grove, OR 97424
Activation temperature may rise to 32 F this winter
Damien Sherwood
dsherwood
@cgsentinel.com
On Nov. 1, the Commu-
nity Sharing Warming Shel-
ter season officially began
its winter run, which will
end March 31.
The warming shelter is
operated through a part-
nership with the City of
Cottage Grove and non-
profit Community Sharing.
“We weren’t sure if we
were going to end up op-
erating or not again,” said
Community Sharing Exec-
utive Director Mike Fleck.
Community Sharing as-
sumed responsibility for
the project last fall when
local shelter provider Beds
for Freezing Nights stated it
would be unable to provide
its services for the season.
Beds for Freezing Nights
has, however, remained a
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supporting entity for the
current program.
This year, though, Beds
for Freezing Nights has
again faced challenges with
See SHELTER A9