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THE COTTAGE GROVE

entinel

Wednesday

Finding ‘Diamonds in the Rough’: Hyland’s Eye for Renewal organization serving individuals with complex disabilities and their families. Its colorful mural facing East Whiteaker Avenue has become a familiar sight to passersby. That same year, he acquired the long vacant Better Bodies Gym, a building that originally housed the Riverside Medical Clinic, on the west end of the Historic District along the river. Cleanup and repairs have been completed, and the building is now ready for a tenant, although it is not yet in use. Earlier this year, Hyland’s equipment arrived at the former Moose Lodge on Highway 99, across from Dairy Mart at the southern entrance to town, to begin rehabilitation work on the deteriorated structure. The building has been empty for years and is considered the most challenging of the three.

CINDY WEELDREYER Cottage Grove Sentinel

Springfield contractor Shaun Hyland has become a quiet but consequential new player in Cottage Grove’s commercial landscape, purchasing three long vacant buildings and bringing one of them back into active use while preparing another for a future tenant and beginning rehabilitation on a third. His investments mark one of the more visible private efforts to revive aging properties in key corridors of the city. Hyland grew up in Springfield and graduated from Thurston High School in 1990. He married young at 19 and stepped straight into the family construction business, learning the work hands on before eventually moving into leadership alongside his sister, Tiffani Noah. What began as a practical start in a multi-generational trade has since expanded into a broader interest in property rehabilitation and redevelopment. Hyland said Cottage Grove’s untapped potential is what first drew him south. Three Properties, Three Stages of Progress In 2023, Hyland purchased the vacant Cottage Grove Sentinel building at 116 N. 6th Street and rehabilitated it for a specialized tenant. The building is now home to Circle of Friends, a nonprofit

Chamber Perspective on Local Investment

Cottage Grove Chamber of Commerce President Danny Solesbee said Hyland’s work reflects a long standing regional connection rather than a sudden influx of outside developers. “Shaun Hyland has been doing construction projects here for years,” Solesbee said. “He looks for investment opportunities, and when some businesses closed, he saw the potential.” He added that improvements in the city’s permitting process under

Community Development Director Faye Stewart, along with available grants, have made rehabilitation efforts more inviting for investors. Solesbee said the economic impact of filling long vacant buildings is straightforward. “The more businesses in a community, the more economic growth and job opportunities you will have,” he said. “A revitalized downtown ensures those empty storefronts will be filled.” He also pointed to Cottage Grove’s historic character as a draw for investors. “In my opinion, Cottage Grove has a long, colorful history that

Police chief highlights training gains, push to rebuild staffing Department of Human Services, along with those received directly by police. Each report is assigned a case number and investigated by an officer working with local Child Protective Services caseworkers. The department reviewed 279 reports in 2024 and 240 in 2025, maintaining a high caseload in this area.

CINDY WEELDREYER Cottage Grove Sentinel

Public calls for police service slightly increased in 2025 in Cottage Grove, with property crimes among the most common offenses, according to the latest Cottage Grove Police Annual Report. The CGPD’s 2025 annual report outlines call volume, crime trends, training and staffing updates for the past year. Police Chief Cory Chase presented the department’s annual report to the City Council on Feb. 23, part of a series of mid year updates from all city departments, with CGPD taking its turn as a single agenda item. The presentation offered updates on patrol activity, arrests, community engagement and department operations. Annual reports serve as one of the few opportunities for the public to see a comprehensive snapshot of department activity, including call trends, staffing levels, training requirements and budget pressures. For smaller agencies like Cottage Grove, these updates also help illustrate how limited personnel and resources shape day to day operations, offering residents a clearer understanding of the challenges facing local law enforcement.

Call Volume and Crime Trends

Arrests

Officers made 503 arrests in 2025, including 319 misdemeanor arrests and 184 felony arrests. Felony cases rose slightly compared to 2024, while misdemeanor arrests remained consistent with recent trends.

K9 and Therapy Dog Programs

The department responded to 10,508 calls for service in 2025, a slight increase from the previous year. Property crimes saw modest fluctuations, with thefts and criminal mischief cases remaining among the most common offenses. Person to person crimes held

relatively steady, reflecting patterns consistent with recent years.

Child Abuse Reports

The department continues to review all child abuse reports forwarded by the Oregon

The department’s canine program included two dogs in 2025, both donated and professionally trained by the Portland based nonprofit Working Dogs. Ripp, a seven year old Belgian Malinois handled by Sergeant Derek Carlton, logged 11 deployments, assisted in six arrests, conducted 10 area searches and completed 160 training hours. The department also briefly had a therapy dog program with Sabrina, whose presence was especially meaningful to staff and local youth during the months she served.

Community Engagement

The report highlights several community engagement programs that give department

Oregon House passes gun bill bolstering Measure 114 promptly drew legal challenges in both state and federal courts. House Bill 4145 would serve as a roadmap for rolling that measure out. It would give authorities 60 instead of the current 30 days required to either issue a permit or provide a written denial, and it would exempt background checks and permit application information from public records requests. The bill would also increase maximum permit renewal fees the state is allowed to collect from $50 to $110, while pushing back implementation of the permit requirement until 2028. The bill passed in a 33-19 vote along mostly party lines after an

SHAANTH NANGUNERI Oregon Capital Chronicle

The Oregon House on Wednesday, February 25, moved to strengthen some of the nation’s strictest state-level firearm safety provisions narrowly enacted by Oregon voters in 2022, after a tense dispute during a committee hearing over the bill brought the chamber to a standstill on Monday, February 23. Along with banning magazines with more than 10 rounds of ammunition, Measure 114 required completed background checks, permits and firearm safety training before purchasing guns. But the law still hasn’t taken effect because it

INDEX

emotional debate among lawmakers, who shared dueling stories of defending themselves with firearms and losing loved ones to gun violence. One dissenting Democrat, Rep. Paul Evans, a Monmouth Democrat and veteran, objected to establishing a permitting process for the constitutionally-established right to bear arms. Another Democrat in opposition, Rep. Farrah Chaichi, D-Beaverton, has previously raised concerns about the increased fees’ impact on low-income and rural Oregonians, as well as the bill’s exemption of law enforcement from the high-capacity magazine ban.

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