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Wednesday, May 15, 2024
Flight of
Superintendent Curtis resigns
honor
Search for replacement begins CINDY WEELDREYER Cottage Grove Seninel
Honor Flights recognize local veterans
Courtesy photo The Oregon veterans visited the Vietnam Memorial, which organizers said always produces a wide variety of emotions. JEREMY C. RUARK Cottage Grove Sentinel
P
lanning is underway for the next Honor Flight, carrying local veterans to Washington, D.C. for a special and memorable journey. Former Cottage Grove Mayor Tom Monroe participated in the spring Honor Flight for South Willamette Valley veterans in late April, along with Honor Flight Guardian Kevin Flory from Pleasant Hill, who accompanied Eugene Vietnam War veteran Reed Conrad on the journey. “Many of these veterans have never spoken about the experience they had in combat, so when they get together, they unload so much IT IS SO WELL stuff, and tears flow,” Flory said. PLANNED OUT. IT “They really relax for the first time IS A VERY MOVING in decades and they can feel like AND TOUCHING themselves and know that they EXPERIENCE FOR aren’t along.” THESE VETERANS. Flory adds that Honor Flights give the veterans the opportunity to be honored and recognized. KEVIN FLORY, “They are getting the recognition HONOR FLIGHT now that they should have received GUARDIAN when they first came back from Vietnam,” he said. Flory said the cost associated for the guardians with the Honor Flight journeys is well worth the investment. “It’s an $1,100 investment, but it is worth it to me to take these guys back to see all the national monuments and museums and just be honored.” he said. “It is so well planned out. It is a very moving and touching experience for theses veterans.” The Sentinel reached out to the South Willamette Valley Honor Flight Vice President
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of Operations Alice Brooks for insight into this project. The Sentinel: Briefly, what is the history of these journeys? When did they begin and why? Alice Brooks: Honor Flight Network was created in 2005 by Jeff Miller and Earl Morse with a simple, yet powerful, mission – honoring our nation’s veterans by bringing them to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials built to commemorate their service and sacrifice. While initially focused on America’s World War II veterans, Honor Flight Network has expanded its mission to include those who served during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and veterans of any service era who are critically ill. There are 128 Honor Flight (HF) hubs across the country that form the network. There are four hubs in Oregon, including the South Willamette Valley Honor Flight, Honor Flight of Portland Oregon, Oregon Honor Flight, and Honor Flight of Central Oregon. Transporting about 22,000 veterans annually, Honor Flight Network has flown more than 295,000 veterans to Washington, D.C. since its inception. South Willamette Valley Honor Flight took its first group of 50 veterans and guardians on their Honor Flight in October, 2012. They were all WWII veterans. On our last HF in April we had no WWII veterans. South Willamette Valley Honor Flight now takes 60 veterans, 60 guardians, and a Leadership Team of 13, Medical Team of three, and Media Team of three on each HF. Everyone that goes on See FLIGHT on Page 6
Courtesy photo 131 Honor Flight team members awaited their flight to Washington DC, including three Korean War veterans, eight Cold War, 46 Vietnam veterans, plus guardians, media and support staff.
SPRING PLANT DAYS Thursday-Saturday, May 16th-18th
Number 19 • 135 years
The South Lane School District is launching a search for a new school superintendent. At its May 6 meeting, the school board met in executive session to discuss a proposed YVONNE separation CURTIS agreement offered by District Superintendent Dr. Yvonne Curtis. The board returned to a public session and voted unanimously to accept the terms of the agreement. Board Chair Taylor Wilhour said Curtis will retain her position until June 30, but will continue her family medical leave to deal with a medical crisis in her family. As consideration for her resignation, the District agreed to pay her supplemental family health insurance premiums through 2027. Wilhour said the economic impact to the District will be $12,989 in salary for May and June, which is in the current budget. He noted continuing insurance coverage for her family for the remaining three years on her contract amounts to $48,148. He read her personal letter that thanked board members for the opportunity to serve the
district for the past four years. Curtis said acceptance of the agreement allows her to continue supporting her husband through “a challenging health journey” and enables the board to move forward in selecting her replacement. The letter also highlighted the District’s accomplishments and challenges that occurred during her tenure. Two board members offered comments on the decision. Sherry Duerst Higgins said she thinks the agreement is fair for the District and the Superintendent. Duane Taddei said he is confident the board is doing the right thing by accepting the separation agreement. Under the terms of her current family leave, Assistant Superintendent Brian McCasline continues to serve as Acting Superintendent to fulfill the day-today administrative responsibilities in her absence. In a future meeting, board members will discuss how to move forward to hire an interim superintendent for the 2024-25 school year. Read a series of stories concerning the school superintendent online at cgsentinel and follow new developments in the Wednesday print editions of The Sentinel.
Former publisher remembered JEREMY C. RUARK Cottage Grove Sentinel
Former Cottage Grove Sentinel Publisher Leroy Zimmerman has passed away. He died from from heart failure at his home in Bend on April 10. LEROY He was 87 ZIMMERMAN years old. Zimm, as he was widely known, was hired to sell advertising at The Sentinel in 1962, but when the publisher left six months later, 27-year-old Zimm became publisher. In addition, he covered sports, news, and city government. Zimmerman’s daughter,
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Nancy Shoptaw, shared her memories of her father with The Sentinel. “Zimm welcomed my sisters and me into the workings of The Sentinel at young ages. Berta typeset copy after school while Karen, Marsha, and I stuffed newspaper sections together one night a week,” she said. “As a teenager I took an interest in writing and Zimm allowed News Editor Jim Bradbury to hire me. I owe my career as a writer to Zimm, Jim, and all the other reporters who were young and green and passionately doing their jobs.” Shoptaw said her father had a unique connection to Cottage Grove. See ZIMM on Page 4