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This week’s top headlines
CRESWELL – The Creswell City Council unanimously abandoned the concept of a family-oriented “Everyone Village” model for addressing homelessness during their April 27 meeting, pivoting the conversation toward locally controlled, …
SPRINGFIELD – PeaceHealth on April 23 rolled out the area’s first outdoor automated external defibrillator (AED) “SaveStations” at four sites around the area. These lifesaving devices can be easily accessed by…
LANE COUNTY – The American Lung Association (ALA) recently gave Lane County an “F” for air quality in its annual State of the Air report. While Lane County’s air quality…
2nd Street Project resumes May 1 CRESWELL – Construction on the City of Creswell’s 2nd Street Improvement Project is set to resume on Friday, May 1. This project spans the…
SPRINGFIELD – After 47 years of service to the Springfield community, Brian Conlon is retiring as the Development and Public Works Department’s operations division director. Conlon joined the City in…
SPRINGFIELD – After a nationwide search, Springfield Utility Board’s elected Board of Directors voted to select Vanessa Barbarisi as the utility’s next CEO/general manager. Barbarisi comes to SUB from PG&E…
PLEASANT HILL – The Pleasant Hill Community Theatre (PHCT) is preparing for its Spring production of Concord Theatricals’ “The Wizard of Oz,” running from May 7-9 and May 14-16, with…
In case you missed it…
CG Library: Staff cuts ahead?

COTTAGE GROVE – The City of Cottage Grove is facing a tight budget year after falling behind on audits and discovering serious accounting errors, leaving the city with a nearly $4.5 million shortfall. In an attempt to get the budget back on track, city manager Mike Sauerwein unveiled a proposed change to the public library.
The proposed 2026-2027 budget reflects changes to the library model. Although this is only one of several options under consideration, the change would look like moving from a staffed facility to a full-time head librarian supported by volunteers.
“We’re looking at a potential business model of hiring someone to be a full-time head librarian, and then also filling staffing positions with volunteers,” Sauerwein said. “It’s a business model that a number of other libraries use around the area, and so we’re hoping that it won’t result in a reduction in the level of service, but it could.”
The new fiscal year begins on July 1, so any changes will be seen around that time, according to head librarian Natasha Chitow.


















