Morning Lookout: Vigil in Cottage Grove after ICE arrests, Bethel to close Shasta Middle School

Good morning, Lookout Eugene-Springfield,

About 150 people, including U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, were at a vigil in Cottage Grove last night to hear about the effects of last week’s ICE arrests. Jaime Adame reports.

The Bethel School Board will close Shasta Middle School at the end of the school year as a way to close the district’s budget gap. Lilly St. Angelo was at a meeting last night and has the story.

Medford voters last week passed a hotel tax increase to fund development projects in the city. Those projects might include a new ballpark for the Eugene Emeralds.

Drae Charles, the executive director of the Eugene-Springfield NAACP, has recently stepped away from his role.

An antique harmonium, a 19th-century cousin to the pipe organ, has been reconstructed and will be featured in a performance at the Hult Center this weekend.

In case you missed these stories published Monday…
• Springfield mayor announces bid for Lane County commissioner
• Meet the man preventing pileups at the state XC champs finish line
• Mapping the most dangerous roads for cyclists, pedestrians in Eugene and Springfield

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Bethel to close Shasta Middle School

By Lilly St. Angelo

A 24-member Bethel committee presented its recommendation to the Bethel School Board that the district close Shasta by the end of the 2025-26 school year. The team also recommended that Shasta students be absorbed into the remaining middle schools.

About 150 at Cottage Grove vigil hear about effects of ICE arrests

By Jaime Adame

Speakers, including U.S. Rep. Val Hoyle, criticized immigration enforcement tactics last week. Said one attendee: “If it can happen in rural Cottage Grove, then no one is really safe.”