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Group has high hopes for butte.


Byline: Karen McCowan The Register-Guard

COTTAGE GROVE Cottage Grove, village (1990 pop. 22,935), Washington co., SE Minn., near the St. Croix River; inc. 1965. There is farming (cattle, sheep, corn, and soybeans) and manufacturing (chemicals and machinery).  - A development watchdog group here thinks the time is right to resurrect efforts to create a public trail atop the community's most dominant geological landmark.

The Friends of Mount David say The Right Reverend Richard David Say, KCVO, DD (4 October 1914 - 14 September 2006), former bishop of Rochester (1961-1988). He was often noted for his height (6ft 4in). Life
He was the son of Commander Richard Say, RNVR.
 the goal is attainable, despite failure of past city efforts to purchase the hilltop. And they do have some precedent for success: The group last year helped persuade developer Todd Alberts to provide public access to the lower slopes of the 881-foot butte Butte, city, United States
Butte (byt), city (1990 pop. 33,336), seat of Silver Bow co., SW Mont.; inc. 1879. It is a trade, ranching, and industrial center.
 through his SunRise Ridge subdivision, now under construction.

"Ironically, it may be private residential development on Mount David that provides our best chance to fulfill our dream of a ridgeline ridge·line  
n.
See ridge.

Noun 1. ridgeline - a long narrow range of hills
ridge

arete - a sharp narrow ridge found in rugged mountains
 trail on this very special hill," Friends spokeswoman Cathy Bellavita said.

The group reached the deal with Alberts under particularly challenging circumstances. After Cottage Grove missed a hearing deadline in 2005, the developer asked a judge to compel city approval of his subdivision as he originally proposed it - and without a long list of conditions recommended by the city's planning commission Noun 1. planning commission - a commission delegated to propose plans for future activities and developments
commission, committee - a special group delegated to consider some matter; "a committee is a group that keeps minutes and loses hours" - Milton Berle
.

Alarmed, trail proponents held garage sales, hired an attorney, and filed to become party to a negotiated settlement between the developer and the city, signed last spring. The agreement included not only a developed 3-acre park, but public access through a drainage swale swale  
n.
1. A low tract of land, especially when moist or marshy.

2. A long, narrow, usually shallow trough between ridges on a beach, running parallel to the coastline.

3.
 up to adjoining Emerald Heights atop Mount David. That land, also slated for development, is owned by Eugene developer Ross Murry and other partners.

The successful negotiations with Alberts revived hopes for creating a ridgeline trail, Friends member Becky Venice said. The 40-year Cottage Grove resident pushed with others in the late 1990s for city purchase of the mountain top. But that effort was scrapped in 2000, when the city failed to win a $250,000 state grant it needed to meet the $600,000 purchase price.

Now the group has contacted Murry, hoping to persuade him to follow Alberts' lead by allowing public trails to satisfy some of Emerald Heights' 10 percent open space requirement under city zoning laws.

But Murry said any such discussion is extremely premature.

"They did call me on the phone," he said. "And I said then that I don't even know what we will be doing there. The land still has to be surveyed."

The Friends have even bigger dreams, hoping that a ridgeline trail eventually could connect with the city's existing trail system along the Coast Fork Willamette and Row rivers. The group says that Mount David has cultural and historical, as well as natural, significance for Cottage Grove residents.

On a recent afternoon hike, for example, several members pointed out remnants of "Reverend Olson's Oil Well," a derrick derrick: see crane.

Derrick

famous hangman; eponym of modern hoisting apparatus. [Br. Hist.: Espy, 170]

See : Execution
 erected in the early 20th century by a con artist who bilked local investors into believing he'd struck black gold atop the mountain. The well, visible in Buster Keaton's 1927 film "The General," never produced oil.

The butte has been a site of Kalapuyan Indian ceremonies, and its northeastern slope shelters the historic McFarland Cemetery, burial site of many early settlers, Bellavita said.

She said City Manager Richard Meyers Richard S. Meyer may refer to:
  • Richard Meyer (Fatal Fury), a video game character from the Fatal Fury fighting game series
  • Richard Meyer (folk music), an American folk musician and writer/editor of folk publications
 recently worked with local Eagle Scouts Ea·gle Scout  
n.
One who has achieved the highest rank in the Boy Scouts.

Noun 1. Eagle Scout - a Boy Scout who has earned many merit badges
Boy Scout - a boy who is a member of the Boy Scouts
 to clear and build steps to the cemetery near Holly Avenue and Kalapuya Drive.

The Friends hope that access eventually could serve as one trailhead for a ridgeline trail, with the SunRise Ridge Park providing another trailhead near M Street.

But Meyers, too, said it's too early for the city to begin pushing such plans.

"When Ross Murry comes forward with Emerald Heights, we will probably have some discussion of trying to make some of the open space in that project line up and match with trails in existing development," he said.

Friends of Mount David plan to be ready with a proposal when that happens.

The group, which has about 15 active members and a mailing list An automated e-mail system on the Internet, which is maintained by subject matter. There are thousands of such lists that reach millions of individuals and businesses. New users generally subscribe by sending an e-mail with the word "subscribe" in it and subsequently receive all new  of 100 supporters, recently received $1,000 from an anonymous donor.

Other fundraising efforts include sale of Friends of Mount David T-shirts and cookbooks The following is a list of cookbooks, sorted alphabetically by author's surname. This is not a list of external links to commercial sites; please list only cookbooks here.
This literature-related list is incomplete; you can help by [ expanding it].
.

Information about the group and its ridgeline trail proposal are available at www.fomd.org.
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Title Annotation:General News; Efforts are being revived to get a public trail on top of Mount David
Publication:The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)
Date:Apr 6, 2007
Words:673
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