Worst Kept Secret in Cottage Grove, Oregon: Shameful Crime Rates

Cottage Grove, Oregon is a quaint little town of just over 9,000 people. We are known for our covered bridges (Covered Bridge Capital of the West), and have been named All-America City twice.

We have shown an influx of people over the last few years as parents move their children here from Southern California (and a few other areas of the country) for a better way of life. However, that is where the irony comes in, and our best kept secret comes out...

Cottage Grove has major drug and alcohol problems that lead to, among many other problems, youth fatalities. I don't mean to overshadow the appeal of our small town, but the problem is extremely serious.

How do I know this for sure? Because I used to be a part of the problem and now I am trying to be a part of the solution. Another girl just died two days ago while driving from one party to the next, and she had been drinking. There were six people in her car, including her self. They ran into a tree while she was trying to talk on her cell phone. We are lucky that the driver was the only one lost.

I say another girl because this happens a lot, ten high school students in the last 10 years, and this is from a high school with only 800 students in the entire school. The youth in our small country town have the mind set that there is nothing to do and that they need to drink to have fun. It is a "tradition" that has been plaguing this small community for decades. Of those ten kids, seven of them died in car accidents where the driver (and other passengers) had been drinking and possibly doing other types of controlled substances; two of them died of drug overdoses and one committed suicide.

Now, alcohol is obviously not the only problem, many of the youth (as young as 10 years old) have already been introduced to marijuana, pills and even meth. Methamphetamines are a huge problem in my town. It may be difficult to see on the surface, but it is there, just below the surface waiting to strike your family.

With alcohol and drug abuse come a number of other problems, from family disputes to a rise in property crime around town. To give you an idea of the crimes that are going on in this small town, here are the top six offense percentages of 2005. The percentage for each offense is the percentage of the total crimes for that entire year:

Larceny 26.7% (approx. 375 reported cases)

Vandalism 8.9% (approx. 175 reported cases)

Drug Law Violations 7.6% (approx. 105 reported cases)

Simple Assault 7.4% (approx. 105 reported cases)

Motor Vehicle Theft 6.4% (approx. 90 reported cases)

Burglary 6.0% (approx. 80 reported cases)

I also want to mention that alcohol law violations also make up 3.3% of the cases from 2005. Showing that there is a large percentage of people who are committing DUI (Driving Under the Influence) and MIP (Minor in Possession) offenses.

This just goes to show that there are many crimes that are escalated by drug use within a community. There is no such thing as a victimless crime, and though a property crime may not physically harm another human being, it is just as vicious and traumatic for the victim.

Our local police department has been working with the county narcotics teams to form a local team of patrol officers, local business owners, and a school resource officer to find the root of our local drug/alcohol problem and then create a solution to it.

The partnership has been paying off, with a drop in many of the property, drug and alcohol crimes over the last five years. But, as long as kids are dying there is still a problem. From every other angle our community has the makings of a great place to live. We have small class sizes for a better education, we know our local business owners by name, and we all pull together throughout the year to support all of our great local groups and the activities they put on for our community.

With every paradise there is a poisonous snake and this is ours. Our town is a beautiful place rich with history and a valued sense of community. I encourage everyone in the area or looking for a piece of the American pie to come by and see us.