Community generosity was recognized by the Cottage Grove City Council at its Feb. 3 meeting.

The council acted to thank donors. Donations were received by Claire “Doc” Skjeveland and Justin and Kim Olsen.

Skjeveland donated $5,000 in memory of his wife Karen to the Cottage Grove Public Safety Board.

A memo to the council from Director of Public Safety Peter J. Koerner states, “The Cottage Grove Public Safety Board was approached by Claire “Doc” Skjeveland to give the board a donation in the amount of $5,000 to be used by the Cottage Grove Public Safety EMS Division. Doc’s wife Karen passed away peacefully a their home on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. Doc is appreciative for the care that his wife received on numerous occasions by EMS members.”

Mayor Myron Bailey said, “I had the opportunity to talk with “Doc” a little bit earlier. Doc has been in Cottage Grove 41 years. We’ve been talking about all the changes in the city in that time. He said to me he thought all the changes have been excellent.”

He told Skjeveland, “I just want to say thank you. Thank you from the citizens of Cottage Grove. Your generosity is appreciated. I know they’ve shared with you some of the things they’ll use those funds for. It really will go to a worthy cause to remember your wife and to train and develop our paramedics and police officers and firefighters.”

The Olsens have donated $500 to the Craig Woolery Scholarship fund since Woolery’s retirement in 2018 as Director of Cottage Grove Public Safety. His career spanned 35 years.

The Olsens actually increased their donation to $1,000 this year. Council member Justin Olsen gave moving remarks about dedicated law enforcement professionals and tying it together with the death by Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick who died serving when mayhem broke out at the US Capitol last month.

“Our First Responders and more specifically our law enforcement officers across the country have really taken a beating this year. In the press, they’ve taken a beating. They’ve taken a beating in the arena of public sentiment,” Olsen said. “I want people to recognize that just like any other walk of life, just like any other profession, its’ very easy to pick and choose singular events or look at events within a very narrow scope and fail to recognize that they are minimal in nature when viewed using a larger lens. That’s not to minimize the events that have caused pain and hardship to many families across the country. I want people to recognize that painting with a broad brush when it comes to any group of people or any profession is unwise.”

“Law enforcement officers like Officer Sicknick, who was 42 when he passed away and left behind a young family, they go to work everyday understanding that there is an inherent risk to the job.

See Donation to Public Safety Page 5 Donation to Public Safety

From Page 1 Yet they get out of bed, they put on their uniform, they say goodbye to their families and they walk out the door and they handle the situation,” said Olsen. “They are service-driven people. When I think about public service, the name Craig Woolery is synonymous with public service to me and my family. There are a lot of characteristics that go into being a strong, dedicated, well-respected public servant. Craig Woolery embodies those…Integrity, honor, a very humble nature, a very quiet yet forceful demeanor, an ability remain calm regardless of the worse circumstances that could come your way. We were blessed as a community to have Craig and officers like Craig serving this community. We’re blessed today to have officers like Craig serving this community.”

Woolery was appreciative.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity too serve this community for 35 years. It’s been nothing but a blessing,” he said. “The best thing is to see the city and the department under its leadership today on a great trajectory to keep getting better and better.”

Plan Commission Tony Khambata was reappointed as chair of the city Planning Commission. He was appointed to fill an unexpired term on the panel in 2017 and was reappointed in 2018. This will be his third year as Planning Commission chair.

“Tony was reappointed last year in March and has done an absolutely fantastic job on behalf of our community. He is very professional. He has distinguished himself as a reasonable voice in supporting the city’s direction for responsible growth,” said Councilmember Steve Dennis.

Councilmember Justin Olsen gave remarks as his family donated $1,000 to the Craig Woolery Scholarship Fund.

Claire “Doc” Skjeveland donated $5,000 to the Cottage Grove EMS.