Dec. 23, 1971
Linn County deputy sheriffs arrested men from Albany and Independence on charges of possessing stolen property and threatening injury to another. A Sweet Home patrolman alleges the men threatened his life and the lives of members of his family while he was questioning them here during an investigation into the theft of a pool cue.
Deputies also arrested Earnest Gordon Hughes on a charge of setting fire to forest lands.
Will Rodgers donned his Santa suit this weekend to fill the role of the jolly bearded gentleman for his 23rd consecutive year. It all began in 1948 when he agreed to be the official Santa Claus for the city, which led to an annual holiday commitment until 1966, at which time he was forced to forego the role due to a heart attack.
Yet Rodgers continued to appear as Santa for schools, organizations or private parties, as well as an occasional city event. This year he would have been absent because he was visiting California, but smog forced him to return home, and it wasn’t long until requests for his Santa services rolled in. Many parents who fondly remember Rodgers as “their” Santa want their own children to chat with him.
Dec. 18, 1996
The Sweet Home City Council voted to purchase some of the computer upgrades it had authorized earlier this year. The council planned to purchase computer upgrades linking City Hall and the police department, but the uncertainty the city faces with funding prompted Dave Kinney, city manager pro tem, to bring the issue before council again.
He proposed a smaller upgrade than originally planned, replacing two obsolete computers in the court clerk’s office. One of the computers has been in use by the city since 1989.
Sweet Home’s new city manager, Jim Corl, and his wife, Evelyn Corl, arrived from South Carolina after following the Oregon Trail in their RV. The two are staying at the KOA campground as they search for a house. Corl immediately started spending time meeting people and getting his feet wet at City Hall.
The Friends of Hamilton Creek challenged a decision by the Linn County Board of Commissioners to grant a conditional use permit for a golf course.
Friends of Hamilton Creek is a group of about 50 people opposing the development of Mallard Creek Golf Course.
The Linn County Planning Commission denied a conditional use permit for the course, and the board of commissioners overturned the decision following an appeal by the course developers. LUBA will issue a decision by next month.