April 11, 1974
David Allen Chetwood, 8, drowned after falling into the Lester Shingle mill pond. David and his brother, Danny, were apparently searching for frogs when the accident occurred. In an attempt to save his brothers’ life, Danny jumped in. Bystanders Jim Pritchett and Greg Osburn also then dove in to rescue the two boys, saving Danny. It took sheriff volunteer divers 45 minutes to recover David’s body due to the murky, seven- or eight-foot deep water.
After 13 years of big timber logging in eastern Linn County, Buzz Martin traded his chainsaw for a guitar and went on to a career in country music that is bringing him national attention and acclaim. Known as “The Singing Logger,” Martin uses hard facts about forests and logging in his evangelistic support of wood production. Martin met Johnny Cash and sang for him the song, “Butterin’ Up Biscuit,” one of Martin’s most popular songs.
Norm Davis resigned as the high school’s head football coach, but will remain as a teacher and retain his head wrestling coach duties. Davis said in his resignation letter that he’d like to have more time with his family, but also put more energy into the wrestling program.
April 14, 1999
White’s Electronics is adding 9,000 square feet of work space, the first major addition to the hometown business in more than 20 years. With a worldwide market, White’s finds itself in need of more space, particularly for metal fabrication.
Junction City police officials were found not negligent nor a contributing factor to the hanging death of Norman Stephens, a 25-year-old Sweet Home man who was serving a four-day sentence in the Junction City Jail for passing bad checks. Three days into his sentence, Stephens was found hanging from a bed sheet in his cell. Police performed CPR and he was transferred to the hospital where he died a week later.
Cory Martin, 5, a pre-kindergarten child at Little Promises, was one of five children across the nation to win a drawing contest by Christian singer Mary Rice Hopkins. Teacher Vanessa Swindall’s class all submitted artwork into the contest. Cory’s picture depicted Moses using his staff to change water into blood when he demanded the Egyptian pharaoh let his people go.