Dec. 14, 1972
Week-long freezing temperatures and snow storms abrupted many locals with freezing water lines.
When the thermometer dropped from 15 degrees to minus three in a day, plumbers, the city water department and hardware stores were flooded with calls for help.
The city received about 20 calls a day from those who wanted their water turned off until pipe repairs could be made, but still water consumption was at an all-time high for this time of year (from 750,000 gpd to 1,124,000 gpd) due to those who left taps open to prevent freezing and damage.
Despite freezing temperatures, two homes and a barn were destroyed by fires this week.
The Putney home at 4302 Airport Rd. was burned out while the owners were playing bingo at the Elk’s. Their pet dog died in the fire.
Lettie Sankey was awakened in her home at 971 Oak Terrace from smoke filling her home. She used a garden rake to steady herself on the slick ground outside as her home – likely the oldest in the city, having been built 120 years ago by the Ames family – burned down.
The Oar family lost 40 tons of hay and eight cattle in a barn fire on Minnieville Road.
News briefs: The City Council unanimously agreed to offer free parking in the downtown shopping district for the next two weeks. Students at Foster strung bird feed on the school’s bushes for the holidays with corn popped by Mrs. Denver Davis. The Post Office encouraged card-senders to include zip codes for efficient delivery. A special $325,000 bond election for a new sewer treatment plant is set for January.
Dec. 10, 1997
The Girl Scouts of the Santiam Council Unit 616 were the sweepstakes winners of the Ambassador’s Christmas Parade.
Parade coordinator Ozzie Shaw said this year they only received 31 entries, as opposed to the average 50, but the crowds still came to enjoy the parade and buy gifts at the Sweet Home High School and East Linn Museum bazaars.
Five-year-old Micheal Jennings said about the parade, “I want to see everything everywhere in the whole wide world. I wanna see Rottweilers.”
The Planning Commission approved a subdivision and variance request for Mardelle and Tom Hufford, who were unable to get a building permit on the lot at 4106 Hwy. 20 without having a “discreet” on which to permanently site their house.
The addition of another home would’ve been considered an expansion of a non-conforming use on the property. Multiple structures, including the Cedar Shack, already exist as non-conforming. The subdivision allows the Huffords to place their home and create six new lots where there was one before.
Chief of Police Bob Burford expressed consternation at the increase of financial fraud in Sweet Home.
Criminals expertly reproduce merchant business checks and cash them in for thousands of dollars, while individuals discover unauthorized electronic withdrawals from their bank accounts.
Forged documents that once took an entire room full of sophisticated printing equipment can now be produced by anyone with a personal computer, color printer and scanner.
Suspects obtain sensitive documents by going through trash. Burford recommends people invest in a shredder to deter this type of crime.