June 1, 1972
The week was busy for firefighters as they were called to four area fires.
A trailer home at the Westport Trailer Court was lost to fire due to a leaking propane tank ignited by a furnace pilot light. The Smith family was not home when it happened. A fuse box fire caused minor damage to the residence of Jack Morris, 997 ½ 42nd Ave.
The Willamette Industries Sweet Home sawmill put to work three fire units for two hours to extinguish a sawdust fire that ignited in the cyclone, and the fire department responded to a call at the Ed Graville home on Miniville Road to extinguish a blazing fuel oil storage tank. The fire was apparently started when a child was playing nearby with matches.
A Poor People’s Information Center has been organized and is now in operation at 1325 18th Ave. The center is staffed by poor people working for poor people, said Publicity Manager Donna R. Thompson.
Poor People volunteers meet regularly and are trained to answer questions about the HR-1 bill, Linn County legal aid, day care, new welfare rules, the food stamp program and other topics of interest to the poor.
May 28, 1997
The Oregon Department of Transportation project design team took into consideration areas of concern for its planned rehabilitation of Highway 20 through town. The team decided to replace portions of median strip on Main Street at 12th, 15th and 18th avenues with turn lanes, but the plan will also remove several hundred feet of parking.
The goal of the project, which will begin in 1999, is to rehabilitate and make more safe the highway. Additional medians and planters east of 18th Avenue will be installed to make up for what was lost. Sidewalks will also be extended along the length of the project.
Twelve University of Oregon students created a master tree plan for the City of Sweet Home during an urban forestry design workshop. The plan featured trees in downtown’s median strip and in gaps in the city’s urban forest along Highway 20.
Participant Sarah Burrows said their goal was to “tie together this town” and connect a “feeling” from Foster to downtown. They tried to increase the viability of the city by softening harsh lines of buildings and signs. They used mostly maples and oaks in the plan.