June 8, 1972
The Sweet Home School Board relieved Supt. Douglas Olds of all his official duties during an unannounced special meeting.
The board earlier refused to renew Olds’ contract and hired Pleasant Valley’s superintendent, Joey Acaiturri, to replace him.
Board Chairman Walt Mulholland said the decision was made because the new superintendent would be coming into the district and there will be conflicting ideas and opinions.
Olds said he didn’t ask to be relieved, but had some vacation he looked forward to taking.
Sweet Home School District’s proposed tax levy was rejected by voters more solidly this week than it was when first put before voters last month.
The original budget was defeated by only 32 votes on May 1, and the new budget – though decreased $31,000 – of $3,182,569 tax levy was rejected by a vote of 939 no and 717 yes.
Board chairman Walt Mulholland expressed disappointment at the decline of support, citing the “apathy of the yes voter and the tenacity of the no voter” as the reason he felt it was defeated. He also noted there was some controversy over whether the district should buy an $8,500 backhoe.
Mulholland believes that was a big reason why people voted no.
The Planning Commission approved Sweet Home’s first Planned Unit Development (PUD), the 25-unit Stonebrook apartments on Highway 228 near Strawberry Hill, but the city council must hold a public hearing before the PUD before construction can start. The PUD concept allows a higher density on land than is allowed on a normal subdivision, in exchange for more open space.
If approved, nine 3-bedroom units, 12 two-bedrooms and four one-bedrooms will fill in the 21.5 acres, as opposed to 12 units if it were developed into a subdivision.
Tina Moore of Oak Heights School won a state championship in the Junior Olympics in Portland, and two other Sweet Home students – Teresa Ponzoha and John DeBrie – took fourth places. Moore, competing in the 10-11 year old girls division, won the state title by running the 50-yard dash in 6.6 seconds, only a tenth of a second off the state record.
June 4, 1997
Internet access for School District 55 will become available this week as the district finishes installing network connections between the junior high, high school, Central Office and bus barn. A network of fiber optics has been placed underground among the four locations, and each classroom in the two schools is wired for network access.
The project will cost about $80,000, approximately $10,000 more than expected. The fiber optics lines are expected to save the district between $10,000 and $12,000 a year in telephone charges; they will be used for intra-district communication.
The installation is the first step in a four-year plan to implement technology improvements in the district. Next year the junior high school lab and high school business lab will be replaced, and the following year the elementary schools will be networked. The final phase in 1999-2000 would implement multi-media centers at the high school and junior high.
The City Council voted 5-0 to offer the city’s vacant manager position to Craig Michael Martin.
Martin tentatively accepted the position, which has been vacant since the city asked Jim Corl to resign on Jan. 31.
Martin graduated from Sweet Home High School, and most recently served six years as Douglas County parks director in Washington.
The Planning Commission approved a planned unit development (PUD) and general development plan for Pacific Oregon, Inc. After a public hearing and approval from city council, the development would create five single-family units and two four-family units, with common spaces on 2.28 acres on the north and west sides of the fire station on 47th Avenue.
The development would primarily function as a showcase for Pacific Oregon’s product, panelized housing to export to Japan where buildable lots are small. The multi-story housing keeps a small footprint but uses several stories to create square footage.
A police vehicle was damaged when a loose trailer rolled into it. Robert Wirth was headed westbound on Highway 20 when a trailer he was pulling came loose as he climbed the hill between 53rd and 49th streets. The trailer blocked the outside westbound lane.
Police Officer Scott Christensen stopped to direct traffic, but while Wirth hooked the trailer to the truck, he apparently nudged it enough to cause the trailer to roll back toward the police car. Christensen was able to get into the car and start moving it, but the trailer was faster and smashed into the front of the unit, causing $1,443 in damage and will require a new hood.
With rezones and conditional use permits out of the way, the path is clear for Salem contractor George Cloyer to begin work on his Home Sweet Home Manufactured Home Park project on Long Street. Home Sweet Home was started by Richard and Scott Geyer two years ago, first as a manufactured home park and then changed to a subdivision.
Colyer purchased the project and some neighboring land and turned it back into a manufactured home plan. Colyer said the 157-space park will fulfill a need in the market because starter houses now cost at least $100,000, but manufactured homes are half that.