May 19, 1972
An electronic piano was presented to the Senior Citizens of Sweet Home.
The Lebanon chapter of Knights of Columbus, which includes Sweet Home member Bud Steinbacher, donated $250 toward the piano’s purchase. Membership in the senior citizen’s group is well over 100.
A building fund is started for expanded facilities and activities with a donation from the East Linn Sweet Home Chamber of Commerce.
Proof that a drab burlap potato sack can be turned into a thing of beauty was demonstrated by Mrs. Stanley Elmore of Crawfordsville, who embroidered a wall hanging from a 100-pound bag in six colors of yarn to win a first prize blue ribbon in the Oregon State Fair.
Discovered and admired by the Oregon Potato Commission, the wall hanging was presented by Elmore to the commission in exchange for a contribution to the church of her choice.
May 14, 1997
The Sweet Home Budget Committee approved three budget proposals for City Council’s consideration next month.
The first proposal includes funding $10,000 toward a canine program for the Police Department, the second for a pay increase for the municipal judge by $7,500, and the third for allotting 50 percent of the transient tax to the Chamber of Commerce. The recommended budget by the committee totaled $12,674,594.
A lucky-chance encounter in 1993 now allows Benjy Kurtz, 19, to ride bulls.
When local Shriner Gene Caswell saw Kurtz, a dwarf with bowed legs, at the 1993 Sportsman’s Holiday parade, he pressed the family to seek help at Shriners.
Two free surgeries through Shriners corrected Kurtz’s legs, which had been giving him pain and back problems since his family moved to the city in 1992. Though his dad would’ve preferred he ride horses, he’s happy to see his son doing what he loves on 2,000-pound bulls.
The Sweet Home Economic Development Group Board of Directors hired a Eugene attorney for $2,200 to set up a community foundation for Sweet Home, which would establish an endowment and fund projects through interest.
The idea for a foundation was proposed in conjunction with the Oregon Jamboree five years ago, but never got off the ground until now.