Sept. 28, 1972
Through chattering teeth, a boy from Boy Scout Troop 62 (Foster) quipped, “Neither rain, nor hail, nor snow, nor sleet can stop us.”
He was one of 12 Scouts who worked nearly four hours picking up litter along the roadside area of the reservoir, during which time the weather allowed brief spells of sunshine between downpours.
Scoutmaster Sam Cairnes said they cleared 17 bags of trash, adding to 43 others they collected in two previous trips around the lake this year.
He said the boys sometimes wonder if the effort is worth it, just to return and find more trash scattered along the way.
The Sportsman’s Holiday Steering Committee asked community members for opinion on future events in order to find a “unified cause” everyone could get behind.
A popular idea posited was to start a fund for a Sweet Home Community Center.
Treasurer Hal Hennick said it cost $4,000 to present the boat races this year, but it drew 8,000 attendees, and it was estimated 50% who attended the Sportsman’s Holiday were from out of the county and state.
He believes a cause the community could get behind would draw 100% participation from the community.
“It is imperative that we find a means to attract and engage the interest, spirit and participation of everyone in the area to keep the Sportsman’s Holiday a sucessful event,” said Chairman Gene Collins, who believes the Sportsman’s Holiday and a community center tie together well.
Tourist Cafe waitresses and cooks returned to work after a three-day strike.
Cafe operator Dwight L. Fleury said he hasn’t come up with an agreement with the union, but he did reach a settlement with the workers.
The workers hit the picket line when Fleury refused to sign a contract allowing a three-step increase in salary, from 25 to 35 cents in three years.
Sept. 24, 1997
Four teens spent their summer in the Ochoco National Forest near Prineville to spend sun-up to sun-down working.
Amanda Gassett, Heidi Gassett, Steve Pace and Kim Wise spent five weeks putting in wheelchair-accessible hiking trails and bridges, slash burning, building fences, pulling yellowstar thistles and numerous other jobs as part of the Northwest Youth Corps through a contract with the U.S. Forest Service.
Though they earned $5.50 an hour for their work, the teens said they also gained experience and met new people.
For the next two years, students ages 5 to 13 in the Sweet Home School District will help select the top books in the nation for children.
They will be participating in the national Children’s Choices project, similar to a children’s version of the New York Times best seller list.
Each year, 10,000 school children across the U.S. read and vote on new young reader books. Up to 800 books will be evaluated by children, culminating in a child-selected bibliography of titles for reading programs, and related to classroom curriculum.
The other four sites participating in the voting are Pennsylvania, Florida, North Dakota and Iowa.
A new Public Works pickup and tools were stolen after the thief gained access to the garage through a window.
Nearby residents said they heard what sounded like metal scraping at about 3:15 a.m. The truck had been driven through the aluminum garage door, causing the building’s cinder blocks to dislodge and skid marks to tell their tale on the ground.
The library made its first purchase from a $10,000 donation to acquire books in memorium of a former Sweet Home resident, John Livingston, by his sister, Berta Merrill.
Livingston was a regular patron of the library, and the donation is intended to buy books that he liked to read. The library bought six books and inserted memorial plates, but it plans to put the rest of the donation in a CD fund and use half the interest earned to buy more books each year.
The library also received a $1,000 grant that it will use to help purchase a computer for children.