Editor’s note: This is the continuation of our review of the major news events of 2011. The events of January through June appeared in the Dec. 28 edition.
July
n A survey on the city’s website showed the majority of respondents favored allowing residents to own chickens, which at that time were severely restricted within the city limits.
n The U.S. Masters Swimming One-Mile Open Water Championships were held on Foster Lake.
n Kimber Swanson was named Sportsman’s Holiday Queen.
n The School Board approved four furlough days for the 2011-12 school year to save roughly a quarter million dollars and bolster ending fund balances.
n The teachers union and School District reached an agreement that had no increases to salary or benefits during the 2011-12 school year although it will give a step increase to eligible teachers at the end of the year.
n The College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific Northwest opened in Lebanon.
n Don Schrader began working as School District 55 superintendent.
n The Rick McKay Corporation won the Logger Olympics Working Loggers Relay.
n Dr. Henry and Mollie Wolthuis were named Tree Farmers of the Year by the Linn County Chapter of the Oregon Small Woodlands Association for their 120-acre Wiley Creek tree farm.
n Sweet Home police officers began wearing video recorders as part of their uniforms. The cameras are used when officers respond to calls for service.
August
n Randy Nicholson placed first in the Texaco Country Showdown at Linn County Fair and then performed at the Oregon Jamboree. Tristan Nichols and Trevor Tagle finished second in the showdown. All three are from Sweet Home.
n Fifteen students from Josai University High School in Tokyo spent two weeks in Sweet Home, with visits to Chafin Farms for shooting demonstrations, a hayride and cowboy photos and locations around the state.
n Performing at the annual three-day camping and country music festival The Oregon Jamboree were Clay Walker, Jo Dee Messina, Darius Rucker, Margaret Durante, Laura Bell Bundy, Sawyer Brown, Jason Jones, Jerry Jeff Walker, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ronnie Dunn, Collin Raye and Lady Antebellum.
n The Jamboree announced during the show that Rascal Flatts would perform next year, and Neal McCoy would be the emcee all weekend long. Since then, the Jamboree has announced headliner Dierks Bentley.
n Air Force bomb experts removed a dummy round from a Vietnam-era cluster bomb from the Sweet Home Police Department parking lot. A Sweet Home man had found the device on a trail in Foster and taken it to the Police Department. It turned out to be a dummy round for use in training.
n The Linn County Sheriff’s Office showcased its new marine patrol boat.
n Genevieve Rice turned 100 years old on Aug. 12.
n Numerous bands from around Oregon performed at the second annual Psychostock held over two days at Sankey Park.
n A&W celebrated its 50th anniversary.
n Mark Joseph Hardin, 49, was reported missing. Searchers looked for him for about 10 days but were unable to locate him. He disappeared in the Upper Calapooia area near Holley. He had been reported missing on Aug. 7. He remains missing.
n A reported pipe bomb turned out to be a plastic “Star Wars” lightsaber toy. The Oregon State Police Explosives Unit responded to render safe and then recover the device.
n Sweet Home police reported an increase in automobile break-ins. Some 38 of 71 unauthorized entries into motor vehicles occurred between July 1 and Aug. 4.
n Alfred Finnell turned 100 years old on Aug. 21.
n Manager Don Friesen retired from Industrial Welding Supply after 42 years.
September
n The Sweet Home Rodeo reported cutting its deficit to less than half, from $13,000 to $6,000, after its performance in July.
n The Boys and Girls Club reported that it was renovating Roy Johnston Field at Hawthorne School. The field is home to Sweet Home’s summer youth baseball and softball programs.
n Kambria Schumacher of Crawfordsville won the Sprint Triathlon portion of the Best in the West Triathlon held at Lewis Creek Park. Other winners were from elsewhere in Oregon.
n The Mid-Valley Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America opened a fishing dock at a secret location outside Leban non to be used as a fishing getaway for veterans staying Veterans Administration hospitals and homes.
n Sweet Home High School business teacher Michael Morrell was arrested on four counts of third-degree sexual abuse in connection to incidents involving a Lebanon high school student. The case remains under way in Linn County Circuit Court.
n A mild summer turned hot, and fire danger briefly spiked to extreme early in the month.
n The Sweet Home Police Department celebrated its 100th anniversary.
n Rose Peda was named director of the Sweet Home Public Library.
n Searchers located the body of a missing Corvallis man, Timothy Misner, 45, in Foster Lake near Lewis Creek Park. His vehicle had been located at the park. The sheriff reported that there was no evidence of foul play.
n Forest Protection Supervisor Jim Basting retired from the Oregon Department of Forestry Sweet Home Unit after 42 years in the fire service.
n Victoria Sophia Richards, 40, died in the motorcycle crash on Foster Dam. The alleged driver, Bobby Ray Hancock, 40, was arrested for criminally negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter. The case remains under way in Linn County Circuit Court.
October
n After learning about the impact of an aquatics district on the local police and library levies, School District 55 and aquatics committee members agreed to pursue a local option levy through the district, which imposes no impact on general government funding.
n Increasing ridership prompted Linn Shuttle to add buses.
n Sunshine Industries purchased land off Clark Mill Road for a new building to replace its existing facilities, which are deteriorating.
n The U.S. Postal Service met with Cascadia residents to explain why Cascadia Post Office may be among numerous post offices closed around the nation. Cascadia residents told the Postal Service that they need their Post Office to remain open. A decision by headquarters in Washington, D.C., is expected in January.
n The body of Cody Myers, 19, of Lafayette was located inside a Jeep near Yellowbottom Campground. Myers is an alleged victim of Holly Grigsby and David Pedersen, who were arrested in California in connection with a homicide investigation in Everett, Wash., involving Pedersen’s stepmother and father.
n The District 55 School Board began considering the concept of a four-day school week. A study team is gathering information, and the board will next look at the idea in January.
n Chairman Dick Meyers resigned from the Sweet Home Planning Commission after serving 35 years as chairman and 38 years total.
n Property tax compression created an unanticipated shortfall of nearly $283,000 for the Sweet Home Police Department and approximately $51,000 for the library, leading to the reduction of a dispatcher and police officer along with a part-time position at the library.
n Sweet Home Charter School was rated “outstanding” by the Oregon Department of Education on its annual school report cards.
n Troy Underwood and Taylor Thorpe were named homecoming king and queen.
n Kyle Winslow and Kristen Tolle were named Junior First Citizens at Sweet Home High School.
n Tiffany Miller signed to play volleyball at Southern Oregon University.
n The body of a Corvallis woman was recovered from Green Peter Reservoir after her vehicle was found lodged on the hillside above the lake. She was apparently a victim of suicide.
n The City Council approved a new ordinance allowing most Sweet Home residents to raise chickens.
n Avoiding binding arbitration, Sweet Home police employees and the city settled a three-year contract with 3-percent increase in pay in 2010-11 and 2012-13 and no increase in 2011-12.
November-December
n The Sweet Home High School girls soccer team ended its season with a loss to Philomath in the play-in round for state playoffs.
n The girls cross country squad finished 12th in state. Nicole Rasmussen finished sixth. For the boys, Daniel Danforth was 27th and freshman Jakob Hiett was 28th.
n The Sweet Home High School football team defeated Philomath in the state play-in round but lost in the first round of playoffs to the defending state champion, Baker.
n Eva Jurney was appointed to a vacancy on the Sweet Home Planning Commission.
n Sunshine Industries received Planning Commission approval for plans to build off Clark Mill Road.
n The Sweet Home High School volleyball team finished sixth in the state.
n Oregon Prospecting and Rita’s Relics filmed a segment on gold panning with the Esben Selvig and Thomas Gullestad for the Norwegian television program “Dansken og Fingern.”
n Kyle Winslow was named Junior First Citizen for Linn County.
n The District 55 School Board decided to place a local option levy request to fund the pool on the May ballot.
n Fire destroyed the former Cascadia School and Cascadia Post Office. Bob and Bell Hubler lived in the school, and Bob Hubler operated a racing and machine shop there.
n Battalion Chief Doug Emmert retired from the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District after working in the fire service for 34 years, all but five in Sweet Home.
n Don Austin, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Marines, was named Veteran of the Year by the Linn County Veterans Commemorative Association.
n Jim Lewis sold Santiam Supply to O’Reilly Auto Parts. The business was founded in 1945, and Lewis has run the parts store since 1970.
n A former Sankey Park caretaker filed a lawsuit in federal court against the city of Sweet Home for civil rights violations.Editor’s note: This is the continuation of our review of the major news events of 2011. The events of January through June appeared in the Dec. 28 edition.
July
n A survey on the city’s website showed the majority of respondents favored allowing residents to own chickens, which at that time were severely restricted within the city limits.
n The U.S. Masters Swimming One-Mile Open Water Championships were held on Foster Lake.
n Kimber Swanson was named Sportsman’s Holiday Queen.
n The School Board approved four furlough days for the 2011-12 school year to save roughly a quarter million dollars and bolster ending fund balances.
n The teachers union and School District reached an agreement that had no increases to salary or benefits during the 2011-12 school year although it will give a step increase to eligible teachers at the end of the year.
n The College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific Northwest opened in Lebanon.
n Don Schrader began working as School District 55 superintendent.
n The Rick McKay Corporation won the Logger Olympics Working Loggers Relay.
n Dr. Henry and Mollie Wolthuis were named Tree Farmers of the Year by the Linn County Chapter of the Oregon Small Woodlands Association for their 120-acre Wiley Creek tree farm.
n Sweet Home police officers began wearing video recorders as part of their uniforms. The cameras are used when officers respond to calls for service.
August
n Randy Nicholson placed first in the Texaco Country Showdown at Linn County Fair and then performed at the Oregon Jamboree. Tristan Nichols and Trevor Tagle finished second in the showdown. All three are from Sweet Home.
n Fifteen students from Josai University High School in Tokyo spent two weeks in Sweet Home, with visits to Chafin Farms for shooting demonstrations, a hayride and cowboy photos and locations around the state.
n Performing at the annual three-day camping and country music festival The Oregon Jamboree were Clay Walker, Jo Dee Messina, Darius Rucker, Margaret Durante, Laura Bell Bundy, Sawyer Brown, Jason Jones, Jerry Jeff Walker, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Ronnie Dunn, Collin Raye and Lady Antebellum.
n The Jamboree announced during the show that Rascal Flatts would perform next year, and Neal McCoy would be the emcee all weekend long. Since then, the Jamboree has announced headliner Dierks Bentley.
n Air Force bomb experts removed a dummy round from a Vietnam-era cluster bomb from the Sweet Home Police Department parking lot. A Sweet Home man had found the device on a trail in Foster and taken it to the Police Department. It turned out to be a dummy round for use in training.
n The Linn County Sheriff’s Office showcased its new marine patrol boat.
n Genevieve Rice turned 100 years old on Aug. 12.
n Numerous bands from around Oregon performed at the second annual Psychostock held over two days at Sankey Park.
n A&W celebrated its 50th anniversary.
n Mark Joseph Hardin, 49, was reported missing. Searchers looked for him for about 10 days but were unable to locate him. He disappeared in the Upper Calapooia area near Holley. He had been reported missing on Aug. 7. He remains missing.
n A reported pipe bomb turned out to be a plastic “Star Wars” lightsaber toy. The Oregon State Police Explosives Unit responded to render safe and then recover the device.
n Sweet Home police reported an increase in automobile break-ins. Some 38 of 71 unauthorized entries into motor vehicles occurred between July 1 and Aug. 4.
n Alfred Finnell turned 100 years old on Aug. 21.
n Manager Don Friesen retired from Industrial Welding Supply after 42 years.
September
n The Sweet Home Rodeo reported cutting its deficit to less than half, from $13,000 to $6,000, after its performance in July.
n The Boys and Girls Club reported that it was renovating Roy Johnston Field at Hawthorne School. The field is home to Sweet Home’s summer youth baseball and softball programs.
n Kambria Schumacher of Crawfordsville won the Sprint Triathlon portion of the Best in the West Triathlon held at Lewis Creek Park. Other winners were from elsewhere in Oregon.
n The Mid-Valley Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America opened a fishing dock at a secret location outside Leban non to be used as a fishing getaway for veterans staying Veterans Administration hospitals and homes.
n Sweet Home High School business teacher Michael Morrell was arrested on four counts of third-degree sexual abuse in connection to incidents involving a Lebanon high school student. The case remains under way in Linn County Circuit Court.
n A mild summer turned hot, and fire danger briefly spiked to extreme early in the month.
n The Sweet Home Police Department celebrated its 100th anniversary.
n Rose Peda was named director of the Sweet Home Public Library.
n Searchers located the body of a missing Corvallis man, Timothy Misner, 45, in Foster Lake near Lewis Creek Park. His vehicle had been located at the park. The sheriff reported that there was no evidence of foul play.
n Forest Protection Supervisor Jim Basting retired from the Oregon Department of Forestry Sweet Home Unit after 42 years in the fire service.
n Victoria Sophia Richards, 40, died in the motorcycle crash on Foster Dam. The alleged driver, Bobby Ray Hancock, 40, was arrested for criminally negligent homicide and second-degree manslaughter. The case remains under way in Linn County Circuit Court.
October
n After learning about the impact of an aquatics district on the local police and library levies, School District 55 and aquatics committee members agreed to pursue a local option levy through the district, which imposes no impact on general government funding.
n Increasing ridership prompted Linn Shuttle to add buses.
n Sunshine Industries purchased land off Clark Mill Road for a new building to replace its existing facilities, which are deteriorating.
n The U.S. Postal Service met with Cascadia residents to explain why Cascadia Post Office may be among numerous post offices closed around the nation. Cascadia residents told the Postal Service that they need their Post Office to remain open. A decision by headquarters in Washington, D.C., is expected in January.
n The body of Cody Myers, 19, of Lafayette was located inside a Jeep near Yellowbottom Campground. Myers is an alleged victim of Holly Grigsby and David Pedersen, who were arrested in California in connection with a homicide investigation in Everett, Wash., involving Pedersen’s stepmother and father.
n The District 55 School Board began considering the concept of a four-day school week. A study team is gathering information, and the board will next look at the idea in January.
n Chairman Dick Meyers resigned from the Sweet Home Planning Commission after serving 35 years as chairman and 38 years total.
n Property tax compression created an unanticipated shortfall of nearly $283,000 for the Sweet Home Police Department and approximately $51,000 for the library, leading to the reduction of a dispatcher and police officer along with a part-time position at the library.
n Sweet Home Charter School was rated “outstanding” by the Oregon Department of Education on its annual school report cards.
n Troy Underwood and Taylor Thorpe were named homecoming king and queen.
n Kyle Winslow and Kristen Tolle were named Junior First Citizens at Sweet Home High School.
n Tiffany Miller signed to play volleyball at Southern Oregon University.
n The body of a Corvallis woman was recovered from Green Peter Reservoir after her vehicle was found lodged on the hillside above the lake. She was apparently a victim of suicide.
n The City Council approved a new ordinance allowing most Sweet Home residents to raise chickens.
n Avoiding binding arbitration, Sweet Home police employees and the city settled a three-year contract with 3-percent increase in pay in 2010-11 and 2012-13 and no increase in 2011-12.
November-December
n The Sweet Home High School girls soccer team ended its season with a loss to Philomath in the play-in round for state playoffs.
n The girls cross country squad finished 12th in state. Nicole Rasmussen finished sixth. For the boys, Daniel Danforth was 27th and freshman Jakob Hiett was 28th.
n The Sweet Home High School football team defeated Philomath in the state play-in round but lost in the first round of playoffs to the defending state champion, Baker.
n Eva Jurney was appointed to a vacancy on the Sweet Home Planning Commission.
n Sunshine Industries received Planning Commission approval for plans to build off Clark Mill Road.
n The Sweet Home High School volleyball team finished sixth in the state.
n Oregon Prospecting and Rita’s Relics filmed a segment on gold panning with the Esben Selvig and Thomas Gullestad for the Norwegian television program “Dansken og Fingern.”
n Kyle Winslow was named Junior First Citizen for Linn County.
n The District 55 School Board decided to place a local option levy request to fund the pool on the May ballot.
n Fire destroyed the former Cascadia School and Cascadia Post Office. Bob and Bell Hubler lived in the school, and Bob Hubler operated a racing and machine shop there.
n Battalion Chief Doug Emmert retired from the Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District after working in the fire service for 34 years, all but five in Sweet Home.
n Don Austin, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Marines, was named Veteran of the Year by the Linn County Veterans Commemorative Association.
n Jim Lewis sold Santiam Supply to O’Reilly Auto Parts. The business was founded in 1945, and Lewis has run the parts store since 1970.
n A former Sankey Park caretaker filed a lawsuit in federal court against the city of Sweet Home for civil rights violations.