25 years ago this week — 1999

PENDLETON — What do middle school-age kids like to read?

Mostly books filled with suspense and intrigue, based on tabulation of books checked out at Sunridge Middle School in Pendleton during the past school year. However, a few classics also got some attention.

According to data compiled by Sunridge Middle School Librarian Jacqueline Crepeau, the most popular book titles carry a common theme. Four of R.L Stine’s books, “The Baby-sitter II,” “The Sleepwalker,” “The Snowman,” and “The Baby-sitter III,” are on the top 10 list at Sunridge. Each was checked out nearly 400 times.

A synopsis for “Baby-sitter III” reads, “Jenny, the bad-luck baby-sitter is back, and trying to get away from her haunting past.” A young reader from Richmond, Va., who reviewed it for Amazon.com, said “This book makes you think twice before hiring a baby-sitter.”

Suggested for young adult reading by its publisher, “The Stalker,” at number 10, is the story of a young girl who “returns home from the beach and finds her best friend’s mother has just been murdered.”

A similar theme of mystery and foul play permeates the other books on the list. Joan Nixon Lowery’s “A Candidate for Murder,” “The Name of the Game was Murder,” “The Other Side of Dark” and “The Stalker” came in at numbers 5,6,7 and 10.

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PENDLETON — The melodic sound drifting through the neighborhood is halted abruptly, silenced by the shrieks of kids calling to each other and their parents.

“It’s the Ice Cream Man! It’s the Ice Cream Man!”

That ice cream man is really Jorge Velez of Walla Walla. The 39-year-old Velez has been faithfully making the rounds from Walla Walla to Athena to Weston to Pendleton for the past three years.

“I enjoy my work,” Velez said, while handing an ice cream sandwich to a customer. “I like the new people I meet.”

Six days a week, from February through December, Velez cruises through the same neighborhoods, up the same streets, past the same barking bods and the same gleeful children as the day before, listening to the same three songs over and over again. It’s a job he swears he never tires of.

“It’s nice for me. A good job. A good salary. I like the kids, the people,” he said.

His best months are August and September. On a typical day he sells 100-125 ice cream treats. On very good days, he sells as much as 300 treats. He anticipates sellings at least 3,000 treats during the month of August. Ice cream sells best when the weather is hot, but not too hot.

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PENDLETON — Reducing class size is a popular band-wagon in education circles. It’s crowded with parents, teachers and politicians eager to raise taxes to accomplish the task.

The concept is so inviting that a recent survey of teachers participating in a class size reduction experiment showed a majority were willing to forgo a raise for smaller classes.

The Pendleton School District opted to reduce its elementary music staff rather than eliminate an elementary teacher.

“We wanted to protect class size, as far as possible,” said Roger Stueckle, director of elementary services for the district. “If we hadn’t reduced a music position, we would have had to spread one class of 25-30 kids around the district, creating larger second and third-grade classes.”

The new “Oregon Quality Education Model” report, touted as a revolutionary tool to help lawmakers make accurate school funding decisions, calls for a 20:1 pupil-teacher ratios at all elementary grade levels and a 29:1 maximum class size in core academic courses at the middle and high school level.

50 years ago this week — 1974

Pendleton’s Nationals had to feel confident they were on their way to the state LIttle League tournament as they took the field in the sixth inning of Saturday’s District 5 championship game against The Dalles.

Pendleton held a 6-5 advantage and The Dalles’ eight and ninth hitters were scheduled to lead off in its final chance at bat.

However, in bang-bang fashion Craig Holland walked and Ben Gualco, the last man in the batting order, cracked a solid home run to instantly turn The Dalles from a loser into a state tournament team.

The district champs will play their first tourney game Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Alpenrose Stadium in Portland.

“I thought we had it won,” said a quiet Pendleton Manager Bill Manny just minutes after the dramatic and ironic ending to the playoff game.

Manny’s hard-hitting team had wiped out a 3-1 The Balles lead with a five-run uprising in the fifth inning.

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The Oregon Department of Revenue has issued an order that will result in an increase in the farm use value of wheatland in Umatilla County.

Department Director John Lodbell, Salem, said the move was made to bring the assessed value of the land up to that required by Oregon law and to achieve uniformity among the major wheat growing counties.

“After studying the issue for several weeks we found that Umatilla County Assessor Rod Esselstyn did a complete and thorough job,” Lodbell said.

According to Lodbell, the department accepts the burden of responsibility for the problem because it is the state agency that is required to assure uniformity in property assessments in Oregon.

Lodbell said Esselstyn has been ordered to use a price of $3.15 per bushel. This is equal to the price used in Morrow County and is comparable to the prices used in other major wheat producing counties: Gilliam ($3.14), Wheeler ($3.14), Sherman ($3.31) and Wasco ($3.61).

In Pendleton Wednesday to discuss the change with Esselstyn were Donald M. Fisher, administrator of the department’s assessment and appraisal division, and Bob Fielder, technical assistant who formerly was the department’s district manager in The Dalles.

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Grain growers of Umatilla County and surrounding areas are apparently not consistent with their counterparts in other areas of Oregon and Washington. At least, this is a conclusion that could be based upon an Associated Press news release appearing in the East Oregonian of July 13th.

According to the release, Oregon and Washington wheat men have seeded 44 per cent of their acreages with two soft white wheat varieties, Gaines and Nugaines. Hyslop, the second ranking variety, accounts for 16 per cent of seeded acreages. For club wheats, Paha is reported to be on 13 per cent and Moro on 11 per cent of seeded lands.

All figures reported were from the Washington Crop and Livestock Reporting Service.

In contrast, seed wheat sales within Umatilla County and surrounding areas would indicate that Hyslop was the variety used last fall on something in excess of 60 per cent of seeded acreages. Gaines and Nugaines are present on less than 20 per cent and the club varieties, account for less than 10 per cent of seed sales within the same area.

100 years ago this week — 1924

Pendleton, July 29. Editor of the East Oregonian:

I notice you advocate flush coating of the paved streets at the expense of the city, especially, you say, in the resident district because such a charge against property owners seems unfair when it is considered they have paid or are paying for the original improvement.

There is no fund available for flush coating. The city is now operating under a budget system. The estimated expenses for the city for the year 1924 were provided for in a budget adopted in 1923. The amount provided for streets and sewers was $20,650, and up to the 1st day of July, 1924, $10,101.74 had been drawn. Substantially the entire sum will be exhausted at the end of the year and the committee in charge has already drawn heavily upon the emergency fund in excess of its budget allowances.

At the commencement of this administration it was recommended by the mayor and received the approval of the entire council that no department of the city government should exceed its budget allowance and with one or two exceptions that plan has been followed and it is the only safe and sane method of conducting the business of municipal, state or national government.

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Out in Grant county and on to Burns the north and south road from Pendleton to Burns, thence to Lakeview is now being called the “Joaquin Miller trail” in accord with the designation adopted at the meeting at Pilot Rock two years ago.

Incidentally there is much interest in this road and its future improvement. Much work is underway on the road at present in southern Grant county as well as in the north. South of Canyon City a very important improvement has just been completed. It consisted of a new grade up Canyon creek and to the Silvies Valley. The new grade is now in use though not entirely completed. The grade eliminated the one bad part of the old route between Canyon City and Burns. The southern part of the Burns-Canyon road is not improved but is in good condition and has no bad grades.

In northern Grant county work is underway as far north as the Umatilla county line.

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Pendleton’s water supply is just about holding steady at present, according to D. D. Phelps, superintendent, though the reserve supply has decreased slightly during the past two weeks. THe use of the alternating plan for irrigation has worked fairly well and has aided in some economy of water, but it is possible that the three-hour-a-day plan may have to be adopted before the month passes.

“On the whole the co-operation we have had from residents has been pleasing,” Mr. Phelps said today, “but there is a small percentage of water users who permite their water to run all night. That results in a waste of water and is a violation of the rule established by the commission. Watering is supposed to be done only from 12 o’clock noon until midnight.

“Small users of water who have a lawn to keep watered should be able to keep their lawns in good condition with three hours on alternate days, and we may put this rule into effect.”