25 years ago this week — 2000

IRRIGON— John Garner was an avid fisherman. No matter how cold it got, he spent each Tuesday night in his boat on the Columbia River, fishing.

But around 10:20 p.m. Tuesday night, three barges being pushed downriver collided with Garner’s 25-foot cabin cruiser, according to the Morrow County Sheriff’s Office.

Tidewater Barge Lines officials are still trying to determine if the barge struck the craft or if the boat had already been wrecked.

Garner, 50, was still missing this morning and authorities presumed he had drowned.

Les Nichols of Irrigon was walking his dog late Tuesday night when he heard what “sounds like a derailment,” or “like two semi trucks coming together.” He and his wife later walked down to the river, where only a few fishing boats were out.”

The river soon became more crowded at Morrow County Sheriff’s deputies, the U.S. Coast Guard and others joined in searching for wreckage of the boat. The search resumed Wednesday morning and included a helicopter, a private plane and a drive team.

The barges remained docked near the Morrow County Grain Growers’ export terminal Wednesday. Nichols, speaking Wednesday while watching the search, said the barges didn’t appear damaged.

He said several minutes passed between when he heard the tug’s engines shut off.

“I don’t think he (the tug captain) even realised he’d hit anything,” Nichols said.

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MILTON-FREEWATER — They say that winning the final game on the schedule of the National Football League is the epitome of any professional football player’s career. On the winning side, you see linemen raising their coaches on their shoulders, while the quarterback looks into a camera and proclaims he’s going to a children’s theme park.

On the other side of the field, grown men cry. Depression looms over the shoulders of 50 men and the city they represent.

Winning a world championship is the one common goal for any athlete who’s ever strapped on shoulder pads on a Sunday afternoon, and there are only a handful of men in the country who have played for an NFL championship team.

But when Milton-Freewater’s John Wilcox sits down Sunday afternoon and turns his television to Super Bowl XXXIV, not only will he know what it’s like the play at the sport’s highest level, he’ll more than likely recall the memories he has of walking away from the big dance as a winner.

Wilcox, who played three seasons at the University of Oregon, was a 15th-round draft choice of the Philadelphia Eagles in 1960.

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PENDLETON — The woman known simply as “Reba” to millions of fans will be the headline attraction at the 2000 Pendleton Round-Up Happy Canyon Music Festival.

Reba McEntire, who has close ties to the Round-Up and Happy Canyon, will appear in concert at the Round-Up Arena on Sept. 10. Montgomery Gentry, the winner of the American Music Awards favorite new country group award, will open for McEntire.

Happy Canyon Publicity Director Doug Corey said, “We are very excited to be able to present the most popular woman in the country music field. This promises to be one of the best concerts in our history.”

Round-Up Publicity Director Steve Corey agreed.

“Reba has been one of the all-time favorite Round-Up performers in the past,” he said. “Also, with her father (Clark McEntire) as a member of the Round-Up Hall of Fame, and her brother (Pake) as a regular steer roper at the rodeo, as well as her performances here early in her career, her ties with us are very strong.

McEntire’s father was inducted into the Round-Up Hall of Fame in 1984. He won steer roping championships here in 1947, 1957 and 1958, and claimed the all-around cowboy title in 1957 as well. Her mother, Pake McEntire, is a steer roper who won the title in that event the year their father was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

50 years ago this week — 1975

A burned-out bulb in a turbidity meter allowed large amounts of muddy water to enter Pendleton’s water system late Saturday and brought warnings to boil all water for human consumption until further notice.

The Umatilla County Health Department said results of tests for dangerous organisms and viruses should be known sometime today.

Water should be boiled for five to 10 minutes, said Dr. Tamara Vega, county health officer, and Lois Gustafson, county sanitarian.

The sanitarian said the water was so turbit that the tests could not be conducted here. In addition, some of the more complex tests cannot be performed locally. Water samples were bused to the State Health Division, Portland. One of the tests takes 24 hours.

An engineer from the State Health Division was to arrive in Pendleton by air today and with Jack Wright, Pendleton, state sanitarian, will inspect the city’s water system. If all the tests prove negative, the warning to boil water will be lifted.

A report from the two men is expected in late afternoon.

How did the turbid water get into the city’s system?

City Manager Rudy Enbysk explained that an electronic turbidity meter that monitors water collected in the Thornhollow infiltration system from springs broke down. He said the bulb in an electric eye was burned out.

Pendleton Public Works Supt. Bob Swanson said the meter is checked twice a week. But Saturday when the muddy water showed up, city workers checked the meter again and found the dead bulb. It was quickly replaced, but the damage was done. Thousands of gallons of muddy water had already entered the city’s system.

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WESTON — A packed house for the joint meeting of Athena-Weston school boards joined school officials in a loud applause Tuesday night after an announcement that the two districts were officially merged.

The unofficial vote among the Weston district voters in Tuesday’s election was 187 in favor of the merger to just 55 against.

Russell McCollister, who was appointed Tuesday night as superintendent of the new enlarged district, had predicted a large voter turnout of about 80 percent would be required to pass the merger. With just a 50 percent turnout of registered voters, the better than three to one margin surpassed expectations.

“I was proven wrong,” said McCollister this morning, “and happily so.” He is currently Weston superintendent.

After the results of the election were announced the two boards met until 2:30 a.m. to discuss plans for reorganizing the two districts into one.

The boards have been meeting jointly for the past two years as part of a pilot merger project approved by the State Dept. of Education. The pilot project has all high school students from both districts attending classes in Athena and junior high students in Weston.

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Pendleton schools were to be closed at 1 p.m. today because of snowdrifts outside of town, Rudy Rada, assistant superintendent, reported.

“It’s hard to realize here in town,” Rada said, “but the county road department has informed us that the wind is causing snowdrifts in many areas, particularly east of town.”

One but became stuck this morning, Rada said.

Pendleton students were to be fed early today and buses were to leave at 1 p.m.

The Weather Service forecast for this area called for snow at times tonight and Saturday.

Athena-Weston schools closed at 12:30 p.m. because of drifting snow, a spokesman for the school district said. Oregon State Police said that all county roads in the Athena-Weston area were closed due to snowdrifts.

A storm of near blizzard strength slammed into parts of Oregon from California today causing icy roads, snow and freeway and school closures.

Interstate 5 was closed to southbound traffic by state police at Ashland, and chains were required north of Grants Pass.

100 years ago this week — 1925

Only two additional road building projects have been formally introduced on the tentative program of market road construction in Umatilla county for 1925, according to a statement made today by County Judge Schannep. The designations of the West Birch creek road and the Wild Horse road were made yesterday by the county court.

The fact that only two more projects have been named does not mean that the market road construction will be confined to these two roads, he said. About the same amount of work will be done as in the past, but there is a greater hold over the program from last year than usual, and these projects will be finished.

The contract for completing the Butter creek road from the Pete Sheridan place into Hermiston will be let within a few days. The five miles of highway graded last year on Weston mountain will be resurfaced. The stretch of road south of Mission, now under construction, will be completed.

Three miles of road will be added on the present Pendleton-Despain gulch road which extends from Pendleton to Holdman. Some work is to be done in the Athena area, according to present plans. A part of the Sunnyside-Umapine road will be resurfaced, and the Saxe station road will be built.

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Henry W. Collins, Pendleton grain man and president of the Round-Up and T. D. Stevenson, manager of the firm of Edward L. Eyre & Co., grain exporters of San Francisco, will sail from New York February 19 or 21 for a two and half months visit to Europe, according to announcement made today by Mr. Collins.

The trip will be a business one made in connection with the grain interests of the two. They will visit England, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark and Germany.

Upon their return to New York for a short sojourn Mr. Collins will meet Carl Laemmle, head of the Universal Pictures corporation, who is much interested in the Round-Up since the filming of “Let’er Buck” here. Before coming home Mr. Collins and Mr. Stevenson will visit Fort William, Winnipeg and other Canadian points.

The trip will be the first one which Mr. Collins has made abroad, but Mr. Stevenson has made several crossings to Europe and has visited foreign countries on several occasions. Mr. Stevenson is known here, having been in Pendleton as the guest of Mr. Collins.

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Roy Norman, city fireman and mechanic, looked death in the face yesterday afternoon and felt that aged man’s breath on his cheek without suffering any serious injuries when his car was struck by a westbound freight train at the Main street crossing of the O.-W. R. & N.

The accident occurred shortly after 3 o’clock. Mr. Norman was driving north and had just come down the Main street hill, he said, when his machine was hit.

“I did not see the engine until it was right on me and there was no chance to escape,” he said. “I cramped my wheel to the left, when it became evident that I could not escape being hit, so the car would be turned in the direction the train was going. I guess that saved me from being badly hurt or killed.”

The machine, its right front axle hooked into the pilot, was dragged from the crossing to the passenger station before the big engine and train could be brought to a stop, and Mr. Norman was an unwilling prisoner in his machine for all except about 10 feet of the distance.

The car appeared to be pretty well wrecked as a result of its travel down the tracks. Mr. Norman suffered some bruises to his head and hip and was sore all over today from bruises, he said.

Neither the train nor the autoist was making much speed at the time of the accident, according to eye witnesses. A big crowd congregated on the railroad grounds immediately after the collision.