100 Years Ago

May 8, 1924 — Rudolph meets violent death Tuesday morning

Dr. Hosch inadvertently ran his car over his dog Rudolph Tuesday morning and killed him. This is a distinct loss to the whole community because everyone knew Rudolph and liked him. He was never cross although he never appeared to really care for anyone except Doc. He was always near his master and as the doctor says, barring a few quarrels with his brother and a few disreputable associates, was a very good candidate for dog heaven.

His master insures that the loss of Rudolph was not fair inasmuch as there is such a large number of moonshine drinkers in the country who absolutely refused to be killed and who could be spared much better than a dog.

75 Years Ago

May 5, 1949 — Jack Frost says water to be ample

Sno-cat trip shows near-record moisture at Dutchman’s Flat

With final snow measurements for this season in central Oregon made this week by Sno-Cat, ample water supply for the 1949 growing season has been forecasted by Jack Frost of Medford, in charge of snow surveys and irrigation water forecasts for Oregon.

Frost, a hydraulic engineer, handles the federal-state work for the division of irrigation of the Soil Conservation service, which works in cooperation with the Oregon agricultural experiment station.

Carry Over Benefits

Carry-over from the last three years has been an important factor in figuring water supply, Frost points out, and this year’s water, which averages 80 per cent above normal in the Deschutes drainage basin, points to a carry-over for next year. It has been said that water supply builds up like a bowling score during a cycle of wet years, such as central Oregon seems to be experiencing. On several snow courses of the Deschutes basin, water content in inches on April 1 was the greatest of record.

50 Years Ago

May 15, 1974 — ‘Air crash’ staged as practice drill

Firemen’s wives were seeking details of a bad airplane crash at Roberts Field that called their husbands to duty at 6:10 a.m. Monday morning.

That was before they learned that the “air crash” involving several victims was a staged drill to test how rapidly and effectively the Redmond community could deal with such a disaster should it strike for real.

Firemen, policemen and the staff of Central Oregon District Hospital cooperated in the disaster drill.

25 Years Ago

May 5, 1999 — Streets demand budget attention

With several major road projects facing the City of Redmond, the toughest decisions for the city’s budget committee may be whether to redirect money from other areas to transportation.

The budget committee met for the third time Tuesday and began deliberations. However, the group of citizens and city councilors will meet at least one more time before it approves the city’s budget.

That meeting, on May 12, will likely bring close scrutiny to how money is allocated within the city’s budget.

“Things like the street fund are pitifully low,” said City Councilor Randy Povey, who also serves as secretary of the budget committee.

The committee is looking at a $63.6 million budget for the city, including.all funds. Of that, only the $8.68 million general fund is directly dependent on property taxes.

The general fund supports city government, police, fire, sanitation and allocations to such non-government agencies at Redmond Economic Development Assistance Partnership.

According to a draft budget prepared by City Manager Joe Hannan and present to the committee last week, the city will need approximately $3.3 million in property taxes to balance the budget.

This is a 6.4 increase from last year. However, property owners’ tax rate will remain at about $6.16 per $1,000 of property value. The increase is in revenue is expected to come through the city’s growth, which is estimated to be 6 percent in the coming year.

Under the $5.14 million street fund, the proposed budget calls for widening projects on Salmon Avenue and 23rd Street. It also provides for an engineering evaluation of alternatives for extending Maple Street across the Dry Canyon, and for preliminary design for Quartz Avenue improvements.

An extension of Sisters Avenue west of Highway 97 will also be accomplished using money from systems development charges, the fees assessed developers.

However, city Public Works Director Mary Meloy told the budget committee that many projects that were identified prior to 1996 have not been done for lack of money.

Meloy suggested the committee discuss proposing a bond levy to pay for some of those projects.

In addition to previously identified projects, the city is in the throes of planning for a truck route and a redesign of the Highland Avenue intersection with Highway 97.

Povey said he believes the city needs to explore ways of boosting revenue for transportation projects. The city council this spring hired a lobbyist who is working in Salem to support a gas tax increase that could provide some of the needed money if it is approved.

The proposed budget includes seven new employees, including workers in the planning office, waste water treatment, water service, accounting and standards and specifications.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for June 22.