100 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Jan. 18, 1925

Bend Hoopers Hard at Work

The Bend high school hoop squad will commence strenuous practice tonight in preparation for its opening game in the Central Oregon conference season, against Redmond Friday night. Coach Charles Frost will have his charges out every night and the girls’ team, which also plays a Redmond team Friday night, will also work hard this week.

Local followers of basketball are pretty much in the dark as to the probable outcome of Friday’s game for the boys’ team. For many years Redmond has been a “jinx” for Bend in any game played at Redmond. Last year this “jinx” was overcome, but the Bend team had found it necessary to overtrain to do it, and staleness resulted alter in the season.

This year such will not be the case. The Bend team has already played half a dozen games, but Coach Frost didn’t let his first team men do much practicing last week, and they are in no danger of becoming stale.

The local girls’ squad has been progressing rapidly, as was demonstrated in Friday’s practice game; but the tam doesn’t seem to be any nearer picked than it was several weeks ago.

Hospital Gets X-Ray Machine

Installation of a standard X-ray machine, one of the most modern of its type, was completed at the St. Charles hospital today. This machine, a mobile unit, is owned by J.D. Donovan of the Donovan X-Ray laboratory.

The new machine, the first installed in the St. Charles hospital, can be moved from floor to floor and from room to room. Pictures can be taken without moving a patient from a bed, it is explained.

The machine, according to present plans will be operated by Mrs. Donovan, manager of the Donovan X-ray laboratory. The first picture taken with the machine was developed today. Another feature of the machine is that it is noiseless, the “purr” of the ray generating motors being eliminated. It is moved about on rubber casters.

New Structure Is Under Roof

The final brick of Bend’s new high school structure, costing more than $200,000, was put in place Thursday evening, and with the structure now under roof, no difficulty will be encountered in rushing the structure to completion, it is anticipated by contractor E. P. Brosterhous. The high school building, the most modern, and one of the largest, in Oregon east of the Cascades, will be completed in May.

Carpenters have started the construction of partitions in the union high school building, and lath work will begin soon as the structure is wired, according to information obtained from Brosterhous. The building will have a tar and gravel roof, the workers having started this roof Thursday morning, on the northeast corner.

The building, for which a $209,000 bond issue was approved by the voters last year, will be two stories in height, with the basement serving as a spacious third floor. This basement extends the entire length on one side of the structure and down the west and east sides as wings. The building is faced with Spokane brick. Since the completion of the final story, the building has been attracting considerable attention locally.

75 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Jan. 18, 1950

Bend Digs Out After Record Storm

Bend today was under one of its deepest packs of snow in history, following a 24-hour storm that brought the total snow depth up to 26 inches and in the night hours dropped the temperature to -2 degrees.

All schools in Deschutes county were closed today, as a result of the heavy snow. Schools also would be closed Thursday. Most rural roads were still choked by snow at noon today, but arterial country routes were open. In Bend, mill operation was near a standstill, with sawmills of both the Brooks-Scanlon Inc. and Shevelin-Hixon Company plants closed and woods operations suspended. Some shipping work was still under way this afternoon at the mills, but crews were generally engaged in shoveling snow.

Sawmill operations will be down the rest of the week.

Property Owners Advised to Clear Off Sidewalks

Disregard on the part of many Bend residents of the city ordinance that requires that sidewalks be cleared within 12 hours after end of snowstorm, is resulting in a hazardous condition, it was pointed out today.

Hundreds of pedestrians, many of them school children, are forced to walk in the streets because of uncleared walks, and several narrow escapes from serious accidents already have occurred, it is reported.

The city ordinance makes it mandatory that property owners clear their sidewalks of snow. If this is not done the city can hire workers to do the shoveling and place a lien on the property if the charge is not paid.

Mayor T.D. Sexton, explaining that it is not the city’s desire to take drastic action unless necessary, today requested property owners to give immediate attention to sidewalks still covered by snow.

Redmond Mill damaged by Fire

Fire that broke out yesterday in the boiler house of Tite-Knot pine mill caused extensive damage to the heating plant and forced suspension of operations. An estimated of the loss was not available today.

Firemen battled the blaze yesterday from 3 p.m. until nearly 6 o’clock in sub-freezing weather. A crew of 20 firemen worked doggedly and 12,000 feet of hose, on four lines, was put into use, operating from two trucks.

The fire was the second serious mill fire in two days. Sunday night, a fire that started in the control room of the Dant & Russell dry-kiln resulted in damage estimated at around 13,000.

Hit, Run Motorist Causes Derailment

The municipally-owned city of Prineville railroad was out of commission today because of a hit and run driver who struck a signal switch on the 19-mile-long railway in such a way that it’s switch light changed from red to green. Later, a locomotive passed the clear signal. A few yards farther on, the locomotive jumped the track. The derailment occurred near Prineville and blocked the entire line. Workmen hoped to get the locomotive back on the track by this evening.

50 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Jan. 18, 1975

Bend won’t get EPA sewer funds

Bend will not be getting an expected $180,000 in federal matching funds for building the $240,000 East Pilot Butte Interceptor Sewer, and a shortened version of the sewer is being planned.

City Manager Art Johnson told the city commission last night he had been notified that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which controls federal sewer aid funds, has changed its policy.

The EPA will no longer provide help in building sewers in undeveloped areas, Johnson reported.

He said today that instead of the 5,832-foot sewer proposed, one about 800 to 900 feet long will be built, to serve just the new St. Charles Medical Center.

The longer sewer had been designed to serve the new hospital, development expected around it, and eventually, with extension, areas on the south side of the city. Johnson said the project was given a high priority by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, which clears such funding requests in the state for the federal environmental assessment on the project was reviewed by the EPA, however, Johnson said, he was told that EPA Administrator Russell Train had decided that his department would not foster development by funding new sewers, but would only help in developed areas needing improvements.

Johnson said the news, coming on top of this week’s notification by Deschutes County that Bend, as well as Redmond and Sisters, would no longer by sharing in forest receipt money, “was a real blow.”

Johnson told the city commission the sewer line could be built as far as the hospital with sewer reserve funds already available.

This, he said later, would cost $25,000 to $30,000.

He told the commission, however, that the hospital would be paying $24,000 to hook up to the sewer.

The real expense, he said could come in trying to excavate so the sewer line can be extended to serve the planned nurses quarters on the northwest corner of Neff and Denser roads.

25 YEARS AGO

For the week ending

Jan. 18, 2000

New Tenants look at old fire station

The historical brick fire station on Minnesota Avenue downtown may change hands sometime this year, and talk is spreading that a restaurant-type business might be the tenant. The Bend Fire Department is moving to new quarters at Simpson Avenue and Century Drive in west Bend. Fire chief Larry Langston said he expects the department to move on August 1.

The old building is a fixer-upper. “It will take some real massive renovation to bring it to today’s code,” said Langston.

“It’s more expensive for us to stay and renovate than to build (at a new location).” the city plans to sell the building. The space was appraised more than a year ago at $650,000, Bend’s assistant city manager Andy Parks said.

Built in the 1920s the building has been expanded and now is about 14,000 square feet. A lava rock fireplace was installed inside the two-story building for fire fighters to thaw their “turnouts,” or protective clothes, when they froze. The fire department might leave the old pole in to enhance the ambience.

“It’s location and history makes it a really prime piece of property,” Langston said. “I hope for its historical significance the exterior will be saved.”

A number of people have expressed interest in the general commercial real estate, said Parks. He said some have mentioned restaurant uses as well as office space. He heard McMenamins pub and brewery might be looking at it. But it’s still too soon to say, and Parks said all plans are flexible at this time.