Page 8 Mot I1 COMMUNITV [le e "r - December 31,2008
II Review
From page 1
were arrested for robbing Wells-
Fargo Bank. Robert Shamek of
Sweet Home witnessed the robbery,
reported it to police and followed the
suspects, helping police apprehend
them. In March. the city gave
Shamek a Public Service Award for
his help.
Lorene's Caf6 opened at the
site of Mollie's Bakery.
Ambulance calls were down
to 1.917 in 2007 from 2,001 in
2006.
A snowslide trapped eight
commercial and one sport utility
vehicle on Highway 20 at Santiam
Pass until they could be cleared out
with help from Oregon Department
of Transpox'tation crews.
Comedian Steve Mittleman
performed in Sweet Home as a fund-
raising event for the Oak Heights
PTC.
The South Fork home of
Kathleen Spillman-Seaunier, Lloyd
Thompson and Katherine Ferrarese
was destroyed by fire.
Cera Kem was named 2008
Sweet Home Rodeo Queen.
Six girls. Larissa Bjornsen.
Tracy Smith. Ella Butler. Alyssa
Logan, Dany Petermen and
Allison Rice. were named to
the Sportsman's Holiday Court.
Bjornsen later dropped out due to
other commitments, and McKenna
Burnett was selected to succeed her.
The owners of View Villa.
4610 Hwy. 20. were cited for city
permit violations, which carried a
fine totaling nearly $300.000. They
were convicted and sentenced to a
lesser fine later in the year.
Bill Inman, of Lebanon,
completed a trip across America
by horseback when he reached
Hendersonville. N.C.
The Oregon Jamboree
announced record net proceeds of
$350.000 from the 2007 event.
Sweet Home was treated to
about 6 inches of snow at the end of
the month.
February
Criticism from two
downtown renewal experts sparked
a community discussion about how
to revitalize the downtown business
area. The experts spent a day in Sweet
Home performing an assessment
on a grant. Their report included a
number of criticisms and advice
that boiled down to "just do it." The
ensuing discussion eventually led to
the creation of the Sweet Home Area
Revitalization Effort.
Samaritan Lebanon
Community Hospital opened a
new clinic accros the street from
the hospital in Lebanon to serve
east Linn County residents who
are underinsured or who have no
insurance
Holley Farmers Dick and
Carroll Rice received a state
Sesquicentennial Award for their
Upper Calapooia farm. which had
been in operation for 150 years.
Sherrie Sprenger was
appointed to succeed Fred Girod
as representative for state House
District 17. Girod was appointed
to succeed Roger Beyer for Senate
District 9 after Beyer resigned.
High school boys won the
district swim title. They placed
second at state. Girls came in third
at districts. Husky wrestlers also
Police officers and firefighters work around the scene of a crash at Foster Post Office in late February. Neither
the driver nor the passenger were injured when the car hit the buildilg.
won their district title. They finished
third at state.
Jayce Calhoon won two state
titles in swimming, including 500
free and 100 back. Kris Newport led
the wrestlers by winning the 119-
pound title at state.
Sweet Home Fire and
Ambulance Dsitrict added two new
engines, an ambulance and a ladder
truck to its fleet using money from
a bond measure passed by voters in
2006.
A teenage girl. Nicole Street.
survived a hostage situation at a
Brownsville gas station when the
kidnaper was shot and killed by
Sheriff's Sgt. Dave Lawler.
School District 55 officials
reported that the flu hit the district
and community unusually hard, with
a high percentage of students and
staff staying home in late February.
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention reported that the flu
season had peaked.
March
Police evacuated and closed
the Linn County Courthouse after
finding a note indicating that anthrax
was inside two envelopes left at the
courthouse.
Steve Houston located a
diamond ring lost in the snow for
Ladona Gardner of Sweet Home.
The ring had been given to her by
her husband before he left for Iraq.
The New Era changed its
format, from a broadsheet to a
tabloid.
The boys high school
basketball team defeated Seaside
in the first round of state playoffs
before losing to Hidden Valley in the
second round.
Sweet Home Economic
Development Group anff the city
hired John Morgan to help start the
downtown revitalization process in
response to February's assessment.
He held a pair of community
meetings that led to the creation
of the SHARE committees. Each
meeting drew a crowd of about 125.
OMI and the city completed a
filter to help reduce an odor problem
at the wastewater treatment plant.
It seemed to work after a couple of
weeks, but the odor problem soon
reasserted itself.
Chamber of Commerce award
winners were Distinguished Citizen
Chuck Thompson; Junior First
Citizen Steve Thorpe; Billie Weber,
Distinguished Service Award; Vicki
and Dave Bauer, Business of the
Year; and Leita Seiber-Barr, BPW
Woman of the Year.
Jacob Alguire was named the
Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance
District Firefighter of the Year.
The Sweet Home Rock and
Mineral Show celebrated its 60th
anniversary.
April
Kellie Kern and Craig Martin
were elected to the SHEDG Board
of Directors, succeeding Scott Weld
and Linda Garcia.
Ashley Danielson set the
SHHS javelin throwing record at
116-3, beating 111-7 set by Nicole
Burnside in 2002.
Gibe Kauffman was named
to second team all-state in high
school basketball.
Dr. Ula McQueen, PHD. & Assodates
Clinical Psychologists
Psycho therapy for adults, children
&families.
Attention Deficit Disorder
Emotional Cognitive ° Learning
Disabilities
i
The city and OMI installed
a new dome over the odor-causing
basin, which had been causing an
odor problem. Still, the problem was
not solved.
A late snow pack had cabins at
Clear Lake buried under a mountain
of snow and affected travel in the
passes.
Mona Waibel released a self-
published collection of her monthly
column detailing Sweet Home
history.
Brinden Sanders was named
Mr. Husky.
The Department of
Environmental Quality ordered
Western Renewable Resources
to stop operating, alleging the
business was operating a waste
transfer station. WRR operated on
Western States Land Reliance Trust
property located at the north end of
24th Avenue. The material includes
cardboard fibers, and Managing
Partner Dan Desler says it is
inventory, not waste.
Construction of a new Cedar
Shack, destroyed by fire several
years ago, continued although a goal
of opening during the summer was
not met.
Jamie Lynn Miller got a big
surprise when she gave birth to a
daughter, Rebecca, after not knowing
she was pregnant and believing
something was wrong with her.
Sweet Home teachers and
District 55 opened negotiations for a
new contract. Their contract expired
on June 30, and the two are now in
mediation.
While baseball and softball
seasons were in full swing, Sweet
Home had one of its latest snowfalls
in recent years.
Elementary PE teachers were
added into the School District 55
budget for the 2008-09 school year.
Valerie Eastin was named
Sweet Home Elks exalted ruler.
She is the first woman to hold the
position in Sweet Home.
May
The developers of Edgewater
RV park and the homes along the
southwestern shore of Foster Lake
outlined their plans for a marina at
Foster. Army Corps of Engineers
officials said a public hearing and
comment period would be held
within about a month, but the Corps
has yet to set a date.
Marcus DeLong and Brittany
Trahan were May Court king and
queen.
Call for appointment: (541) 367-8220 (after 12/29)
1195 Main St. Suite E. Sweet Home
Insurance Accepted!
See Review, page 9
