100 years ago

July 12, 1917 — The United States Government has finally decided to go after the spies that infest this country. On Friday Heinrich Schaafhausen, a former German embassy attache in Washington, was sent out of the country. The departure of the Norwegian steamship on which secret service agents placed him was delayed by the arrest of a German, Berg von Linde, under the espionage act. This prisoner was charged with passing money and three packages of letters to the ship’s steward. The immediate arrest of all German agents suspected of activities against the country has been ordered from Washington. All Germans formerly connected either with the German embassy or any one of the many consulates in America have been requested to leave the United States. Notification that their presence in America is undesirable will be sent to them by the state department.

75 years ago

July 9, 1942 — Closure of certain areas on the Deschutes National Forest to unrestricted use became effective July 8 under a proclamation issued by Governor Charles A. Sprague. Administratively these closures are handled in two classes, explained Ralph W. Crawford, Deschutes forest supervisor. The first, termed permit closures excludes all those who do not have necessary business, such as logging or stock-raising, in the area. The second, known as registration closures, is open to everyone after a registration certificate is obtained. Registration certificates may be obtained from any guard or ranger station of the Deschutes Forest, Crawford said. The most important ones are Fly lake, Allingham, Suttle lake, Sisters ranger station, Big Springs, Bend, Lava Butte, Spring river, Crescent Lake, Crescent ranger station, Chemult, Paulina lake and Cabin lake ranger station.

50 years ago

July 13, 1967 — Rol-O-Ways, Central Oregon’s only skating rink, will open the first of August, with the latest skating surfaces, according to Olie Haugen, owner. Resurfacing of the floor at the 336 S. Third Street building is requiring more work and time than originally planned, causing opening to be delayed by about two weeks. The rink was closed due to warping of the masonite over concrete floor. Removal of the cohesive mastic, used to apply the masonite, is proving time consuming operations. Arnold and Elmer Seibold of Sei construction, Madras, are using a combination of chemical applications and sanding to remove the mastic. Next the Madras firm will apply a surface of Torginal, a polyurethane resin, with squeegees. The vinyl-like liquid will be poured and spread in 10 separate layers, with 12 hours lapsing between each coat. Redmond’s rink will be the fourth in the United States to have a Torginal floor, described as the “coming thing” for skating halls.

25 years ago

July 8, 1992 — A majority of Deschutes county residents are concerned about growth issues related to rural lands and believe there are enough destination resorts in the county, according to a public opinion survey on rural land issues. Preliminary results of the survey, which were released last week were hailed by some and chastised by others who question the number of responses and the strength of respondents’ views even caught the county, which commissioned the survey, by surprise. “The staff and the board of commissioners were surprised by the large number of responses,” said Karen Green, the county’s community development director. “We were told by the research firm that conducted the survey that from the 3,000 questionnaires we should expect about 400 responses. Almost 1,100 were returned.”