Flashback: Rural areas out-gain city in 1949; Spokesman named best newspaper in 1974; Plan offers vision for airport industrial park in 1999

Published 2:00 am Thursday, June 27, 2024

75 Years Ago

June 30, 1949 — Rural areas out-gain city

So much building has been going on outside of the city limits that outside valuations have increased more than those in the city, according to figures just compiled by Assessor E. Risen. This is a reversal of trends of previous years.

On the new rolls the Redmond city valuation will be approximately $1,778,925, which is 8.3 per cent higher than the $1,641,105 of last year. Redmond grade school district property outside of the city increased by 12.5 per cent, from $1,130,215 to $1,291,405.

Total grade school district valuations, including the city, have advanced to $3,070,330 from the $2,771,320 of last year. This is a net increase of about 10.8 per cent.

The new total for Redmond union high school district within Deschutes county is $4,651,285, an increase of about 9.3 per cent over the $4,253,825 of last year. Risen does not yet have the figures for valuations in the parts of the district in Crook and Jefferson counties.

Total valuations in the county for the rural elementary school districts have increased by only 4.3 per cent, from $2,927,035 to $3,053,405.

The figures compiled by Assessor Risen are complete except for those on public utilities, which he has not yet received from the state tax commission. He used last year’s utility figures in arriving at the approximate valuations.

Joan Hodecker on bicycle trip through Europe

After flying from Seattle to New York June 24. Miss Joan Hodecker, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Hodecker, boarded a plane Windsor Monday, June 27, at Locks, Conn., for Shannon, Ireland. At Shannon, with other members of Youth Argosy, she began a bicycle trip through Europe.

Miss Hodecker will bicycle through Scotland and England before going to the continent and will visit as many countries as time permits. She will sail for home on the S.S. Samaria from LeHavre, France, September 10 and will arrive in Quebec, Canada, September 19.

The tour is under the National Each Youth Hostel association. Each group has a leader, and the students will stay in youth hostels and cook their own meals.

Youth Argosy made arrangements to send its members to Europe in the planes which brought displaced persons to this country. Their return trips are scheduled on reconverted troop ships.

Membership in Youth Argosy includes students all over the world, and it is a non-profit organization designed to help those desiring inexpensive world-wide travel.

Miss Hodecker, a graduate of Redmond union high school, recently completed her sophomore year at the University of Oregon, where she is majoring in liberal arts.

50 Years Ago

July 3, 1974 — Spokesman named best newspaper

The Redmond Spokesman was named the best weekly newspaper with circulation between 2,500 and 5,000 in National Federation of Press Women competition last weekend in Bismarck, N.D.

Editor June S. Brothers, an Oregon delegate to the national convention, also received a first place award for page layout for an editorial picture page on county zoning. She received a third in interview for a story about Terrebonne rodeo clown Chuck Blaylock and honorable mention for an editorial on the tussock moth.

Based on a point system giving greater weight to awards received in contest areas of the greatest competition, Ms. Brothers ranked third nationally in overall competition. First and second places went to women who write for daily newspapers in St. Petersburg, Fla., and Little Rock.

Heading the Oregon delegation was Wanda McAlister, editorial page editor for the Corvallis Gazette-Times and president of Oregon Press Women. A former resident of Redmond, she won a first place award for editorials.

$20,000 gift ups pool fund

Like manna from heaven, a $20,000 cashier’s check floated into the Redmond Kiwanis Club’s community swimming pool fund.

The gift from an anonymous donor arrived Friday at the accounting office of Harland Wolf, treasurer for the pool project.

Kiwanian Vernon Patrick reported Monday that the money had been deposited in the pool account and was earning interest. He said the donation brings to $95,000 the amount of cash currently on hand for the pool.

Another $100,000 in pledges and matching monies have been promised by individuals, businesses and foundation.

The club will continue its fundraising drive through December of this year.

25 Years Ago

June 30, 1999 — Plan offers vision for airport industrial park

The first step has been taken toward developing 86 acres of City of Redmond property north of Roberts Field.

A Portland engineering firm, Group MacKenzie, last week released a master plan for the property. The city commissioned the plan last winter.

The property lies between Roberts Field to the south and Highway 126 to the north, and extends east from Juniper Golf Course to the U.S. Forest Service’s Redmond Fire Center.

Zoned commercial, the land is mostly taken with juniper woodlands. The city’s public works shops and the Redmond Humane Society’s animal shelter are also on the parcel, but both are scheduled for relocation.

The city council will discuss the plan at its meeting Tuesday, however, it likely won’t be adopted immediately, according to City Councilwoman Karena Houser, who also sits on the city’s airport committee.

“At some point the council will probably adopt it,” Houser said.

When the city first hired Group MacKenzie, Airport Manager Carrie Novick said she wanted to develop a first-class industrial park that would complement the airport. The property was originally deeded to the city as part of the airport property, and thus falls under her bailiwick.

The plan calls for attracting aviation-related businesses, as well as firms engaged in light industrial, distribution, high technology or research. It also provides for office space for government, medical and other businesses. In addition, it allows such businesses for restaurants, a hotel, copy centers and such.

The plan proposes stringent rules, including a 40- to 60-foot maximum building height and landscaping on at least 20 percent of each lot to preserve a “park-like environment.”

Building the infrastructure to sever the entire area is projected to cost more than $6 million. That would include improvements in water and sewer service, as well as building roads.

School district seeks money for safety

Safer schools and more creative classes could receive more emphasis in Redmond classrooms if the district is successful in garnering two large grants.

The first is a gift of $1 million per year for three years to be made to the Crook Deschutes ESD under the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative.

The grant would be used to reduce the incidence of violence in schools and increase school completion and graduation rates in Deschutes County.

Strategies included in the application are: an increase in school resource officer time to education and prevention activities; establishment of a FAN site at each school and preschool center in the county, and providing six hours per week of mental health preventive and intervention services to each of those sites; enhancement of the First Steps program from Kindergarten to include preschool programs; and a county-wide study of safe school policies.

The second grant is made to Disney Learning Partnership for a total of $400,000 over a three-year period to improve instruction through creative teaching strategies.

The district would agree to work with the Disney Learning Partnership in the development and dissemination of the project.

Funds would be disbursed in yearly increments of $144,250 the first year; $162,250 the second year; and $127,250 in the third year.