100 Years Ago

Dec. 11, 1924 — Redmond stores decked out in finery

Redmond merchants should be complimented on the beautiful window displays. The windows up and down Sixth Street are the equal of any to be found in many larger cities. If the window shopper in Redmond doesn’t have the coy and elusive dollar, buck, bean or iron man coaxed out of his pocket before going the length of the street, he simply hasn’t got the said buck.

75 Years Ago

Dec. 8, 1949 — Burned boy has operation

Glendon Duncan underwent a minor operation at the Doernbecher hospital to prepare him for skin grafting, which will be performed soon.

Glendon, who was burned seriously about the body recently, is doing satisfactory so far, according to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Duncan, who went to see him Sunday. They had taken their son to the Portland hospital last Thursday for further treatment after he had been hospitalized in Redmond for several weeks.

Stop watering yards, city asks

The city water committee has asked city water users to discontinue the practice of irrigation until some time in the spring, when notice will be given.

The water must be pumped during the winter, it was explained, and irrigation makes the demand too great to take care of.

Repair of leaky faucets and shutting off of all outside faucets would also be appreciated, the committee said, because it will help eliminate pipe breaks.

Powell Butte produces peculiar bunny lunches

Vegetables in central Oregon continue to assume circus sideshow proportions as evidenced by the latest member to the fratrenity-a carrot.

The farm freak was raised by Mrs. George Heighes of Powell Butte and possessed such “squirrelly” characteristics that Mrs. Heighes had to remove it with a shovel.

Vaguely it resembles a pair of octopus bobby-soxers in a mugging match. Technically this bundle of bunny food is two carrots, both good sized and both outfitted with an assortment of carrot-like tentacles which they have wound lovingly about each other’s carcass.

50 Years Ago

Dec. 11, 1974 — Aerial sewer map nearly completed

Mapping of Redmond’s sewer study area should be completed next week, it was reported at city council meeting last night by Robert E. Meyer, consulting engineer.

Meyer showed council members sample portions of the aerial photo map which will become the property of the city after the sewer project is completed.

The map will have a contour interval of one foot, and a scale of 1 inch to 50 feet and will be used for plotting sewer line locations. The map is so highly detailed, Meyer explained, so that excavation depths can be precisely planned. Only a few extra inches of rock removal over the entire project could be very expensive, since excavating in this area is so difficult.

Topographic surveying of the anticipated sewage treatment plant site north of town also will be completed soon. A cost estimate for the sewer project should be compiled by the consulting engineer in the next two months.

In response to questions from councilmen, Meyer promised that information will be ready for the city to take before the State Legislature in mid-February in seeking financial assistance for the project.

In spelling out the city’s position, mayor Ron Bryant stated that precedent-setting legislation for Redmond would be sought because of the high cost of the project and because “they all know about our particular problems with sewers over here.”

Having met with the school board, city officials found the school board receptive to having two city tennis courts located on or near school property. City officials felt they would have an agreement with the school board for perpetual use of the courts at Eighth and Deschutes Ave. The city would maintain the downtown courts and the school would maintain the two new ones.

Councilman Bernie Lockman reported for the water committee that the city well at 17th and Kalama Ave. had been blasted at a depth of 286 feet. The water level raised immediately, then subsided and remains at its former level. The well will be cleaned, then possibly tested again.

A resolution adopting the 1974-75 supplemental budget was passed unanimously. Councilman Don Fraley raised the subject of procuring a front-end loader with some of the $36,000 set aside in the budget for capital improvement in the streets department. Most councilmen expressed the desire to shop around for new or used equipment without actually advertising for bids.

25 Years Ago

Dec. 8, 1999 — State suggests couplet to ease Highland traffic

The Oregon Department of Transportation has proposed creating a one-way couplet for Highway 126 traffic using Highland and Glacier avenues.

It is also suggested making Ninth and 11th streets one way to improve north and south traffic flows in Redmond.

That information came in a meeting last week between state or and city officials who are planning an alternate route for Highway 97 through Redmond.

Mayor Ed Fitch said he was a little surprised by the proposal, since the major concern has been with Highway 97. Yet he sees the benefits of the couplet.

“I’m glad ODOT is doing this because we’ve asked them to look at this holistically,” Fitch said.

In its analysis for the Highway 97 route, the state has found potential traffic problems with Highland Avenue, especially since the completion of Fred Meyer at Ninth Street.

Highland is not sufficient to handle expected peak traffic flows, Fitch said.

One option would be to widen Highland to five lanes, two eastbound, two westbound and a center turn refuge. But doing that would cost about $4.8 million and require the purchase of all or parts of 20 parcels of land, according to ODOT’s preliminary estimates.

By making Glacier Avenue a one-way westbound street, ODOT believes it could accommodate the same traffic at a cost of just over $1 million. That option would affect 10 parcels. The proposed couplet would run approximately from 14th Street to Sixth Street.

While the couplet idea was not part of original discussions about getting Highway 97 traffic out of downtown, Fitch said it could be integrated into that plan.

“I think it is better to bring this out to the public now rather than bring it out later,” he said.

ODOT is investigating whether it could use some of the $4.1 million in federal money that has been allocated for redesigning the Highland-Highway 97 intersection for the project.