100 Years Ago

From the East Oregonian

April 8, 1920

Every one of the 5100 seats for the big Legion smoker Saturday night in Pendleton will be sold before the fight begins, predicts Lyman G. Rice, head of the sale committee. About 100 women have signified that they will attend the smoker. “No rough stuff” has been adopted as the slogan for the affair and the management promises that anyone who attends will witness an entertainment as refined as any seen in theaters. Local barbershops will close at 8:30 p.m. because of the smoker. Stores will observe their regular closing time, 8 p.m.

50 Years Ago

From the East Oregonian

April 8, 1970

Grant County Circuit Judge Robert Campbell has ruled in favor of former Hermiston football coach Bob George in his suit against the Hermiston School District. George and two other head coaches at Hermiston were fired in 1969. George sought to force the district to pay him $2,000 a year for his athletic duties for the two years remaining on a three-year contract. His suit contended a teaching contract couldn’t be separated from a coaching contract. The judge ruled the contract “was entire and not divisible.” George had been at Hermiston since 1962. The judge said the school board had been “stampeded” into discharging George because his teams had a 4 win, 22 loss record in his last three years. “The record, by an overwhelming preponderance of the evidence, establishes that the plaintiff was a good coach and probably an excellent one.”

25 Years Ago

From the East Oregonian

April 8, 1995

For the city of Pilot Rock, it’s a lot like winning the lottery. After years of skin-tight budgets, the city now has plenty of money to spend — nearly double what it had to dole out just a year ago. Much of the extra money is due to the large pockets of the city’s two largest businesses, Louisiana-Pacific and Masonite. L-P was annexed into the city last year, hooking into the city’s sewer system as demanded by the state. Masonite, formerly Wood Fiber Industries, Inc., followed suit this year. Both wood product companies will contribute around $45,000 in property taxes during the coming year. Franchise fees for utilities are expected to rise by around $28,000 in natural gas payments and $65,000 for electricity.