100 Years Ago

From the East Oregonian

Dec. 15, 1920

This county’s District Attorney R. I. Keator today expressed considerable dissatisfaction with the manner in which men convicted from here are sent to the state penitentiary in Salem only to be let out after serving short sentences. Harry Samuels, self confessed murderer of Omer Ollinger, of Milton, sentenced to life imprisonment about 18 months ago, is already seeking parole, according to the district attorney. This man pleaded guilty in court and admitted that he committed the murder in cold blood. Austin Mann, who was convicted and sentenced from here not more than a year ago for auto theft, was paroled after serving a short time. He went out of the state, breaking the first provision of his parole, spirited a minor girl away from her home and after getting her in trouble with federal authorities married her. He was arrested by breaking the parole and ordered returned to the penitentiary. He is reported to have again been turned out by the parole board.

50 years ago

Dec. 15, 1970

Cattlemen are winning praise for their leadership in helping to establish pollution control regulations that fit the interests both of the public and the stockman, says Walter Leth, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. He told the Umatilla County Cattlemen’s Association at their annual convention that almost nobody “in this state recognizes the job cattlemen have done.” Months ago, worried about the effect of possible stern new regulations, the cattlemen began meeting officials of the Department of Environmental Quality to help develop practical solutions to pollution problems. Fred Phillips, Keating, president of the Oregon Cattlemen’s Association, said cattlement must head off “hysteria” over pollution. “Nobody is as good at protecting the environment as the farmer,” Leth said, “because his whole existence depends on it.

25 years ago

Dec. 15, 1995

Because of tighter budgets and recent job changes and transfers, the number of Oregon State Police troopers and Umatilla County Sheriff’s deputies patrolling the “west end” has been cut in half. It’s not unusual to have just one deputy patrolling for the county and one trooper covering the freeway all the way from the Heppner junction almost to Arlington. Sometimes there are no patrols from either agency. When that situation occurs, the two departments share on-call responsibilities. While the number of officers has declined, the amount of crime and population has grown. “A lot of people are moving into the unincorporated areas because they know eventually they’ll be annexed,” said Al Humphrey, chief criminal deputy for the sheriff’s department. Both the county and state agencies expect new hires in 1996, but that will still leave the number of officers relatively low. Freeway drivers in west Umatilla County and northern Morrow County may be less likely to get a ticket with fewer officers on patrol, but if they need help it may take longer to get it.