100 years ago

Nov. 2, 1921

Umatilla County and Mr. John Jones have some common experiences right now in matters of finance, according to facts which have been brought out by a statement on the financial standing of the county. The county is now back just $69,058.36 to the state on its second half of the state tax money, and the money is past due. In addition to this indebtedness there are $110,000 in road warrants which are registered and unpaid. The total amount of taxes now delinquent goes to about $200,000. From 1915 to 1921, the county was on a cash basis on all of its business, but prior to that time, warrants had to be carried at different times. The present indebtedness is thought to be the heaviest the county has ever had, although no record of this has been compiled. The biggest part of the delinquency is thought to be caused by the inability of some farmers to pay their taxes.

50 years ago

Nov. 2, 1971

Not all ex-Marines are big, tough and mean. Judy Blackwell, a blonde housewife and student from Helix, used to be a Marine. Mrs. Blackwell joined the Marines when she was 18 because she wanted to do something different. She also “liked the uniform.” While in the Marine Corp., Mrs. Blackwell met her husband, Bob, and was married. They now have a three-year-old child. “I did office work while I was a Marine — accounting. I never got to go overseas,” she said. “I’m glad I joined. I got to meet a lot of people. It’s amazing all the different kinds of people there are.” A student at Blue Mountain Community College, Mrs. Blackman is going to school on the G.I. Bill, majoring in accounting. “The Marine Corp was a worthwhile experience,” she said.

25 years ago

Nov. 2, 1996

All 56 employees at Gilroy Foods onion processing plant will be unemployed as of March 1997. Company headquarters in Gilroy, Calif., announced the plant’s closure Thursday. The company said the facility is being closed because of “excess onion production capacity in the Gilroy group of plants.” Gilroy was recently purchased by ConAgra, Inc., an international food company based in Omaha, Neb.The decision to close the plant was a surprise to employees in Umatilla, said office manager Cathy Murray. “People are going to take a little time to adjust and have it sink in.”

The plant will remain in operation until it is closed. The Umatilla County Gilroy plant is located in the Port of Umatilla, but not on Port land. Port of Umatilla director of operations Susan Daggett said she was not certain what would happen to the facility after its closing. “It is our understanding that the property is not for sale,” she said. “The plant was a real success story, and we hate to see it close.”