100 years ago — 1922

That the congestion which has prevailed in the motor vehicle division of the department of state at Salem has been cleared up is information divulged in a letter received by various officers of the city of Pendleton and Umatilla county from Sam A. Krozer, secretary of state. As a result of the ability of the division to take care of applications for motor licenses as rapidly as they are received, Pendleton’s Traffic Officer Turner announced today that all drivers whose cars are not provided with 1922 licenses will be arrested and subject to a fine.

50 years ago — 1972

Umatilla County Assessor Rod Esselstyn expects a healthy increase in the county’s assessed valuation as a result of a change in classification of many mobile homes. Mobile homes more than eight feet in width as of Jan. 1 are now classed as real property rather than designated as a trailer. It makes no difference whether they are really mobile any more. “We have found lots of them so far,” Esselstyn said, “but we aren’t sure we will find them all unless the owners tell us about them.” A penalty would be levied if the homes are not listed on the tax rolls. He said no totals have been taken on the mobile homes his appraisers have counted so far, “but if we were to pick up 3,000 of them at an average valuation of $3,000, that would add $9 million to the county’s tax rolls.”

25 years ago — 1997

We are living in the most dangerous spot in the world. That’s the impression that 11-year-old Alicia Engelhard of Hermiston got from a CBS News “Eye on America” broadcast. She couldn’t sleep, her mind filled with the thoughts of deadly nerve gas filtering into her family’s Sunshine Lane home. Spurred by growing concerns, she went with her parents to the depot to get some answers. They met with the depot’s commander and public affairs officer and were taken to the Emergency Operations Center, where the staff ran a model worst-case scenario. According to Alicia’s father, the demonstration showed that even if there were a concentrated off-post release, lethal doses of agent would not make it as far as the residential areas of Hermiston. The “Eyes on America” broadcast showed a map outlining the area at risk from an accident at the depot, reflected by a circle extending a 195-mile radius from the depot. The edge came within reach of Portland and Spokane, and close to Seattle and Boise.