100 years ago — 1922

“You stepped on my toes the last time we played together so I’m not coming over to your house!” That is the pouty, little-boy attitude of the Walla Walla high school toward Pendleton in regard to a return basketball game. Defeated to a nice brown turn earlier in the season by a score of 23 to 13, Walla Walla has been hedging ever since. The return game on the Pendleton floor, originally scheduled for Wednesday night, which was postponed until tonight was cancelled early this afternoon. On the surface, the cause of the rupture came over selection of a referee, but local sport followers are laughing up their sleeves at what they call Walla Walla’s lack of courage.

50 years ago — 1972

J. Joseph Barnes pleaded guilty in Umatilla County Circuit Court to nine felony counts involving his fraudulent operation of Skyview Memorial Park. Judge Henry Kaye gave him a suspended five-year prison sentence and ordered him to pay back $15,000 to the business. No provision was made for repayment of money to any individual. Skyview, a cemetery a few miles south of Pendleton near McKay Reservoir, is now in the hands of a bankruptcy trustee. Judge Kaye said “the desirable thing to do that’s most beneficial to the community and investors” is to salvage the Memorial Park so that it can be sold and redeveloped. According to Deputy Dist. Atty. Dennis Doherty, Barnes’ sales scheme “was based on pure misrepresentation of almost every conceivable fact.” Barnes, 44, Las Vegas, Nev., “squandered and wasted what was in some cases the life savings of innocent and trusting people, old people for the most part,” adding that the money appears to have been spent on an “extravagant lifestyle.”

25 years ago — 1997

This is how it should end every year — the top two teams in the Columbia River Basin Conference meeting in the final game of the season to decide the championship. At least that’s how the Umatilla Vikings liked it this year. The Vikings trounced Weston-McEwen 71-56 to win the CBC boys championship. Umatilla finished with an 11-1 record and the TigerScots ended 10-2. It was a close game through three quarters. In the final quarter, the Vikings went off for 29 points, breaking the game open with a 13-2 run in the first two-and-a-half minutes to gain a dominating lead. The streak started and ended with Lee Lafferty draining two from long range. First, he popped a 17-footer and 30 seconds later nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner. That shot nearly stopped the heart of his coach Scott Preuninger. “From the 3-point area, he’s probably like 10 percent,” the coach said. “It was good to see him step up.”