100 years ago — 1922

A simple definite plan whereby taxpayers may cut school costs approximately $75,000 in Umatilla county was placed before the meeting at the court house yesterday afternoon by W. W. Green, county superintendent of schools, during the sessions held under the auspices of the state tax investigating commission. Mr. Green’s plan is to eliminate several high schools in the smaller towns of the county which he informed the taxpayers will cut expenses. “At Umatilla the high school has eight pupils, and the cost per pupil of operating that high school is $650,” Mr. Green said. “There is a good gravel road between Hermiston and Umatilla, and wouldn’t it be good business to take these eight pupils from the Umatilla high school and educate them in the Hermiston school?” He suggested that the same thing at Echo and Stanfield be practiced and also indicated that a great saving could be made in the north end of the county by the same practice. The members of the commission informed Mr. Green that they were not particularly interested in local ways of reducing local taxes, and he desisted.

50 years ago — 1972

A hearing has been set for May 2 by the Pendleton City Council on closing the railroad crossing at SW 5th near Frazer. A 25-day test closure that ended April 6 brought comments both for and against the closure. The hearing is intended to give everyone in the area a chance to state their views. Closure of the crossing was recommended some months ago after a study of all crossings in Pendleton. The purpose of the closure is to improve safety. The crossing would not be closed until after the Emigrant-Frazer couplet is completed and SW 4th becomes available to traffic northbound from the South Hill, said City Manager Rudy Enbysk.

25 years ago — 1997

For the past five years, Pendleton High School’s Life Skills students have participated in a variety of odd jobs. This spring they are selling “No-Stink-Mink” fertilizer, thanks to job coach Pam Wachter. The fertilizer, a natural by-product of minks, is “94 percent nitrogen and all organic,” Wachter pointed out. And it really doesn’t stink — unlike the minks. Local mink rancher Brad Wheeler used a tractor provided by the FFA at the high school to make a manageable pile of the fertilizer produced by more than 1,000 minks at his area farm. Students from Life Skills Class shovel the product into buckets provided by Burger King of Pendleton and Hermiston. The journalism class at PHS designed fluorescent orange labels. The fertilizer, available at PGG or through PHS, sells for $3 per bucket. The class will make a percentage of every bucket sold that will help fund a class field trip to Portland.