100 years ago — 1922

There is very serious strife in Pendleton. It has all come about by reason of the visit this week of the United Spanish War Veterans who are here for their annual encampment. Snakes are the cause of the trouble, and the city government has been badly cracked. The Military Order of Serpents, the fun organization of the Spanish veterans, had trouble because they lost their big snake. They found the reptile, but Mayor Hartman refused to let the boys put on any snake dances in Pendleton, even if they are ex-service men. The veterans appealed to Chief of Police Taylor, and here is where the division enters into the battle. Just because the mayor is afraid of snakes is no reason why the parade can’t be held, the chief says, so he has told the Serpents to go ahead and glide. And glide and wriggle they plan to do, they state. Also, they are looking after the mayor.

50 years ago — 1972

Wheeler County will again have a doctor practicing in Fossil after July 1, according to County Judge Clarence Asher, who said Thursday Dr. Walter Buhl will establish a practice in the county to participate in a federal health service program. The announcement that Wheeler County will have a doctor for the first time in five or six years, follows on the heels of an announcement from Gilliam County that Dr. Richard Schwan, Condon, is leaving Condon, and that Gilliam County may be without a doctor.

25 years ago — 1997

Local health care facilities and services will soon be provided with chemical warfare agent antidote kits. The Umatilla and Morrow counties Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program offices have received 480 Mark I auto-injecting antidote kits from the Oregon Health Division, said Health Division Spokesman Jan Glarum. “This is a significant amount of antidote that will be immediately available,” Glarum said. “We’re one giant step closer to meeting the needs of our potential patients. The kits are similar to those issued to American troops during the Gulf War, and were issued to medical personnel in Atlanta during last summer’s Olympics. They are becoming a standard part of anti-terrorism emergency management strategies,” he said. The injector contains two antidote compounds, atropine and 2-PAM chloride. Local medical experts will train area doctors, nurses and emergency medical technicians in how to use the kits. Eventually, Glarum said, all medical facilities and ambulance services in Umatilla and Morrow counties will have the kits. A recent Health Division study indicated a large-scale release could bring 900 people to medical facilities, about 30 cases of severe contamination and the remainder moderately contaminated or not contaminated at all.