100 years ago

The entire Umatilla county delegation in both houses of the legislature at Salem have united in the introduction of a bill to appropriate $10,000 for the purpose of matching a similar sum from the federal government to make a survey of the Umatilla rapids project under the direction of the interior department.

The bill was drafted at the unofficial request of Congressman Sinnott and Director Davis of the reclamation service. At the time of Fred Steiwer’s recent trip to Washington on behalf of the Pendleton Commercial association the whole subject of the Umatilla rapids project was gone over and a promise was secured at that time of federal cooperation in the survey of the project. Further advice has since been received from Mr. Sinnott and on the strength of his suggestion the state is being asked to appropriate $10,000.

50 years ago

If city government feels that the legislature is breathing down its neck – that’s just the way it is.

Annexation, land use planning, collective bargaining, building standards – legislation on these and a score of other subjects was discussed here Tuesday at a League of Oregon Cities regional legislative workshop.

City officials from 23 Eastern Oregon communities – from as far away as Vale and Unity, Elgin, Enterprise, Seneca, and even Cascade Locks – attended the workshop.

Mayor Dewey West Jr. of Boardman, president of the League of Oregon Cities, and Pendleton Mayor Eddie Knopp, member of the LOC executive committee, presided.

“There’s no substitute for a trek to Salem” to bring city problems and goals to the attention of legislators, said Donald Jones, LOC executive secretary.

25 years ago

Sometimes the seemingly impossible does happen.

It happened in Tokyo when terrorists tossed nerve gas into a subway. People within three and four feet of the stuff dropped dead within seconds.

“The worst thing about nerve agent is that you can’t see it and you can’t smell it – you probably won’t know you’re in trouble until you fall,” said Ken Franz, who is the director of response services at Good Shepherd Community Hospital. “These are weapons made to incapacitate within seconds.”

So how prepared are local emergency responders in the event the “impossible” happened at the Umatilla Chemical Depot?

Not very, say local fire chiefs and emergency medical coordinators. Those officials fear that inadequate equipment, particularly a lack of protective suits and monitoring equipment, along with a communication system that still requires upgrading and training would sharply hinder a response to a chemical disaster.

For Franz, the worst thing he can imagine is a terrorist targeting the Umatilla Chemical Depot.