100 years ago

Some time during the coming summer dirt will be flying in the McKay reservoir job, near Pendleton on McKay creek, and there will be work there for 400 or 500 men, according to indications. The sum of $363,000 is in the budget for the year expiring June 30, 1923, and the budget for the project year following carries $750,000 for the project, thus making a total of $1,113,000 for the project up to a year from July 1.

It is estimated that the money available will be sufficient to do more than half the work and that the funds for completing the enterprise will be available by the time needed.

F. E. Weymouth, chief engineer of the reclamation service, is now en route to Oregon to start work on the project and on the Baker project in Baker county.

50 years ago

The hearings on choice of a route for Interstate 82 are two weeks away but already the pot is beginning to boil.

The I-82 routing has been controversial ever since the highway was proposed back in 1956.

The newest bubbles in the pot showed up today when a group of North Pendleton ranchers objected to one of the proposed alternates, H, which roughly follows Highway 395.

The farmers met this morning in Pendleton to see if they could agree on a routing to endorse. Routes C and J appeared to have an inside track but no decision had been made by mid-morning.

They object to H because it would take many acres of wheat land out of production.

The Northeast Oregon Roads Association and some city councils in western Umatilla County have endorsed Route J.

Fred Hill, Pendleton, member of the Oregon Highway Commission, said, “This route was suggested by the Federal Highway Administration and was worked up by the FHA in conjunction with the Oregon State Highway Department.”

25 years ago

Milton-Freewater police and the Blue Mountain Enforcement Narcotics Team (BENT) capped a three-month investigation on Tuesday by arresting 11 people on drug charges.

Gary David, chief of the Milton-Freewater Police Department, said those arrested are suspected dealers and users of methamphetamine.

The investigation was spearheaded by Milton-Freewater’s representative on BENT after the department began receiving complaints, tops and other information from area residents. During the investigation, undercover officers purchased narcotics from all the suspects, who were characterized as street dealers.

David said street-level dealers are most likely to sell drugs to others in the community. They also frequently commit thefts and burglaries related to their drug use, which he added.

The arrests began in Milton-Freewater at 7 a.m. Tuesday and were completed by noon.

All but two of the suspects were cited and released due to overcrowding at the Umatilla County Jail. Additional arrests are expected, David said.