A tug nudges a barge out of the lock at Little Goose Dam on the lower Snake River. Dam breaching opponents say the loss of river transportation between Lewiston, Idaho, and the sea if four dams, including Little Goose, were breached would be devastating to the Northwest wheat industry. (East Oregonian, File)

25 years ago this week — 2000

Salmon.

Dams.

When used together, the words stir emotions unseen since the spotted owl debate two decades back. And similar to that clash of nature and man, the battle between environmentalists and dam supporters is creating what U.S. Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt recently deemed “an epic debate.”

The dams in question along the Lower Snake River — Ice Harbor, Little Monument, Little Goose and Lower Granite — are just four of some 200 dams that have made the watersheds along the Snake and Columbia rivers the most heavily dammed watersheds in the nation.

The Columbia & Snake Rivers Campaign, an organization promoting a return to natural river flows, says that young salmon reached the Pacific Ocean in about two weeks before the dams were built some 30 years ago. But with four dams on the Lower Snake, plus four more on the lower Columbia River, that journey now takes up to two months.

The science of the debate is ongoing and confounding. Different factions use pieces of various studies to promote their takes on the issues. Ultimately, Congress will decide if the four dams will survive, causing many in the Pacific Northwest to fear the decision will be based on politics rather than science.

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MISSION — The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation are waving the banner of their people high.

A prototype of a new tribal flag was hoisted at the Niix-Yow-Way Warriors Memorial Monday.

For the next three months, tribal members have the opportunity to comment on the banner’s design. If there are no objections, the Board of Trustees is expected to adopt the flag as the official banner of the tribes.

The flag was designed by artist James Lavadour and created by Gresham Flag and Banner.

The colors (see photo at top of today’s front page) and designs hold special significance to the tribes.

Yellow — The grasslands of tribal homeland and the body’s spiritual being.
Red — The heart of the land and the “boxed in” containment of tribal people.
Horse —  Strength, power, wealth and mobility.
Sun, moon and stars — Washat (Seven Drum religion) symbols that represent enlightenment, cyclic change and guid-ance.
Three bars — The Umatilla, Walla Walla and Cayuse tribes and the Colum-bia, Umatilla and Walla Walla rivers.
Points at edge of red field — Warrior traditions and armed conflicts with the U.S. government and modern warfare in the 20th century.

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PENDLETON — A local entertainment event held some 40 times a year at the Pendleton Convention Center Pavilion draws more than 12,000 visitors annually, and that figure will likely double this year.

The “Real West” is a one-hour shore excursion performance for cruise guests who visit Pendleton via river boat tours on the Columbia River.

“The American West Steamboat Company approached us several years ago and asked if we could put on a brief program for its cruise guests,” said Pat Kennedy, Pendleton Convention Center director. “Out of that ​​request we developed what I think is an outstanding program of entertain-ment, horsemanship and cowboy lore.” Convention Center personnel meet the riverboat cruise tourists at the city limits and escort them to the pavilion, where they are entertained with songs and humor by local Western entertainer Billy Nichols and watch a performance of “Lost on the Oregon Trail,” with Dee Armstrong and Dick Kaiser, who also demonstrates the operation of a flintlock rifle. Donna Grimes presents a sheepdog herding demonstration. Randy Severe demonstrates the tools of the cowboy trade, and Barbara Cleveland oversees the horseback square dancing show.

“No other city on the cruise ship itinerary puts on any kind of a show like this,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy said the Western show actually resolved two dilemmas for the Convention Center: one was the need for the show itself and the other was the need for an ensemble group that could do a performance on a moment’s notice.

The “Real West” show has proven so popular with cruise tourists that the program has been duplicated for a Monday cruise tour group.

50 years ago this week — 1975

July 1975 content not available.

100 years ago this week — 1925

Pendleton people are much surprised to hear that Salt Lake is ignoring the Oregon Trail and is routing cars by way of Ontario, Burns and McKenzie pass. The news is contained in the following from the Oregon Journal:

While in Salt Lake Charles H. Purcell, district engineer of the United States bureau of public roads, was surprised to learn that the main highway into Oregon is by way of Ontario, Burns and the McKenzie pass instead of over the Old Oregon Trail and the Columbia river highway as he had always believed.

“The Utah Automobile club maintains an office at the Newhouse hotel,” Purcell said. “On the wall is a large map giving the main routes across the state and to adjoining state connections. A heavy line indicates the main route of travel to Oregon goes by way of Ontario to Burns and then to Bend and over the McKenzie pass into Portland.

“The road to Seattle is marked by way of Walla Walla, through Yakima and over the Snoqualmie pass.

“On examining the may closely I found that the Old Oregon Trail and Columbia river highway were marked not only by a thin line indicating their unimportance.”

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Eleven bidders competed for the contract for surfacing the market road up Weston mountain when bids were opened this morning by the county court. The bids were considered good as a whole, and the contract awarded jointly to the Newport Construction Co. and C. R. Seitz for $20,001, was about $3,000 under the engineer’s estimated cost. The work includes about five and one-half miles of graveling.

Several miles of the grading work was done last year, and more was on this year’s program. The surfacing will begin immediately so that a good road from Weston to the Harp place will be available for bench land farmers when the gravel is in place. For two years the residents of that district have voted a special road tax to aid in the construction of the market road.

The bids submitted this morning were as follows:

Harness & Colby, Roseburg, $30,440; Payne & Daust, Spokane, $23,501; Newport Construction Co. and C. R. Seitz, joint bid $20,001; Smith Construction Co., Baker, $26,825; Carl Nyberg, Spokane, $20,987; H. G. Johnson, Walla Walla, $26,793; Hansell & Evans, Milton, $26,330; Lyon & Price, Spokane, $21,825; Triangle Construction Co., Spokane, $25,250; Security Construction Co., La Grande, $26,930 Joslin & McAllister, Spokane, $28,356.

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A check for $200 to apply on his account with Umatilla county under the provisions of his conditional pardon from the penitentiary where he was sentenced when he pleaded guilty to a charge of forgery of endorsements was received today from K. C. Amann of Lynwood, California. The check was enclosed in a letter which the former employe of the county road-master’s office sent to his attorney, Col. J. H. Raley.

A resume of the Amann case and a statement of the condition of his account with the county was published in the East Oregonian July 4. Amann’s letter, written from Lynwood and dated July 7, was in part as follows:

“Enclosed you will find my check for $200 to apply on my account with Umatilla county.

“Ever since I was obliged to make a trip home to Pennsylvania last winter account my mother’s health, things have not been good with me. From the middle of April until July 1 our little house has been under quarantine for diphtheria. I regretted very much in not being able to keep up regularly, but we had to eat and things: have not been any too good in Cali-fornia. I have things pretty well smoothed out now, except some fine doctor bills as my wife had diphtheria first and then Jack, our boy, came down with it.

“In sending you the enclosed check for the county it is at the sacrifice of what little equity I had builded up in a little home of our own. However this may be of little or no interest to the general public, but I would ask that you explain the circumstances to my good friends in your city.

“As soon as circumstances permit please assure yourself and others that I will catch up and keep even.

With warm personal regards.

Very truly yours,

“K. C. AMANN.”