Memory Lane 032825

A look back at Yamhill County news

10 years ago

n Josh Cooksey makes eyeglass frames out of wood in a shop behind his family’s McMinnville residence.

He was inspired by his younger brother. “My brother and I had ugly glasses,” the 17-year-old said,

Now, Josh and his brother, Matt, 15, are trying to raise $7,500 through a Kickstarter campaign for a business they call Woodpecker Eyewear. They already have made about half a dozen pairs and are working with local optometrist Brian Morrissey of the Eye Care Center of McMinnville for additional models. Josh handles the actual woodworking while Matt deals with the design and marketing. They hope to raise funds for a laser cutter, which “would change everything.”

n Tests conducted by the state Department of Environmental Quality show that the water from 10 of the 11 private wells around the former Whiteson Landfill is safe to drink, and that elevated arsenic levels at the 11th are not associated with the landfill. The DEQ has concluded from the testing that the former landfill is not contaminating the groundwater from which neighboring wells are drawing.

n The Yamhill County Veterans Services office will introduce a new veterans recognition program, in conjunction with local businesses at a ceremony next Tuesday. Veterans will be elibible for issues of a photo ID entitling them to discounts or other special benefits from participating merchants.

25 Years Ago

n State transportation officials have nominated Highway 18 for “expressway” status, a designation that could put it on the fast track for further improvements, but also lead to tough new limits on access points. The Department of Transportation is reserving the new designation for two-lane or multi-lane highways that can be managed for high-speed, high volume traffic on a safe and efficient basis. A major tool in that effort is eliminating existing accesses whenever possible and being very conservative in granting new ones. Highway 18 has won the name “Blood Alley” in recent years, as rapidly increasing casino and coast tourist traffic has led to a rash of fatalities.

n Voters in the Yamhill–Carlton School District were asked in May 1998 to approve a $23.5 million general obligation bond issue, $17 million of which would have been used to build a new school. Seventy-three percent of them voted no. The defeat was so crushing it has taken district officials a long time to formulate a new plan. Officials are resigned to foregoing construction of a new high school. They are looking at placement of a $10 million measure on the Nov. 7 ballot to renovate existing schools.

50 Years Ago

n A large number of McMinnville area workers, if management spokesman carry on with current plans, no longer have jobs at Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, but union spokesmen feel that striking can both save their jobs and bring about a more favorable economic settlement. So the picketing and the minor violence, the angry words and the court action continue this week.

Last week, Cascade officials advertised that they would begin hiring Monday morning, noting in advertisements that a labor dispute was under way. A considerable number of applicants came, as did more of the previous workers who decided to break with the two-week-old strike.

There was no violence early in the week, and not nearly so pronounced as it might have been. Potential workers were threatened as they passed the picket lines. One striker was struck by a slow-moving vehicle when he attempted to block it from entering the plant. His injuries were minor. Most of the violence was verbal abuse, as anyone crossing lines to work immediately drew shouts of “scab,” the union word for strikebreakers.