Memory Lane 060625

10 years ago

Downtown McMinnville foresees a parking crunch as new development continues, particularly on the Golden Valley Restaurant & Brewery. The latest cause for concern is the newly opened KAOS project, which features a pair of restaurants together accommodating more than 300.

For more than 30 years, the city has agreed to waive its normal off-street parking requirements for the downtown core. Planning Director Doug Montgomery said the reason is simple: It doesn’t make sense to make developers tear down historic buildings to free up new space for parking.

“That can cause issues. That’s the balance the requirement is trying to find between protecting its historic character and the ambiance of the downtown and providing for the parking needs of those who are coming to do business. It can stretch this delicate balance when a project like KAOS adds substantial capacity without adding new parking. And other downtown development projects currently in the planning stages promise to add to the problem.

The McMinnville City Club’s final program of the season, set for McMinnville Grand Ballroom will feature a talk by Sally Godard on the Anglo/Latino divide and ways it can be bridged. Godard, a local psychiatrist, serves as executive director of the Unidos Bridge Community. She plans to address factors affecting integration of Latino immigrant families into the larger community.

25 years ago

Annika Alin and her buddy, Tuff As Iron, woke up early this morning and dressed in their finery.

She put on a purple Western jacket and white leather chaps, all decorated with appliqued flowers. With her help, the 7-year-old gelding donned a rose-covered neckpiece and a spray of roses that fits behind his saddle. They were ready for the Rose Festival Parade. “I’m thrilled to be riding my horse in Portland, said Alin, 21, a McMinnville native and reigning Miss Oregon Pinto. Iron, as she calls him, is happy, too. “It’s only his second parade, but I know he’ll do well. He’s a unique horse, very calm.” She and Iron represent the Oregon Pinto Horse Association. Their job is to spark interest in the pinto breed. Soon after the Rose Festival, Alin and Iron will travel to Tulsa, Okla., for the Pinto World Championship.

Months after the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners and the McMinnville City Council approved a Yamhill County Fair Board request to authorize a go-cart track at the fairgrounds, the project remains stalled. And this time the opposition isn’t coming from neighbors. It’s coming from the project’s original champion – the fair board. The new fair manager, Darcie Vanderyacht, is one of those asking questions about the appropriateness of the project. Fair advocates are worrying about an active racing schedule producing too much noise, and a 15-year lease tying up fairgrounds property for too long.

50 years ago

Dr. Charles U. Walker was named the new president of Linfield College by the board of trustees at its annual meeting on May 31. For the past five years he has been president of Russell Sage College in Troy, New York. In commenting on what attracted him to Linfield, the new president said, “I’m impressed with the spirit of the people and their dedication to the college, with the well thought out educational program and with McMinnville’s success in attracting new businesses.

A second Vietnamese family has arrived in McMinnville, and efforts are underway to locate permanent housing for the four refugees. Here are Li Hung Chi, 32, a furniture export coordinator in South Vietnam, his wife and two children. They join a Vietnamese family of eight that has been settled in McMinnville through the efforts of a volunteer group.

A second series of 1975 local elections is scheduled June 17, and Yamhill County Clerk’s office is attempting to explain to voters the ballot situations which caused several complaints in May elections. There were two situations: voters who received ballots with measures for which they were not supposed to vote and ballot measure explanations which some voters felt were unclear.