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About The times of Willamina. (Willamina, Oregon) 1972-1974 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 1972)
Sample Copy WILLAMINA TIMES, Willamina, Oregon, Wednesday, December 1972 o f W illam ina VOLUMNE 64 NUMBER 21 IOC Record lows freeze W illa m in a “ Well, are you all frozen up?” is the usual greeting these cold and snowy days in and around Willamina. With the temperature dropping to record lows and more snow around than we have seen for several winters, the weather is indeed uncommon. And just about all conversations are heavily weighted by comments about the weather and the prob lems it is causing. The nighttime temperatures have regularly dropped to about zero or below for the last two weeks. Jim Boyer, of Nice Electric, lives near Grand Ronde and he claims the mercury drop ped to minus 20 there. That is cold! While in Willamina most of those people we talked with said they thought the lowest tem perature at Willamina was about minus 12. The daytime tem per atures have not been exactly high either. At this writing the daytime tem peratures have not risen above the twenties for nearly two weeks. And the snow we got on Decem ber 5 and 6 has not melted any. Now the weatherman is predicting more snow, but hope fully the temperature will rise and we will get back to the good ole rain. Until then, however, the prob lems that the cold weather is causing is effecting us all. F ro zen water pipes, Head car bat teries, and slick roads are a daily concern. Classes were resumed at the Willamina schools on Monday, December 11 after a three-day vacation due to . the snow and cold. However, the Grand Ronde elementary school was not able to reopen due to a heating prob lem. Difficulties with the heat ing system’s water supply had made it impossible to reopen. Mr. Mitchell, Superintendent of the Willamina schools indicated that he did not know when the problem would be corrected so the school could be reopened. But at the Willamina elementary and high school all was pretty much back to normal on Monday. Mr. Mitchell said that the buses had made their complete runs on Monday morning with little diffi culty, and that many problems that the school might have faced were ably handled by the main tenance man. Mrs. Dorothy Paul, Principle at Willamina elementary school said that of 523 total students, only 88 were absent. And she commented that ‘ ‘the youngsters came back to school ready to go to work, surprisingly enough.” At the Willamina Police Depart ment we talked with Oscar Freeman who indicated that traffic movement had been pretty normal. There had been a few minor accidents of the “ fender bender” type but most people seemed to be driving with consid erable caution.? 1 able effect on the lumber mills in the area. At U.S. Plywood, Mr. Phil Harris, Production Superintendent, indicated that as of Monday the plant was running at about 70 percent of production capacity due to the cold weather. They were also running much of their machinery on a 24-hour a day schedule to keep them operational and avoid freezing. He said that “ if the weather doesn’t improve we may have to cut back some more, however, we are very hopeful that the weather will improve.” At Willamina Lumber Company all their production operations were shut down on Monday and had been at a stand still since the Tuesday before when the bad weather first set-in. Glenn Moore, night shift superin tendent, commented that they were trying to keep their mach inery from freezing and that their log pond was completely frozen over making it impossible to use. For them a moderation in the weather is absolutely necessary, and the sooner the better. Hopefully a change toward warmer weather is not far in the future. Garage , workshop destroyed by Blaze It w a s shades o f S e rg e a n t P reston o f th e Y u k o n . B la ke Sam pson m ushs his h u sky th ro u g h th e sn o w y s tre e ts by th e ir h o m e . School Board teachers hit stalemate The Willamina school board and teachers have decided to go into mediation after failing to reach agreement in contract consulta tions. The board offers a 5.3 plus p er centage flat salary increase, with a base of $7,075 and a high of $10,940. It also proposes add ing a 17th salary step. Fixed charges, such as insurance and social security, would be additional. The teachers ask for an 8 p er cent plus increase, with a $7,332 base and a high of $11,320. Fixed charges would also be ad ditional. No date has been set for a meet ing to select a mediator. Se lection must be within five days, but due to weather conditions the time has been postponed. If the board and teachers cannot select a mediator in the required time, the state superintendent of public instruction will be asked to do so. Civic Club to sponser contest Christmas Lighting Contest sponsored by the Willamina Civic club is being held again this year. There are three categories: Re ligious - Humorous - and Gen eral. A ten dollar prize will be given in each category. Winners of last year are not eligible. Judging will be Monday evening, Dec. 16th. Have your lights on. If you have any questions con cerning this, please call 876- 3643. i Soflto f©otur©cl o t Commerce draw ing The Willamina Chamber of Commerce is sponsering a Draw ing on Saturday, December 16, at 2 p.m. The Drawing will feature special $25, $15, and $10 prizes with many other prizes to be given away during the afternoon. The street in front of the hard ware will be blocked off so that all that attended will be able to walk freely in the street. The Drawing will be opened with the arrival of Santa Claus riding the city fire truck. And all the children attending will receive free candy. All in all, the afternoon should be very enjoyable for all who take the time to attend. And you just might win a prize. O rganizations set Christmas program s Various area organizations, school and church Christmas programs will begin on Wednes day the 13th when the Extension Unit will meet at the Harvey Jahn home for their regular meeting and Christmas party. The lesson, “ Herbs and Spices,” will be given by Mrs. Janice Galleto and Mrs. Shirleyjean Abel. The Nazaren church is planning two programs to celebrate the Christmas season on Sunday the seventeenth. There will be a combined morning service which will feature a program by the children of the Sunday School classes directed by Mrs. Mabel Risseeuw. Rev. Darwin Grimm will give a sermonette at the end of the program. Sandra Schuerch and Sandra Sims will present the 7 p.m. evening pro gram which will include an old fashioned sing-a-long and a candlelight pageant. The Gifts of Christmas, will be presented by the Sunday School department of the Methodist church Sunday night, December 17 at 7:30 p.m. The Seventh Day Adventist church program will be during regular Sabbath services of the 23rd, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., when offerings will be hung on the tree as the only decoration. Each Sabbath Day class will par ticipate in the program. A Christmas party for patients of the Maplewood Home for the Aged that will feature entertain ment, gifts, and refreshments will be sponsored by the Grand Ronde Womens club, Monday night, December 18, at 7 p.m. Entertainment will include re ligious and holiday selections by various groups from the areas churches. Refreshments and gifts will be furnished by mem bers of the Womens club and the Extension unit. The public is invited to attend. Anyone wishing, may bring a man’s gift. A fire, apparently started by a heating unit, completely de stroyed a garage and woodwork ing shop at the William L. Rob ertson home four miles west of Grand Ronde about 9p.m. Thurs day night. The 40x86 building contained wood working tools, metal lathe, a small printing press, and many antique tools. Also destroyed in the fire was a tractor belonging to Robert son and a back hoe belonging to Francis Arnold of The Hide Out. The Grand Ronde firemen had to receive authorization from Willamina Fire Chief Bill Felton to answer the call as they live beyond the Willamina Fire Dis- trict boundries. They were fur ther delayed (only about 3 minutes) by a frozen lock on the fire hall and none of the first six to arrived smoked, so no matches. The Robertsons are grateful to Jim Reid and his cigar as the truck arrived in time to save their home which was near the shop. Eight years ago the Rob ertsons suffered a sim ilar ac- cient which also destroyed their house near Selma in Southern Oregon. The thermometer registered an unofficial 10 degrees below zero when the firemen returned at 11p.m. a t W.L . R obertsons A fte rm a th of fire
