25 YEARS AGO

Aug. 22, 1995

The recent arrest of an Irrigon couple for possession of native artifacts is not unusual, says an authority on cultural resources.

Jeff Van Pelt, manager of the Cultural Resources Protection Project of the Department of Natural Resources and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, said he comes across these cases all the time.

The Irrigon couple were arrested earlier this month and charged with a felony for possession of the 30,000 artifacts found in their home. The artifacts were probably found in Benton County, sheriff’s officials said.

The couple pleaded not guilty but could face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

Van Pelt said their case is a typical example of people who make looting a profession.

“[Cases such as this could be] a good example of extensive collectors who do it for money,” he said.

50 YEARS AGO

Aug. 20, 1970

City Councilman Frank Harkenrider of Hermiston was shaken and his pickup heavily damaged when it was struck by another vehicle early Tuesday morning at the intersection of Highland Avenue and South First Place.

The accident occurred at 8:50 a.m. when Delbert L. Starr, 26, of Caldwell, Idaho, failed to notice a stop sign on Highland Avenue.

Passengers in Starr’s car included his wife and two children. No one was injured.

2) The Hermiston School Board Monday night postponed its decision whether to appeal the Aug. 13 ruling by the State Court of Appeals on the Owens case.

Arnold Owens, a former teacher in the Hermiston School District, was not offered a new contract last year and claimed in a lawsuit that the district broke its own rules by not giving him a hearing and not giving him a cause for its action.

The district contended that its rules were not binding because they contravened a state statute.

The Umatilla County Circuit Court ruled for the district, but the Court of Appeals reversed the decision, ruling that a school district may adopt stricter rules on teacher employment than statutes provide for.

75 YEARS AGO

Aug. 23, 1945

Now it can be told — without fuss or fanfare, Umatilla Ordnance Depot at Ordnance has been doing a big job toward bringing V-J Day nearer, as shown in figures released this week by Col. A.S. Buyers, commanding officer.

A monthly average of 1,230 carloads of ammunition and quartermaster supplies have moved in and out of the depot since it opened in 1941. From the beginning of this year, the tempo has been stepped up to nearly 1,900 cars per month. Over 68,000 cars have been handled since 1941.

The Chief of Ordnance forecasts that the work to be done at the depot through the end of this year shows only a slight decline. The personnel policy, as outlined by Colonel Buyers, will be that civilian employees are to replace Italians, and no lay-off of any kind is contemplated at this time.

100 YEARS AGO

Aug. 20, 1920

W.C.E. Pruitt of Pendleton, well known in Hermiston, died Monday at St. Frances hospital. Mr. Pruitt accidentally shot himself in the foot while hunting grouse in the mountains near Meacham, last Sunday. It was impossible to get medical aid quickly and when he was taken to Pendleton, it was found necessary to amputate the foot, and the delay and the shock from the operation proved fatal.

Mr. Pruitt was 43 years old and had lived in Pendleton since 1902. He has been a newspaper man, has practiced law and recently was with the Umatilla Auto Co. He was advertising manager for the Pendleton Round-Up.

He is survived by his wife, who was Miss Cosbie Raley; a daughter, Ray, by a former marriage; and little Mary Helen Pruitt, a daughter by adoption.

2) Raymond W. Hamm, proprietor of the Liberty Bakery, evidently discouraged by the recent fire in the Adams building on Main Street, decided to seek fresh fields for his labors and left Monday night. He neglected to leave a forwarding address at the Oregon hotel where he has been staying, which is a source of much regret to his landlady and to a number of creditors.

It is reported that the sum of his debts is in the neighborhood of $2,500. Mr. Ham had worked up a good business in both his bakery and lunchroom trade, and it is understood that outsiders are already looking over the ground with a view to reopening the bakery.