THE TIME MACHINE

From past files of The Star News

10 YEARS AGO

August 18, 2011

The Taylor County Law Enforcement Committee voted Friday to recommend a dog license fee increase, a cut in the payment to the Taylor County Humane Society and a change in its contract that would no longer require it to care for cats.

Before discussion began on the 2012 budget and humane society contract, Taylor County Humane Society director Jane Darnell read a statement from the group relating to funding services for cats. Darnell said the group understands the county’s depleted financial resources and cats are an easy target. “We believe targeting cats is evidence of that very human desire to have someone or something to blame for the problems that face us,” she read.

25 YEARS AGO

August 21, 1996

The Red Raider logo isn’t dead yet.

Last week, the Medford Area School Board voted 4-3 to allow the task force charged with exploring the logo issue to consider keeping the present logo and team nickname.

The vote was just the opposite of what District Administrator Paul Schoenberger had proposed. Last month the Board had adopted a process to adopt a logo and nickname that in- cluded the option of keeping the current logo, but last week Schoenberger said he had second thoughts about that, and proposed several amendments to the process, including one that would charge the task force with choosing a new logo only.

50 YEARS AGO

August 19, 1971

A tornado-like windstorm, accompanied by heavy rain unofficially measured at 3 inches, skipped around the towns of Chelsea, Rib Lake and Interwald early Friday evening. Among reported damages were the tipping of a mobile home off its base at Chelsea, flattened grain fields and destruction of shade and timber stand trees.

Power lines were snapped by falling trees and branches, halting electric power in the Interwald area for about two hours. The freak storm, preceded by near nightfall dusk, covered a quarter mile area on county trunk M with a layer of leaves up to 4 inches. It downed a number of trees in farmyards and on timber stand. James Smola, owner of a timber tract, said Saturday morning that a large number of trees were snapped off by the tornado-like wind.

75 YEARS AGO

August 15, 1946

The Hannibal feed store at Hannibal, owned and operated by Ben Konsella who has a dance hall upstairs and store and living quarters on the first floor, caught fire in the fire escape Thursday morning at 3:00 o’clock following a Wednesday night dance.

Nic Deidrich, who lives across the road, notice the flames and he notified the telephone operator who spread the alarm by a certain ring of the phone bell. Damage was estimated at $300. The fire was extinguished by volunteers.

100 YEARS AGO

August 18, 1921

Sackett’s Lake promises to become one of the popular lake resorts of this section of the state, according to plans of a Waukegan man, who has purchased land bordering on the lake.

A. F. Hoenke, father in law of Wm. Potter, who some months ago purchased eighty acres of land around a logging camp near Goodrich, has made a deal whereby he comes into possession of eighty acres of the land east and north of the lake.

Remember When — 2002

125 YEARS AGO

August 15, 1896

Lancaster, Pa., Aug. 10.—A runaway trolley car on the Columbia Donegall railroad last night killed seven persons and injured fifty more. The car was returning to Columbia from Chickies park when the brake rigging broke on a steep grade.

There were about ninety passengers aboard who became panic stricken when they saw the car was beyond control. The hill was a long one and every moment the runaway gathered additional speed, until, it is estimated by those on board, it was running fully a mile a minute when it struck a sharp curve and left the track.