THE TIME MACHINE

From past files of The Star News

10 YEARS AGO

August 25, 2011

A delegation of Northcentral Technical College representatives gave the Medford School Board a vision of strategic partnership between the two educational institutions during a presentation at the August school board meeting.

The heart of the plan asks for the school district to donate a parcel of land near the high school football field for the building of a new NTC campus building. NTC would have the building constructed on a lease to own arrangement and then move all of its Medford operations from the current Taylor County-owned facility on Donald St. NTC officials said they envision a building big enough to meet their 10,000 to 12,000 square foot needs and a proportional amount of room for a parking lot.

25 YEARS AGO

August 28, 1996

“They would start removing trees within the next week to 10 days,” City Administrator Richard Johnston said. But you won’t be hearing any cries of “Timbrrrrr!” in front of 227 South Seventh Street.

Mayor Fred Schroeder cast a tiebreaking vote at last week’s Common Council meeting to save the 130-year-old red oak tree that sits on the property line between Greg and Barbara Knight’s residence and Dean Voight’s home. The sidewalk that is to be built along South Seventh Street will just have to go around it.

The Council began discussion with a unanimous recommendation from the Committee on Public works to lay the tree low to make room for the new sidewalk, even though the Knights had agreed to remove the snow that gets plowed onto the sidewalk, to remove the tree when it dies and to replace the sidewalk after the tree is removed so that it runs straight.

50 YEARS AGO

August 26, 1971

Real estate and personal property taxes in Taylor county were retired at the rate of 63.93 percent at the August settlement. While in sharp contrast to the 93.82 percent settled in August last year, county treasurer Alvin Sova explained this week that the drop does not reflect a rise in delinquency. He said that a large number of “big” taxpayers had settlements in the mails at the outset of the month.

The delinquent roll as of August 1, figured at $201,723, as compared with the overdue taxes last year of $140,171.

The total tax roll for 1970 taxes being paid this year amounted to $3,052,508.51, an increase over the previous roll of $2,635,501.99 by just over $417,000. The increase last year over the previous year amounted to about $275,000.

75 YEARS AGO

August 22, 1946

Last Thursday evening at 11:30 o’clock, Mr. and Mrs. George McNamar, city, were taking his sister, Mrs. Henry Schmidtfranz, to her home at Chelsea. They were driving east on Perkins street, across the tracks, when they were struck by a switch engine coming from the south. McNamar did not see the engine until he was on the tracks. The car was dragged down the track about 30 feet and was damaged to the extent of $200. Mrs. Schmidtfranz injured her right leg and knee and was taken to the Medford hospital for treatment. No one else was injured.

100 YEARS AGO

August 25, 1921

A fifty foot span of bridge across Evans Creek, on the Hannibal to Jump River county trunk road, collapsed Saturday night and settled down onto the creek bed. It is an iron bridge. The abutments had some concrete work done on them last year the bridge having been jacked up while its new resting place was being prepared. A tractor and other heavy machinery crossed the bridge a few days ago without mishap.

Remember When — 2002

125 YEARS AGO

August 22, 1896

Eau Claire, Wis., Aug. 17.—Within the past fortnight contracts were let for the construction of a fine new block on the site of what is known as the old Music hall, a four-story building on Barstow street. It had served its time, though in its day was one of the finest brick blocks in Eau Claire or Northern Wisconsin. It was owned jointly by Alfred Kahn, the leading dry goods man in this city, and Peter Truax, a wealthy lumberman and real estate owner. A few days ago a contract for tearing down the building was let and this afternoon at 4:30 o’clock, while twentyfi ve men were at work dismantling it, the south wall bulged without warning, and while some of the laborers were on the roof, some in the basement and others on the second and third floors, they were caught and carried down in the general collapse.