Rewind:
The year in news

PHOTO: Pioneer Plaza was dedicated in October.

 The year provided the Herald with a lot of news - good, bad, sad and happy. Here's a look back at the top stories from the last six months of 1999, as gleaned from the front pages of the Herald.

July

Scouts from Pack 505 raised Ol' Glory in Wait Park to help kick off General Canby Day.
Ray and Jeane Reif served as king and Queen on a day when the sun shone and the crowds came out in droves for the annual celebration in downtown Canby. Art shows and classic car shows proved popular and business was brisk for vendors.

Ampelia Reyes, a data entry employee of DirectLink of Oregon in Canby, gave one of her kidneys to her ailing older sister.  The Woodburn resident underwent a five-hour operation to remove a kidney. Her sister, Blanca Morales, suffers from lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease which causes inflammation of various parts of the body.

Bethany Evangelical Free Church has made a concerted effort to reach out to the Hispanic community. Since January, the church has allowed a congregation to hold a Hispanic
service each afternoon in the southeast Canby church. Associate pastor Rob Classen called the Fourth of July service one of several "bridge events" Bethany hopes to do with the 30- to 40-member Hispanic congregation.

Bob Traverso, the owner of Parker Northwest Paving, has committed to donating a large section of land to the Blue Heron Recreation District. Traverso owns more than 60 acres of land along the former logging road. He will donate the land to extend Canby's walking and biking path if BHRD can maintain the vacant property. The path currently stretches through Canby's city limits from North Territorial Road to Southeast 13th Avenue.

Officials from the Oregon Department of Transportation said the death of a Canby man working for the state agency was due to a lack of training. Crew supervisor Dennis Edwards was killed Jan. 28 when part of the Sunset Highway Tunnel collapsed, trapping him under the debris. OSHA, the health and safety agency, issued ODOT a citation and a penalty of $7,000. ODOT agreed with OSHA that it was to blame for Edwards' death.

August

The shooting that left two rural Canby residents dead was a tragedy waiting to happen, according to Clackamas County Sheriff's Office officials. Police believe Randall Blake Maddox, 40, shot and killed 38-year-old Mary Elizabeth Lintner at 28540 S. Sundowner Court, before turning the gun on himself. Her daughter, 13, was not hurt, but she may have witnessed some of the violence. Officers said they felt the combination of alcohol and a firearm led to the murder-suicide shooting.

The Canby School District Board of Directors has decided to ask voters to approve a $30.8 million bond in the May 2000 primary. Among the issues surrounding the bond was whether or not to build a new middle school, purchase land, add permanent classrooms to Knight and Eccles
elementary schools, or put in temporary modular classrooms.

History has a funny way of repeating itself - at the Canby Fire District, at least. The fire district recently put into service a new ambulance, almost 50 years to the day after Canby began operating its first ambulance. The district held a celebration to recognize the volunteer efforts made during the half-century and to thank local residents for their support.

Attendance at the Clackamas County Fair and Rodeo was slow out of the gate last week, but fair officials reported a strong finish as the event
closed under clear skies and warm temperatures.
Keeping with tradition, the 93rd rendition of the annual fair - held in Canby for the past 92 years - had lots of animals in and around livestock
barns.

Nine-year-old Mollie Hauck of Canby has been waiting more than a year for a revolutionary procedure that could cure her of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Mollie will check into Doernbecher Children's Hospital next month for 13 weeks of treatment, a cell stem transplant and chemotherapy. She is one of
about 71,000 children in the U.S. who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis.

September

A week after the Canby City Council denied the appeal of a controversial low-income housing project called Casa Verde, CASA of Oregon and Catholic Charities submitted plans to the city for a second project in southeast
Canby. If approved, the Redwood Inn project would consist of a 46-unit motel located on South Redwood Street, and would cater to low-income migrant workers.

Canby Fire District rescuers are crediting a 9-month pregnant local woman for a saving a 17-year-old near-drowning victim on the Molalla River. Rescuers arrived at Canby Community Park to find Monica Aasen of Canby giving mouth-to-mouth to Omar Lopez of Woodburn, who had no heartbeat. "If it hadn't been for her doing CPR, we wouldn't have been able to save him," said Canby Fire Lt. Val Codino.

More than a dozen veterans, citizens and former POWs gathered at Zion Memorial Park to remember a missing Vietnam war veteran from Canby. Warren E. Newton, 19, has not been seen since his helicopter gunship was shot down on Jan. 9, 1968. The remains of one of his two comrades were found in the wreckage, but Newton is considered Canby's only Missing in Action soldier.

A controversial firefighters' union ruling will result in the loss of seven experienced volunteer firefighters from the Molalla and Canby fire
districts, officials said. Victor McPherson, president of the Professional Firefighters Association of Clackamas County, has notified two volunteer firefighters from Molalla and
five from Canby they will lose their union affiliation unless they stop volunteering.

Shimadzu USA Manufacturing Inc. laid off 17 employees - or nearly one-fifth of its work force - as company officials cited decreased sales, excess inventory and economic slowdowns in Asia and South America as the reasons for the job losses. The Canby plant, which opened in October 1997, exports one-third of its products to Japan, where sales are flat. Among the jobs cut were production staff, technicians, support staff and a manager.

October

Clackamas County is confident it is ready, willing and able to deal with any potential problems posed by the year 2000 date roll over.
Officials from 41 county departments, Portland General Electric and Willamette Falls Hospital told attendees of the county's Year 2000 Public
Forum that computer and system upgrades have been made and contingency plans developed to deal with the Y2K bug.

The Canby School District's fight against a lawsuit brought by Canby Care Center owner Dan Larson will most likely be settled in the courtroom. Earlier this month, Clackamas County Judge Robert Selander threw out a motion to dismiss the case against the district. Larson's suit stems from the district's failure to purchase his building and an adjacent piece of
property during the summer of 1998 for $590,000.

A 17-year-old Canby youth was taken by Life Flight helicopter Oct. 9 after being stabbed during an incident local police are calling gang-related violence.
The teen walked into the Canby 7-Eleven just after midnight and told the clerk he had been shot. The youth, who refused to help police with their inquiries, was the first to be injured in gang-related violence in Canby in more than a year.

The Canby City Council has unanimously approved an ordinance that sets up the council as the Urban Renewal District agency, and which will allow it to start the process of setting up the special taxing district.
The URD would take money from the city, county, fire district, school district and the Port of Portland by capping property tax collections at its current level. Any additional property taxes due to development inside the URD would go to funding projects inside the district' 573-acre boundaries.

There was a common theme at the opening of Pioneer Plaza: While it may just look like a parking lot, the new plaza is actually much more than that. The plaza, located between North Grant and Ivy streets on Northwest Second Avenue, represents the beginning of renewal efforts for the city's downtown business core. The plaza was named by Parsons Canby Pharmacy owner Don Peterson.

November

A former Carus Elementary School principal has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the Canby School District in federal court in Portland. The lawsuit of Mick Bourgo, who was fired from the district June 28, claims his rights under the Federal Family and Medical Leave Act and the Oregon Family Leave Act were violated. The lawsuit seeks about $1.95 million.
Bourgo was released on the statutory grounds of inefficiency, neglect of duty and inadequate performance.

The Canby Planning Commission unanimously voted to reject an application to build a 46-unit motel for low-income migrant farmworkers and their families at the Logging Road Industrial Park. Commissioners said they believed the Redwood Inn was an incompatible use, would have an undue effect on services, that it was not the best use of industrial land, and that it was not consistent with the comprehensive plan.

The Canby City Council has voted to establish an Urban Renewal District, which will change the city's tax structure in a bid to encourage economic development in the city's industrial park and in downtown Canby. The council voted 5-1 to form the 573-acre district, which could collect up to $51 million in property taxes during the URD's 20-year lifespan to
specifically finance development in the two areas.

When Nick Kaiser applied for a vacant seat on the Aurora City Council, the last thing he expected to happen was that he would soon become the
city's mayor. In less than six months, Kaiser, 57, has risen from new councilor to mayor after a series of resignations that have become all too familiar in Aurora city government. He took over from Loretta Scott, who resigned last month.

Local residents have raised numerous concerns regarding Northwest Natural Gas Co.'s proposal to construct a 52-mile pipeline from northern Washington
County to the Molalla area. The planned pipeline would travel primarily though rural lands near
Hillsboro, Sherwood, Wilsonville, Aurora and Canby to the Barnards Road area near Molalla. Easements, land use, safety, roads, rights of way and compensation were some of the issues raised by 80 citizens attended a local meeting.

December

Roth's Family Food Market officials have announced they will close their store in the Canby Square Shopping Center by June. President Michael Roth said the decision was made after a cost analysis was completed. He said it would cost $2 million to remodel the store to help it compete with the soon-to-open Fred Meyer store in the new Canby Market Center.

AFSCME Local 350-6, a union which represents 37 employees in city of Canby departments, declared it had reached an impasse in contract negotiations with a negotiator hired by the city. Todd Gary, the local union president and utility worker in the city's street department, said the impasse was reached over wages and benefits issues. Meetings with a state mediator will likely begin in early or mid-January.

An equipment malfunction and a pilot who lacked a current license to fly in bad weather were two factors that contributed to an airplane crash that killed four local men, according to a National Transportation Safety Board report. Pilot Jack A. McGee, 58, of Aurora; aircraft owner Kenneth M. Booze, 55, of Canby; his son, Daniel C. Booze, 20, of Salem; and passenger Jeffrey Prinz, 42, of West Linn were killed in the Jan. 6 crash.

When Canby schoolgirl Mollie Hauck heard the song, "I'll be Home for Christmas," she took it to heart.
The 10-year-old Eccles Elementary School student, who recently underwent an experimental stem cell transplant with great expectations of it curing her
juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, returned home from a Portland hospital in style - she rode in a big black limousine.

Wilsonville's population has exceeded Canby's for the first time ever, according to new PSU estimates.
Wilsonville, which was incorporated into a city in 1969, is home to 12,985 people. Canby, which has been a city for 128 years, has 12,595 residents. The population of Wilsonville, which has seen extensive residential and commercial growth, has swelled by 83 percent since 1990. In 1971, Wilsonville had 1,000 residents, compared to Canby's 4,100 residents.

Oliver steps up
to the plate

By Patrick Johnson

If it has to do with baseball, Wayne Oliver is involved with it. Oliver, who has lived in Canby since he was a year old, said that it was Harold Mickelson who gave him his first opportunity to coach a baseball team
in 1975.

Ever since, Oliver has been a major fan and supporter of youth baseball in Canby. Frank Cutsforth, another youth sports supporter, said Oliver is amazing in
his knowledge and support. "I don't think there is anyone else in town who knows and supports youth
sports like he does," Cutsforth said. "He is definitely at the top of the list of guys who cares about the focus of youth and sports. I don't know if there is any sports thing that he doesn't know about.

''It is a passion with him, I know that. He knows more of those kids than anyone I have ever known. He knows all of the kids in the different skill levels; I can't imagine the knowledge."

Oliver is a 1961 graduate of Canby High School who graduated from the University of Portland with a business degree in 1965. He then worked in insurance until he started his own agency in Canby in 1972.

"I started my own agency from scratch," Oliver said. "I bought Roy Knutson's and Bill Dietz's and started carrying Safeco Insurance. I really enjoy living and working in Canby and have had a great time here so far. I hope to continue for a long time."

Having watched his children go through the programs he helped start up with Canby Kids Inc., the 56-year-old Oliver is now watching his grandchildren
start in youth sports.

"My oldest grandson just started his first year of soccer," Oliver said proudly. "He will do T-ball in the spring." Oliver's office is filled with plaques, trophies and mementos of his involvement with youth sports in the region.

Some people are major league baseball fans. From the look of his office, Oliver is a major Canby youth baseball fan. "Wayne has been involved for like 20 years before I got involved," said Joe Driggers, who is also involved with youth baseball and Canby Kids Inc. "The reason Canby Kids is the organization it is today is due to his service."

Oliver said many lessons can be learned from playing sports, and that is the reason he has been involved with so many different youth baseball activities.

"How to win, lose, teamwork and discipline - those are just a few of the lessons kids can learn," Oliver said. "One of the things I have noticed is the more that parents are involved, the better their child does."
Cutsforth said Oliver has carried on the Oliver family tradition of supporting the community.

"That is what makes our place so unique; he is one of the people who makes Canby what it is," Cutsforth said. "Earl Oliver, Wayne's dad, cared about the community and helped, too, and Wayne has carried on that tradition."

Oliver listed more than a dozen organizations he has given hundreds of hours of service and support to. Whether it be his involvement in the Canby Utility Board, Canby Lions or the Canby Area Chamber of Commerce, Oliver has been involved in more than just youth sports.

"The reason I donate time and money is I want to make Canby a better place," Oliver said. "My involvement with the kids is a labor of love. Kids need a good place to play and get opportunities."

Fred Meyer
aims to open Feb. 16

By David Howell

The new Fred Meyer store in the Canby Market Center will likely open for business on Feb. 16. The main structural and interior work on the 165,000-square-foot store was completed at the end of November.

The stocking of shelves with products will
begin soon. "I know they will start receiving merchandise the third week in January," said Marilyn Coffel, Fred Meyer's community outreach manager.

The company has already hired most of its new work force, and is in the process of training staff members.
"We did most of the hiring in the first week of December," she said. "They are still conducting some interviews, but many of the folks have been hired.
At that size of store, we're probably looking at 225 to 250 full- and part-time employees."

A grand opening will be held when the store opens at 7 a.m., Coffel said. "The Whiskey Hill Jazz Band will play at the grand opening," she said. "We always try and bring in local musicians at our grand openings.

There's usually giveaways for the first customers, and we'll hold a cake-cutting ceremony." Coffel said the Canby store's hours will be 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and weekends.

"It's a new prototype store," she said. "The interior design is different because people shop for food more often than anything else, so we put food in the middle of store."

Housewares and garden items will be at one end of the store, while apparel, shoes and active wear will be at the other end. Juice, coffee and sushi bars will be located near the produce section.

In addition, a deli counter with seating area, a  demonstration kitchen, a pharmacy, a jewelry section and electronics goods will also be included.

"It's going to be the fifth Fred Meyer in Clackamas County," she said. "We now have 139 stores in five western states . . . We're trying to get one in
Wilsonville. We're hoping the city can work out its infrastructure problems so we can get something going.

''We originally bought a property there in late '94 - 17.5 acres on the west side of the freeway. We submitted one plan the planning commission rejected, and then we decided it wasn't the right time to go forward. They have been having traffic problems, but now they're addressing water issues.

We're still talking with the city." Elsewhere at the Canby Market Center, PostalAnnex and Hollywood Video have been open for business for a few weeks.
Sandra Field, who runs PostalAnnex with husband Gary and son Scott, said business was a little slow between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, but
should pick up soon.

Three other stores - Subway, Super Cuts and Nails 2000 - are gearing up to open in early or mid-January.
Gramor Oregon Inc. president Barry Cain said his company, which owns the shopping center, is in the process of negotiating leases with other potential tenants. He said he could not give details of ongoing
negotiations.

Chamber director
resigning her post

By Cam Sivesind

Four years of leading the Canby Area Chamber of Commerce has had a profound effect on Kathy Henderson.

Henderson, who will resign her executive director position as soon as she finds other employment, has been transformed from a citizen and parent who
has enjoyed the small-town atmosphere of the city to a mover and shaker who has helped preserve that atmosphere. And she has gained a greater understanding of just how much work goes into keeping Canby, well, Canby.

"I think when I first started, I couldn't believe how many people I didn't know," Henderson said. "There are hundreds of volunteers who work every evening in Canby making decisions that affect Canby. I've kind of been inserted into what's going on and learned who the major players are and what the major issues are. My information network has become much bigger."

Henderson, 38, joined the chamber in April 1995 and filled the vacant executive director's job in December of that year. She has helped guide the chamber through a tremendous growth period, and even an office location
move.

Henderson's departure date is not firm because she does not yet know what her next job will be. However, she did not want to leave the chamber board
up in the air.

"It was time," Henderson said. "It's certainly not the traditional way you quit a job. It's certainly not a traditional job." Henderson wrote a letter to the chamber board announcing her intent to resign, but she offered to stay on in the interim while she searches for a
new job.

The chamber board opted to extend an agreement to provide the Canby Business Revitalization program, which Henderson also directs, with administrative services. The past agreement would have expired Dec. 31.

Officials from the chamber and CBR boards are saddened by Henderson's pending departure, and they gave her praise for the work she has done.

"Kathy has been an asset and we hate to see her go," said Georgia Newton, outgoing president of the chamber board. "There will definitely be a hole.
''The director's job is the kind of job a person gets into, and they grow and take it to a higher level. She's done an excellent job of taking it to new heights, especially our professional relationship with the city and with
state groups, such as Mt. Hood Economic Alliance."

Harry Lee Kwai, president of the CBR board, hinted that he would like to keep Henderson in Canby, possibly with the CBR.

"More than anything else, we cannot lose her," Lee Kwai said. "We can't lose a person like that. She has a passion for this place. She knows where the
bones are buried.

''We had a (former city administrator) Mike Jordan, and Mike moved on. To the degree we can, we need to keep her in town. She has been a leader in our revitalization effort. She's got an innate kind of gift to lead efforts like
this."

Lee Kwai said the CBR board has met to discuss the future leadership of CBR, and Henderson has been included in those discussions. But no decisions have
been made, and the CBR board plans to meet again next week, he added.

"We're considering her as a full-time program manager," Lee Kwai said. "She has just got a feeling and a fire for this place."

The chamber board is advertising the director's position and has formed a committee to review applications and interview applicants. No timeline for
hiring has been set.

"We'd like to get someone hired so Kathy can do some cross-training," Newton said. "It takes a year to learn who all the players are. I would like to see
the new person take time to meet all the chamber members."

Henderson said she looks back fondly on her time at the chamber. She notes being part of the Pioneer Plaza and Highway 99E Gateway projects as two very
rewarding projects, as well as helping do the initial research for the Canby Business Revitalization Group, now the CBR.

"Over the last four years, the chamber has grown from a perceived nonprofit service group," Henderson said. "As we grew and the issues grew, the chamber
kind of grew into a leadership role, getting members caught up to speed."

Henderson said she is impressed with the Canby business community, and how they have stayed relatively the same over the years, providing good,
hometown service to customers.

"What we see today is an influx of residential development, and I think the business community has risen to the challenge in the world of redevelopment
and economic development," she said.

Henderson has a better appreciation for those local businesses, too. "When I first moved here, I didn't know old-man Fisher (of Fisher's Old Fashioned Meats)," she said. "I didn't care who cut the meat. But I do now.

I like knowing Jim and Georgia Newton (Gene's Home Electronics) are going to fix my TV, and Rosemary (Gleutsch, of Francesca's Coffee House) keeps my
card out for me because I can never find it.

''Those are touches that bring a sense of well-being. You're not just a face." Henderson has done it all as manager of a small staff, which currently includes two part-time office workers. One day she's hauling out the
garbage, and the next she's lobbying political leaders at the state level.

"But it's really rewarding work, too," she said.
Henderson said she has grown personally and professionally on the job, and as a citizen. While the projects have been most rewarding, she has also enjoyed putting together a lot of chamber programs, the bulk of her work, that are not tangible.

"I like the work over the past two years that you can visually see," she said. "I had a hand in it, and it was not just for certain people. It was for everyone."

Henderson said she will miss the people she has been lucky to work with during her tenure. "I worked with people with true vision," she said. "That's really rare.

There are certain people that are just gifted. I'm hoping the good things about this job I'll find at another job. I love working with people, and sometimes that's the hardest thing I do." Henderson said she'll miss working with Virginia Molamphy, the chamber's
senior office coordinator. "She was never afraid to work side by side with me," Henderson said.

Henderson, a 12-year resident of Canby, has two children, Cale, 15, a sophomore at Canby High School, and Tawny, 12, a seventh-grader at Ackerman Middle School.