120 years ago   

John Alexander, the Susanville Nimrod, took a load of vegetables to Red Rock and brought a load of meat back in the form of a large muletail buck which weighed more than 200 pounds dressed out. A reporter of the day called it the largest buck ever seen in Susanville.

Twenty-one acres of grass, brush and timberland in Warner Creek Valley, 35 miles from Susanville, were burned without serious damage to anything but young timber. The blaze erupted when a sheepherder allowed his campfire to escape.

40 years ago   

Members of the British Royal Commission on the Penal System of England and Wales visited the Susanville Correctional Center.   

The commission had been directed by Queen Elizabeth to “examine the concepts and purposes which should underlie the punishment and treatment of offenders in England and Wales and report how far they were realized by the penalties and methods of treatment available to the court.”

30 years ago   

In a 5-0 vote, the Lassen County Board of Supervisors rescinded the hiring freeze imposed on the county during the summer. The board was told that since the budget had been completed nothing would be furthered by having the freeze continued, assuming department heads would fill vacancies within the budgetary constraints.

20 years ago   

Add one more problem to Lassen County’s budget woes: tax assessments to the schools will not be paid. Lassen County School Superintendent William P. Gillaspie told the Board of Supervisors, “If the county feels it is forced to follow the recommendations of the county administrative officer, to attempt to balance the budget on the backs of the children of Lassen County, the schools of Lassen County will not pay that bill.”   

The supervisors decided they would not go after special assessments approved by the state, including funding for schools, because it might drive the county into bankruptcy. CAO Bill Bixby told the supervisors they had three options: collect the assessments, not collect the assessments or “Stop county government at some point in the year and inform the state that we’ve gone out of business.”

10 years ago   

Without changes, proposed open pit burning, detonation and incineration of munitions at the Sierra Army Depot near Herlong pose significant impacts to humans, plants and animals, according to a state report.   

The report said SIAD will have to blow up and burn less ammunition and rocket motors than it wants to in its application for a new state permit to operate. It also said that if SIAD wants to operate full capacity, total emission would exceed state limits for human long-term risk and short-term risk and short-and-long-term hazards.

Five years ago   

A semi-truck and trailer overturned on the curve at the west end of Susanville for the second time in less than seven months at about 3 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 2, injuring the driver but causing no other apparent damages or injuries.   

Uptown Cinemas co-owner Mike Smith, whose business was hit when a big rig rolled over on Jan. 26, said the Highway 36 Safety Task Force needs to take action now.

Last year   

An estimated 800 plus people from Lassen County flocked to Jensen Hall with the prospect of trying to find work in an era where unemployment is still on the rise.   

Representatives from the Sierra Army Depot held three separate job fairs to solicit applicants for the positions they have available.   

SIAD Chief of Staff Aric Manner said that between the first two job fairs, more than 1,000 resumes were gathered.    

Logistics Director Jon France said he estimated more than 800 applicants had come through the doors at Jensen Hall.    

France said while all the positions are scheduled to be for one year and a day, some of the positions can be extended up to four years, based on the depot’s needs.    

“This is full-time work,” France said. “That makes it different from what we call ‘term’ jobs, which are more temporary. Its 40 hours a week, minimum of a year that could go to four. That’s stability in an economy that’s not very stable.”