65 years ago

Promotion began for Diamond Mountain Guest Ranch, Inc., the former George Wingfield ranch located 10 miles southwest of Susanville. Sale of the 49-year lease on 150 lots, which today is the sub-division surrounding Emerson Lake Golf Course, was advertised in several newspapers. The one-acre lots were listed for $2,000.

45 years ago

A dedication ceremony was held for the new 8.3-mile section of Highway 36 between Susanville and Devil’s Corral. The section was part of a massive highway renovation project that included the construction of the present day Devil’s Corral Bridge.

25 years ago

Employees from the Lassen County Health and Human Services Department won a temporary injunction against the Board of Supervisors after their work hours were cut to 32 hours a week. The employees’ hours were slashed to save the department $157,000.

20 years ago

Lassen High School Athletic Director Larry Terrill was fired without warning. Board of Trustees member Sandra Lowry said the move was made to “shake things up” and that the trustees were “looking in every nook and cranny for ways to improve the school.” Terrill, who remained a teacher, served as the athletic director for four years.

10 years ago

Decision makers with the Department of Toxic Substance Control may be nearing the end of a lengthy permitting process authorizing the demilitarization activities at Sierra Army Depot in Herlong, a facility owned and operated by the U.S. Army. The decision makers are reviewing a draft Environmental Impact Report on the facility, which, if approved may be the final hurdle in the depot’s permitting process.

Five years ago

The budget passed by the Lassen County Board of Supervisors last week includes money for a new child and protective services supervisor. The more than $95 million budget also includes $10,000 for each of the county’s chambers of commerce to be used to increase tourism. After months of discussion, the board passed the budget on a 3-2 vote at its Tuesday, Sept. 13 meeting.

Last year

Losing a child can devastate a family, but losing a child to a serial killer like Loren Herzog is a nightmare that never ends. News broke Friday, Sept. 10 that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation had decided to parole Herzog, one of the infamous “Speed Freak Killers,” in Lassen County.

Herzog, 44, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the 1998 death of Cyndi Vanderheiden, 25, after an appeals court overturned three first-degree murder convictions against him in 2004. Herzog was sentenced to 14 years in state prison, and now he has served his time.

John Vanderheiden, Cyndi’s father, said he still fears Herzog after all these years.

“I feel sorry for you guys if he gets released up there,” Vanderheiden said, “but there’s nothing I can do. I don’t want him released in my county, either. The further away from me the better. I’ll still be watching out for him because he’s threatened other people, including me and my family.”