120 years ago   

Dennis Wood went out to Indian Creek for a day’s sport. He reports the fishing is good and he caught 60 fish in a few hours.   

A couple of young women in Susanville disguised themselves as gypsies and made a fortune-telling round among their friends. The imposition was a decidedly clever one and was not detected.

Work was under way in the restoration of Roop’s Fort, built in 1863 at the 1854 site of the Sagebrush War. New logs were put at the base in the old fort and the structure was generally strengthened. It was also planned to protect the roof with sheeting, placing the shake roof on it in the hope of making the restoration as complete and realistic as possible.

45 years ago   

The Fireman of the Year award was presented to Darrel L. Honea at a dinner meeting in the banquet room at the Hotel Mt. Lassen. Requirements for the award were attendance at drills, fires, accomplishment in learning the operation of fire fighting equipment, participation in all department activities and at least one year as a member of the department. Honea has maintained a 100 percent attendance rating since joining the department in 1964.

30 years ago   

The Lassen County Solar Energy Utilization Task Force met to form an “Interim Solar Policy” for the county. The policy was intended as a working document for the next several months as planners were working on developing a final document to present to the Board of Supervisors.

25 years ago   

Caution appeared to be the key word for the Lassen County Board of Supervisors in the approach to support the expansion of the California Correctional Center. The supervisors agreed to meet with the state Department of Corrections to talk about the prison’s expansion.    

The board said it would reserve full endorsement until the county had all the facts and figures on what effect the expansion would have on the county.

20 years ago   

Lassen County’s Joint Narcotics Task Force, in a joint operation with the California Highway Patrol theft team from Redding, Calif., broke up a major drug and auto dismantling operation in the Ravendale area.   

Meanwhile, the task force continued its crackdown on dope operations in other parts of the county seizing drugs in Litchfield and making three more arrests in Westwood.

10 years ago   

Susanville City Clerk Debra Magginetti has until Aug. 18 to certify the roughly 660 signatures Bing Bengston collected for a voter initiative to stop a city-run natural gas utility.   

“He needs 436 valid signatures to get it on the ballot,” Magginetti said last week of the petitions turned in on July 10. “He turned in 680. Eighteen were duplications.”   

The city clerk has 30 days to certify the signatures, which she is currently comparing against Lassen County voter registration records. Last week Magginetti said she hoped to be done before the Aug. 18 deadline.

Five years ago   

A 3,220 acre fire in timber and difficult terrain in 20 miles of Fall River Mills near Straylor Lake filled the Honey Lake Valley with smoke on Friday, July 23.   

No structures were threatened or damaged and there were no evacuations for the Straylor Fire, which broke out at 4 p.m., Thursday afternoon on private land and burned into the Lassen National Forest.   

By Monday morning the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which protects the area of Lassen County very close to the Shasta County Line, had 1, 540 people on the fire lines. The blaze was 95 percent contained at 5 a.m.

A year ago   

The Lassen County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on Tuesday, July 14 to reorganize several planning departments.   

According to John Ketelsen, the county administrative officer, the reorganization will save the county $150,000 to $200,000 per year. The reorganization will abolish three positions and create two new ones.