75 years ago: Japanese youth leaders visit high school plant

50 Years Ago Population 3,179 (U.S. Census 1960 and 1970) Land If the residential land in the current city limit area were developed, Lincoln could have a potential population of 40,000. That was an observation made by planner Robert Gray during a meeting of the citizens steering committee for the Lincoln General Plan. Gray also pointed out that there is enough land in the old city limits (which excludes the airport and waste water treatment plant annexations) to double the population of Lincoln. He noted there are numerous lots and acreage still undeveloped. The committee will establish what population site they would like to shoot for in their short-range planning at their next meeting set for Monday at 4:30 p.m. in the city council chambers. The committee talked about a population figure of 6,200. Gray indicated if that population figure was picked the city should plan for about 7,000. "You always plan for more than you expect," Gray noted. The committee also discussed the need for residential development before additions to the commercial district or industrial base could be made. Gray will give the committee information on the current capacity of the city water system at its next meeting as well as a rough idea of what type of development is expected at the airport. Note: Lincoln's current population is approximately 60,000. Landfill Supervisors Tuesday set a $500 per acre minimum price on the former Lincoln landfill site and authorized its sale to be handled by a real estate broker, with a commission, rather than placing the property out to bid. The 30-acre site, purchased by the county some years ago for a future county-operated landfill, is being placed up for sale at the suggestion of Supervisor Alex Ferreira of Gold Hill. Ferreira made his suggestion May 4 during a discussion on accepting a countywide solid waste management plan. In a report to the board on the land value of the site, Gordon Hodel, right-of-way agent, indicated property in the general area of the site is selling for $800 to $900 per acre in 10-acre parcels. Hodel said the property does not have road frontage, except for the access road from Virginiatown Road. The site has been mined and piles of dredger tailing have been left. Hodel said the property does, however, have quite a bit of timber consisting of scrub oak and pine trees. Hodel said, in his opinion, the property would probably have a market value of about $500 per acre. The site has been declared unsuitable for landfill purposes, with Ferreira suggesting the county use the proceeds from the land sale to purchase a more suitable regional landfill site as recommended in the solid waste management plan for the county. The Lincoln site was purchased by the county to replace the county-operated landfill at Loomis, which currently is being used by the City of Lincoln to dispose its solid waste material. Note: The former landfill on Virginiatown Road is currently fenced and vacant. Sewer Rate A monthly sewer charge of $4.50 beginning July 1 was recommended by the citizens sewer rate committee during its meeting last week. The recommendation, which will now go to the council, is .50 cents below the recommendation made by engineer John Atteberry last September for the 1976-77 fiscal year. The current charge is $2.50 per household or unit. When the final plans for the new sewage treatment plant were made over a year ago, Atteberry first estimated a charge of $6.50 per month. Since then, the city has been able to obtain bonds at a lower rate of interest and to receive a bid on the construction of the plant that was below the engineer's estimate. After the 1976-77 fiscal year there is a chance that the rate could be lowered to $4.38 per unit. The figure, which was estimated by Atteberry and Associates, includes the minimum amount to cover deposits required in an accumulative reserve fund for future repairs as required by the federal government, an inflation factor of eight per cent in the costs of operation and maintenance of the new plant plus bond repayment. If the present sewer plant is sold in the near future, the rate may be reduced even more. Under the provisions of the current sewer rate ordinance each individual residential dwelling would be one unit, service stations would be two units, business that use the city sewer system only for toilets would be charged one unit for every 10 employees and trailer parks would be assessed one unit for every trailer lot. Bars would be charged one unit for every 60 seats while restaurants would be charged one unit for every 20 seats. Schools will be responsible for paying a unit a month for every 12 students and employees. The committee will have several more meetings with representatives of Atteberry and Associates before the start of the fiscal year. In response to a question concerning why the access road to the waste water treatment plant was located near the property lines of city-owned land and land owned by Charles Joiner, Atteberry indicated it was due to allowing space for the sprinkler system being installed. Last October the city purchased the acre-plus area covered by the road for $100 from Richard Joiner. In connection with the sale of the land for the road, Joiner was granted an easement to his property. Subsequently, the fence was built only on the west side of the road and the gate was located off of Nicolaus Road at the sewer plant site. 75 Years Ago Population 2,410 (U.S. Census 1940 and 1950) Visitors A group of youth leaders from Japan touring the United States visited the local high school plant last Thursday and praised the new units as being the "most modern, best institution of its kind visited by them." In a letter to the school principal, R.A. Lee, they were quoted as saying they were very pleased with the results of their visit here. They spent a good portion of the day going through the plant, examining the many modern features. The group is touring the United States under the auspices of the Department of the Army and under the immediate supervision of the Federal Security Agency. They are studying several phases of American life as it pertains to its youth. Included in their tour have been visits in Washington, D.C., Richmond, VA, Cornell University, Yale, Marietta College, Chicago, the Grand Canyon and various portions of California. The leader of the group, who is in charge of the activities of some three million Japanese youngsters, is Yukichi Yokoyama, Director General of Japanese Youth Federation. Five other men are in the group. A translator accompanies the tour, since none of the men speak English. Also with the group is Raymond Conley, a graduate of the local high school. 100 Years Ago Population 1,324 (U.S. Census 1900, 1910, and 1920) Decoration Day The Lincoln Post of the American Legion will give the merchants of Lincoln window cards announcing the closing of the stores on Decoration Day, May 31. The Post decided to go to the expense to make sure the merchants were not imposed upon by unscrupulous peddlers claiming to be ex-service men and selling cards at an exorbitant price. Citizens would do well to refuse aid to such beggars. They would confer a favor on the members of the American Legion if they would refer such beggars to Sam Goldeen, local Legion Commander. Goldeen will see that deserving cases of ex-service men are taken care of through the proper channels and that frauds are arrested on a charge of vagrancy. The Legion boys have made plans to clean the graves of all veterans in preparation for Memorial Day on Thursday evening, May 27. Several other citizens have indicated their willingness to turn out with hoses and rakes at the same time to give the cemeteries a general clean-up. The Memorial Day program will consist of exercises in the Civic Auditorium, a parade, a ceremony at the cemetery, and a rifle salute to the dead. The program will be given on Monday, May 31. Thank you for reading! MBO