STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
The award of a major contract for construction of the new Sears, Roebuck and Co. department store to be built in El Centro was announced today by George A. Scherquist, construction manager.
The general contracting firm of Jackson Brothers, a co-partnership of Los Angeles, will handle construction of the building in accordance with documents prepared by Robert Clements and Associates, architect-engineers of Los Angeles.
Construction of the 66,000-square-foot building will start immediately, with completion scheduled for early spring, 1968.
40 years ago
Spring vacation for El Centro public schools would be separated from Easter under a proposal for the 1977-78 school year considered by the schools district Board of Trustees on Thursday.
Because of requests of teacher organizations in current contract negotiations, the proposed school calendar for the elementary schools and high school would move spring recess to either March 27 to 31 or April 3 to 7, Dr. Richard Brautigam, schools superintendent said.
Easter is March 26 in 1978; the traditional Holy Week celebration begins March 20.
The board approved the entire school calendar showing a school year staring Sept. 5 and ending June 9, but it held over action on the placement of the spring recess until parent comment on the issue could be heard.
30 years ago
IMPERIAL — Councilman Jim Stevenson on Wednesday accused fellow council members of violating the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law, by using memos to reach a secret decision on contract terms to hire a computer consultant.
Stevenson raised his concerns of possible violations after pulling several items from a consent agenda and asking that they be discussed in public.
Consent agendas are used frequently by legislative bodies to make blanket decisions on routine times without discussion.
Items pulled by Stevenson to be discussed included a resolution to enter an agreement for a state career opportunity development program, the computer consultant contract, and budget amendments of $37,000 to allow the city to purchase land.
While Stevenson conceded the consent agenda items did not violate open meeting laws because they could be pulled for discussion, he said his main problem was the terms of the proposed contract with a computer consultant that, to his knowledge, had never been discussed in open session.
20 years ago
CALEXICO — One man was killed and two U.S. Customs agents were shot in an exchange of gunfire at the downtown Calexico Port of Entry here this morning.
The shootings occurred in the secondary inspection area about 9:30 a.m. Calexico Police Chief Myron Galchutt said the incident began after an unidentified man who had tried to cross into the United States was sent to the secondary inspection area. Upon reaching the secondary area the person exited his vehicle, began firing a gun and was shot to death, apparently by federal agents.
The identity and nationality of the shooter were unavailable this morning.
The wounded agents were identified as Robert Labrada Jr. and Nicholas Lira. They were transported to El Centro Regional Medical Center, where a hospital spokeswoman confirmed the two were being treated in the hospital’s emergency room.