STORIES FROM THE PAST

50 years ago

One of this season’s most exciting Imperial Valley Stock Car Racing Association’s main events was won by Herb Owens in the Priscolat-Oscar Jones Special on Saturday night at the Mid-Winter fairgrounds race track.

Owens took the victory by a fender length over Vernon Lentz.

The crowd of 2,800, largest of the season, the excellent weather and the track in its best condition, had the season’s biggest field of cars running. The evening was spiced with many spins and two spectacular rollovers.

The fast pace set by the main event leaders, first Orvis Fugate, of Yuma, with Owens and Lentz charging on the outside, left just five of the 16 starters running.

Owens, first dueling to overtake Fugate lap after lap, and then fighting off the challenge of Lentz, found the track to his liking. The bright orange Ford running high on the track, with plenty of room on the inside for the challenger, had the faster cars spinning and running together.

40 years ago

Congressman Clair Burgener today called Bob Meyer’s resignation “a serious loss to the Department of Agriculture” and “the first public casualty” of the 160-acre limitation controversy.

“I deeply regret it,” the congressman said.

Burgener has strongly defended Meyer’s efforts on behalf of Imperial County farmers fighting the 160-acre limitation; however, he feels the assistant agriculture secretary did nothing that could be considered in conflict with his federal job.

Meanwhile, Donald Cox, the member of Meyer’s “blind trust” who participated in the controversial September meetings with government officials, said today that the Carter administration is losing a good man, one of few back there who understood what farming is all about.”