STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
Speed means many things to many people.
But to Stan Thomas it means running, and to certain officials in the Pittsburg organization it means Stan Thomas.
Stan is a highly rated major league prospect largely due to his speed. Of course he is an above average hitter, can play two positions very well, gets his share of runs-battle-in, and has a good arm. But most of all he can run.
Last season the former El Centro star stole 53 bases for the Raleigh Pirates in the Carolina League. This was 14 higher than the old record of 39 set back in 1946.
40 years ago
Soccer teams from Calexico and Central have completed the 1978 Desert Valleys League season and each would like a position in the SCIF Class AA Playoffs.
Coach Gene Clare and the Central Spartans have notched a slot after winning the DVL title, Calexico ended up third but Rene Flores thinks his Bulldogs deserve a spot.
Central won the championship Friday by shutting out the Indio Rajahs, 3-0. The Spartans were 5-1-2 in the DVL, while second-place Coachella finished 6-2-0.
The Central win over Indio was very important. Coachella shut out Kofa on Tuesday to complete the year. The Arabs were waiting to see how the Spartans fared Friday.
Coach Flores and the Bulldogs won a pair of games this week. Calexico holds a win over Coachella and this week, the Border City club topped Indio and Kofa.
The Bulldogs hammered away at Indio, 4-0. The lopsided match saw Marcos Galvan score twice, Victor Cervantes and Miguel Plancarte each scoring once.
30 years ago
The “Gang of Five,” calling Assembly Speaker Willie Brown a “dinosaur of the ‘60s and ‘70s” chose Imperial County on Wednesday to declare war on the established power structure in the Assembly.
Assemblyman Steve Peace, who represents Imperial County and part of San Diego County, said the speaker stays in power through his control of large amounts of campaign money, committee chairmanships and a cozy relationship with Assembly Republicans, including the minority leader.
All five of the dissident Democrats, who prefer the term, “The Amigos,” were interviewed in the conference room of this newspaper. It was their first group interview, but they vow it will not be their last. They claimed they put off a Los Angeles Times reporter until after the Imperial County interview.
In addition to Peace, the “Amigos,” include assemblymen Charles Calderon of Alhambra; Rusty Areias of Los Banos; Jerry Eaves of Rialto and Gary Condit of Modesto.
Brown issued his own salvo in a Times story today in which he urged campaign contributors to withhold money from the rebels. At least one Sacramento lobbyist said Brown’s “time is gone,” the Times reported.
The trip to Imperial County was the first stop on the rebels’ “barnstorming” trip to drum up public opinion to change the rules that give Brown the power of political life and death over assemblymen, the five said. The same changes would also strip away power from the minority leader.
20 years ago
BRAWLEY — More than 100 employees from a packing plant here were taken by ambulances and buses to area hospitals Wednesday after several became ill while working in the facility.
Nearly all Imperial Valley fire departments responded to the Salico Farms plant on Ninth and K streets after receiving a call shortly after 10 a.m. about a possible hazardous materials incident.
Fire officials set up a triage area in a lot across the street from the plant.
Gold Cross Ambulance Service personnel said about eight people passed out in the triage area and others complained of nausea and headaches.
Fire officials said late Wednesday they were unsure what made the employees ill, adding they tested the facility and found it safe.