Thursday, Oct. 02, 2008

October 2 in Merced history

October 2, 1958

CONSTRUCTION TO START ON NEW SHOPPING CENTER:

Construction is expected to start next week on a Food Banks supermarket and shopping center at the northeast corner of G St. and North Bear Creek Dr.

A county building permit for $285,000 has been issued to Food Banks, Inc., of Fresno, but total investment may run close to half a million dollars.

In addition to the market, the 39,184 square foot building will house a drug store, restaurant, cleaning establishment, beauty shop, barber shop, bakery and S & H Green Stamp store.

The LMT Building Co. of Fresno, general contractors, state they hope to have the job finished by Christmas.

The Merced store, located just outside the city limits, will be the largest in the Food Banks chain of more than 20 markets throughout the Valley, according to Geore Threlkeld of the LMT Co.

It will be Food Banks first store in Merced County and represents the biggest permit issued this year by the county building department. The three-and-one-half acre site will include a parking lot for 186 cars.

The property has been leased on a long term basis from Paul McCombs of Merced.

According to Threlkeld, some sub-contractors will be employed in Merced County, and their names will be announced soon.

The drug store will be owned and operated by Food Banks, but the other stores will be leased to separate companies. Names of these lessees will be released soon, Threlkeld stated.

Construction will be of concrete blocks with imitation granite finish, and the roof will be of white rock.

October 2, 1983

MID SLATES OCT. 19 AS OFFICIAL END TO 1983 IRRIGATION SEASON:

The Merced Irrigation District will begin emptying its 732-mile network of open ditches and pipelines Oct. 19, thus bringing to end its 1983 irrigation season.

The district, following one of the wettest winters in history, began its 1983 irrigation season April 18.

Actual diversion of irrigation water from Merced River will stop at 8 a.m. Oct. 18, say district manager, Jay Anderson. He says MID”s three “low-head” hydroelectric power plants, situated on various district canals, will also be idled at that time.

The district’s Exchequer power plant, located on MID’s main holding facility, 1.03 million acre Lake McClure, and the McSwain Power Plant, located just below Lake McClure on Lake McSwain, will undergo their annual inspection and maintenance, beginning Oct. 24, Anderson says. They will resume operation in mid November.

Anderson says Exchequer and McSwain plants will produce about 700 million killowatt hours of energy by the year’s end. This tops the old record set in 1969 of 630 million KWH. The record generation was made possible by the heaviest snowpack in the Merced River Watershed in history.

Lake McClure will have about 600,000 acre feet of storage to carryover into next season, Anderson says.

October 2, 1998

STATE GIVES MERCED COUNTY $5 MILLION BREAK:

Gov. Pete Wilson signed a bill Thursday that is expected to significantly reduce or wipe out a $5 million debt Merced County owes the state for fire protection services.

Senate Bill 1582 will allow the county to direct money that normally would have gone toward repayment of the California Department of forestry loan to help build a new juvenile justice facility instead.

In addition, no more interest will accrue on the debt and the nearly $1 million in interest owed will be eliminated.

“I am extremely excited and very happy to see the governor sign the bill,” said Bill Davidson, the county’s chief probation officer. “I think it’s a win-win situation for us.”

The county borrowed $5 million from the state during a financial crunch in 1994-95 to pay its CDF bill. With the county’s budget outlook on the rebound, the state Department of Finance appeared ready this year to require it to begin repaying the loan.

SB 1582 in effect forgives the loan and allows the county to spend the money elsewhere.

“This bill represents a real tremendous opportunity for Merced County to provide partial financing for a much-needed juvenile hall and, at the same time, to relieve itself of a long standing debt to the state of California,” County Administrator Greg Wellman said.