Enjoy these snapshots of articles written in past issues of the Nisqually Valley News from 45, 35, 25 and 15 years ago, respectively.
A Look Back at This Week,
45 Years Ago
- Two people were injured in a two-car, head-on collision Nov. 2, 1979, on Highway 510 about a mile west of Yelm. Involved were autos driven by Gregory Ewing, 20, of McKenna, and Charles Hull, 58, of Tumwater. Leeia Bickle, 14, of McKenna, and Ronald Bickle, 18, of McKenna, were found injured and pinned underneath Ewing’s auto.
- Wilfred Allen Caterall, 20, of Onalaska, was taken to the county jail Nov. 3, 1979, charged with investigation of eluding a police officer and second-degree escape. The incident was a result of a high-speed chase east of Yelm by a deputy marshal and deputy sheriff.
- Jay Marbut, 21, of Yelm, posted $352 bail on two traffic law charges and a third-degree charge before being released from the county jail.
- An idea borrowed from the Hopi Indians was used by Don Barrie, a Seattle muralist, in a canvas project he completed for Southworth Elementary School. The series depicted the Hopi legend of a rainbow existing between worlds with six, 4-foot panels used to colorfully depict the trip. Barrie used an air brush to place the acrylic on canvas hanging in the school cafeteria.
A Look Back at This Week,
35 Years Ago
- Bob Sanders, Yelm councilman, overwhelmed his primary election opponent, William “Bill” Trull, to take the four-year term for Yelm mayor. Unofficial results showed Sanders with 219 votes and Trull capturing 60.
- The Yelm DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program received a $10,000 check from the Yelm Telephone Company. The program, conducted by police officers, taught elementary school students how to resist the pressure to use drugs.
- Judy Burnham of Rainier won $2 million with one of her two purchased lottery tickets.
- The Yelm girls volleyball team beat Bremerton, Fife, Enumclaw, Sequim and then Fife again to win the district championship Nov. 4, 1989. The Tornados were slated to compete in the state tournament held at the St. Martin’s College Pavillion in Lacey.
A Look Back at This Week,
25 Years Ago
- Former Rainier Town Clerk Craig Stevenson went before the Rainier Town Council Nov. 9, 1999, to air grievances over his being fired after only five weeks on the job. Stevenson alleged that the firing was based on Mayor William “Mike” Elliott’s personal bias and not on-job performance.
- As part of its urban forestry program, the Yelm Tree Board planned to rejuvenate the downtown area by planting new hawthorn trees along Yelm Avenue. The tree advisory board entered the second year of its local Adopt-A-Tree campaign, raising money for tree plantings and a city nursery.
- Vail-area residents were walking on pins and needles after an apparent cougar attack left one calf dead. When Kim Hooper went outside to check on the family livestock before work, she found the family’s 2-month-old calf struggling for life, covered in claw marks with its back end nearly obliterated.
- Rebecca Riches, 17, of the Yelm FFA Chapter, was one of four national finalists who competed for the title of national winner in the floriculture-entrepreneurship/placement proficiency awards program at the National FFA Convention Oct. 27 through Oct. 30, 1999, in Louisville, Kentucky.
A Look Back at This Week,
15 Years Ago
- A Shelton woman was arrested after allegedly attempting to steal a puppy during a transaction. A Yelm family was selling dachshund puppies for $300 on Craigslist when the woman contacted them and arranged to see the puppies. Megan McKenzie, 25, met the family, selected which puppy she wanted and walked to her car to get her wallet before locking the car doors and driving off.
- The City of Yelm took another approach to securing water rights. Because the city hadn’t been successful in negotiating a fair market value for the McMonigle water rights, the city considered exercising eminent domain.
- In two separate incidents Halloween morning, someone vandalized a Yelm church and others broke into a business.
- For the first time in Yelm High School history, the Yelm girls soccer team advanced to the district tournament. In a loser-out subdistrict game, Yelm defeated Port Angeles, 2-0, Nov. 3, 2009.
