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
- Avid book readers at McKenna Elementary School were awarded prizes following a special multiple sclerosis read-a-thon. Youngsters signed up sponsors who pledged funds for each special book read. Taking top honors and winning a watch were Deanna Koontz and Brendan Welch, each with 20 books.
- Rick Baker, Heidi Ranger, Sandy Lester and Laura Meyers were set to be entered in the Olympia Elks free throw hoop shoot district shoot-off in Auburn on Jan. 26, 1980. They were category winners in the Thurston County championship shoot held Jan. 12 in Olympia.
- Leading by as many as 22 points, the Yelm Tornados girls basketball team dropped a heartbreaker when they visited North Thurston and lost 49-48 Jan. 18, 1980.
- A recap of 1979 was completed by the Yelm Fire Department, showing a total of 382 calls handled. Firemen were summoned on 95 calls.
A Look Back at This Week,
35 Years Ago
- Yelm Extension School students visited the Washington state Capitol with teacher Debra Nickerson. State Sen. Ken Madsen, Rep. Randy Dorn and Rep. Karen Fraser took time to speak with the students and answer questions on state government.
- Yelm’s newest elementary school was set to be called Fort Stevens Elementary School, named after a pioneer fort that was erected on the present site of the school.
- The First Street intersection was disrupted due to the installation of new traffic lights. The new lights were further away from the intersection to avoid damage from trucks making turns.
- Steven J. Bogart, 36, Yelm, was found guilty in Thurston County district court of driving while under the influence. He was fined $500 and sentenced to 90 days in jail. He was also found guilty of driving with his license revoked and fined $500.
A Look Back at This Week,
25 Years Ago
- Officers with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Department uncovered a suspected methamphetamine lab in Cougar Mountain Camp near Lawrence Lake. Officers raided a trailer lab next to an abandoned home after receiving a complaint from the alleged drugmaker’s girlfriend. The woman claimed her boyfriend had threatened to kill her and told detectives that she was increasingly disturbed by her boyfriend’s behavior. Police arrested Timothy Slack, 38, on charges of drug manufacturing when he arrived at the trailer.
- A Yelm resident was airlifted to a Seattle hospital Jan. 26, 2000, after his car slammed head-on into a pickup driven by an Olympia woman. Brian Clarke, 32, of Yelm, sustained facial and ankle fractures.
- The Rainier Town Council got an earful Jan. 25, 2000, from citizens angered by recent tax and rate hikes. They spoke out against a 12% local property tax increase in December 1999 and two simultaneous rate increases for water usage and garbage collection.
- Scott Ballard, 17, of Roy, was killed on Jan. 14, 2000, when the car in which he was a passenger struck a tree in the 28000 block of Eighth Avenue South on a public road within Fort Lewis.
A Look Back at This Week,
15 Years Ago
- A burn pile caught a field on fire just outside Yelm on Jan. 19, 2010. Residents were burning a brush pile filled with branches and debris following a rain and windstorm.
- A Bonney Lake man was arrested in Yelm on Jan. 15, 2010, after allegedly assaulting an ex-girlfriend and hiding from police. As Eric Brunson, 26, hid from police, a Tumwater K9 was brought in to search. When Brunson was discovered and refused to cooperate with police, the dog bit him.
- A Pacific Disposal garbage truck needed some help to get back on the road after it fell into a ditch south of Rainier on Jan. 18, 2010. Two tow trucks from Nisqually Auto & Towing were needed to get the vehicle back onto Mulqueen Road.
- A Yelm man was arrested after a three-hour standoff with police and the SWAT team. Manuel R. Barnard, 32, barricaded himself in his home after he allegedly assaulted a family member. The man had a history of violence against the sheriff’s office and had access to knives within the house.
