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
• The Yelm City Council was brought up to full speed when Clifton Bryant was appointed to fill the vacancy on the board. Bryant replaced Oddie Kyler, who resigned following reelection and then moved from the community.
• A second-degree murder warrant was issued for Richard McMullin, a former state employee. He was wanted in the strangulation murder of Deana Butler, a Yelm High School graduate, on Sept. 12, 1978. McMullin’s whereabouts at the time were unknown.
• There was no additional movement in the recall petition filed to remove Rainier Mayor Floyd Short from office. The Thurston County prosecutor’s office received the petition and had to make a ruling for the process to continue for a vote by the town residents.
• A bill aimed at putting an end to the rash of horse mutilations that plagued Pierce County for more than two years passed the state Senate by a vote of 45-0. Senate Bill 2142 declared that a person who knowingly and maliciously injured an animal belonging to another was guilty of a felony.
A Look Back at This Week, 35 Years Ago
• For the first time since 1985, Puget Sound Power and Light Co. filed a request with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission for a general rate increase. The filing requested $70.5 million in additional revenues, for an average general rate increase of 9.1%.
• Rebecca Goodwin, Vail Cutoff Road, Rainier, received shoulder injuries when her vehicle collided with another vehicle on state Route 507. Craig Buckley, Tenino, the driver of the other vehicle, was not injured in the accident.
• Echoes of the shouts “Say no to Metro” reflected off the marble pillars of the state Capitol building in Olympia as over 1,000 supporters lent their voices to a rally protesting two sludge proposals, including one in Pierce County.
• A car fire destroyed a 1987 Chevrolet Z28 Iroc at 16819 Railroad Southeast on Feb. 20, 1989. Resident Larry Hansen drove his Iroc out of his garage to turn it around. After seeing smoke coming out of the car’s interior, he called 911. Firemen worked for over 45 minutes to extinguish the fire.
A Look Back at This Week, 25 Years Ago
• A fire gutted an apartment on Edwards Street in Yelm. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze to the one apartment. The cause of the fire was thought to be accidental but was still under investigation. No injuries were reported.
• A Yelm preschool was told to close by a Thurston County official after a permit violation and other problems at the business were brought to light. Officials said the Funtree Preschool on Killion Road hadn’t had a valid building permit since 1988, when the previous permit expired.
• The Thurston County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution declaring a countywide emergency in response to groundwater flooding and landslide damage to private and public properties throughout the county.
• Local police and school officials investigated an incident in which an unloaded pellet gun was brought to Yelm Middle School. The weapon, apparently to be used in an off-campus target practice activity after school, changed hands among five students and was eventually returned to the original owner, then was later confiscated by authorities.
A Look Back at This Week, 15 Years Ago
• Three men were arrested after Yelm police caught them allegedly selling drugs in the Walmart parking lot. None of the suspects were Yelm residents. After arriving at Walmart, police said they caught the three selling 21 grams of cocaine and five grams of marijuana.
• Members of the Washington State Senate spoke in honor of Miss Washington Janet Harding on Feb. 11, 2009. Senate Resolution 8612, sponsored by Sen. Randi Becker, R-Eatonville, described the admirable qualities, charitable works and significant accomplishments of Harding, a Yelm resident.
• Two dogs died in the 12000 block of Collins Street between Rainier and Tenino near Offut Lake after they were poisoned with slug and snail bait. The owners of the property came outside to find one dog dead, one convulsing on the ground and another foaming at the mouth and starting to convulse.
• The Yelm High School girls basketball team defeated Capital High School on Feb. 13, 2009, to secure the school’s first-ever league championship.
