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
- Pierce County officials absolved Toivo L. Redditt, 21, a Fort Lewis infantryman, of any wrongdoing, in the May 1, 1979, shooting death of Larry Richard Hendricks near Roy. A joint finding by the acting sheriff and prosecutor concluded that the soldier’s actions were justified under state law when Redditt was held hostage at gunpoint and assaulted by Hendricks before shooting his captor.
- Rainier Mayor Jerry Bergman suspended his second temporary marshal appointment. John Edward Grady, a former Steilacoom officer, was suspended after three days of duty due to a background check that showed that he was acquitted in Tacoma municipal court on a charge of assault and was suspended twice and fired from a Steilacoom federally funded post as dispatcher and reserve officer.
- A special report in the Wall Street Journal linked Joseph V. Agosto, former Yelm restaurateur, with a takeover of the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas by the mafia.
- Betty Leonard, a former McKenna Elementary teacher and teacher at Kenai Junior High School in Kenai, Alaska, was presented the International Reading Association Nila Banton-Smith award for excellence in developing a special reading program.
A Look Back at This Week,
35 Years Ago
- Yelm Prairie Days princesses Amy Edwards, Kiasa Smith, Gina Shaw and Kelly Lawson traveled to the state Capitol building where they met Gov. Booth Gardener.
- The trusses went up on the new Yelm Prairie Christian Center Church on 103rd Street. The church was scheduled to be completed by December of 1989. The first service was slated to be held on Christmas Eve.
- At the state track meet in Tacoma on May 27, 1989, Yelm High School had two state champions: Shannon Bryan and Mike Henslee. Bryant broke her own meet record in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.56 seconds. Henslee won the javelin crown with a throw of 199 feet, 2 inches.
- The Yelm High School FFA team finished off its year by taking third place overall at the 59th state FFA convention. YHS finished first in its district and also received a gold President’s Award, a second-place Cooperative Activities Award and an In-Club Award for 100% member participation in activities.
A Look Back at This Week,
25 Years Ago
- Harold Chambers of Yelm asked the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office to look into his allegation that Thurston County Commissioner Diane Oberquell perjured herself in a recent lawsuit. Chambers claimed that Oberquell made false statements in a 1996 lawsuit against the county commissioners that dealt with the alleged illegal use of public campaign funds.
- An exasperated Rainier councilwoman Freita “Jackie” Geaudreau said she was sick and tired of the Federal Railroad Commission’s failure to respond to repeated complaints about uninstalled crossing arms on Centre Street.
- A 15-year-old Yelm boy charged with rape and child molestation was set to be tried as an adult. The suspect was arrested by Yelm police on Jan. 25, 1999, for the alleged rape of a 4-year-old girl living in his neighborhood.
- Yelm’s Danny Murphy and Justin Novotney each qualified for the state track finals, automatically earning them placing points at Star Track XVII in Tacoma.
A Look Back at This Week,
15 Years Ago
- A Spanaway man was arrested after a woman witnessed him breaking into vehicles in Yelm. Dennis Teffeteller, 27, was booked into Thurston County jail on suspicion of second-degree theft and second-degree vehicle prowling.
- Bernadette Marbut, 21, of Yelm, rolled her car off state Highway 507 in Tenino. While the cause of the accident was unknown, officers determined no drugs or alcohol were involved.
- Southworth Elementary’s Triathlon for Technology raised about $5,500 in the event’s 19th year. Students in grades kindergarten through sixth collected funds annually for the work they would do during the school-wide triathlon. The event money was used to replace or repair the school’s outdated and broken technology.
- Rainier High School’s track team won five events at districts and sent 11 competitors to the 1A championships at Eastern Washington University. First-place finishers were sophomore Kristen Schoenherr in the javelin, freshman Zoie Daniels in the 1,600 meters and seniors Bradon Franklin and Kevin McCrea in the discus and javelin, respectively, and the girls 4x400 relay team.
