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
- For the second time, the Norman Couthran family had a destructive fire at their Canal Road home — this time it was their barn, not the house. Firemen were summoned to quench a blaze burning in the combination barn storage area. They stopped the blaze after minor damage to one corner of the structure containing hay, tools, old autos and assorted material. Another alarm sounded the next morning as the structure was totally engulfed and eventually destroyed.
- About 120 people attended the official dedication of St. Peter Hospital’s recently completed $5.6-million expansion program in Olympia.
- John “Marty” Olsen, 18, Yelm, received serious leg and hip injuries, June 30, 1979, when his motorcycle struck the rear of a pickup truck. His bike was near a total loss with minor damage to the truck.
- A smoky haze in the Yelm area was caused by a combination of weather and slash burning. The burning was in Mason County where a shift in wind brought the smoke to the area. Another shift in the wind sent the same smoke back through the area, increasing the smog.
A Look Back at This Week,
35 Years Ago
- Yelm’s UCBO food bank received a grant check for $3,400 from Puget Sound Bank to purchase a new walk-in cooler. The food bank previously had to rely on three freezers and two refrigerators for storage of perishables.
- John Flick was hired as the new Yelm High School football head coach June 25, 1989. He was previously the offensive coordinator at Sammamish High School in Bellevue for four years. There, he coached two Rose Bowl quarterbacks in younger brother Tom Flick and Steve Pelluer.
- The Yelm Police Department brought on two new officers in Russ Holt and Keith Mercer. Holt previously worked part time for the Thurston County Sheriff’s Department, while Mercer was a reserve officer for the Lacey Police Department while owning the Radio Shack franchise store in Frontier Village.
- Luis V. Mondrago, 24, Roy, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of cocaine. He was sentenced to two months in jail with credit given for time served, ordered to pay $70 to the crime victim’s compensation fund and charged $70 in court costs.
A Look Back at This Week,
25 Years Ago
- The similarity between several burglaries in Yelm led police to believe that the same people are committing the crimes, sometimes hitting the same businesses twice. There were 15 burglaries in town since April, but the total number of businesses burglarized was nine. Police said burglars were gaining entrance to businesses by forcing open small vents or finding small openings outside.
- An earthquake that measured up to 5.5 on the Richter scale apparently yielded little or no damage in the Yelm area. The quake hit the Puget Sound region at about 6:45 p.m. July 2, 1999, and was centered near Satsop.
- Two people died in a head-on collision between a car and an Intercity Transit bus on Yelm Highway, July 3, 1999. Sophith Vong, 54, was driving a 1982 Honda Civic eastbound on Yelm Highway when the collision occurred. Both he and his grandson, Phitarart Vong, 4, were pronounced dead at the scene, while his second grandson, Mathra Vong, 8, suffered cuts.
- Kimberly Kreitel, 14, Yelm, was chosen as a state finalist in the Miss Washington American Junior Teen Pageant to be held in September 1999 in Seattle.
A Look Back at This Week,
15 Years Ago
- Yelm residents were left with a lot of questions after a rash of police cars and a helicopter were seen in the northeast area of Yelm. Yelm Police Chief Todd Stancil confirmed that his department assisted the DEA with a search warrant on a home on Van Trump Street.
- A rabbit breeder in the 14700 block of Mud Run Road west of Yelm reported someone opened all the doors to her rabbit cages while she was away at a breeder’s show, releasing her 46 rabbits. Some of the rabbits started fighting with each other, and one rabbit was found dead.
- As residents transitioned into their summer routines, so did the Yelm Police Department. Each summer, School Resource Officer Bill DeVore broke out his bicycle and hit the streets to patrol the Yelm-Tenino trail and local neighborhoods.
- Vandals struck just one week after Rainier High School’s leadership team completed murals on the train trestle. The RHS mural had silver YHS letters, and the seniors’ 2009 mural said “YHS Seniors Tornados.”
