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
- Safety problems at the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad crossings on Highway 507 east of Roy resulted in a reconstruction project at the site. The improvements were set to cost $45,000.
- The 40th annual Yelm Prairie Days celebration kicked off with a week-long celebration July 21, 1979. Activities included the traditional carnival and drawing, election of the Prairie Days queen, a free teen dance with music supplied by Highway 101 Rock Band, 4-H bicycle rodeo and more.
- A wrestling team made up of grapplers from four high schools, including Yelm, returned from a week of wrestling in Mexico City, Mexico, as part of the Pan-American Games. The team, which included YHS head coach Gaylord Strand and wrestlers Charlie Brewer and Robert Willis, returned with two trophies: a second-place finish in Greco-Roman and a fourth-place finish in freestyle.
- Construction began on a new sanctuary and educational wing of the Yelm Seventh-day Adventist Church about one mile east of Yelm on Highway 507.
A Look Back at This Week,
35 Years Ago
- The Yelm Town Council voted to adopt the Yelm Wastewater Facility plan calling for the STEP collection system, wastewater lagoon treatment and disposal into the Centralia Power Canal.
- Rainier Police Chief Dan Lilly resigned because of a town ordinance that prohibited payment to police officers on holidays. He was replaced by Dan Sheetz, a former Town of Roy police chief.
- The 50th annual Yelm Prairie Days festivities were held from July 22 through June 29, 1989. Events included a dog show, a water fight, Pride of the Prairie Run, barbecue dinner, Prairie Days queen coronation and Prairie Days Golf Tournament, among others.
- Joy Butler of Yelm placed third in the 100-meter dash final at the regional junior Olympic finals at Shoreline Stadium in Seattle, earning a bronze medal. Butler qualified to compete at the national junior Olympics at Spokane Falls and Spokane Community College.
A Look Back at This Week,
25 Years Ago
- The paving of the first section of the Yelm-to-Tenino trail was put on hold because of concerns about endangered salmon. The project was lumped with the paving of a section of the Chehalis-Western Trail near Lacey and was tentatively scheduled to begin in July. Because the Chehalis-Western Trail ran alongside the Deschutes River, it fell under federal standards for environmental review.
- U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Robert Brown of Rainier was a member of a crew that flew a plane over the South Pole to drop medical supplies to a woman in distress July 10, 1999. The 18-year Air Force veteran was one of the loadmasters who dropped six pallets of material from a C-141B Starlifter.
- Scott L. Grant, a registered sex offender who moved to a residence next to Yelm High School, was arrested and awaiting extradition to Florida for a probation violation.
- Kyle Zimmerman, a rising fifth grader at Rainier Elementary and wrestler, did not lose a match all season on his way to the Washington state freestyle wrestling championship. He added two more crowns the following week as he won regional titles in both freestyle and Greco-Roman.
A Look Back at This Week,
15 Years Ago
- Six months after his initial announcement that he was quitting, Roy Councilman Mark Riehm officially stepped down July 13, 2009. He submitted a letter of resignation effectively immediately to Roy City Council, citing professional, personal and business reasons.
- Fire crews from multiple districts fought a brush fire that consumed several acres and threatened homes near Muscat Drive in Rainier, July 15, 2009.
- Former Roy Fire District Secretary Jerianne Jacobs was sentenced to 15 years in prison for stealing about $1.1 million from the district. Jacobs, 62, pleaded guilty in Pierce County Superior Court to first-degree theft and first-degree money laundering.
- Two soldiers from Fort Lewis were arrested July 12, 2009, after witnesses reported them for allegedly destroying trees and mailboxes. James Olin Herrington, 25, and John Goulette, 32, were arrested on charges of first-degree malicious mischief.
