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
- Negotiations that had been dragging on all summer reached a stalled point as members of the teacher’s union and the Yelm Education Association declared an impasse and sought outside help. Dr. Glen Nutter, Yelm district superintendent, indicated the two sides had been meeting during the summer, but agreement was very slow with few issues settled.
- Both the Rainier School Board and Rainier Teachers Association requested the services of the Public Employment Relations Commission as the two reached an impasse in their negotiations. Superintendent Richard Drees indicated the two sides could not come to any agreement on a wide range of subjects and decided to seek outside help.
- A sedan and a pickup truck crashed at the intersection of Highway 507 and Grove Street with no injuries to either driver. Michael Larkin of Yelm was at the wheel of the pickup when Ronald Mae of Spanaway struck the truck, knocking it on its side.
- Wendell G. Curry of Rainier was killed Aug. 25, 1979, when his farm tractor flipped and pinned him beneath the seat. The 54-year-old was pulling stumps from a field when the machine flipped and crushed his chest.
A Look Back at This Week,
35 Years Ago
- What started as a burglary suspect chase ended in a drug bust Aug. 28, 1989, when the suspects bolted at sight of police. Police from Yelm, Roy and a county deputy sheriff followed the suspects to a home before more individuals bolted from the home and ran to nearby woods. Officers corralled three suspects and chased down the others while one remained at large.
- A Holroyd concrete mixer ran into the ditch on Bald Hills Road near 138th Street Aug. 23, 1989. The driver, Jack Finnel of Olympia, received minor injuries to his left leg and shoulder and was taken to St. Peter Hospital in Olympia.
- Kitten Carollo returned to Yelm after a month-long tour in Europe with the United States Wind Ensemble, for whom she played trumpet. She and other high school musicians from around the country performed in France, Belgium, Germany, Holland and England.
- Kiasa Smith of Yelm was appointed to serve as grand representative of California for the Washington and Idaho International Order of the Rainbow for Girls. Smith was a senior at Yelm High School and a member of Yelm Assembly 75.
A Look Back at This Week,
25 Years Ago
- A 13-year-old boy from Roy was believed to have drowned in the Pacific Ocean near Ocean Shores after bodysurfing with a friend. Anthony Almeida was bodysurfing with 13-year-old Yelm resident Adam Schick Aug. 26 when they apparently were bowled over by waves and caught by a rip current.
- The Nisqually Tribe and other area residents said they didn’t want the traffic, foul smells and environmental risks that a proposed hot-mix asphalt plant would have created. Issaquah-based Lakeside Industries, which wanted to build the asphalt plant in an existing gravel pit near Yelm, said the residents opposed to the facility would hardly know it was there.
- The Yelm City Council approved a Yelm Community Services grant proposal for a youth center for the second year in a row. The proposal called for construction of a gym, child care facility, kitchen and additional office space at the existing YCS complex on Crystal Springs Road.
- Yelm athletes Jarod and Travis Matthews and Roy’s Joshua Marlow were local members of the state champion Pierce County Saints, a 16-and-under baseball team.
A Look Back at This Week,
15 Years Ago
- JT Wilcox, of Roy, said he would run for state representative in the Second District as a Republican in the 2010 election for the seat held by Rep. Tom Campbell, R-Roy, who was running for a seat in Congress.
- It took six weeks, but the City of Roy officially swore in its new mayor, Karen Yates, and filled one of its two open council seats with Pam Raczykowski. Yates replaced Natalie Banks, while Raczykowski filled the vacancy left by Mark Riehm.
- An investigation released by Washington State Auditor Brian Sonntag showed the City of Yelm did not misuse taxpayer money to fund a water study for the benefit of a private development. Channeler JZ Knight and her spokesman, former Yelm mayoral candidate Steve Klein, repeatedly asserted that the city funded a $550,000 water study to benefit the Thurston Highlands development.
- Southeast Thurston Fire and EMS officially transitioned into housing a crew at the Rainier Fire Station Aug. 17, 2009. The fire station was built with the intention of expanding.
