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
- Jeremy Cole, a kindergartener at McKenna Elementary, became unconscious when he fell off his bicycle and hit his head. Emergency vehicles from Roy and Yelm responded to the alarm along with three Washington State Patrol cars as witnesses reported Cole had been struck by a car.
- It took a lot of bake sales by the class of C.O. Creel at Southworth Elementary the previous year, but the class raised enough funds to have a new play area. The students accumulated $250 to purchase gravel to be placed in the wooded area where swings and other play equipment were installed.
- Voter interest in the primary election hit an all-time low as just 17.5% of the registered voters bothered to cast a ballot. There were only two measures on the Yelm ballot, a narrowing down of candidates for the school board and port commission.
- Yelm’s football team came up short against Gig Harbor Sept. 14, 1979, by a score of 12-6. Dave Lazelle scored the only touchdown of the evening for the Tornados.
A Look Back at This Week,
35 Years Ago
- A primary election that featured only two sets of candidates marked an all-time low for voter turnout. Two races were on the ballot for Yelm voters with a two-candidate mayoral race between Robert Sanders and William “Bill” Trull.
- Dr. William Penn, whose medical practice was in Yelm, was set to compete in the Ironman triathlon world championship in Hawaii Oct. 14, 1989. The triathlon would be his ninth and final competition of the year.
- The auto of Teresa Melinick, 68, Yelm, edged over to the right side of Highway 510 while traveling toward Olympia. The vehicle clipped a traffic control sign and slammed into the guardrail over the creek near Southworth Elementary. The driver received neck and back pain.
- Several Rainier FFA members won awards at the Thurston County and Southwest Washington fairs. Among the winners were Billy Evans, Bonnie Turner, Meredith McCann, Jason Johnson, Bead Reichel, Jason Turner and Lynn Masters.
A Look Back at This Week,
25 Years Ago
- Employees at the Yelm McDonald’s were startled when two children wearing their pajamas tried to drive a golf cart through the restaurant’s drive-thru. Employees told the two boys, ages 6 and 8, they would have to park the vehicle and come inside to order. The boys complied.
- The Thurston County Sheriff’s Department investigated an apparent suicide after boaters discovered a body hanging from a tree near the Skookumchuck reservoir. Two men were clearing logs by boat in the reservoir when they found a mostly skeletonized body hanging from a tree.
- More than 150 Nisqually Valley residents showed up at Medicine Creek Farm Sept. 16, 1999, to plan their battle against a proposed asphalt-batching plant at an existing gravel pit on Old Pacific Highway.
- Yelm police arrested two local burglars who they said had been plundering stores across the state for months. Police arrested Thurston County resident Chris Howe and his girlfriend on seven counts of burglary after raiding Howe’s home. Police allegedly found evidence linking Howe to numerous crimes across the state.
A Look Back at This Week,
15 Years Ago
- A Rainier teen was killed after her car went off the road and hit a power pole Sept. 12, 2009. Kayla Rearden, 18, was driving a 1990 Honda Accord eastbound on 153rd Avenue at approximately 2:45 a.m. when she crashed. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
- More than two years after right-of-way acquisition was completed, construction was underway on the connector to 103rd Avenue from Yelm Walmart. Construction was slated to be finished by the end of the year.
- The Committee to Elect JT Wilcox raised about $10,000 during the campaign’s first kickoff event as Wilcox ran for the state House of Representatives in the Second District. More than 100 people attended the event, which was held in the museum at Wilcox Farms in Roy.
- The Yelm football team trailed wire-to-wire in its 49-33 home opener loss against Interlake. The Tornados trailed 33-12 at halftime, but they clawed back to within six points at 39-33 in the fourth quarter.
