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
- The Roy Town Council removed Elizabeth Rediskie from the office of town clerk, a post she had filled for five years, by a vote of 4-1.
- Danny Beaird Jr., 10, of Yelm, was slated to take part in a kick-pass-punt contest at the Seattle Seahawks game against the Houston Oilers, Oct. 21, 1979. The fifth grader won the championship in Olympia for middle schools and later picked up a trophy in Tacoma to take the zone championship.
- A total of 60 messages in balloons were sent by McKenna Elementary second graders with the hope that whomever found them will return the postcard enclosed. The messages simply asked the finder to indicate where the balloons were found and to drop the card in the mail.
- Yelm High School’s football team struggled on both sides of the ball in a 20-7 loss to the visiting Timberline Blazers Oct. 12, 1979.
A Look Back at This Week,
35 Years Ago
- Yelm High School’s volleyball team continued to roll over opponents to hold the lead in the Pierce County League with sweeps over Gig Harbor and White River, improving to 10-1 overall and 9-1 in league.
- McKenna Elementary, which had the oldest Parent Teacher Association (PTA) in the state, celebrated its longevity with a short ceremony Oct. 10, 1989. The PTA was formed in 1911.
- Randy C. Killion, 34, Yelm, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of reckless driving when he was tried in Thurston County District Court. Originally charged with driving while under the influence of intoxicants, he was fined $500, sentenced to one day in jail and his license was suspended for 30 days.
- About a dozen members of Calvary Baptist Church carried signs along Yelm Highway outside the white walls of Messiah Arabian Farm. Inside the walls, a ranch retreat for a newly formed group of students of Ramtha was being held. The signs bore messages like “Jesus died for you … Ramtha didn’t,” and “Jesus never charged.”
A Look Back at This Week,
25 Years Ago
- Joe Williams, owner of the Prairie Development Company and chief executive officer of Yelm’s only hotel, planned to build a six-screen theater on a 15-acre field just outside of Prairie Hotel.
- Yelm residents voiced their concerns about plans for a pair of proposed developments in the southwest corner of Yelm at a planning commission meeting. The Thurston Highlands project and a smaller project called Prairie View would have encompassed nearly 1,800 acres and contained as many as 5,000 residential units.
- Fire department investigators confirmed that arson was the cause of a Yelm fire that destroyed a mobile home in the King’s Meadow Mobile Home park. The suspect in the case, investigators said, was younger than 12 years old.
- Yelm High School golfer Jacob Butler earned a state berth at the sub-district state qualifier at Fort Lewis, but he had to wait until May to compete in state when all 3A schools had completed their schedules.
A Look Back at This Week,
15 Years Ago
- Yelm officials looked into whether or not the city was liable after it was asserted they wrongfully issued a building permit. The permit was for a house in the Palisades West subdivision, located on a hill just past Ridgeline Middle School. Only one house was built in the 24-lot subdivision.
- Dare, a 7-year-old gelding, got stuck in mud up to his neck in Eatonville. Crews from South Pierce Fire and Rescue, Gene’s Towing, Tacoma Equine Hospital and Pierce County Animal Control spent nearly five hours working together to save the horse.
- Rainier seniors had their hearts and several locks broken from a break-in that left the Rainier Senior Center’s kitchen shelves depleted. A thief gained access to the building through a side door, which showed little signs of damage, indicating the person may have known how to pick locks.
- Two residential fires were reportedly started by wood-burning stoves. The first occurred in the 100 block of Centre Street in Rainier, where a metal shop behind the home caught fire. Another house caught fire in the 15000 block of McIntosh Valley Road in Rainier.
