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
• Two Yelm residents, Dennis Skewis and Earl Malay, both received injuries in a single truck accident on Algyer Road, just outside of Rainier. The truck left the highway, slammed into a large tree and remained upright. Skewis was treated for a broken leg, while Malay suffered a deep cut on his head, a broken jaw and a possible broken neck.
• Yelm Town Councilor Oddie Kyler resigned her position on the council as she moved from the community to assume ownership of Summer Shores Rest Home. Kyler only completed the first year of a four-year term.
• Yelm schools found about one-third of their students missing because of a combination of no buses and disease. All buses were pulled off the county roads to reduce damage to the road surface as the deep freezing was giving way to warmer weather. Measles and the flu added to the district’s woes.
• The Yelm Middle School wrestling team picked up first place in the Tenino invitational tournament. During the tournament, Yelm earned five firsts, four seconds, six thirds and two fourths.
A Look Back at This Week, 35 Years Ago
• Youngsters had the opportunity to travel the seven continents with stories and crafts from around the world at Yelm Timberland Library. A special seven-week series, one week for each continent, was presented for both preschool and school-age children.
• Rain and winds up to 40 mph whipped through the area, toppling a small tree that struck the middle of Ralph “Tiny” Goehring’s storage shed and just missed his boat and blocked his mobile home until firemen chainsawed the tree into sections.
• The ground at Yelm City Park was formally broken at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 12, 1989. The groundbreaking began the construction of Yelm’s new stage and bleachers.
• The McKenna Elementary School PTA held its awards presentation for the Reflections program, a statewide school arts program. Kermit the Frog, who handed out awards and hugs, made a special appearance.
A Look Back at This Week, 25 Years Ago
• After the price of a first-class postage stamp increased by 1 cent to 33 cents, the Yelm post office sold 40,000 1-cent stamps in a week to customers who needed them for extra postage. Yelm Postmaster Al Prigge described the week as “like the holiday season.”
• Over 100 area residents and local stream health activists braved rain and cold temperatures to attend a “salmon homecoming” celebrating a possible record run of chum salmon spawning in Muck Creek. Nisqually tribal biologists estimated more than 15,000 of the fish returned to the place of their birth to lay their own eggs.
• A 19-year-old Nisqually Pines man died at a Yelm gasoline station from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to police, the man arrived at the station with two others in an automobile. After the two others left the vehicle to withdraw money from an ATM machine at the store, they reported hearing a gunshot.
• Former Oakland Raider Dan Moss was back before the Rainier Town Council during its regular meeting, this time asking for a time extension to remove several dozen junked cars that remained on his property on Tipsoo Loop.
A Look Back at This Week, 15 Years Ago
• Because of a projected $5.7 billion state budget gap, Yelm Community Schools was forced to prepare for cuts. Heavy cuts were expected in kindergarten through 12th-grade education, if Gov. Christine Gregoire’s proposed 2009-11 budget passed. Yelm schools faced at least $1 million in cuts.
• Yelm City Council appointed Ann Wahrmund as the newest member of the city’s Planning Commission. Wahrmund was a 15-year Yelm resident and former information technology director for Weyerhaeuser.
• Roy councilor Mark Riehm told the council that he was in the process of selling his business, The Old General Store Steak House & Saloon. He said he expected his last day in Roy to be Feb. 28, 2009, adding, “I haven’t submitted my letter of resignation yet, but for those that don’t like me, I’ll be leaving soon, so don’t yell at me.”
• A leak in Yelm High School’s roof forced Yelm Community Schools to place a blue tarp over it. YCS Superintendent Alan Burke said of the leak, “It’s baffling. We can’t figure it out.” No timetable was immediately set for the roof’s repair.
