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
• Truman Wilcox received a special plaque at the annual United Egg Producers meeting naming him the top “egg producer of the year” on Feb. 27, 1980.
• Jerry Henderson, 21, was set to visit the Mariners baseball team in Seattle in May and June to try out for a catcher position. Henderson graduated from Yelm High School.
• Joe Berry, 36, came running out the back door of a home on Railroad Street in Yelm March 7, 1980, and ran right into the arms of Marshal Bill Ruddell, who had been summoned to the home when neighbors became suspicious of a stranger in the area. Berry was charged with second-degree burglary, and damages were estimated at $95 inside the home.
• Orville Ray Garrison, 26, was killed Feb. 10, 1980, while working as a faller in Alaska. He was a resident of a remote camp near Shakan Bay. He, along with his wife Sandy Garrison, were former McKenna residents.
A look back at this week, 35 years ago
• Yelm cyclist Alan Kinnaman began the first leg of his bicycle trip around the world with friend Bruce Baker on Feb. 1, 1990. His trip included pedaling across parts of three deserts for seven days, including the Mojave, Colorado and Sonora deserts.
• Ted Hall Sr., former Town of Rainier clerk, was charged with the theft of over $18,000 from the town March 8, 1990. The charges followed a state auditor’s office investigation of the town’s records. The audit estimated that $10,184 was unrecorded in the town’s records while $8,258 was used for unauthorized expenditures.
• Former Rainier teacher Kevin Lyle pleaded guilty to three rape charges in Thurston County Superior Court March 7, 1990. Lyle pleaded guilty to two charges that occurred at Rainier High School between September 1987 and January 1988. The charges were statutory rape and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
• Taking advantage of 26 Tornado turnovers, Battle Ground eliminated Yelm in the second round of the state tournament March 8, 1990.
A look back at this week, 25 years ago
• The Yelm Community Schools board of directors backed down from their failed four-year levy and decided to bring a smaller, two-year package to voters for an April 25, 2000, election.
• With a sigh of relief, the Rainier School District could rest for the time being after a final barrage of positive absentee ballots passed its 2001-2002 maintenance and operations levy. Just four yes votes proved to be the difference.
• The television spotlight was on Yelm when a local cable TV magazine visited to tape a show about the city. “My Home Town,” hosted by Dorothy Williams, asked locals about Yelm’s history, its unique buildings, businesses and organizations, and how the city got its name.
• Thurston County Sheriff’s deputies investigated a series of vandalism attacks on two Yelm homes. According to detective Con Riedel, residents on McKenzie Street and 93rd Avenue Southeast reported multiple attacks by bottle rockets on their homes on consecutive days.
A look back at this week, 15 years ago
• Aliese Marie Gatlin, 20, of Yelm, was charged with three felonies after allegedly giving her 9-month-old daughter the prescription painkiller Percocet.
• Officials investigated a fire that thoroughly destroyed a home in Roy in the early morning of March 7, 2010. The structure was a total loss, two cars were decimated, and seven dogs in the house perished.
• A resident in the 14600 block of Regal Lane Southeast reported burglars broke into his home and then an outbuilding on two separate occasions between Feb. 23 and Feb. 27, 2010.
• The annual Yelm Dollars for Scholars auction raised $132,871.50 March 6, 2010. The committee anticipated that at least $150,000 would be awarded to the nearly 100 Yelm High School seniors who applied for scholarships.
