Enjoy these snapshots of articles written in past issues of the Nisqually Valley News from 45, 35, 25 and 15 years ago.
A look back at this week, 45 years ago
• Gayla Schorno, a Yelm High School junior and daughter of cattle exporter Larry Schorno, was elected Thurston County Dairy Princess. Schorno’s future responsibilities were to include parade and fair appearances across the state and promoting dairy products.
• Danielle French posted a 3.99 grade point average at Yelm High School as valedictorian of the class of 1980. French planned on attending Clover Park Vocational Technical Institute in the fall to become a legal secretary.
• Rebbie Goodwin, class valedictorian of Rainier High School, finished her schooling with a GPA of 3.8. A member of Honor Society, Goodwin was also Pep Club president, sergeant-at-arms of the junior class, class secretary, FFA queen and varsity cheerleader.
• Margaret Dotson of Yelm was honored for her 90th birthday at the Yelm Inn with a roast beef dinner, salad and cake. Dotson was surrounded by daughters, sons, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and a handful of friends.
A look back at this week, 35 years ago
• An 850-acre landfill planned outside of Bucoda was met with protests from residents who said the landfill would bring unwanted truck traffic and disrupt the town’s peaceful environment. The landfill was being converted from the Centralia Coal Mine.
• As part of the First Steps Program, 40 percent of all baby deliveries in Washington state were soon to be paid for by Medicaid. The program intended to make it easier for low-income or uninsured pregnant women to qualify for Medicaid coverage while raising the amount of reimbursement to the provider.
• A Memorial Day service was held May 30 at noon at the Yelm Cemetery. The service was conducted by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. For the first time, Nisqually Valley Post 5580 had its own firing squad.
• Rainier High School was set to graduate 52 seniors on June 8. Valedictorian Meredith McCann and salutatorian Robin Coffee were scheduled to give speeches. Brule Hoffman and Kim Whalen were elected by the class of 1990 to give a special reading, “The Precious Present.”
A look back at this week, 25 years ago
• An 11-year-old boy accused of assaulting a young girl at Mill Pond Intermediate School was to be judged for mental capacity before returning to Thurston County Juvenile Court. A warrant was issued for his 10-year-old accomplice, who failed to appear at an arraignment on Tuesday.
• A family home south of Rainier burned to the ground Tuesday afternoon despite a day of rain. Neighbor Ronald Hinzpeter reported the blaze and was able to rescue the family’s dog tied up outside. The family was not harmed in the fire.
• Gary Gagnon was named Yelm High School’s head football coach on Monday and met with players for an informal practice on Wednesday. Gagnon came to Yelm from Homestead High School in California where he served as assistant head coach and offensive coordinator. Gagnon served as an assistant coach at Stanford under Jack Elway, John Elway’s father, from 1989-91.
• John Stonecypher of Yelm High School was named Most Valuable Player of the Pierce County League for the 2000 baseball season. A catcher for the Tornados, Stonecypher set a school record that year with 38 RBIs while batting .500 with five home runs.
A look back at this week, 15 years ago
• The City of Yelm responded Thursday to Yelm spiritual channeler JZ Knight’s motion for reconsideration on having to repay more than $195,000 in attorneys’ fees and court costs, maintaining that it was entitled to be repaid because it had prevailed in the appeal. The state Court of Appeals had previously overturned Knight’s petition of five area subdivisions in April.
• A 58-year-old woman went outside her house Saturday morning to find a neighbor’s goat eating her apple tree. After the woman attempted to shoo the goat away, the goat reared up and bucked her, knocking her to the ground. The goat proceeded to chase the woman right up to her door.
• Yelm Police arrested the son of former Yelm City Councilwoman Pat Fetterly Tuesday in connection with stolen property that turned up in Centralia last week. Tim Hankins, 44, was arrested and booked into Thurston County Jail for residential burglary, first-degree theft and trafficking stolen property.
• Kristen Schoenherr, a three-sport athlete for Rainier High School, earned first-place in the javelin at the 1A state track meet. Schoenherr threw 132 feet to beat her second-place competitor, Kelsie Taylor of Naches Valley, by 2 feet, 8 inches.
