Starla Pointer
"Stopping By:" A reporter who knows that everyone has an interesting story to tell welcomes suggestions.
Stopping by: Staying on a jet plane
Airline Capt. Jason James fell in love with aviation in 1969, when he was 5 years old. Aboard the Boeing 707 taking his family from their native Trinidad to a new home in New York City, he gasped ...
Stopping by: Life-changing moments
Vietnam veteran, museum docent looks back on service As the 2010-11 school year approached, Lonnie Prather’s six youngest grandchildren went shopping for clothing and supplies. Prather took ...
Stopping by: ‘Helping is ingrained in who I am, what I do’
Anesthesiologist Lea See spends most days working in the operating room at Willamette Valley Medical Center. But through the McMinnville-based GhanaHope Foundation, she’s also had a chance to help ...
Stopping By: Short and sweet
The baby bulldog earned his official name when he burrowed into Ross Howard’s beard and fell asleep against his neck. “He just snuggles up to us,” Susan Howard declared to her ...
Stopping by: Times change, but movie rental store keeps rolling
It’s a good thing Martin Solano and Jessi Adrian are movie buffs. Owners of The Reel Hollywood Video, McMinnville’s sole remaining video rental store, Adrian and Solano have to know ...
Stopping by: A furry family reunion
AMITY — Half the family rushed to the entry gate when Sarge arrived at the reunion. The firstborn of nine, Sarge had earned her nickname because she started barking orders at her sisters ...
Stopping By: Life in character
As a very shy girl, young Holly Spencer never would have guessed she’d be playing the bold Mrs. Robinson in a stage version of “The Graduate.” In fact, during her elementary ...
Stopping by: A burning desire to serve
Longtime volunteer firefighter and EMT is now a division chief One of Scott Law’s earliest memories involves a Christmas morning fire at the Flying M Ranch west of Yamhill. Law, now division ...
Stopping by: Making way for ducklings
June 12 was a most exciting day at Drake Farms near Yamhill. The babies arrived. Gregg and Rachel Spiegelman had been preparing for ages, almost as if they were about to add a third ...
Stopping By: Opening axe
Watching her daughter, Emmy, aim tomahawks during Boy Scout camp gave Leah Wilson the idea for a new cutting-edge business: West Coast Axe. “For stress-relief, competition and, most of all, fun,” ...
Stopping By: Quieting the mind
Sometimes we run into barriers that stop us or slow us down. To McMinnville resident Laurien Hamilton, the most daunting barriers are emotional ones we impose on ourselves or accept when others thrust ...
Stopping by: Scout aims for ‘work that I’m proud of’
When 9-year-old Derek Easterday became a Cub Scout, he was probably thinking more about fun and friendship with fellow members of Pack 454 than about community service. But as he grew ...
Stopping by: Creature features
Birds flock to the Patty and Rick Sorensen’s yard, turning the expansive garden into an avian version of Carnegie Hall. “I love their song,” Patty said, watching and listening ...
Stopping By: Personalities in paint
LAFAYETTE — Tricia Heiser Wente has painted portraits of children, businessmen, families, even royalty — one of her more recent works is the official portrait of 2018 Rose Festival ...
