Starla Pointer

"Stopping By:" A reporter who knows that everyone has an interesting story to tell welcomes suggestions.

Rusty Rae/News-Register##Veteran Dave Cutter with his therapy dog, Lucy. “She’s all love,” he said.

Stopping by: Everyone loves Lucy

Big, affectionate Landseer dog brings joy to veterans

Rusty Rae/News-Register##Yamhill Valley Heritage Center Director Heather Farquhar stands next to one of the many vintage pieces of farm equipment in the museum’s collection. She said she enjoys working with museum volunteers and hopes to attract more visitors to see the exhibits.

Stopping By: Harboring history

Heritage center director Heather Farquhar says visiting a museum should be fun, relevant

Rachel Thompson/News-Register##Laura and Doug Fugere comfort each other under a memorial quilt for their daughter, Shanny, who was killed in a crash caused by an intoxicated driver. On the wall are a photo of Shanny, her ashes in a wooden box, and art made by Doug of Shanny’s footprints, among other artifacts. Bean, at right, along with their dog Trip have also been a comfort to the Fugeres.

Stopping By: Remembering Shanny

Saying Shanny Fugere was full of life is like saying a beach is full of grains of sand or the ocean is full of water, said her parents, Doug and Laura Fugere. Shanny enlivened every situation, whether ...

Rachel Thompson/News-Register##Jenny Kim, right, talks with her husband, Damon, and father Kenneth Kim, in back, in the family’s grocery and bento shop. As a child, Jenny played inside G&S Market, and now is learning more in order to be part of it. Staffing the counter is cashier Gabriel Ruiz Garcia.

Stopping By: Korean roots and a business legacy

Jenny Kim grew up speaking Korean in a family with deep roots in the Asian country — her grandparents and parents had immigrated from Korea and continued their language and customs after settling ...

Rusty Rae/News-Register##Emily Grosvenor, author of “Find Yourself at Home,” uses environmental psychology and the Chinese art of feng shui to arrange her books and other belongings to suit her personality. Her book leads others in doing so, in order to make them most comfortable in their own environment, she said.

Stopping By: The shape of home

Local author’s book focuses on ‘making conscious choices’ for domestic contentment

Rachel Thompson/News-Register##Bernadette Hansen, executive director of the Saturday Morning Breakfast program, picks up two portions of food to take to the serving line on Jan. 27. She said she likes meeting the people who come for nutritious meals. On the left is Kristy Rodriguez of Dayton, a student from Oregon Coast Community College, who enjoys volunteering regularly.

Stopping By: Song and service

Bernadette Hansen has been involved in many things, especially community service and environment-related programs. “I find things that are focused on helping others,” said Hansen, who is director ...

Rachel Thompson/News-Register##Esther Arellano and Eli Meek run through “Stoned Soul Picnic,” one of the songs the McMinnville High School Twilighters are doing this season. The tune was made popular by The 5th Dimension in the late 1960s. Arellano and Meek will join the Twilighters and other musicians to perform at “Swingin’ on a Star,” a fundraiser for K-12 music programs, on Saturday, Jan. 27.

Stopping By: Motivated by music

Two Twilighters and musical leaders look back on high school careers, relish upcoming shows

Rachel Thompson/News-Register##Tad Beckwith reads to his children, Jade, 7, and Sky, 10, stories about a young man — himself 25 years ago — who pedaled 10,000 miles making friends. Sometimes Beckwith works in lessons, such as the danger of taking shortcuts — something he learned in South America, on a narrow road that turned into a river during a downpour.

Stopping By: Cycles of friendship

Dayton man finds sustained meaning in his two-wheeled travels and ‘PeaceBike’ journals

Rusty Rae/News-Register##Tashi Haarsma, who moved to Amity from South Korea when she was 8, is grateful that the community embraced her family. She learned English from Amity schools, and now is a school nurse and athletic director at her alma mater, Amity High School.

Holiday Traditions: Finding Christmas and community in Amity

Before her first Christmas in Amity, Tashi Haarsma didn’t know what the holiday was all about. In South Korea, where she spent most of her first eight years, people didn’t celebrate with decorated ...

Starla Pointer/News-Register##McMinnville artist Isabelle Truchon shows off some of her smaller studies and ink drawings, including one of horses running and another of a horse silhouetted at the edge of a river.

Holiday Traditions: Artist savors Christmas as time to appreciate others’ gifts

Artist Isabelle Truchon of McMinnville may have her native Canada to thank for her creativity. Winters are cold in her native Montreal, the largest city in French-speaking Quebec. Stuck inside, ...

Holiday traditions: Family, food are the focus of Mexican Christmas customs

For Lilia Manriquez, the Christmas season isn’t usually about getting gifts; rather, it’s about family gatherings and cooking traditional Mexican food. This year, though, she’s ...

Rusty Rae/News-Register##Ukrainian family members said they are happy to be in McMinnville, although leaving their country and coming to the U.S. has been challenging, at times – such as when they need to convert from metric measurements to inches, yards and gallons. The family includes, from left, Irina Kotova holding 3-year-old Arthur, with Vanya Mochula behind her, and grandmother Ohlo Novikova with teen Kristina behind her. Father Alex Zhiradskaya was not present.

Stopping By: Ukrainian refugee family settles into McMinnville, with help and high hopes

When Russia invaded her homeland in February 2022, Ukrainian Irina “Ira” Kotova was manager of a business in Kiev that makes and distributes ice cream. The company continued its work ...

Rusty Rae/News-Register##Graham Rankin uses a computer he received from the Oregon Council for the Blind to control his woodworking  machines.

Stopping By: Sight-impaired woodworker combines creativity, efficiency

Graham Rankin knew he would need a hobby when he retired from full-time work as a professor of forensic chemistry. He chose woodworking, something he’d done from time to time since he was ...

Rusty Rae/News-Register##George Humlie, right, and Mitchell John have become friends as they’ve made music and discussed their shared faith. They will debut a new Christian book and album this week.

Stopping By: Two musicians team up for exploration of faith and redemption

Two McMinnville musicians have teamed up for a new album, “Carbon County,” and a book about faith and humility called “To the Brokenhearted.” They will debut both at two ...

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