The bell rang, signaling the end of classes at Patton Middle School a few days before the winter break. Many students headed out the main doors to board buses, get into parents’ cars or start walking ...
News & Features
Commissioners to consider fate of trail Jan. 22
The Yamhill County Board of Commissioners will vote on the future of the Yamhelas Westsider trail at a public hearing scheduled for Jan 22. The board will decide whether to remove the trail from the county’s ...
Grange Hill lodging application returns to commissioners, to be followed by The Ground’s
The first of two remands concerning bed and breakfasts in rural Yamhill County will go before the board of commissioners Thursday. Back to regular meetings after two weeks off for the holidays, the board ...
YCAP, city pleased with Nav Center resolution
The $98,000 settlement payment from the city of McMinnville to Yamhill Community Action Partnership was the best option for both sides to move ahead after the construction debacle of AnyDoor Place Navigation ...
Construction starts on new boutique hotel
Construction of a new boutique hotel on Alpine Avenue began today, following months of planning. Owners Tim Wade and Carole Lundgren said they expect the Piquette hotel to open in early 2027. It will ...
Along the Street: What’s going up at the start of 2026
-- Work continues on the new Tractor Supply structure at Highway 99W and Booth Bend Road in south McMinnville. The building, agricultural, pet and home and garden store will open this year. The company ...
Merkley to hold town in McMinnville hall Friday
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, will hold his first town hall of 2026 in McMinnville. The public discussion will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 9, in the McMinnville Community Center, 600 N.E. Evans ...
Amity to appoint committee members
The Amity City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, to appoint members to the Historic Preservation Committee and Tourism Committee. The Historic Preservation Committee has three vacancies with ...
2025: The year in review
Yamhill County’s 2025 was a time of surprises and disappointments, many distinct from those of other years. In 2025, public projects were both buffeted and boosted, and national issues also found ...
McMinnville man arrested for unlawful marijuana delivery
Francisco Lopez Jr., 35, of McMinnville has been charged with causing another person to ingest marijuana (a class B felony) and unlawful delivery of marijuana after allegedly giving his date an edible ...
Patton builds positive atmosphere with clubs
The bell rang, signaling the end of classes at Patton Middle School a few days before the winter break. Many students headed out the main doors to board buses, get into parents’ cars or start walking ...
In Review: ’25 was a year of change for local business
It was a fast-paced year in business in McMinnville and Yamhill County, with shops and restaurants opening, expanding, moving and closing. Local favorite Tommy’s, a restaurant popular since the ...
Sheridan council votes to change meeting time
The Sheridan City Council meeting will start an hour earlier at 6 p.m., beginning this month. At the Dec. 15, regular council meeting, the dais voted 5-1 to amend the city code to allow for meeting earlier ...
Clerk gives trail petitions green light
Two initiative petitions aimed at preserving a 15-mile trail corridor for public use were approved last week to proceed by the Yamhill County Clerk. Trails PAC member Matt Dolphin submitted ...
Landscape committee weighs tree preservation, property rights
Preservation, property rights and staff time were all considerations of McMinnville’s Landscape Review Committee Monday during a second look at proposed protections for significant and landmark ...
Stopping By: Maisie looks forward
Maisie Staebler is looking forward to starting kindergarten in 2026, like other children who turned 5 just a little too late for the 2025 deadline. She’s looking forward to playing with her ...
Man accused of stabbing father
A Newberg man remains in custody at the Yamhill County Correctional Facility after allegedly stabbing his father at their home on Dec. 22. Authorities allege that Vasiliy Vasilyvich Barbiyeru ...
Release revoked for Bachand
Release had been revoked for Paul Bachand, a McMinnville businessman indicted on 11 counts of first-degree encouraging child sexual abuse, one count of encouraging the sexual abuse of an animal ...
Some of those we lost in 2025
Yamhill County lost many people in 2025 – veterans, city officials, educators, relatives, friends. People we remember from high school, from service clubs, from passing on the street. Community members. Every ...
Arrests & Citations: Dec. 31, 2025
Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office Gary Steven Ward, 70, Carlton, Dec. 23, second-degree criminal mischief, recklessly endangering another person/two counts; booked into the Yamhill County Jail on ...
Special Delivery: BC Harleys group rolls Christmas joy into hospital
Members of the BC Harleys drag-racing group roared up to the Willamette Valley Medical Center wearing Santa hats, their parade accompanied by the lights from McMinnville Police Department and Yamhill County ...
Sports
Wrestling is for girls
As I’ve written before, I’m one of the luckiest guys in the county. I get paid to see the impact of athletics on the county’s students. Friday, I had the assignment of covering ...
Girls 3A standouts rise to the top at McMinnville
Dayton’s Aliyah Sauceda proved it’s not about school size, but heart, as the 3A wrestler defeated 6A metro opponents to claim the 170-pound championship at McMinnville’s Mac Storage wrestling ...
Grizzlies, Bulldogs steamroll through boys invite at Mac
The McMinnville High School gymnasium was drenched in blood, sweat and tears on Saturday, Jan. 3, while some of the region’s top boys grapplers collided at the McMinnville Your Space Storage ...
3A Boys Basketball: Warriors outpace Pirates in Crusader Classic final
Turnidge Gymnasium was lively on Saturday as Salem Academy High School hosted the Crusader Classic and an unplanned Yamhill County rivalry matchup. Each hoping to begin 2026 with an unblemished ...
3A Girls Basketball: Warriors fall to Vikings in potential playoff preview
A battle of top dogs commenced Saturday inside Turnidge Gymnasium at Salem Academy High School. The scene introduced No. 2 Amity (7-2, 1-0) to another tough task in what has been a gauntlet of an early ...
Gurash steps up, but Lincoln’s Novy-Hildesley too much as Mac falls 71-57
McMinnville’s varsity boys (4-5) traded buckets with No. 18-ranked Lincoln (5-3) on Friday, but the Grizzlies were outmatched, allowing too many open looks at the rim in a 71-57 loss to the Cardinals ...
Middle schooler Tanner Rauch battles for first while Grizzlies tackle western might in Reno
Tanner Rauch, an eighth grader at Patton Middle School, was the lone McMinnville representative to place at the 2025 Sierra Nevada Classic in Reno, Nevada, from Dec. 29-30. Rauch competed as part of the ...
Seven individuals earn 3A football All-State honors
An undefeated regular season and Special District 2 league year ended in heartbreak for the 2025 Dayton Pirates varsity football team, but their dominance did not go unnoticed, as six individuals earned ...
Amity soccer runs away with All-State honors
Following a prosperous 17-1-1 season and the first state championship in program history, the Amity girls soccer team was awarded with a plethora of 3A/2A/1A All-State awards. Senior Eliza Nisly was a ...
3A Basketball: Tigers, Bulldogs end year with tournament victories
Yamhill Carlton Girls BasketballYamhill Carlton’s girls’ varsity team (8-2) split their first two games at the Valley Catholic Holiday Tournament in Beaverton. On Sunday, Dec. 28, the Tigers ...
Mac Basketball: Boys erase 14-point deficit, but fall short to Beavers; girls get first win at POA Holiday Classic
McMinnville’s boys varsity basketball team (4-4) continued to teeter, going back and forth in the win and loss columns, but was nearly provided a dose of late holiday magic in a 52-50 loss against ...
Grizzlies overpowered in first Pac conference dual meet
On Wednesday, Dec. 17, McMinnville High School’s wrestling troupe took a trip to Newberg, where the boys and girls combined to go 6-14 in their bouts against the Tigers. Each side saw three ...
Best in class: Mendonca Academy karate siblings make history in Venice
In an unprecedented achievement for American karate, siblings Logan Mendonca (16) and Mackenzie Mendonca (14) have each risen to No. 1 in the world in their respective divisions in the World Karate ...
Grizzlies drop first Pac conference dual meet
On Wednesday, Dec. 17, McMinnville High School’s wrestling troupe took a trip to Newberg, where the boys and girls combined to go 6-14 in their bouts against the Tigers. Each side saw three individual ...
Pressure upends Grizzlies in loss to Guardians
McMinnville’s boys varsity basketball team (4-3) was given a lesson in late-game execution on Friday, Dec. 19, in their own gymnasium, falling 65-59. The Grizzlies opened their non-league match against ...
Yamhill wrestling wins Bill Hagerty
Both Yamhill Carlton wrestling teams won the Bill Hagerty at Nestucca High School on Dec. 20. The boys scored 200 points, walking away with one champion and four runners-up and the girls team had 101 ...
Grizzlies bested by blistering Bruins
It is wise not to get in the way when two bears are dueling. The scene can get grisly. Blood might fly and skin may break, but neither side is bound to let up until their opponent is finished for good. On ...
Amity takes second at Capitol City Classic
The Amity Warriors girls basketball team spent the weekend defeating 6A programs Sprague and Grants Pass at the Capitol City Classic basketball tournament before being taken down by South Salem, the No.5 ...
Wildcat Roundup: Mens and womens basketball have weekend success, Smolt named NWC POTW; volleyball awarded for academic achievements
Womens Basketball Linfield’s womens basketball team (6-2, 1-0) picked up two victories over the weekend in non-conference play against NAIA Simpson (Calif.) and No. 22 NAIA Corban. The ’Cats ...
Depweg breaks own record in season opener
McMinnville High School varsity swimmers began the season with impressive results over Newberg in a dual meet at the McMinnville Aquatic Center on Thursday, Dec. 11. The Grizzlies completed a total team ...
