News & Features
Gallery asks who’s ‘Savage’
Gallery Theater will contemplate who the real savages are when the classic comedy “The Curious Savage” opens Friday, July 18. Shows will play at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. ...
Stopping By/Yard of the Month: Working with nature
Gardener Rich Pruitt works with nature to create a beautiful display in his front yard, which was named Yard of the Month for July by the McMinnville Garden Club. Pruitt, who enjoys spending most of the ...
'McMinnville Landing' development plans feature retail center, hub for jobs
The city of McMinnville and property owners have agreed on a preferred scenario for a planned retail center and employment campus on nearly 200 acres of land off Highway 18. Plans for an innovation campus, ...
HR Director Hedges to step in during interim manager search
McMinnville City Manager Jeff Towery’s tenure will end next week and Human Resources Director Vicki Hedges will become the “acting in capacity” manager, following votes by city council ...
Amity man pleads not guilty to 20 counts of sex charges involving six minor victims
William James Beam, 27, of Amity, pleaded not guilty to 20 counts of sex assault related charges on Thursday, July 10. Beam was originally indicted Feb. 28 on four counts of rape (one in the first degree ...
County leaders discuss legislative impacts
The Yamhill County Board of Commissioners discussed local impacts to recent state legislation at its meeting Thursday, July 10, and approved a new county position and a bathroom remodel project for a recovery ...
Gebrayel wins property dispute appeal from beyond the grave
The Oregon Court of Appeal last week sided with the late George Gebrayel and Esquire Investments, Inc. in a long-running neighbor dispute about if a gate was placed on a public or private road near Beaver ...
Community effort will reveal masterpiece one square at a time
Working together, local residents can replicate a masterpiece by placing colorful stickers on a grid at the McMinnville Community Center. The project is similar to a paint-by-number picture, but uses ...
Airport buckles up for impact of leadership change
Leadership changes are coming to the McMinnville Municipal Airport, as the city plans to hire a full-time airport manager to take over for currently contracted Potcake Aviation. Potcake oversees daily ...
Memory Lane/Vintage NR: July 11, 2025
A look back at Yamhill County news 10 years ago - The former owners of the Riteway Meat Company, Jeffrey Payne and his wife, Sharon, face six counts of second-degree criminal mischief after abruptly ...
Willamina to seek funding for future infrastructure projects
Infrastructure improvement projects are on the horizon for Willamina and the city will be searching for funding options. At the July 8 regular city council meeting, City Manager Bridget Meneley gave an ...
Active shooter training scheduled in Sheridan
First responders will participate in a multi-agency active shooter training at Faulconer-Chapman Elementary in Sheridan from July 15 to 17. Yamhill County Public Information Officer Kevin Perkins told ...
Mac school board to meet Monday
The McMinnville School Board will hear reports on programs and finances, and take action on proposed student fees, substitute rates and admission of out-of-district students at its meeting Monday at 6:30 ...
Woodburn man to enter plea in shooting case
In April, Cesar Flores, 42, of Woodburn, was indicted on three Measure 11 crimes, including second-degree attempted murder with a firearm, related to an early-morning March 27 shooting in Grand Ronde. Flores ...
Arrests & Citations: July 11, 2025
Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office Jack Marion Matheny, 38, Independence, July 7, failure to appear; booked into the Yamhill County Jail on $50,000 bail. Mariah Kelly Dixon, 35, Portland, July 7, ...
ODOT Chief Details Layoffs in Staff Email
Kris Strickler, director of the Oregon Department of Transportation, provided details of layoffs looming at the agency in an all-staff email he sent this morning.
20th annual lavender festival set for Saturday and Sunday
The 20th annual Willamette Valley Lavender Festival and Plein Air Art Show will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, July 12 and 13, in Newberg. Most activities will be at the Chehalem Cultural ...
Former Willamina man indicted on rape fails to appear
Jack Marion Matheny, 39, formerly of Willamina, failed to appear in court on July 3 and was arrested on a warrant Monday, July 7, in Independence. Matheny was on conditional release since January, when ...
Quirk of the Week: Still missing the big picture
The weekly focus on Quirk continues what feels like a multi-week arc involving public art. The works are all around us and, as creative expression, are often imbued with charm and other odd aspects. And ...
Art Alley welcomes ‘no Pinot’ wine fest
Art Alley will fill with wine, food and music the evening of Saturday, July 12, for a new event, Alt Wine Remixed. The event is an offshoot of the annual Alt Wine Festival, which is on hold this year. ...
Local News
BALLOTS DUE TODAY: Voters to decide school board seats, McMinnville fire district merger
Updated 5/16/23 Ballots for the May election are due by 8 p.m. today, May 16. If mailed, they must be postmarked by today's date, and must arrive at the Yamhill County Elections Division within seven ...
DA Lynch comments on Appeals Court ruling
Following the April 2 Oregon Court of Appeals opinion of State v. Johnny Lee Widerman, the Yamhill County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing the opinion and any impacts to the office’s ...
Sewage discharged into Yamhill River
Approximately 50,000 gallons of partially treated sewage was discharged into the South Yamhill River Monday due to a control system failure at the McMinnville Water Reclamation Facility. At approximately ...
Child abuse intervention center works to raise awareness, funds
Juliette’s House, the Yamhill County child abuse intervention center, will host several activities to mark National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April — including a special blue marble treasure ...
Lafayette set to swear in officials Thursday
The Lafayette City Council will open the first meeting of the year at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 9, at city hall by swearing in new councilors and electing a council president. An appointment on the agenda ...
Along the Street July 1
What’s going upn Work continues on the new branch of First Federal bank at Highway 99W and McDaniel Lane in McMinnville. The branch will open later this year, replacing one on Baker Creek Road.The ...
Proposal for hotel in Carlton withdrawn
The company, based in the Carlton area, said Tuesday that its decision came following a public meeting last month in which dozens of people commented on the proposed project, both in favor and against.
Carlton sewer lagoons full because of recent rains
Because recent rains have filled up Carlton’s sewer lagoons, the city is pumping partially treated effluent into the adjacent swale and North Yamhill River, Public Works Director Bryan Burnham said. The ...
Gift shop closed for fire-related remodeling
NW Food & Gifts, 445 N.E. Third St., will be closed through Jan. 21 to finish up remodeling made necessary by last May’s fire in the Third Street Pizza building next door. Owner James Tate said ...
Deputy involved in four-vehicle crash
A Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office deputy was involved in a four-vehicle crash the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 9, according to the Oregon State Police. The crash was reported shortly before 8 a.m. on ...
Some schools later, others closed, as ice melts slowly
Updated 2:30 Thursday There is a chance of freezing rain in the early morning hours on Friday, between 4 and 7. The temperature is expected to drop to 32 degrees, which may lead to icy conditions on already ...
Weather forecast means shelters are open
The McMinnville Fire District has posted a list of overnight and day shelters planning to be open this week in light of freezing temperatures. Overnight shelters McMinnville First Baptist Church, 125 ...
City council 'safe school zones' was hot topic Tuesday
Frustration was evident at Tuesday’s McMinnville City Council meeting, both from residents over the dangers of homeless camps near schools and from the dais over the inability to change the situation. Prior ...
Following Monday storm, temps to drop into the 20s – or lower
High winds and heavy rains Monday night left some 20,000 people without power by morning, according to Portland General Electric spokeswoman Allison Dobscha. There were at least six outages in Yamhill ...
Sports
Huston primed for amateur debut with Dog Pound MMA at Rumble at the Roseland in Portland
Willamina 2025 grad Devin Huston will have his mixed martial arts (MMA) debut on July 12, at the Rumble at the Roseland, in Portland. The fight is presented by the Full Contact Fighting Federation. Wrestling ...
Mac-WVOSM beats Southridge, Tualatin, falls to Clackamas
The Willamette Valley is beaming with new growth during the summer season. Sunlight beats down, ripening everything that plants roots in the state’s rich soil, and similarly, teams like McMinnville’s ...
Yamhill athletes qualify for USATF national championships
The USATF Region 13 Junior Olympic Outdoor Track & Field Championships were off and running over Independence Day weekend in Spokane, Washington, with multiple athletes from Yamhill County competing ...
Willamina celebrates 75-plus years of July 4th festivities
The Fourth of July in Willamina lived up to the hype this year as family-friendly shows, a parade and firework show made for a full day from Main Street to the West Valley Community Campus to Willamina ...
YC, Amity at Oregon Trap Shooting Championships
Yamhill Carlton and Amity competed in the Oregon Trap Shooting State Tournament on June 21 and 22 as members of the Oregon State High School Clay Target League. Teams are split into varsity, junior varsity ...
'25 Willamina Mud Drag results
Sixty-four trucks competed in the main racing events during the Willamina Mud Drags on Saturday, June 28. A dozen returned to race in four different Powder Puff Classes. Six side by Sides also raced in ...
Mac, Amity track clubs at USATF
From June 26 through 29, hundreds of athletes competed in the USA Track and Field Oregon Association Junior Olympics at Mt. Hood Community College. McMinnville Track and Amity Track Club sent middle- ...
Sabey walk-off wins game for Mac-WVOSM
McMinnville’s varsity summer baseball team played a tight game on Tuesday against Southridge. They fell behind early, immediately responded with patience, then allowed their opponent to tie the game, ...
Search for greatness: Mac boxer pushing his limits to become Oregon’s best fighter
Greatness and name recognition are not easily accomplished for most people. Recognition demands a work ethic that pushes an individual past their peers, above the bar and into a stratosphere where their ...
Fifth annual 7-on-7 football tournament brings new opportunities for Dayton, Amity
Intense heat and sunny days, the start of summer means a few things for the Yamhill County sports world. High school and youth club seasons are in full swing, with baseball, softball, basketball and track ...
David Stevens’ BC Harley Racing team prioritizes community first at fundraisers
One glance from the confines of a four-door motor vehicle to a group of Harley-Davidson riders roaring through McMinnville may be grounds for some to make assumptions of their mission. But there is more ...
Brummit, Sabey combine for 13 K's in summer ball win
Some games are more competitive than others, but the intent never changes for the McMinnville varsity summer baseball squad. On Wednesday, they rebounded from their first loss of the season with ...
Yamhill fairgrounds, CKC partner for first dog show in Mac
Ecstatic tail wags, excessive fur shaking and barns full of barking creatures of various shapes and sizes. This was not your usual walk in the park at the Yamhill County Fairgrounds. Rather, it was ...
Linfield coach Joseph Smith discusses all-around benefits as hundreds attend summer camps
Jerseys of every color stretched as far as the eye could see across Linfield University’s athletic complexes last weekend during its annual high school football camps. Hosted by Wildcats’ ...
Mac led South bests North, 13-6, in Oregon All-Star Series
In the Richardson Oregon All-Star Series finale, the South, led by McMinnville High School coaches Todd Peterson and Tom Roberts, leveraged a quality six-inning start from southpaw Luke Erwin of South ...
Nine Yamhill County athletes score at Nike Outdoor Nationals and USATF U20 Championships
Willamina and Amity track and field clubs were represented over the weekend in Eugene during the Nike Outdoor Nationals and USA Track and Field U20 Championships. Six from Willamina’s club ...
As Dan Spencer steps down, assistant Harlow ready to take reins of Linfield baseball program
Beginning July 1, longtime Linfield baseball assistant Jordan Harlow will become the team’s new head coach. Athletic director Scott Brosious announced at the end of the season that a transition ...
Brumit throws summer league baseball no-hitter
The McMinnville summer league varsity baseball team — sponsored by Willamette Valley Orthopedics and Sports Medicine — won a tight 3-0 victory on the road over Sunset on Thursday, thanks to ...
Bulldog wrestling duo signs with SWOCC
Recent Willamina High School graduates Zoe Brewer and Devin Huston have committed to wrestle for Southwestern Oregon Community College in Coos Bay and will be Lakers this fall. Brewer was a trailblazer ...
Mac baseball resumes winning ways in summer ball
Some would say there is no better place on a beautiful summer day than at the field with a handful of sunflower seeds. The seeds are optional. Perhaps you prefer something more substantial, a cold ...
Features
Quirk of the Week: Roadside oddities, one writ larch, gather around Sheridan, Willamina
Quirk of the Week on Feb. 19 crept west from McMinnville, but this week takes us farther west still, along the highways and deep into the hills … No exploration of West Valley Quirk would be complete ...
Whatchamacolumn: Property tax summary provides feast of numbers
My occasional obsession with numbers is well fed every October by the annual Yamhill County property tax summary. And Yamhill County Assessor Derrick Wharff always contributes enough extra analysis to ...
Easter egg hunts planned Saturday
Get out your Easter baskets — and waterproof shoes — for Easter egg hunts in most Yamhill County cities this Saturday, April 8. Fire departments, service clubs and civic groups plan to hide ...
Stopping By: A creative place
It’s always the season for planting and growing at Incahoots, a business that thrives on change
Nostalgic comedy ‘Harvey’ opens March 31 at Gallery
Will audiences see the title character in “Harvey,” the nostalgic comedy that opens Friday, March 31, at Gallery Theater? Director Steve Cox won’t say. But he is betting theatergoers ...
Offbeat Oregon: Body-snatchers planned to hold ex-mayor’s corpse for ransom
The 19th century was a kind of golden age of body snatching. Digging up the freshly dead to cash the corpses in at the back door of a nearby medical school was — well, not common exactly, but far ...
Stopping By: A faith-filled life
A couple years ago, Eunice McAvoy bought an airline ticket for a trip to Texas so she could visit her daughter. The Lafayette resident filled out the paperwork with her birthdate and other details. When ...
Stopping By: Sue Nesbitt loves gardening and helping others learn
Sue Nesbitt, now one of the 90 Master Gardeners in Yamhill County, knew her thumb wasn’t as green as it could be back when she was gardening on the East Coast. She wanted to learn more about soil ...
Provoking Hope hosts annual fundraiser dinner Saturday
Provoking Hope, an addiction and recovery nonprofit in McMinnville, will host its annual fundraising dinner, "A Walk to Remember," Saturday, February 11, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. "If you donate or if you buy ...
Vintage News-Register: January 10, 2023
Chronicling life in the Yamhill Valley through the generations with the newspaper photo archives.
There was company waiting at home for McMinnville’s first baby of ‘23
McMinnville’s first baby of 2023, Stanley Farmer, left the Willamette Valley Medical Center Monday afternoon, and soon afterward, was greeted by his very own cheering section at home. Brothers Noah, ...
2022 in review: A few of the people we won’t forget
Yamhill County lost many of its residents in 2022. Every single one will be missed. Here are a few of those we won’t forget. In January, retired Yamhill-Carlton School District teacher Don Cram ...
Stopping By: The Beckwiths' Call
Kathy Beckwith and her husband, Wayne, are looking forward to returning to India, where they started their marriage as Peace Corps volunteers and where they have spent time helping at a school on several ...
Offbeat Oregon: World’s clumsiest drug smugglers also its most audacious, Part 1
Nearly 50 years ago, the Good Friday Earthquake changed Alaska forever. It killed nine people and slammed the West Coast with tsunamis that killed 122 more, including four in Oregon.
It did something else, too, though: It heaved up the seafloor of the Inside Passage near the ghost town of Katalia by a good 12 feet. And in the process, it brought something up to the surface that was a very important piece of the history of Alaska … and, earlier, Oregon.
Rohse: Monument-al memories of Halloween celebration
My mom was all for Halloween fun, but that didn’t include making a big batch of fluffy purple slime. In our town of Monument, trick or treating wasn’t very popular. Monument had a population ...
Savvy Senior: How to find an old 401k
Dear Savvy Senior: How do I go about looking for an old former company 401(k) plan that I think I contributed money to many years ago, but forgot about until recently? Retired in Rochester If you think ...
Rohse: Better than a bouquet (from the archives)
I never knew of any Eastern Oregon rancher who brought his wife a dozen red roses. Monument’s nearest florist was about 60 miles away. I’m pretty sure my mother, at our ranch with wood-burning ...
Savvy Senior: How the Inflation Reduction Act will lower drug costs
Dear Savvy Senior: What kind of changes can Medicare beneficiaries expect to see in the Inflation Reduction Act that was recently signed into law? I’m enrolled in original Medicare and have a Part ...
Offbeat Oregon: The McLoughlin House’s unlikely journey to local historical treasure
To the average Oregon City resident, there wasn’t much to celebrate in the vacant, dilapidated old house by the foot of Willamette Falls. The house had, until a few years before, been known as the ...
Back, and Forth: Connectivity finds its most rustic roost
The last credits I earned for my Linfield degree in 1980 were from an internship at The Nation magazine in New York. It was a fine experience. I met amazing people and learned a great deal. Yet it was ...
