Top Stories
Starrett declares 'showdown" for Thursday's commissioners' meeting
Yamhill County Commission President Mary Starrett is threatening to withhold a letter of accreditation for the county Health Department in order to get her way regarding posting what she believes are COVID-19 ...
Retired Y-C School District teacher collapses, dies on campus
Retired Yamhill-Carlton School District teacher Don Cram collapsed and died Tuesday morning in the Y-C High gymnasium while exercising with friends and former colleagues, according to information posted ...
COVID-19 in Yamhill County - At a Glance
[Wednesday, Jan. 26] Yamhill County reported 276 new cases of COVID-19 today and one death, bringing the county to a total to date of 14,871 cases and 173 deaths. The county reported that reported ...
Donation increases Lions Club’s medical supply loan inventory
Good things are in store through the McMinnville Lions Club and donors. Lions Club fills 100 requests a week for medical supplies, providing adult diapers and wound treatment materials or loaning out wheelchairs, ...
County, most local districts, exceed state graduation rate
About 87% of Yamhill County's public school students graduated in four years, exceeding the state rate of 80.6% for the 2020-21 school year, according to reports released this month by the state Department ...
Economic health is MEDP's business
The McMinnville Economic Development Partnership works with a marketing base of about 90 major companies that are large employers, from Meggitt to Organic Valley Creamery to Willamette Valley Medical ...
County to open grant applications for local nonprofits in February
Yamhill County will open applications in February for non-profit organizations to start applying for grant funds from its American Rescue Plan Act funds, county commissioners learned last week, and hopes ...
YamCo Watch shuts down as police scanners go silent
Paul and Shauna Karver were living in Northern California in the fall of 2020, trying to close on the sale of a home in Humboldt County and on the purchase of one in Newberg. Wildfires raged in both locations ...
Stopping by: Leading with kindness
Haley Vanderzanden has been learning — and demonstrating — kindness and good citizenship all her life. Her parents, Alicia and Steve Vanderzanden, taught her right from wrong when she ...
Another fatal crash closes Highway 18
A two-vehicle crash claimed one life and closed Highway 18, west of Grand Ronde, for about three hours Monday night. It was the second two-vehicle fatal crash to occur in about the same location in two ...
Woman dies of self-inflicted gunshot wound
A 47-year-old McMinnville woman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Friday afternoon while parked at McDonald's, 1691 N. Highway 99W, according to McMinnville Police Capt. Rhonda Jaasko. Jaasko said ...
Firefighters respond to Lafayette blaze
Crews responded about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday to a full-involved house fire at 745 E. Seventh Street Extension in Lafayette. Occupants of the residence evacuated safely, according to Yamhill Communications ...
Fatal crash closes Highway 18 for four hours
Highway 18, west of Grand Ronde, was closed for about four hours Saturday while the Oregon State Police investigated a fatal three-vehicle crash. Law enforcement and medical personnel responded to the ...
Oregon high court hears Kristof case this week
Nick Kristof's bid to become governor reaches a critical point this week as the Oregon Supreme Court considers his argument that he is a legal resident of Oregon, and Secretary of State Shemia Fagan's ...
Betty White inspires donations to Homeward Bound
Homeward Bound Pets in McMinnville has received more than $6,000 from donors who wished to honor actress Betty White, an avowed animal lover and animal rights advocate who died Jan. 31. White's 100th ...
Use health care resources wisely, providers urge
Local health care workers are tired and the health care services are "strained," so they are asking members of the public to consider the level of care they need before calling emergency services ...
Kulla ends run for governor; files for state labor commissioner
Yamhill County Commissioner Casey Kulla has ended his run for governor, he announced this week. Instead, he has filed to run for the office of state Labor Commissioner. Kulla said he is withdrawing from ...
Independence man sentenced to prison for Mac shooting
Estevan Pacheco, who posted a message on his Facebook page expressing intentions to harm and/or kill various people was sentenced to 180 months — 15 years —in prison by Judge Ladd Wiles. Pacheco, ...
MacPAC presents final report on recreation center to city council
Two open fields and plenty of open questions stand before McMinnville City Council. Two sites remain under consideration for the city’s combined recreation center and aquatics facility, after two ...
Newberg voters rejecting school board recall in early returns
Controversial Newberg School Board members Brian Shannon and Dave Brown appear to have held onto their seats following Tuesday's recall election, although more ballots are still expected to arrive this week.
State & Region
Oregon high court hears Kristof case this week
Nick Kristof's bid to become governor reaches a critical point this week as the Oregon Supreme Court considers his argument that he is a legal resident of Oregon, and Secretary of State Shemia Fagan's ...
Kulla ends run for governor; files for state labor commissioner
Yamhill County Commissioner Casey Kulla has ended his run for governor, he announced this week. Instead, he has filed to run for the office of state Labor Commissioner. Kulla said he is withdrawing from ...
Oregon hospitals may exceed Delta’s peak in matter of days
Oregon’s hospitals are struggling on the brink and, as the Omicron variant of COVID-19 surges, have less staff than at any previous point in the pandemic, Becky Hultberg, President and CEO ...
Kristof petitions court to let him continue candidacy
Nicholas Kristof, stymied by Oregon Secretary of State in his run for governor, has asked the state Supreme Court to intervene, via a document known as Writ of Mandamus, to ensure his name is on the May ...
Secretary of State says Kristof doesn't qualify
For author and apple farmer Nicholas Kristof, the goal of becoming governor might not bear fruit.
Elmer to run in House Dist. 24
Local businesswoman Lucetta Elmer has announced plans to run for Oregon House District 24, currently held by Rep. Ron Noble. Noble announced this fall that he plans to run for the newly-created Congressional ...
Oregon State Bar seeking comment on proposal to license paralegals
With the cost of an attorney well out of reach for most Americans, the Oregon State Bar is working on a new program: Licensing paralegals to handle some tasks in family law and landlord-tenant cases, ...
Secretary of state queries Nick Kristof over residency
Residency questions, this time from the office of Oregon Secretary of State, continue to shadow Nick Kristof’s run for Oregon governor. Kristof, a Democrat who lives near Yamhill, announced his ...
OSU offers online series on ‘Futures with Wildfires’
An Oregon State University remote lecture series starting in January will host speakers who will discuss what living with wildfire looks like in practice, both as individuals and as communities. “Lookout: ...
Forest accord hailed as ‘Oregon Way’
After dueling ballot measures last year threatened to make a battleground out of Oregon forestry yet again, Governor Kate Brown asked environmentalists and timber owners to negotiate a compromise ...
Boundary challenge denied, new districts affirmed
By JULIA SHUMWAYOf the Oregon Capital Chronicle Oregon’s new legislative boundaries are set for the next 10 years after the Oregon Supreme Court on Monday dismissed two challenges to the maps ...
COVID 19: Nurses tell Merkeley they need help
Nurses from across Oregon told Senator Jeff Merkley last week they desperately need help, and that the nation needs to invest far more in training new nurses. Critical Care Nurse Misty Richards appeared ...
Noble confirms plan to run for Congress in new district
State Rep. Ron Noble confirmed this week that he plans to run for Congress next year in Oregon’s new 6th District, which encompasses the territory he represents in the Legislature. Noble said he’s ...
Judge Collins to retire at year’s end
Judge John Collins, who served as district attorney before being appointed to the Yamhill County Circuit Court bench in 1992, plans to retire effective Friday, Dec. 31. Collins has served as a pro tem ...
Kristof running for top state job
Yamhill’s Nicholas Kristof will run for governor. Kristof, 62, confirmed Wednesday what the 1977 Yamhill-Carlton High School graduate had been considering for weeks. He formalized his candidacy ...
‘I’m not sure I want to be a politician’: 1974 N-R profiled the future candidate
Nicholas Kristof’s announcement Wednesday gives prescience to a 47-year-old News-Register article. “Nicholas gets in politics early,” reads the May 18, 1974, newspaper’s Neighbor ...
Nicholas Kristof forms candidate committee, resigns from NY Times
Nicholas Kristof of Yamhill, who since June has been mulling a Democratic bid for Oregon governor, has formed the candidate committee Nick For Oregon. The filing was completed Oct. 12 with the Oregon Secretary ...
Demo begins on former Blue Heron Paper Mill site
Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde leaders gathered in ceremony Sept. 21 to mark the beginning of on-site demolition work at the former Blue Heron Paper Mill in Oregon City. The event marked the first ...
New political lines drawn; same divide may remain
Voters in the cities of Newberg, Dundee, Amity, Sheridan, Willamina and Grand Ronde will have new representation in the Oregon House and in a Senate District 12 that now includes nearly all of Yamhill ...
Mike Nearman pleads guilty to official misconduct
Former Oregon State Representative Michael Nearman pled guilty July 27 to the crime of Official Misconduct in the First Degree, and was sentenced by Judge Cheryl Pellegrini in Marion County ...
Local News
Firefighters respond to Lafayette blaze
Crews responded about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday to a full-involved house fire at 745 E. Seventh Street Extension in Lafayette. Occupants of the residence evacuated safely, according to Yamhill Communications ...
Donation increases Lions Club’s medical supply loan inventory
Good things are in store through the McMinnville Lions Club and donors. Lions Club fills 100 requests a week for medical supplies, providing adult diapers and wound treatment materials or loaning out wheelchairs, ...
Woman dies of self-inflicted gunshot wound
A 47-year-old McMinnville woman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound Friday afternoon while parked at McDonald's, 1691 N. Highway 99W, according to McMinnville Police Capt. Rhonda Jaasko. Jaasko said ...
County to open grant applications for local nonprofits in February
Yamhill County will open applications in February for non-profit organizations to start applying for grant funds from its American Rescue Plan Act funds, county commissioners learned last week, and hopes ...
YamCo Watch shuts down as police scanners go silent
Paul and Shauna Karver were living in Northern California in the fall of 2020, trying to close on the sale of a home in Humboldt County and on the purchase of one in Newberg. Wildfires raged in both locations ...
Fatal crash closes Highway 18 for four hours
Highway 18, west of Grand Ronde, was closed for about four hours Saturday while the Oregon State Police investigated a fatal three-vehicle crash. Law enforcement and medical personnel responded to the ...
Economic health is MEDP's business
The McMinnville Economic Development Partnership works with a marketing base of about 90 major companies that are large employers, from Meggitt to Organic Valley Creamery to Willamette Valley Medical ...
County, most local districts, exceed state graduation rate
About 87% of Yamhill County's public school students graduated in four years, exceeding the state rate of 80.6% for the 2020-21 school year, according to reports released this month by the state Department ...
Oregon high court hears Kristof case this week
Nick Kristof's bid to become governor reaches a critical point this week as the Oregon Supreme Court considers his argument that he is a legal resident of Oregon, and Secretary of State Shemia Fagan's ...
Betty White inspires donations to Homeward Bound
Homeward Bound Pets in McMinnville has received more than $6,000 from donors who wished to honor actress Betty White, an avowed animal lover and animal rights advocate who died Jan. 31. White's 100th ...
Use health care resources wisely, providers urge
Local health care workers are tired and the health care services are "strained," so they are asking members of the public to consider the level of care they need before calling emergency services ...
MacPAC presents final report on recreation center to city council
Two open fields and plenty of open questions stand before McMinnville City Council. Two sites remain under consideration for the city’s combined recreation center and aquatics facility, after two ...
‘Tragedy of the pandemic’: Hope for safe return turns to anguish
McMinnville tattoo artist Jesse McFerran went missing Oct. 23, and for 77 days, family members and so many others who knew him searched throughout the Willamette Valley and beyond for the husband and father. They ...
Crash sentence ‘insulting,’ says victim’s mother
Karie Mathis, the mother of double-fatal motor vehicle crash victim Kennyth (KC) Holsclaw, told defendant Matthew Mayes that he was “getting off easy” with a 74-month — six years ...
Kulla ends run for governor; files for state labor commissioner
Yamhill County Commissioner Casey Kulla has ended his run for governor, he announced this week. Instead, he has filed to run for the office of state Labor Commissioner. Kulla said he is withdrawing from ...
Parks and Rec facilities to reopen
McMinnville Parks and Recreation facilities will reopen Monday, Jan. 24, after a two-week COVID-related closure. The aquatic center and senior center will open at 9 a.m. Monday. The community center, ...
Author Jason Reynolds encourages young writers at Yamhill Carlton schools
Maddox Mason was looking forward to hearing what Young Adult author Jason Reynolds had to say when he visited Yamhill Carlton schools in December. "He writes books that have to do with important topic, ...
Rescue effort: When fire district merger falls apart, tribe steps in
The West Valley Fire District Board of Directors reached out to its citizenry in a jarring way with a letter crafted in early December. “As many of you are aware, the West Valley Fire District ...
Northwest McMinnville gets utility upgrades
The busy work zone on Northwest Baker Creek Road near Hill Road extended last week into grassy, tree-lined Roma Sitton Memorial Park. New homes are quickly filling the North Baker subdivision, and the ...
ODOT bridge project brings Three Mile Lane disruption
The ramped-up Northeast Three Mile Lane construction project at South Yamhill River bridge involves temporary, but long-term, changes to vehicle traffic as well as relocating a section of sewer main. Scheduled ...
Sports
NEW FACES, SAME GOALS
AMITY – The Amity boys basketball team looks very different this season. Very few varsity contributors remain from the annual state championship contenders of the past three years. The squad’s ...
The Classic: Local wrestlers compete at dual meet championships
REDMOND – Every year, Yamhill County’s high school wrestling teams test their respective programs at the unofficial dual meet state championships held in Redmond. The annual Oregon ...
Grizzly girls defeat rival Newberg in swim dual
NEWBERG – With complete dominance in the relays, the McMinnville girls swimming team conquered rival Newberg during the January 13 Pacific Conference dual at the Chehalem Aquatic Center. The Grizzly ...
NCAA ratifies new constitution, paving way to restructuring
By Ralph D. Russo AP Sports INDIANAPOLIS — NCAA member schools voted to ratify a new, pared-down constitution Thursday, paving the way for a decentralized approach to governing college sports that ...
Basketball: Mac splits versus Tide, Viks
Glencoe 63, McMinnville 58; McMinnville 58, Forest Grove 44 (boys) With Wednesday’s 58-44 victory over Forest Grove, the McMinnville boys basketball team snapped a four-game losing streak which ...
Mac Madness!
How can we generate excitement, attract more fans to student athletic competitions and involve the community, as well? That's what McMinnville High School business teacher Sarah Breyer asked students in ...
Salem Academy hands Spartans 1st loss of season, 54-44
SALEM - Its unbeaten start to the season finally over, the Sheridan boys basketball team sets its sights on igniting another lengthy winning streak following Friday's 54-44 road loss to Salem Academy. ...
A learning experience: Sheridan girls fall to Crusaders
SALEM - Sheridan head girls basketball coach Jeremy Brown remains confident in the culture change the Spartans have achieved in the past two years. After taking over the program in 2019, Brown ...
Basketball roundup: Willamina boys defeat Warrenton, 49-39; Pirate boys drop Tigers, 71-47; Bulldog girls claim 13th consecutive victory
Willamina 49, Warrenton 39 (boys) WILLAMINA - Cohen Haller's game-high 20 points powered the Willamina boys basketball team to a Coastal Range League opening 49-39 win over Warrenton during Friday's contest. ...
Senior bowling scores
Walnut City Lanes Mixed League Senior Citizens League JAN 4 TEAM High game scratch: Bad News Misfit, 661. High series scratch: The ...
Full throttle: Warriors out-hustle Loggers in PacWest opener, win 67-32
“We came out and showed our league what we’re made of.” So Amity junior forward Megan Scharf said following her team’s impressive 67-32 victory over Scio during Tuesday ...
Bryant’s historic triple-double lifts Linfield men over Pacific
By MADDIE LOVERICH Special to the News-Register Down by as many as 17 points against Northwest Conference foe Pacific University (4-8, 0-3), Linfield’s men’s basketball team desperately needed ...
Wildcat women still seeking 1st victory after 73-52 loss to Boxers
By MADDIE LOVERICH Special to the News-Register Linfield women’s basketball fell to Pacific University 73-52 Tuesday evening in the team’s first contest of 2022. With the loss, the young ...
Grizzlies finish 2nd at Double Distance meet
SALEM – The McMinnville boys and girls swimming teams both claimed runner-up finishes during the December 30 Double Distance Invitational at West Salem High School. Newberg won the boys’ class ...
Sports briefs
Wildcats host softball clinic Linfield University’s softball program is conducting two instructional all-skills Fastpitch clinics for girls ages 8-18 January 15 and January 22 on the university ...
Basketball recap: ‘Dogs win 12th straight
The News-Register staff Willamina 46, Santiam Christian 9 (girls) WILLAMINA – With Tuesday’s 46-9 blowout of visiting Santiam Christian, the Willamina girls basketball team remains undefeated ...
Grizzlies fall short against Canby, but find mojo
Maybe it takes a loss to light the fuse. Will sparks from a blazing fourth-quarter performance by McMinnville High School’s boys’ basketball team (6-6,0-0) in a Thursday evening 48-44 ...
Lefebvre takes class at MHS Invitational
Portable microphone in hand, McMinnville head wrestling coach Jordan Barich slipped through the the crowd on main floor of the McMinnville High School gym. He was a man on a mission, putting out ...
Y-C top local team in Dayton invitational
When it comes to wrestling communities, Yamhill County is second to none. Take this weekend: When the annual Bob Bishop Tournament at Willamina was postponed due to a positive COVID test by one ...
Spartans bounce Dragons, 60-30; take on No.2 Riverside
The undefeated Sheridan boys’ basketball team kept its unblemished mark intact with a 60-30 defeat of The Delphian School Saturday on the Spartans home court. Last week they downed Scio 60-49. Sheridan, ...
Features
Donation increases Lions Club’s medical supply loan inventory
Good things are in store through the McMinnville Lions Club and donors. Lions Club fills 100 requests a week for medical supplies, providing adult diapers and wound treatment materials or loaning out wheelchairs, ...
Economic health is MEDP's business
The McMinnville Economic Development Partnership works with a marketing base of about 90 major companies that are large employers, from Meggitt to Organic Valley Creamery to Willamette Valley Medical ...
Stopping by: Leading with kindness
Haley Vanderzanden has been learning — and demonstrating — kindness and good citizenship all her life. Her parents, Alicia and Steve Vanderzanden, taught her right from wrong when she ...
Rohse: Stirrup memories: Lore about the Pony Express continues riding on
The Pony Express was in operation only about 18 months, from April 1860 to October 1861. But it played a celebrated important role in American history and was of great financial importance ...
Nichols: Deja flu - Lessons of the 1918 pandemic
Over the past two years, historians and analysts have compared the coronavirus to the 1918 flu pandemic. Many of the mitigation practices used to combat the spread of the coronavirus, especially before the development of the vaccines, have been the same as those used in 1918 and 1919 — masks and hygiene, social distancing, ventilation, limits on gatherings, quarantines, mandates, closure policies and more.
Stopping by: Teacher and traveler
Nancy Schick has indulged her love for travel by visiting out-of-the-way places, as well as popular locations, all around the world. “You need to get out there to broaden your horizons,” the ...
Rohse: World needs special powers of music
When Turkish cattle breeder Mehmet Akgul reported increasing his milk yield by 5% by playing classic music for his cows, it was big news. Said Akgul, “If this music produces relaxation in humans, ...
Burns Supper honors poet with haggis and bagpipes
A few tickets are still available for the 2022 Burns Supper, hosted by the Celtic Heritage Alliance in McMinnville. The evening, a celebration of the poetry of Robert Burns, will include haggis and other ...
Stopping by: A play of light
At first glance, you might think James Violette works with only with wood, metal, wire and cloth. But he also works with less tangible media: illumination. The McMinnville artist usually uses a computer ...
Send in the claw: Owner says specialized truck makes lifting easy
Removing a fallen tree or setting a decorative boulder in place might require several laborers and a forklift or other piece of heavy equipment. But Mark Pauletto of Carlton said his special ...
Rohse: Never forget the travails of the historic Oregon Trail
What a loss it would be if Oregonians were to forget one of our state’s most important events because of mercurial history eroding it away. That event was the Oregon Trail. Much is being done to ...
Linfield students offer hula lessons
Linfield University’s Hui O Lökahi Club is hosting hula lessons throughout the month of January to raise funds for its annual Lu’au & Ho’ike later this year. Classes are slated ...
Stopping By: Beauty by turns
Dan Heins shapes wood, restores vintage furniture and creates new items using talent that he says is not his own. Rather, he said, it’s God who’s responsible for his ability to cut and build ...
CASA moving forward, needs more advocates for children
Court-Appointed Special Advocates, or CASAs, speak for children involved in court cases. In fact, they are the only unpaid people who specifically advocate for the children’s best interests, said ...
Rohse: A people of few words
One shortage that does not affect our world is “words”... and what a joy that is for our country: all the wonderful books, newspapers, magazines, movies, music, resulting from these words. ...
Holiday Traditions: Deolinda and Dave Coelho of Amity honor their Portuguese roots
When Dave and Deolinda Coelho were growing up, the Christmas season meant batting at piñatas, dining on delicious Portuguese food, going to Mass and enjoying huge family get-togethers — all activities they still enjoy as part of their heritage.
‘Nutcracker’ is back for 50th anniversary of a local holiday tradition
Clara, her sister Marie, Drosselmeyer, the Sugar Plum queen and fairies and other characters will come to life on stage in Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker,” staged by Marchant Dance Corp. and ...
Rohse: Health, happiness rest in purging old habits and forming new ones
Habits are important. First we make habits. Next, our habits make us, the English writer John Dryden, tells us. And, adds Dryden, “All habits gather by unusual degrees, as brooks make rivers, rivers ...
‘Flirting with the Devil’ to debut
“Flirting with the Devil,” the new film about a McMinnville woman’s encounter with serial killer Ted Bundy, will premiere Thursday, Dec. 16, at McMinnville Cinema 10. The showing starts ...
Former Mac police chief remembered
Former McMinnville Police Chief Rod Brown, whom fellow law enforcement officers and friends called “a visionary” and “a good man,” died Friday, Dec. 10, in McMinnville following ...
