Steve Klein addresses current issues impacting Yelm and vicinity and provides a meeting place for anyone with an interest in this area to provide their ideas and opinions
“County Manager Ramiro Chavez said election data as of press time shows that 55.1% voted to increase elected county commissioners from three to five, while 44.9% voted against the proposition.” Credit: JOLT staff photo via YouTube
+ Nov. 29th in The Olympian: Thurston sets public hearing on new district map as measure to expand commission passes
County and Port set public hearings on new district boundaries
Voters approved increasing size of both commissions to 5 members
The Thurston Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) set a public hearing for the proposed five County Commissioners District boundary lines on Wednesday, December 7, waiving the 20-day public hearing notice requirement.
County Manager Ramiro Chavez said election data as of press time shows that 55.1% voted to increase elected county commissioners from three to five, while 44.9% voted against the proposition.
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Community members may share their insights on district boundaries during the hearing at the Thurston County Courthouse Thursday, December 8, in person at Building 1, Room 280, at 3:30 p.m. or participate online.
Meanwhile, the Port of Olympia will have its public hearing on Monday, November 28, at Percival Plaza – Olympics Room, 626 Columbia Street NW. Attendance and public comments can also be done online.
Formal action on approving the district boundaries would be on December 13, said Chavez.
‘Till’: Facing an Unspeakable Murder Through a Mother’s Eyes
Chinone Chukwu’s retelling of the lynching of 14-year-old Emmett Till focuses on the private grief and public action taken by his mother, Mamie
* Editor’s note: I watched this movie last night, and growing up with grandparents in Birmingham, Alabama in the 1950s and 1960s, I can relate to the culture of racism that is exhibited is this historic story, and still permeates The South and elsewhere across our nation today.
Actress Danielle Deadwyler deserves an Academy Award nomination for her role as Mamie Till-Mobley!
This movie demands your attention to take the 2 hours to watch!Click here
Chinonye Chukwu’s new movie Till, which is now out in theaters, is a difficult prospect. The basis for its story is the brutal 1955 lynching of the teenager Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi, an event that has endured in the public consciousness largely because of the actions of his mother, Mamie, who took the vital step of arranging an open casket funeral for her son and wielded the power of the Black press to disseminate images of his unrecognizable body far and wide.Till is a movie about Mamie, more so than Emmett. It’s about white supremacist violence, of course. But its more immediate concern is the aftermath of that violence for a woman whose grief becomes a public, historical fact, a pivotal episode in an ongoing fight which, from where she’s sitting, often feels completely beyond her. It’s about the murky politics of image management, and “perfect” victimhood, and other concerns that would seem tangential to the bare reality of a mother’s unimaginable loss — problems that would seem beyond the point — and how, for the public, these problems risk becoming the point. It’s about that mother’s grief. And it’s about justice, too, of course. Though, if you know this story, you know that justice is not promised here. That, too, is the point.
Someone with awareness of this history may approach Till warily, concerned over how it will handle two crucial aspects of the story in particular. The first is the incident that started it all: Emmett’s brief interaction with Carolyn Bryant, and the maneuvering it demands in showing how to undercut a lie without oversimplifying the truth. The other is its approach to Emmett’s body. We live in a moment that has only made clearer how easily images of racial violence can be circulated, reiterated, and reproduced. Mamie Till’s argument was, of course, that we cannot look away, not because Black citizens (particularly in her time) were in any way naive about the realities of this violence, but because the images might help to render that knowledge into an even more immutable, even more actionable, indisputably public fact. Till is being released in a different moment. This is the age of bodycam footage and social media. The public fact is now omnipresent. The problem we face now is less one of looking versus looking away than it is of unavoidability. These images are everywhere — in part, one imagines, because of the force of Mamie Till’s argument and the ethical pathway it set before us. We are still confronted with a duty to look. But we are now equally confronted with the despair of so much looking and so little change.
Yelm’s Isaiah Patterson (from left), Brayden Platt and Nathan Ford lead the Tornados in a post-game cheer to thank their fans following their 28-27 victory over the Bellevue Wolverines in Saturday afternoon’s 3A football state semifinal game at Art Crate Field in Spanaway, Washington, on Nov. 26, 2022. Credit: Tony Overman, The Olympian forThe Tacoma News Tribune
Yelm runs over, through, past Bellevue in semifinal thriller to advance to 3A championship
Facing 4th and goal from the Bellevue 1-yard line, everyone on both sidelines, the crowd — heck, everyone around the state following the game — thought the ball was going to Brayden Platt.
After all, Yelm’s four-star recruit had gashed Bellevue’s defense all game long, racking up 159 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, carrying Bellevue defenders on his back for extra yards. He was relentless, physically dominant, the best player on the field in a game with no shortage of talent in Yelm’s Class 3A state tournament semifinal game at Art Crate Field on Saturday.
It’s what made the play call — a quarterback sneak — risky, unexpected and ultimately, brilliant. Damian Aalona bowled into the end zone behind an offensive line that had imposed its will throughout the contest, putting Yelm in the lead late in the fourth quarter. Yelm hung on for the 28-27 win to advance to next weekend’s 3A state championship game.
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Prior to the 2022 season, Yelm had never advanced past the quarterfinal round of the state playoffs. Yelm will play for the school’s first state championship, facing Eastside Catholic in the 3A state championship game next weekend at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. Eastside Catholic defeated O’Dea in the other semifinal matchup.
Photos with Santa are a holiday tradition that gives us a lasting memory to cherish forever. And it’s also a great way for your child to whisper to Santa their Christmas wish. There are plenty of places to get your picture with Santa in Thurston County this holiday season – including Santa Paws for pets and sensory-friendly events so everyone can enjoy this festive experience. …Where to get photos with Santa in Olympia and throughout Thurston County in 2022: Click here.
“The Maytown Assembly of God Church at 2920 Tierney St. SW in south Thurston County will once again host Christmas Island, a life-size nativity scene that is free and open to the public through Christmas.” Courtesy of Maytown Assembly of God Church, via The Olympian.
Christmas Island’s life-size nativity scene opens tonight in Tumwater
The Maytown Assembly of God Church at 2920 Tierney St. SW in south Thurston County will once again host Christmas Island, a life-size nativity scene that is free and open to the public through Christmas.
Yelm vs Bellevue this Saturday 11/26 at 1pm at Bethel High School for the 3A State Football Semifinals.
To make things a little more interesting Lynne Robinson, Mayor, City of Bellevue and I have made a friendly wager on the game The loser buys the winner a gift basket made up of items from their city’s local small businesses…and gets water dumped on them. That last part wasn’t my idea but Mayor Robinson insisted and is confident Bellevue is going to win.
I’ve got faith Yelm is going to win this game and go on to win the championship! Let’s go Yelm!!!
When the leaves start changing and thoughts turn to roasting turkeys, baking pies, and pulling out those stretchy pants to accommodate all the delicious sides you’ll be gorging on during the Thanksgiving holiday, remember that Christmas Tree Farms here in Thurston County will begin welcoming the public to browse row after row of their Noble, Grand, and Douglas firs.
Not sure where to begin your search? We’ve done the heavy lifting for you! We might not help you tie your tree to the roof of your car, but we’re here to suggest some of our favorite local farms, as well as a number of additional family-fun activities that will for sure make the day a memorable one.
Know Before You Go
Reach Out to Your Farm
Keep in mind, Christmas Tree Farms are seasonal and are usually small operations. Most farms open up the weekend following Thanksgiving, but it’s ALWAYS a good idea to CALL before you head out to the farm to make sure they’re open the hours you expect, and that they still have trees available.
Come Prepared
Most farms will provide saws and/or equipment to cut down your tree (and some farms may even cut your tree for you) but it’s always a good idea to bring equipment with you if you have it. Not sure? Refer to our first recommendation and CALL the farm for details.
Protect the Car – if you’ll be strapping your tree to the roof of your car, it’s a good idea to bring a sheet of plastic or an old blanket to protect the pain and finish. You’ll also want to bring ropes or bungee cords to secure the tree to your vehicle.
Bring the camera – we’re making memories here!
Pack for a Day Trip – if you’re making an effort to head out to the farm, make sure everyone is comfortable by dressing warmly, bringing some extra snuggly blankets, and stocking up the car with snacks and beverages. Feel like leaving the picnic basket at home? We’ve got some yummy recommendations for local libations after you’ve secured your tree.
Read more about the list of local Christmas Tree Farms.
2022: “America struggles with the history of Thanksgiving” Credit: David Horsey, The Seattle Times
This Thanksgiving Day message was first published here in 2009:
THANKSGIVING DAY has been an annual tradition in the United States since 1863 & became a federal holiday in 1941. President Lincoln issued this proclamation which set the precedent for America’s national day of Thanksgiving on October 3rd, 1863, which is as pertinent today as during the Civil War to heal our nation’s wounds:
By the President of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln A Proclamation.
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore.
Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.
I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.
– America the Beautiful sung by Hillsdale College’s Choir (Michigan) “Written by Katharine Lee Bates and composed by Samuel A. Ward, “America the Beautiful” is one of the most well-known and beloved American patriotic songs. The song celebrates the natural beauty and the “patriot dream” of the United States.
Hillsdale College is an independent institution of higher learning founded in 1844 by men and women “grateful to God for the inestimable blessings” resulting from civil and religious liberty and “believing that the diffusion of learning is essential to the perpetuity of these blessings.” Click here for the video.
– America the Beautiful sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Click here
The loser buys the winner a gift basket made up of items from their city’s local small businesses…and gets water dumped on them. That last part wasn’t my idea but Mayor Robinson insisted and is confident Bellevue is going to win.
