This week in Valley history: Two pit bulls attack a Walla Walla woman while onlookers do nothing to help, Feb. 1, 1983

From the archives of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin:

Feb. 3, 1953

Six traffic violations were booked by Walla Walla police in the 24-hour period from midnight Sunday to midnight Monday.

Members of the Evergreen Cooking 4-H Club will have a Valentine party Feb. 14 at the home of Karen Whitner, 518 Sinclair, it was decided at the last meeting of the group.

Attorney Jack Williams returned from Seattle last week complaining about traffic conditions and something surprising — unmarked police cars. “Big city residents, he learned, have some problems of their own. And one of them is trying to figure out where the policemen are. Willams, for example, was stopped by an officer driving an old sedan without any identification marks on it,” reported Walt Penk in his “Twice Told in Walla Walla” column.

Known dead in the storm and flood disaster in three countries — Holland, England and Belgium — passed the 1,500 mark Tuesday. In Holland alone, 30,000 persons faced resettlement in new homes.

Packer-type sanitary trucks will start operation here next week, C.W. Martin, street commissioner, reports. Delivery of trucks in Portland has delayed work of putting the hydraulic packer bodies on the three units. They will be used in the new system of pickups for both wet and dry trash. The sanitary fill method of disposal will be used at the dump.

Feb. 1, 1983

“Reagan trip tackles image problem,” the top headline reads. Speaking to an audience of businessmen on a one-day trip to St. Louis intended to demonstrate his awareness of the nation’s economic problems, President Reagan also sought to counter an interpretation of his State of the Union address, that hinted at a change in his economic policy.

Former U-B staffer Rick Eskil writes about two pit bull terriers attacking a 22-year-old Walla Walla woman and at least three people nearby watching but doing nothing to help the Whitman student. “It was something you hear about in a large city,” said Margaret Gamon, who suffered deep arm and leg wounds in the attack. “It was a nightmare. People would look at me being attacked by the dogs like they were watching television.”

Local unemployment sets December record. Another 350 people are out of work in Walla Walla County as the unemployment figure jumped to 11.6% for December.

A nationwide strike by independent truckers turned bloody during the night with one drive shot to death in North Carolina and at least nine injured by gunfire or flying rocks as they wheeled their rigs through the darkness. The strike, a protest against higher fuel taxes and highway user fees, appeared to have little immediate effect.

Vice President George Bush urged the Soviet Union today to sign a pact banning medium-range nuclear weapons.

Jan. 31, 2003

Overnight rains filled creeks and streams in the Walla Walla Valley this morning, but no flooding was reported. However, a small stream flood warning was issued.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is evaluating proposals from bidders who want to run three Snake River parks closed by state budget reductions. Eight bidders have turned in proposals to run Chief Timothy, Central Ferry and Lyons Ferry parks in Eastern Washington.

Several Milton-Freewater residents felt the earth move Wednesday afternoon — in a scary way. But the “big boom,” violent shaking and loss of power to several homes wasn’t associated with an earthquake, though a seismic lab at the University of Washington recorded a 2.0 magnitude temblor with an epicenter southeast of Milton-Freewater at Lincton Mountain. The cause? Rock blasting at Konen Rock Products.

Kyrgyzstan exchange student’s dream comes true in Dayton. Seventeen-year-old Meerim Matkulova dreamed of faraway places, and Dayton was about as far away from her Central Asian country as she could imagine. “I have many dreams and want to be someone who can bring some kind of change in the world,” she told U-B reporter Paulette Chu. “I guess one of those dreams has already come true, and that is to visit a country that has real democracy.”

Jan. 30, 2013

Dayton man Joseph Shuba was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for the murder of his wife, Suzanne Shuba, last spring. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and admitted he shot Suzanne during an argument at their home in Dayton on April 29.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers against the death penalty have introduced a measure eliminating it in Washington state.

Port of Walla Walla officials plan to lease land to a pair of Burbank farmers near Wallula Gap. Brad and Clint Smith will be allowed to use the land across U.S. Highway 12 from Boise Inc. via a 15-year, renewable lease.

Julie Nordgren spoke with U-B reporter Maria P. Gonzalez about the need for volunteers to help with Davis Elementary School’s mentoring project, Friends ABC Program. The heart of the program is pairing students with “a caring, consistent adult.”

Long-running water issue trickles on, U-B reporter Andy Porter writes. A public hearing Monday framed the latest chapter in a debate over rules to protect drinking water sources in Walla Walla County. Regulations on Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas are the remaining piece of a five-year effort to update the county’s Critical Areas ordinance.