Ed Pfueller photo

Welder-turned-sculptor Larry Vennard shows off the artwork he made in his backyard north of Centralia, including an image of St. Patrick casting a snake out of Ireland, right.   Read the Article

Local News Stories
Neighborhood artist
By ANNIE NELSON of the Tribune’s staff
CENTRALIA - Larry Vennard recycles machinery from former 40-acre farms and creates steel sculptures of giant bugs, animals and extinct dinosaurs.

Federal rule to alter CHA management
By GREG MILLER of the Tribune’s staff
Tanya Davis wants more power.

Lawsuit names ex-cancer specialist
By KEVIN COLEMAN of the Tribune’s staff
A class action lawsuit has been filed against a former local oncologist who recently paid a $1 million fine and surrendered his medical license to settle charges stemming from a four-year investigation into alleged Medicare billing fraud.

Many happy returns
By JANESE HEAVIN of the Tribune’s staff
Former Lange Middle School math teacher Shelli Adams feels as if she’ll be going home next fall when she takes the helm as principal at the school.

Realtor pursues cooperative line for city, county
By MATTHEW LeBLANC of the Tribune’s staff
Valerie Barnes knows you can’t escape family, and she doesn’t want to try.

Merit pay surfaces during forum
By JANESE HEAVIN of the Tribune’s staff
All five candidates seeking spots on the Columbia Board of Education agreed yesterday that merit pay for teachers is a good idea in theory but that reality might make it difficult to implement.

Police identify man found dead in vehicle
Columbia police released the name of a man found dead Thursday in a vehicle parked at the Creasy Springs Road entrance to the Bear Creek Trail.

Wearin’ the green
Aubrey Toomsen, 7, attired in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, waves to passing cars from Ninth and Locust streets yesterday with sister Elsa Toomsen, 10. 

Highway injuries
Columbia firefighters attend to a man who was driving one of two vehicles that collided yesterday in the northbound lanes of Highway 63 near Stadium Boulevard.