The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Dear Grandma,

The family is doing well and so are all 7 of the pets (2 dogs, 2 birds, 2 guinea pigs, and 1 rabbit). Our dogs sure have gotten bigger since the last time you saw them. Rocky (the reddish brown one) is taller than me if it stands on its back legs. Buster (the black and white one) is still kind of small, though. We are getting ready for the holidays, are you? Hope you have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

From,

Julio Mercado

Dear those who read,

During April Fool’s Day, my dad pranked me by getting a chocolate bunny and filling it with ranch dressing and I took a bite of it, it was nasty, but funny, too. In February, we went to Chuck E Cheese’s for my brother’s birthday. In January, It was my birthday and I had a birthday party at my Grandma’s house. On Christmas, I got a watch, roller skates/blades, new clothes, a Sky Viper, and about 2 or 3 video games.

Sincerely,

Ben Gascon

Dear Waitsburg,

This year has been great. I went on a trip to Yellowstone. There were lots of animals and bison. My birthday is coming and I’m kind of excited to turn 11, but I don’t really want to get shots and stuff. I figured out that I have a sister named Chloe and she’s 13 and she’s a little crazy on a motorcycle, but I still like her. I played football on the Seahawks. Although we didn’t do so well, it was still fun to play. One bad thing is that I chipped my tooth two times; one time when my cousin kneed me in the face and another time I face-planted on a longboard. I did 4-H and I raised two pigs named Kevin and Brian. One weird thing is that Brian was a girl. These things helped make the year of 2016 really fun.

Sincerely,

Jayce Gleason

Dear people,

This year has been pretty good so far. My favorite thing I did over the summer was go to the Enchanted Forest in Portland, OR. I went with my grandpa and my cousin. They are my favorite people in the world. The rides I went on were not that scary. I mean I thought they weren’t but my cousin thought they were. We didn’t go on a lot of rides, though. However, I still had a lot of fun. One of the rides we rode was a little scary but not really scary. I had really fun going to the Enchanted Forest. Anyway, I hope your year went well and you have a good year to come.

Sincerely,

Alexandra Garcia

Dear Family and Friends,

This year I started 4-H and it’s already fun we have been in the Dayton parade and the Waitsburg parade. Also my dad is on the Walla Walla fair board so I camped there for a week and spent time with some friends and go on all sorts of rides. In school we all got new Chromebook this year and that’s what I typed this on. Today December 1 we all made a portrait of are self and we also mad cup bells for the downtown Christmas tree and what I want for Christmas is an Xbox 1.

Sincerely,

Amy Bly

Dear readers,

This year was crazy, fun, and eventful. I went to the Pendleton Water Park with my cousin Alyssa. I also won a costume award at 4-H camp on sports night. My costume was borrowed, so I gave the prize to the person I got the costume from. I was a good goalie in this soccer season. I was in the Umpa Lumpas soccer team. I got to see my Uncle Gobo (Collin) in Davenport last spring. I made 11 things for thanksgiving, which included pie and beans dip. Lastly, I got to shoot targets and shaving cream with my father. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Sincerely,

Adelaide Johnson

Dear Waitsburg,

This year has been fun. I spent a month of the summer in Oregon with my mom and sister, visiting my grandma. During that month, I spent a lot of it at the beach. When I got home I stayed home for a week then me and my family went back to the beach and my brother and sister buried me in the sand from neck to toe. I also went on a pirate ship at the Pirate Days in Oregon. This year I was in The Christmas Story play. Not too long ago, I joined a 4-H group called Pen Pals. I went to my mom’s family reunion for the first time. At the family reunion there was a lady that said “No jumping in the bounce castle.” I thought that was weird. Even though I couldn’t jump I had fun. This year has been fun.

Sincerely,

Laney Crow

Dear people that read this,

I had a pretty good year, if I do say so myself. My favorite thing this summer was winning the title of 2016 Washington Little Rodeo Queen. The events that followed this honor included going to Canada for the Calgary Stampede and a variety of different events as well. This was a very fun experience for me. Another cool thing about this year was my grandma getting a new puppy and naming her Bindy. She is a Blue Heeler and is ADORABLE! A good end to my summer included my two pigs, Breakfast and Brunch, both making weight at the Walla Walla Fair and the Dayton fair. I’m excited to see what the 2017 year brings as I count down six days from Christmas to a “Happy New Year!” Hope you have a Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

Makenna Barron

2016-2017 5th grader at Waitsburg Elementary School

Dear friends and family,

This year has been eventful. Last year, in 2016, I was in 4th grade and I moved to 5th grade, it was hard because Mrs. Coulston was my favorite but, I like Mr. Kiefel too. When I was at my Grammy’s for Thanksgiving for two days, then I went to Potlatch Idaho with my dad, Hoile and her son Ben. My dad and Hoile got engaged last summer but they haven’t married yet and I really like Hollie, Hollie makes really good food. When it was summer I went to the pool and I went to Clarkston and swam with my dad, Hollie and Ben. My summer was fun!

Sincerely,

Teighan Anderson

Dear people of Waitsburg,

Lots of things happened this year. First of all, I raised a pig and sold it for around

$825. For my birthday, I went to a family fun center and I played LOTS of laser tag, and I rode the go-carts. That was my favorite part of the summer. After that, I went to Silverwood and I rode the Round-up ride seven times! I also went to the Waitsburg pool a lot and got a lot better at jumping my bike this summer as well. I also went to two weddings. One was in Idaho, at that same wedding, my uncle and I hiked a trail that was really cool. My grandma came all the way from Texas this year to visit. Shortly after, I went to a birthday party with Daniel Foley.  2016 was a very fun year.

Sincerely,

Joshua Reser

Dear Waitsburg Citizens,

It has been a good year. I hope you have had good year, too. This year I was on the Dayton Swim Team and went to the championship and almost broke a record in Colfax. I’m really excited for next year. Maybe I’ll be able to break the record. Every Wednesday I go to Awanas, which is in Walla Walla. At Awanas I do games like Shipwreck and Rat Race and sing and study the bible.

Sincerely

Jadyn Martinez

Dear Readers,

This year has been eventful! I harvested a bear in Idaho. I went on an elk hunt, but came up empty. It was a lot of fun! I saw lots of elk, but I couldn’t get a bead on any of them. I went on a duck and goose hunt which was great, we shot 19 ducks. It was my dad, his buddy Todd, and me. He had a really good retriever! It retrieved 16 of the ducks! My dog was being weird and only retrieved 3. It was embarrassing. We have trained every night since. Hi, Mom! That is what I can remember at this very moment, everyone. Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

Jasper Morrow

Dear Family and Friends,

This year was somewhat eventful. I got two new pairs of glasses just recently, which will improve my life significantly. I might go and look at a horse. I’ve ridden my cousin’s horses. I will look at this horse on the way back from Leavenworth. I might buy it with the pig money I earned from selling two pigs at the Walla Walla and Dayton Fairs. Okay, I have to get back to my stories now.

Sincerely,

Kylee Henry

Dear Reader,

Last summer, while camping with my grandpa, I shot a bird with the pellet gun I got for Christmas. It fell to the ground. One day, my mom took me to Bicycle Barn and bought me a Redline for $350. I was on an undefeated soccer team until we lost the last game which made us sad. During summer break, I went to California with my mom, her friend, and his daughter. We were in the car for 16 hours straight. It wasn’t that fun in the car. When we got there, we unpacked our things in a hotel room, stretched our legs, and went to lunch. In November, Johnny, Vanessa, Vaida, and I took a 4 hour and 27 minute trip to Portland for the weekend to visit my mom.  We all liked my mom’s place.

Sincerely,

Cohen Allen Vails Rauch

Dear friends and family,

I’d like to talk about hunting and fishing. This summer I went to the river by my house. I got a lot of fish and I saw a muskrat. I went hunting this year. I shot a five-by-five buck, which was my fourth deer. I also shot a pheasant with my shotgun; I shot 4 more of them at my ranch. I shot 10 grouse with my 243 rifle and shotgun. I also caught a 29 pound fish in a little pond in Dayton and it was 35 inches. I caught 19 or 20 fish in the river by my house; they all were trout. This is what I did this year so far.

Sincerely,

ZACK NORRIS

Dear people of Waitsburg,

This year has been eventful. I almost got bit by a snake. I’ve seen 8 of my cousins. We built forts and played games. I went to Disneyworld and Universal Studios. I got to go trick-or-treating in Disneyworld. I’ve been shooting with my grandpa. I hit a can every time. My sister had a birthday on December, 3. These are a few reasons my year has been eventful.

Sincerely,

Wyaitt Booth

Dear Family and Friends,

One time this summer I when to a birthday party and we all had a lot of fun. The most fun thing was that we jumped on a bouncy house and got soaked because it was raining that day. When the birthday girl opened her presents and read her Uncle Jason’s card, everybody started crying because it was so sweet. After everybody went home, I stayed the night with them and her cousin stayed, too. We stayed up all night. The next day when their cousin went home we went to Pioneer Day and listened to the Switchgrass Delta. After we had a little more fun I went to their grandma’s house with their cousin. Then my step-dad came and picked me up and I went home.

Sincerely,

Marahsyn Russell

Dear Family and friends,

Do you wonder what I did and am going to do this year? This year has been fun. I have had a lot of fun playing with my friends Weston, Kairi, Natalie, and Cohen. One day, my Dad surprised me at school and took me to lunch. My Mom and my brothers are the best family anyone could ask for. I’m going to the “North Pole” on a train on December 18th. I got a video game I wanted recently for my birthday. I got two cooler nerf guns. That’s what I did and am going to do. Looking forward to next year!

Sincerely,

Blake French

Dear family and friends,

This year has been so fun. One of the things me and my family did in 2016 is white water rafting with our friends. We had very crazy times. On our three day rafting trip I fell off the raft and it was pretty funny. We had a really good times jumping off bridges and hitting lots of rocks. My rafting trip was fun and crazy but I had lots of fun with my family and friends. (It’s all about family and friends.)

Sincerely,

McKenzie Miller

Dear Patrons of Waitsburg,

This year has been fun. First, I went to Great Wolf Lodge. I had my birthday party and turned 11. I like hunting and fishing. I got a new room and my friend helped me decorate it. My brother turned 4 on Halloween. I raised two pigs; I got Grand Champion in Dayton. My Walla Walla pig’s name was Porky Junior and my Dayton pig’s name was Felicia. I loved Felisha more because she got me grand champion and I got to spend time with my friends and family. I shot a three-by-three deer and I went to the river a lot. I cracked my phone so I got a new phone, which I dropped in the river. And Donald Trump got elected President. I had a good year.

Sincerely,

Peyton Struckmeier

Dear family and friends,

This year has been eventful for the following reasons. It’s going to be exciting this year because we are going skiing in the winter. This year I quit soccer. I raise pigs and made $600 which was good. I went to the fair and went on the rides I never have before, for example: The Zipper, Fireball, and Rockstar. Last summer, I got a concussion from football so that was bad and good because I got to skip a whole bunch of school. Last summer, I jumped off a ladder going up to a bridge into water so that was fun. I shot my first deer this year, which was exciting. Last year, I past 4th grade which was good. And that’s what I did over this last year.

Sincerely,

Cyson Morris

Dear people of Waitsburg or any other readers outside of town,

This year has been a blast and I bet Christmas is going to be even better. This year I am in the 5th grade. This summer was my first summer going to the Prescott pool. I went to the Walla Walla Fair for the first time, as well. My favorite part was going to Silverwood. During the school year I was hoping for coach Bartlow but there is a new coach and his name is Mr. Maiuri. The first science kit was fun because we got to build dams and villages during school. My group’s dam did hold against the river when we tested it. In Girl Scouts I got a pin to put on my sash because I have been in Girl-Scouts for a year now. The 2016 year has been really fun.

Sincerely,

Kairi Dahlby

Dear readers,

I regret to inform you that this year has been quite uneventful. First, it rained for the second year in a row on Halloween. I ate some cereal. I played at Blake’s house. My grandma’s cat died. Oh yeah, Trump was elected. That’s about it. Here’s to next year.

Sincerely,

Weston Keown