Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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PRESCOTT – WP softball coach Angie Potts, assisted by Allan Wilson, is pleased with the turnout of 25 girls for softball this year but says they are still working on nailing down the varsity roster. "There is a big discrepancy in age and experience between the older and younger players. We'll be moving girls around for awhile," she said. Returning varsity seniors include: Jennifer Castro, Loegan Harshman, Paige Wood, Analise Salazar, Kassidy Kuykedall and Hannah Grant. Pitcher Jaidyn Brown is t...
WAITSBURG – This year, Waitsburg will celebrate its sesquicentennial – 150 years of existence – as part of the annual Waitsburg Celebration Days weekend. According to City Hall staff, the exact date is unknown, but Waitsburg was chartered sometime in the spring of 1865. Waitsburg is known as a "One of a Kind" city and operates off the territorial charter created in that year. Waitsburg is the only charter city in Washington and one of only six in the nation. The fun-filled Celebration Days...
WAITSBURG – Incumbent Mayor Walt Gobel and incumbent councilwoman Debra Callahan accepted the Waitsburg Commercial Club's invitation to address residents at a Community Forum during the club's March 3 dinner meeting. No new candidates were present at the Forum which precedes the upcoming April 6 city council elections. Gobel took advantage of the opportunity to sing the praises of the current council and the city staff – in a speech punctuated with good-natured comments from the audience – rathe...
WAITSBURG – Now that Marilyn Johnson is no longer operating Etcetera's gift shop on Waitsburg's Main Street, she has decided to have a bit of fun with the display window flanking the Plaza Theater. "Sophie," a mannequin Johnson received from her mother, is the vehicle for her amusements. Currently, Sophie is dressed to celebrate St. Urho's Day on March 16. According to sainturho.com, the legend of St. Urho originated in northern Minnesota in the 1950s and has grown among North Americans of F...
WAITSBURG – Last year's Waitsburg Celebration Days ATV Poker Run garnered a great deal of local interest and enthusiasm but had to be revamped to an in-town scavenger hunt at the last minute due to an inability to meet Walla Walla County ordinance requirements in a timely manner. This year organizers started the permit process in plenty of time and prospects are looking good. During their regular meeting on Feb. 23, the Walla Walla County Commissioners approved a new ordinance that will allow th...
WAITSBURG – Is it a deck? Is it a stage? No, it's a massive display case! The Times (whose Waitsburg reporter happens to live next door to the Wilson-Phillips House) has kept a curious eye on the recent flurry of activity taking place in the backyard of the house/museum owned and operated by the Waitsburg Historical Society. It turns out the burgeoning structure will be a mini-house that will hold a scale model replica of Wait's Mill. The plan was to display the model inside the Wilson-Phillips...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg's American Legion Auxiliary hosted a Boys and Girls State Honor Night dessert at Town Hall on March 2. Students who attended the 2014 week-long mock government events shared their experiences and encouraged upcoming seniors to take advantage of the opportunity to participate in government firsthand. The American Legion Post #35 and Auxiliary sponsor Prescott and Waitsburg students to the events each year. Emma Philbrook, the only girl to attend the 2014 American Legion A...
WAITSBURG – Warren Land Company cleared hurdle number one after receiving a conditional preliminary plat approval for the proposed Whoopemup Meadows subdivision at a Feb. 19 Waitsburg City Council public record meeting. The council, with member K.C. Kuykendall absent, voted unanimously to approve the preliminary plat with conditions as recommended by City Attorney Jared Hawkins, rather than disapproving, as recommended by the Waitsburg Planning Commission. The 114-unit, 50-acre subdivision, t...
WAITSBURG – In a war of wits, Waitsburg once again took first place in the 2B District 9 Regional Knowledge Bowl meet on Feb. 23, securing a spot at the state meet. This will be Waitsburg's fourth consecutive State meet and the last for senior and team leader Emma Philbrook. The WHS Knowledge Bowl team competed with strengths and smarts against 2B local rivals Dayton and DeSales High Schools. Led by senior Philbrook and junior Stuart Walsh, Waitsburg walked off with the win scoring 103 p...
WAITSBURG – When 7-year-old Jessika Lambert wanted to follow in big brother Daltin's footsteps and go into scouting, she was forced to join a Girl Scout troop in Walla Walla since there were no local troops. However, when she sold cookies in Waitsburg, she received so much interest from moms and daughters that she decided to do something about that. Jessika used the money she made from her first cookie sale to help start a troop in Waitsburg. A year later, local young ladies are busily p...
DAYTON – What’s the best way to keep kids out of trouble after school? Give them safe, healthy activities to enjoy, says Dayton’s interim Secondary Principal Kate Wenzl. Members of Columbia Cares, the Coalition for Youth and Families, Columbia County Public Health and county commissioners agree. “The amount we have to pay for juvenile incarceration goes down when we have an afterschool program,” said Columbia County Commissioner Dwight Robanske. The county budgeted $70,000 for juvenile detention...
WAITSBURG – The WHS gymnasium was a happening place on Wednesday, Feb. 18 as Waitsburg elementary and middle school students jumped rope, hula hooped and shot baskets as part of a campaign to raise funds for the American Heart Association (AHA). The students easily surpassed their set goal of $3,000 and raised $3,212.57, through pledges from friends and family, to help the AHA meet their goal of building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke. A walk through the gym and it w...
WAITSBURG – At their meeting on Thursday, Waitsburg city council members appeared ready to send the Waitsburg planning commission’s recommendation to disapprove the Whoopemup Meadows preliminary plat proposal back to the commission for further review. However, code requirements prevented them from doing so without first holding a public meeting. That meeting will take place Thursday at 6 p.m. Waitsburg’s planning commission – in order to meet a requirement to make a recommendation within 14 days...
WAITSBURG – The pending dissolution of the Waitsburg-Prescott Sports Combine brings with it a slew of questions to be resolved before the next school year: Which sports will each school offer? Where will practices be held? Who owns the equipment and uniforms? Will the schools combine or co-op for individual sports? These are just a few examples of the issues Waitsburg and Prescott school districts will address over the next few months. But with WIAA fall sports schedules already decided, no i...
WAITSBURG – Coaches, parents and participants associated with the WP wrestling program and the Waitsburg Mat Birds filled the small Preston Hall board room as they waited their turn to speak at the Feb. 11 school board meeting. The representatives were there to express concern that the high school wrestling program might not remain intact in light of next year's dissolution of the Waitsburg-Prescott Sports Combine. WP wrestling team captain and two-time state competitor Tristan Newman opened t...
WAITSBURG – Touchet Valley Acoustic Music Project's (TVAMP) Feb. 13 "Bluegrass at the Plaza" fundraiser was a huge success, according to Director Kate Hockersmith. Bluegrass fans packed the historic Plaza Theater, and TVAMP raised $1,713 between ticket sales and the silent auction. Only a few seats remained empty in the theater, and Hockersmith said she was left wondering how many years it has been since The Plaza was that full. "If it hadn't been so foggy in Walla Walla, I'm thinking it may h...
PALOUSE – Laht Neppur's Waitsburg Winter Warmer won the People's Choice "Best Cure for Cabin Fever" award at the Feb. 7 Palouse Cabin Fever Brew Fest. This makes the second event-win in a row for Laht Neppur Brewery, whose Spiced Peaches 'N' Cream Ale won the title in 2014. Six breweries, featuring a total of 22 custom brews, competed at the event. In addition to Laht Neppur Brewing Company, the 2015 lineup included: Zythum Brewing Company, Budge Brothers Brewery, 12 String Brewing Company, R...
COLBERT – Waitsburg-Prescott heavyweight junior Tristan Newman is headed for his third trip to the state wrestling tournament in Tacoma after placing second at the Feb. 14 Class 1B/2B East Regional wrestling tournament here. Last year Newman placed fourth at the regional meet before taking fourth place at state. 285-pound Newman pinned Jimmy Coleman of Tonasket by pin in 1:30 in his first match, then took Mikey Hernandez of Warden by pin in 4:22 in match two. "Tristan came out being reserved i...
WAITSBURG – The Grange has played "a huge role" in the lives of Rick and Terry Ferguson and their family. Rick's great-grandparents, grandparents and parents were all members of the Starbuck Grange. "I grew up in that Starbuck Grange Hall – roller skating, eating pie, and going to dances," he said. Rick's family later moved to Huntsville and he met and married his wife Terry. The couple has been actively involved in the Waitsburg Grange, Washington State Grange and National Grange thr...
WAITSBURG – For Suze Wood, landing in Waitsburg was a case of a left turn being the right turn. Wood had spent years bypassing Waitsburg as she traveled from her parent's home in Walla Walla to Cheney, where she attended college. It was years later, while seeking a change of pace driving from Walla Walla to her Seattle home, that she decided to take the back way and finally made that left turn off Highway 12 and onto Waitsburg's Main Street. Wood said she was so captivated by what she saw t...
RITZVILLE – The majority of WP grapplers wrapped up their season at the Feb. 7 Sub-regional meet in Ritzville. Only heavyweight Tristan Newman advances to Regionals after cleaning house in Ritzville. A first place at the Regional meet on Feb. 14 will send Newman on his third consecutive trip to the State wrestling tournament in Tacoma on Feb. 20-21. 132 lb. Devin Newman won three of five matches in Ritzville but fell to Dane Hall of Colfax by pin in 3:12 in the final match for 5th/6th s...
WAITSBURG – Warren Land Company owners Gene and Mary Warren, developers of the proposed Whoopemup Meadows subdivision, say they are confused by the process Waitsburg's planning commission has taken in deciding to approve or disapprove their preliminary plat proposal to Waitsburg's city council. "Their own ordinances say they can approve, disapprove or approve with conditions. Instead, I guess they're disapproving, but it's really not a disapproval," said Gene Warren. The developers are h...
WAITSBURG – Each Tuesday, local seniors gather in the basement of the Waitsburg Presbyterian Church where they enjoy a hot meal and welcome fellowship. The meals are provided through the Walla Walla Senior Center's Senior Round Table program and have been taking place in Waitsburg for close to 30 years, according to the center's executive director Howard Ostby. The center prepares the meals and delivers them to Waitsburg where local volunteers take over serving, collecting donations and d...
WAITSBURG – "Bluegrass at the Plaza!" a benefit concert for the Touchet Valley Acoustic Music Project will take place Friday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. at Waitsburg's historic Plaza Theater (208 Main St.). The concert will feature the bands Switchgrass; Rock, Salt & Nails; the Kuykendall Family and Kate & The Bluegrass Gentlemen. Proceeds from the event go to support TVAMP, which is directed by Kate Hockersmith and operates under the umbrella of the nonprofit Rural Youth Enrichment Services. TVAMP is a...
WAITSBURG – At least one Preston Hall classroom will stay cool once temperatures start to rise this spring, thanks in large part to a donation from Young’s Heating and Cooling and their distributors. Several months ago, the Waitsburg school district accepted an offer from Young’s to install a ductless mini-split heat pump in one classroom at no cost to the district for equipment and labor. The only cost the district would incur would be supplying electrical service to the unit. The heat pump...
