Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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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...
WAITSBURG - Up against a deadline to make a recommendation regarding the preliminary plat proposal for the Whoopemup Meadows subdivision here, the Waitsburg Planning Commission chose to recommend disapproval on Sunday evening. However, they appeared to make that recommendation anticipating that the Waitsburg City Council will reject it and will instead require the commission to gather more information. This would allow the city and developers, Warren Land Co., the time they need to make...
WAITSBURG -- Early this school year, Waitsburg High School special education teacher Patty Hazelwood happened upon a small dresser desperately in need of refinishing. It occurred to her that such a project would be ideal for her life skills students: Coe Richards, Austin Baker and Rachel Gradwohl. The trio successfully transformed the eyesore into a work of beauty, learning new skills and experiencing the satisfaction of a job well done along the way. Hazelwood has over twenty years experience...
WAITSBURG – Debra Callahan, a member of the Waitsburg city council and the fairgrounds advisory committee, has been working hard to organize events she hopes will create a stronger sense of community among locals while drawing visitors to the area. At last week's city council meeting Callahan reported on several event reservations for the Waitsburg Fairgrounds, possibilities for a Fourth Friday music festival during the summer months, and Waitsburg's first National Night Out celebration. C...
BREMERTON, Wash. – Waitsburg native Wyatt Withers, son of Laurie Withers and the late Ian Withers, and grandson of Jack McCaw and the late Laurette McCaw, has done his family proud by receiving recognition as the 2014 Sailor of the Year for Submarine Squadron 5 out of Bremerton. Withers graduated from Waitsburg High School in 2010 and followed in "Grandpa Jack's" footsteps by joining the Navy, where he pursued a career in nuclear engineering. He excelled early on, finishing 13th among 320 s...
WAITSBURG - Establishing a quorum at Waitsburg planning commission meetings may soon become a bit easier. Uniquely qualified Waitsburg residents Stan Bly and Larry Johnson have each applied to fill two currently vacant seats on the board. Approval of the applicants is on the agenda for Wednesday night’s city council meeting. The six-position planning commission is chaired by William Potolochio and made up of commission members K.C. Kuykendall, who is also a city council member; Karen Gregutt; a...
WAITSBURG - Eastern Washington University broadcaster and Waitsburg native Larry Weir is pleased to join the ranks of his longtime role model, Bob Robertson, by earning the title of National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Washington Sportscaster of the Year. Weir, who has provided the play-by-play for EWU basketball and football games for over 20 years, was selected as the 2014 award recipient on Jan. 7 and will be honored at a ceremony in Charlotte, N.C., in June. The 1979...
WAITSBURG -- With January's designation as School Board Appreciation Month in the state of Washington, Waitsburg board members were honored at the Jan. 14 school board meeting. Elementary students sent handmade cards, flowers and photos and representatives of the high school National Honor Society served the board punch and cookies. High school ASB members presented each member with a card of thanks from the high school. FFA members had honored board members in December with handmade Christmas...
WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg Planning Commission met with a full quorum Monday to receive public comment and discuss the proposed Whoopemup Meadows housing development in northeast Waitsburg. Tones were tense as first the developers and then the Port of Walla Walla discussed the main sticking point - ownership of water and sewer lines installed by the Port but maintained by the city. Mary and Gene Warren, of Warren Land Company, submitted an application for the 114-unit development on November 17....
WAITSBURG – “I didn’t know what a heart attack was supposed to feel like,” said Waitsburg Presbyterian Church Reverend Bret Moser, who now knows all too well what to expect. Following his own recent heart attack, Moser is loudly singing the praises of the Waitsburg Ambulance Service and strongly encourages all Waitsburg residents to take advantage of the service’s unique donor program which assures swift and free service. Nothing was out of the ordinary when Moser went to bed the night of...
WAITSBURG - Members of the Waitsburg Celebration Days Committee have been working hard the last several months to make sure this May’s celebration - honoring Waitsburg’s 150th anniversary - is a truly memorable event. With the framework in place, they are now in need of helping hands and financial support to make their May 16 Celebration Days plans a reality. “What we want is to create one or two signature events that we become known for and that grow every year,” said Mayor Walt Gobel. The comm...
PRESCOTT - WP wrestlers had two meets last week where grapplers Tristan Newman and Dejay Lalka celebrated personal successes. The team traveled to Springdale on Saturday, where Newman beat long-time competitor Mark Dituri of Mary Walker for the first time in two years. At Monday's home meet here, Dejay Lalka, who wrestles with just one leg, brought the crowd to tears as he secured the first win of his wrestling career. At the Springdale meet, 138 lb. David Just won two and lost two, all by pin....
WAITSBURG – Construction of the Whiskey Creek Sports Bar & Grill on Waitsburg's east side is moving ahead right on track, and owners expect to open the doors in late March or early April. The recent hire of the Grill's first employee, General Manager Gary Bales, will help to speed that process along. Whiskey Creek, located on the former site of the White Stallion Restaurant at 701 Preston Avenue, is a joint effort of investors Dan Cole, Ken Cole, Jr., Guy McCaw and Byron Seney, along with w...
WAITSBURG – WP wrestlers continued to compete through the Christmas school break, participating in a tournament in Pomeroy on Dec. 30 and the Jo Hi Invitational in Joseph, Ore. on January 2. Senior Tristan Newman took third place, wrestling against several past state competitors, at Jo Hi and walked away with a first place medal at the Pomeroy competition. Five wrestlers competed at the Pomeroy meet on Dec. 30. Coach Lanny Adams said Devin Newman wrestled hard against very skilled and t...
WAITSBURG – Losing a public works director with 40 years on-the-job experience is bound to be a big blow to a city, but that hit is softened significantly when the incoming director has 20 years experience of his own. At the Dec. 17 city council meeting, the council approved a recommendation from the personnel committee, consisting of Walt Gobel, Randy Hinchliffe and Marty Dunn, to promote city crew staffer Jim Lynch to public works director. Lynch, who replaces longtime director Dan Katsel, b...
WAITSBURG/PRESCOTT – Twenty-fourteen has been a year of change, from the transfer in ownership of The Times at the beginning of the year, to the pending dissolution of the WP sports combine agreement reported just last week. With a new sports bar and restaurant taking shape on the east side of town, a trio of bronze sculptures being readied to adorn Main Street in time for the City's 150th anniversary celebration and the potential to break ground on a new subdivision, it appears that 2015 w...
WAITSBURG/PRESCOTT - A shortage of available gymnasiums between Prescott and Waitsburg means the boys and girls high school basketball teams alternate between early and late practices in Waitsburg while middle school students practice in Prescott. Neither coaches nor athletes are fans of the late practice schedule, but it became "the straw that broke the camel's back" when a proposed - then rejected - solution to that problem resulted in the pending termination of the Waitsburg Prescott...
