Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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RICHLAND - - Ba d weather has dampened the spirits of Touchet Valley high school golfers in the last few weeks. " It has been difficult for us to get any consistent practice," said Dayton/WP head golf coach Mike Mc- Ghan. "For example, we got snowed out two weeks ago." The Dayton and Waitsburg Prescott teams played at Columbia Point Golf Course in Richland last Tuesday but didn't have complete games. The 18-hole, par 72 course was tough for all five teams. Tri-Cities Prep boys took top scores...
DAYTON - The rumors you've heard around town this spring are true. The circus is coming to Dayton! Carson & Barnes Circus, a family-owned and operated enterprise started in 1937, will pitch its 144-by-180 foot tent on the future site of the Blue Mountain Station, at the corner of Highway 12 and Wagon Road, on June 30 for one day - and one day only - of circus fun in the Touchet Valley. Tickets for the two performances planned for that Thursday will go on sale through the Dayton Chamber of Commer...
DAYTON - The Bulldogs came out as the underdogs in three games this past week, losing to Tekoa-Oakesdale- Rosalia in two games on Saturday and just barely missing a lead against Touchet on Tuesday afternoon. Dayton succeeded in grabbing three runs in the first inning against Touchet, but the Indians made a slow and steady comeback beginning in the third inning, finally wrapping up the game 7-6. The Bulldogs defense was led by junior Colton Bickelhaupt on the pitcher's mound until up-and-coming f...
DAYTON - The Lady Bulldogs had their first loss of the season in double league match ups against Tekoa-Oakesdale-Rosalia at home on Saturday. The split game, with a 6-8 loss in game one and a 15-11 victory in game two, puts the softball team at 5-1 in league and 9-1 overall. The first game was close, with Dayton scoring the first runs. But in the 6th and 7th innings, the Spartans scored all eight of their runs. On defense, Kayla Turner pitched with Miwa Umeda behind home plate, a solid partnership that has seen the Bulldogs through a number of...
WALLA WALLA - Waitsburg resident Adam Hermanns could face many years in prison based on new and existing charges brought against the 23-year-old man in Walla Walla County this month. Hermanns, who was charged mid-April with three felonies that allegedly took place in January, was implicated late last week in five additional felony cases reported just this spring in College Place. The new charges brought against Hermanns and alleged accomplice Antonia Contreras, 24, of Walla Walla, include robbery and burglary, both first-degree, class A...
DAYTON - Dayton business owners Jim and Connie Westergreen have big news for small ranchers in Columbia and Walla Walla counties. The couple will soon expand their meat processing operations to include a USDAinspected butchering facility in Dayton and a second retail shop in Walla Walla. The owners of Dayton Cut & Wrap, on Main Street, are working with the Port of Columbia to build a small slaughterhouse on Cameron Street in the empty, Portowned lot already zoned for industrial uses between...
DAYTON - Dayton and Tri-Cities Prep were scheduled for an 18-hole match at the Touchet Valley Golf Course in Dayton last Friday, but both teams were missing so many golfers the coaches decided to mix things up and put the kids into teams and play a scramble. "We have always wanted to try something different in Dayton," Dayton head coach Mike McGhan said. "This was a great opportunity to put a little twist in things. It came at a good time as the weather has been getting the kids down. The kids had fun but got soaked in the rainy weather." A...
WALLA WALLA - If Dayton's success last week against Tri-Cities Prep represented the perfect baseball games, Saturday's double- header defeat at the hands of the Irish in Walla Walla was a mirror opposite. "I told the kids going in - if we don't make any mistakes, we can beat these guys," said Dayton head coach Sal Benavides. But in game one, the Bulldogs committed five errors, costing them big. "We had one sequence with three errors," Benavides said. "I had to go out there and tell them, 'You gu...
WALLA WALLA - Winter continues to hold Southeast Washington in its grasp, with snow flurries and hail bombarding the Touchet Valley early this week, but the rain held off and the sun peeked through just enough over the weekend for local teams to hit the fields. And a great weekend it was for the Lady Bulldogs, who took two wins from their DeSales rivals on their own home field in Walla Walla on Saturday. In the opener, Dayton played in fits and starts, scoring two runs in the second inning. The...
DAYTON - Creativity and determination has carried the Port of Columbia through several years of planning the Blue Mountain Station, and a little cold weather and rain couldn't keep them from celebrating the project's groundbreaking last Friday. Taking gold- colored shovel blades to potting soil spread out on canvas atop the carpeted sanctuary floor at Harvest Christian Center in Dayton, across Wagon Road from the future site of the Blue Mountain Station, Port Manager Jennie Dickinson together...
DAYTON - Managing a small, nonprofit theater is not an everyday kind of job. One of Reid Helford's fondest, early memories when he first started as manager of the Liberty Theater in downtown Dayton more than three years ago was of building - and wearing - a foil-wrapped, cardboard robot costume for the theater's opening night of "Wall-E." " I knew from the beginning that I wanted to give away prizes and dress up," Helford said. "I knew I looked ridiculous. I looked like an idiot. But people...
WAITSBURG - Members of the Waitsburg community want their city government to be more connected to its youth. In fact, former city councilor Bart Baxter made youth and community his platform during mayoral elections this month. His bid for top seat in city government was not successful against incumbent Walt Gobel, but his ideas were sound. This Wednesday, as Waitsburg's re-elected mayor and city councilors are sworn in during the regular monthly meeting at 7 p.m. in the Lions Club Community Buil...
PASCO - The Bulldogs were thrilled Tuesday night after winning their first league games of the season during a double-header against Tri-Cities Prep. Cold and rainy conditions have postponed many games for Dayton this spring. Tuesday's games in Pasco were the team's first league matches of the year, and they took top scores in both: 17-6 in the first game and 17-6 in the second. "I'm just so happy," said Dayton head coach Sal Benavides on Tuesday. "Everything moved to perfection. It was fun to watch." Dayton's baseball team this year is young,...
WALLA WALLA - Dayton and Waitsburg golfers tried their luck Tuesday afternoon at the Veterans Memorial Golf Course in Walla Walla. The boys played 18 holes on this par 72 course. Dayton placed second, with 277 points, among other teams who competed including De- Sales, which took first with 256 points; Tri-Cities Prep, third with 283; and Liberty Christian in last place, with 297. Individual placement in the top three went to DeSales golfers Ryan Baumgart, who took first with 78; Jerod Conen,...
WAITSBURG - Nine years ago the teachers at Waitsburg Elementary were faced with a dilemma. What could they do with the children who wanted to play games indoors instead of going outside for recess in the cold during the long winter months? Longtime elementary teacher Margie Douglas, together with her late husband Dee, came up with an idea - chess and checkers tournaments. "Thus giving the students an alternative to going out in the cold weather," Douglas said. "They have so much fun. Every year...
DAYTON - The Downtown Dayton Playground Project received a boon this past week in the form of a $3,500 grant from the Pacific Power Foundation. Grant funds will be used to help purchase a muchanticipated children's play structure in the parking lot along East Commercial Street, next to the Dayton Historic Depot. "Pacific Power is excited to be part of the playground project, which will make downtown Dayton more inviting to young families," said Bill Clemens, Pacific Power's regional community...
WALLA WALLA - Waitsburg resident Adam Hermanns, who was arrested on April 5 after a three-hour hunt for him in the Walla Walla area, was formally charged with three felonies in Walla Walla County Superior Court last Wednesday. Hermanns was charged with theft in the second degree, a Class C felony, for allegedly stealing a tire and wheels at a residence in Waitsburg on January 21, according to Walla Walla County Prosecutor Jim Nagle . The 23-year-old was also charged with first-degree burglary, a Class A felony, and theft of a firearm, a Class B...
DAYTON - It's a bird! It's a plane! Nohellip;it's "the world's first destination eco-food processing park." That's how Port of Columbia Manager Jennie Dickinson and consultants Dennis Miller and Gary White describe the project. But what does that really mean? The Kennewick men came up with the idea for the Blue Mountain Station in 2007, and they continue to attend national and organic food processing trade shows around the country trying to drum up enthusiasm among developers who might want to...
More than half the student body at Dayton High School has pledged this spring to steer clear of alcohol, and close to 60 adults in the community have promised not to provide alcohol to minors. "It's exciting," said Dayton junior Nicole Lambert, who is leading the youth component of "Let's Draw the Line" in Columbia County through her internship at Blue Mountain Counseling. "Let's Draw the Line" is a campaign through the Washington State Coalition to Reduce Underage Drinking. The aim is to "Draw...
DAYTON - The weather finally cooperated for Touchet Valley's high school golfers last week. The Dayton and WP teams hosted Tri-Cities Prep, DeSales and Liberty Christian golfers here at the Touchet Valley Golf Course last Friday for the third match of the season. "This was probably the best weather we have had this season in Dayton," said Dayton/ WP head coach Mike McGhan. "The course was in great shape for this time of the year." That's not to say the course wasn't challenging at times. "There was a lot of competitive golf today," McGhan said...
DAYTON - The Bulldogs are chomping at the bit. Cold, soggy weather has kept the Dayton baseball and softball teams indoors for most of the season so far. Both teams had planned to play double-headers against Pomeroy on Tuesday, but those matches had to be rescheduled because of the rain. The Lady Bulldogs played one, non-league game against Walla Walla High School's JV team last Thursday, neatly beating the Blue Devils 5-3. "Kayla Turner played a pretty good game pitching," said assistant coach Desirae Jones. "And we got hits when we needed...
STARBUCK - Just after lunch on Friday afternoon, the two schools met in their final contest of the academic year. Tensions were high among the almost fifty kids and their teachers and parents, who sat in folding metal chairs just inches from the sidelines in the gym. The excitement was so palpable that the little athletes had to rush back and forth in a constant stream between the benches, the restrooms and the drinking fountain. The Starbuck Stars, playing on their home court, had the...
TOUCHET - The Lady Bulldogs softball team is running hot this season. They've played two nonleague games and won both. They are now 2-0. On Tuesday afternoon, they beat the Touchet Indians in two games: 6-1 and 7-2 . "We had solid pitching in both games," said assistant coach Desirae Jones "We had some girls step up and hit the ball when we needed them." Miwa Umeda had five hits for the day with a double and a triple. Kayla Turner had four hits. Samantha Harting had three hits with a double. "Overall it was just a great effort from all the girl...
DAYTON - A man accused of being responsible for several break-ins and thefts in the Dayton area last November pleaded not guilty last week to all charges filed against him in Columbia County Superior Court. Ronald Alan Rutledge escaped from Whitman County jail in November while on outdoor work duty and is accused of committing several crimes while passing through Columbia County before he was caught and arrested days later in Spokane. The 29-year-old Spokanearea man has been charged locally with possession of a stolen vehicle, residential...
DAYTON - Golf is a whole different ball game for fall and winter sports players like Dayton senior Dain Henderson and freshman Kale Sunderland, both fresh off the basketball court. ""It's a chance to work on my own," Henderson said. "Whatever I put into it is what I get out of it." Henderson, though a varsity starter in football and basketball, confessed that golf is actually his "favorite sport by far." Coach Mike McGhan said Henderson is one of his top golfers, most likely to practice until dark nearly every day. "I'm with the kids," Mc-...
