Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG - Shortly after Cycle Oregon organizer Tara Corbin arrived in Waitsburg ahead of the 2,250 cyclists coming here for their midweek stay last week, Mayor Walt Gobel took her to see the city's "Hollywood" sign on the hill: a giant bicycle ploughed into the field south of town to greet the far-flung visitors. "That almost brought tears to my eyes," Corbin said about the iconic welcome initiated by local hospitality coordinator Deanne Johnson. "It was one of those standout moments for me...
WAITSBURG - Some years back, the Waitsburg Masonic Lodge No. 16 had a dilemma. Its members were getting older, and the only way some of them could make it up to the temple on the second floor above the grocery store was with the help of an elevator. There was only one small problem. The stairs were steep and had two landings. An installation would have to be so sophisticated, it would cost more than $15,000. So, the Lodge turned to one of its members, Bill Zuger, for a solution. Known for his...
WAITSBURG - In their first home game of the season, the Cardinals beat the Pilot Rock Rockets 34 - 14 Friday night. WP is now 2-0 after having won against the Kamiah Kubs in a tough defensive away game last week. Although there were still plenty of missed and dropped passes on the part of the Cardinals, the evening showed a team getting more comfortable in its skin, particularly on defense. "We struggled connecting the dots," head coach Jeff Bartlow said about the offense after the game. "But we've made a lot of improvements. I'm proud of...
ENTERPRISE - In their first away game of the season, the Bulldogs fell to the Enterprise Outlaws 34 - 0 last night. Dayton came close to the end zone several times, thanks to big individual plays by such veterans as Colton Bickelhaupt and Dain Henderson. But each time, a fumble or an interception cost them the opportunity to score. "We just need to learn how to finish," head coach Dean Bickelhaupt said. Bickelhaupt said the long bus ride wore down the team. The dawgs came out dragging during the first quarter with two immediate touchdowns from...
WAITSBURG - After 5' 8" middle blocker Sarah Mascall went out with a tweaked ankle during the first game against Waitsburg Prescott, the young Bulldogs looked like the underdogs as they found themselves up against the much taller Cardinals. But in the end, Dayton won the two teams' first league match Wednesday night, beating WP in four games. The Bulldogs won three of the games 25 - 23, 25 - 16 and 25 - 12. WP won one 25 - 17. "It was a good win," said Dayton head coach Shannon Turner, who has only four returning varsity players this year. "I...
DAYTON - Ski Bluewood, whose current owners said earlier this year they would need to shut the resort down unless they could hand it over before the upcoming season, has a prospective buyer. "We're negotiating," said Stan Goodell, who owns Ski Bluewood with his wife Nancy. Goodell declined to share the name of the possible buyer for fear it might upset the talks. Neither would he speculate whether a deal could be reached before the beginning of the 2010 - 2011 season. But he indicated that talks between the two parties are going well and...
We could easily hold forth for several pages about the importance of our educators. At a time when school is underway or close to resuming, there probably wouldn't be enough room to describe the challenging task teachers, staff, coaches and volunteers undertake for the next 40 some weeks. Parents in the Touchet Valley place their kids in their hands, knowing instructors will do their utmost to help them learn, grow and engage in meaningful pursuits in the classroom and on the sports fi...
PRESCOTT - The Board of the Prescott School District has appointed a former deputy superintendent of Walla Walla Public Schools as its interim superintendent. The district announced the temporary appointment after an executive session before its regular meeting Thursday night. The announcement comes a week after the board decided to forego interviews with seven applicants who have sought the permanent appointment so far and take more time to expand the pool of recruits during the school year. The board said the interim appointment gives the...
DAYTON - Several homeowners were evacuated from the Tucannon River valley Thursday as dozens of firefighters from three counties battled wildfires that spread across thousands of acres northeast of Dayton. A fire that started off Patit Road Tuesday and was thought to be under control flared up again Thursday afternoon and grew rapidly with winds of up to 35 miles per hour fanning the flames through wheat land stubble, grass, brush and trees in gullies and canyons. The fire dropped down into the Tucannon River valley between Hartsock and...
WAITSBURG - Kim Hamann has presented pigs at local fairs before, but her favorite animal to raise and show is a sheep. One of the reasons is that the 14-year-old Future Farmers of America member has raised sheep on her family farm since she was five. The other reason is that she has feels "the best connection" with sheep from the time they're still lambs to well beyond the yearling stage. This year, for instance, she brought her 1.5-year-old sheep Todd to the Junior Livestock Show in...
WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg City Council last week passed a law that may have appeared limited in its applicability to Mayor Walt Gobel who enjoys getting around town using a different mode of transportation. But there are others who say they'll take advantage of a new ordinance allowing the use of golf carts on city streets. WP football coach and PE teacher Jeff Bartlow, for one, is a big fan. "I'll use mine for a lot of things now that I can," said Bartlow, who bought a used golf cart - read: a...
DAYTON - This year's fire season in the Touchet Valley brings back some memories of the Columbia Complex fire that raged four years ago and became the nation's top firefightingpriority that summer. They're memories that most who lived through the 100,000-acre fire would just as soon forget. But starting at the Columbia Court House on Monday, some people whose lives were affected by the devastating blazes will relive the experience in front of a jury. Ironically for one of them, former...
WALLA WALLA - The idea of starting a pub in Walla Walla kind of came through the back door for Laht Neppur owners Court and Katie Ruppenthal. As the labels from their brewery on Preston Avenue were becoming more popular, they toyed with the notion of adding a bottling and distribution operation to their current barrels and kegs production facility. But when they found out what it would cost, they figured they might as well open a restaurant for that price. So by the end of Sept...
PRESCOTT - For several tense hours Monday, Teresa Price experienced a mother's worst nightmare. She and her husband Bruce were on one side of the fire along Harvey Shaw Road while their 19-year-old son Kyle was inside the family home on the other side of the flames and smoke. "It's such a helpless feeling," said Price, who moved to the area four years ago and was at her job at Walla Walla General Hospital when she received the call about the fire. "We fear this (fire) every fall during harvest...
DAYTON - The last time Holly Warner left the Touchet Valley, she cried for days. She was barely 11 and living with her mom in Dixie, which she says was a tomboy's paradise. There was a creek close to her house on a 20-acre farm. The property had an orchard, three vegetable gardens and a treehouse. Warner was an avid horseback rider. In the winter, she'd hit the slopes at Bluewood. She liked walking to school, which had just 40 kids kindergarten through 5th grade. "I loved it here. It was th...
WAITSBURG - Cardinals T-shirts, Touchet Valley farm truck decals, Kison Court sports banners, Dayton shop signs, Waitsburg High Letterman jackets. The list of items produced by Blue Crystal Screenprinting Signs on Willard could go on and on. Chances are they all look familiar. They're icons of our everyday lives and our every-weekend sports. In the 16 years since it was founded, Waitsburg entrepreneur Elizabeth Cole has supplied the Touchet Valley and many clients in Walla Walla with at...
WAITSBURG - By all accounts, the life of Ginny Ruffner is extraordinary. She is a celebrated glass artist known for her lamp-working technique. She uses a gas torch to melt rods and tubes of clear and colored glass, then paints them. The results are groundbreaking, some would say "other-wordly," making her one of the most important female glass artists in the country. She once dated Northwest author Tom Robbins and is said to have inspired a character in his novel "Skinny Legs And All." Earlier...
On the way home from Walla Walla recently we found ourselves stuck behind a combine on Highway 12. My first instinct was to finda quick way around the slow-moving vehicle so we wouldn't have to travel the rest of the way to Waitsburg at 30 miles per hour. I eased up right behind it, looking for an opportunity to pass it in the oncoming lane. Then I relaxed somewhat, remembering this is harvest time, and I backed off to make sure I didn't make the combine driver feel pressured. It's easy to forget that farmers have little choice in using...
It's 6:30 a.m. Granted, the sun is already angling in over the treetops in our yard off Main Street, but I wouldn't normally be up this early if it weren't for our brand new puppy. I'm wandering around in the dewy light in boxers and a T-shirt, giving him a chance to do his business. It's been two weeks since Lucy, our beloved Airdale, passed away after an accident. Last week, our older dog Snowy, a wire-haired Fox Terrier, succumbed to old age. Two weeks ago, I described how we picked tw...
PRESCOTT - When Prescott School District Superintendent Dr. Carolyn Marsh announced in June that she wanted to retire in the hopes of being rehired, she knew she was taking a risk. After all, there is no guarantee she'll get her old job back by the time school starts again. Her goal was to resume receiving her pension benefits, which she forfeited after taking the superintendent's job in Prescott three years ago, then be rehired as superintendent and receive the position's salary as well. Such "retire-rehire" scenarios are not unco...
DAYTON - Construction of Puget Sound Energy's Lower Snake River Wind Energy Project in Garfield County started about four months after the company obtained approval for its conditional use permit this year. Don't expect the same for the Columbia County portion of the wind turbine project, a company official said earlier this week. The weak economy in the utility company's Washington state market appears to have taken the wind out of the project's blades. "PSE has no firm plans for the start of construction at this time" said Anne Walsh,...
WALLA WALLA - Willow, one of Walla Walla's premier downtown art galleries, is beginning an ambitious three-month show "Mixing Media 7 by 13" on Aug. 6. The show, featuring 13 artists representing various media, will run through Oct. 13. The show's opening night reception from 5 - 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 6, will feature talks by Daymon Bruck and Glen Greenwalt, two of the artists in the exhibition. A demonstration by Margie McDonald will start at about 6 p.m. The opening will be followed by a...
WAITSBURG - When the Whetstone Public House reopens after its annual maintenance possibly later this week, patrons will notice something different about the place. The bar will look the same after its spring cleaning, plumbing repairs, general maintenance and inventory audit. Even the hours will remain. But you won't find the same menu nor the same offering of hard liquor. "This year, our maintenance period will also coincide with some fundamental shifts in the business model for the Whetstone...
WALLA WALLA - After Lucy's passing early last week, we were keen on getting another dog but decided to look into adopting one instead of going to a breeder. That was after we had briefly considered the idea of getting a Lakeland Terrier (a cross between Lucy's breed, an Airdale, and our other dog, Snowy, a Fox Terrier) and found out the closest Lakeland Terrier breeder is well past Boise and charges $1,200 for a puppy. $1,200!?! You gotta be kidding me! Hey, we thought, there are far too many un...
PASCO - Three WP athletes qualified for the Pasco Invite on Saturday and each did well in competition, setting new personal records and earning a place on the podium. The meet included only the top athletes from 4A schools on down. Out of more than 60 teams competing from throughout the northwest, only nine were from "B" schools. "I was really happy with our results and the kids should be proud of themselves," WP track and field coach Jeff Bartlow said. Sprinter James Thompkins competed in the 100 meter dash and ran it in 11.49 seco...
