Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 576 - 600 of 612
DAYTON - John Hutch- ens knows exactly how many passes it takes to clean the floor of the multipurpose room at Dayton Elemen- tary School. "Thirty-three times," he said, waving his finger up and down the floor while pushing the Speed Scrub 2001 (a.k.a "Zamboni") past a crouched photographer. It wasn't between peri- ods at a hockey game, but a small crowd gathered any- way to watch, shortly after a lunch period last week, as Hutchens completed the task for one of the last times. He retired...
DAYTON - Saying that it was a "draft" and a "work in progress", Dayton city council member Dain Nysoe agreed Monday evening to return a "Special Event Application" proposal to the Public Safety Committee for more consideration. A resolution to adopt the application and permit was on the agenda for that evening's council meeting. Nysoe, who is chair of the Public Safety Committee, spearheaded development of the permit process earlier this year. In front of a large crowd at the St. Joseph's parish...
COLFAX - James Thompkins won the 100, 200 and 400 meter races and anchored the winning 4 x 100 relay team, as WP overwhelmed the competition at the NE 1B/2B League Meet in Colfax April 30. WP scored 151.5 points, ahead of a distant Colfax, with 92.5 points in second. James Thompkins is coming off a sprained ankle and shined with four first places," said WP Coach Jeff Bartlow. "His 400 was a bit off, but his 100 and 200 were both PR's and he anchored the 4x1 (Alex Dill, Dalton Lerue, Luke Alex...
DAYTON - When a Town Hall Meeting was held in Dayton in the spring of 1983, a number of well-intentioned suggestions were made to help bring new life to Dayton's tired downtown. Bill Graham, who had re- cently arrived in town as the new pastor of the First Con- gregational Church, raised his hand and suggested that a complete renovation of the Columbia Courthouse might be just the ticket to beautify the city's center. Many people at the meet- ing, and around Dayton, questioned whether that was a...
DAYTON - The Colum- bia County Commissioners last week voted unanimously to reject a plan to create a joint planning commission that would serve both Co- lumbia County and the City of Dayton. A tentative agreement to combine the commissions was worked out last month between Commis- sioner Mike Talbott and City Council member Arthur Hall, who is chair of the council's planning committee. The Planning commission is an advisory board that makes recommendations to the city council or county...
DAYTON - Asotin High School's powerful track and field teams won both the boys' and girls' team competitions last week at the District 9 meet held last week at the Dayton High School Track. On the boys' side, however, the WP Cardinals made a strong showing, notching 105.5 points to Asotin's 120.5. Third place Tekoa- Oakesdale-Rosalia scored only 34. "We were missing James Thompkins' 30 points (100, 200 and 400)," said WP coach Jeff Bartlow, "as again he would have won those eventshellip;he is...
DAYTON - The Dayton City Council will soon be short two members, and city officials are encourag- ing interested residents to apply for those seats. Council member Jim Cooper resigned in April because of a move to Walla Walla. Council member Arthur Hall will leave the council at the end of May, because of a move to Tri- Cities. Prospective council members must have lived in the city at least a year prior to taking office. Any- one interested in serving on Dayton City Council should contact City...
DAYTON - In March, 1983, about 300 Dayton residents attended a town meeting at the multipurpose room of Dayton Elementary School. The meeting was called by the Dayton Chamber of Commerce, whose board president at the time, Mike Chamberlain, decided the time had come to do something about Dayton's mori- bund downtown. According to several long-time residents who were there, the meeting generated lots of excitement. At the end of the meeting, five separate projects names were stuck to the wall and...
DAYTON - The Dayton City Council voted Monday evening to hire a new city planner who will report only to city officials, and work in- dependently of the Columbia County planning director. The motion passed by a 5-1 margin, with council mem- ber Arthur Hall dissenting. The new planner will replace Kim Lyonnais, who was recently hired by Colum- bia County to replace retiring planner Richard Hendricksen, beginning May 1. Lyon- nais was hired by the city in October as part-time planner, but...
DAYTON - Rocky Miller, a Washington State Trooper who has lived in Dayton for 26 years, was appointed Columbia County Sheriff last week. He replaces Walt Hessler, who has resigned, effective June 30. The Columbia County Board of Commissioners made the appointment by unanimous vote, after interviewing Miller and Columbia County Sher- iff's Deputy Jeffery Jen- kins during a special eve- ning meeting on April 11. Miller and Jenkins were the only applicants for the position. Hessler submitted his...
DAYTON - The Port of Columbia Commissioners opened bids for construction of Building 1 at Blue Mountain Station on April 5. Five bids were received, with a low bid of $1.098 million coming from Western States Construction, of Spokane. According to Port Man- ager Jennie Dickinson, the Port had initially budgeted $900,000 for building con- struction, based on funding that had been committed to the project to date. She said that, with sales tax added to the low bid, the Port will need to raise an...
DAYTON - The Dayton School Board has begun the search for a new elementary school principal. Current Principal Katie Leid, who has served for nine years, has an- nounced her retirement. Dayton School Superintendent Doug Johnson says the school board has authorized him to begin the search for Leid's replacement, and also for two elementary school teachers. Long- time first- grade teacher Julie Howard has also announced her retirement at the end of the school year. The school is also looking to...
DAYTON - When Charles Lindbergh was helping design the airplane in which he would make the first-ever trans-Atlantic flight in 1927, he knew it would need a lot of fuel. Af- ter all, he would be in the air for nearly 34 straight hours. To make sure made it from London to Paris with fuel to spare (which he did), Lindbergh had a giant fuel tank mounted directly behind the engine - and directly in front of the cockpit. This meant the plane would have no windshield. Forward visibility would be...
DAYTON - Visitors to Dayton will have a new op- tion for a place to sleep this summer. The new 50-room Best Western Plus Dayton Hotel and Suites is expected to open in late April. It is located at the east end of Main Street near the corner at Fourth Street, The hotel has a large meeting room to seat groups up to 80 people, and a separate large conference room. Both have state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment. The hotel also has an indoor pool and sauna area, and will offer free breakfast and...
Former Columbia County Planner Kim Lyonnais has been hired once again by the County as its planner. Last week Lyonnais accepted the position, replacing Richard Hendricksen, who is retiring at the end of April. In October, Lyonnais was hired by the City of Dayton as its part time planner. On March 26, he submitted his resignation to the city, effec- tive April 24. In his new position, Ly- onnais will be director of planning for both Columbia County and the City of Dayton. Under an agreement that...
DAYTON -Touchet Val- ley Television in Dayton will soon offer internet service with blazing speed, equal to that in the big cities. Accord- ing to owner David Klingen- stein, the firm's customers in Dayton will be able to sign up for service at speeds as high as 50-60 megabits per minute. The higher speeds are made possible because of a new fiber optic line installed by a firm called NoaNet. It is part of a project was made possible by federal stimulus grants of $140 million, for expansion of...
WAITSBURG - A room full of more than a dozen three-to-five-year-olds can be daunting, even when you don't have a camera. Last week when a photographer showed up, almost all of the kids at the Waitsburg Parent Cooperative preschool let it be known that they were thrilled to have their pic- tures taken. When teacher Cara Watts suggested they break out the blocks, the exuberant tower builders got busy, and then stood proudly next to their works of art. "My kids aren't shy," she said. The preschool...
DAYTON - In late Febru- ary, a local resident arrived at Dayton General Hospital's emergency room in a state of psychiatric crisis. After being examined by medical personnel, he was transferred out of the ER into a hospital bed, and placed under the supervision of a crisis spe- cialist from Blue Mountain Counseling. It was the first case han- dled under a new agreement between Columbia County Health System, which oper- ates the hospital, and Blue Mountain Counseling, who is contracted by the...
DAYTON - Lisa Caldwell's job is to expect the unexpected. What hap- pens when the next flood arrives? Or the next big wildfire? The next disaster might be something new and different, like a plane crash or an emergency at a local school. Caldwell is the new Emergency Management Director for Columbia County. She replaces Bill Peters, who left that position at the end of Novem- ber. "My job comes in four parts," she said. "Prepared- ness, mitigation, response and recovery." Caldwell's department...
WAITSBURG - A stu- dent fundraising project for Waitsburg Elementary School has turned into a big disappointment for students, a giant headache for school administrators and fodder for a Tri-Cities TV newscast. The school has conducted its annual cookie dough fundraiser for many years. This year's drive was par- ticularly successful: students sold about $13,000 worth of the gooey stuff and added $6,500 to the Waitsburg El- ementary's ASB coffers. The money will be used for such things as...
DAYTON - When Mike Spring was learning to brew beer a few years ago, he took a class for home brewers at Ice Harbor Brewing Company in Kennewick. Now that he and his wife, Ann, own a brew pub in Dayton, they hope to help and encourage local home brewers by offering classes and other services, like Ice Harbor does. The Springs As The Times went to Press, they were planning to open Wednesday, with new wood floors and a new bar configuration. "We'll still have some remodeling work left to do,...
DAYTON - The City of Dayton and the Columbia County board of commis- sioners have begun discus- sions regarding the possibil- ity of once again combining planning services. Last fall, Dayton ended an agreement in which it contracted with the county for planning. At the time, city council members said they felt city residents weren't receiving effective planning services from the county planning office. Columbia County continues to provide building inspection within the city. Former Columbia...
DAYTON - The largest gun dealer in the Touchet Valley has seen a huge in- crease in demand in the last few weeks. And local gun registrations are on the rise as well. "The rush this time is four times what it was four years ago," said manager Brad Hatfield of Dayton's City Lumber and Coal Yard. He was referring to the sale of guns and ammunition since mid-December, compared to the level of sales after the 2008 elections. Hatfield said the 2008 rush was nearly four times the typical sales volume...
DAYTON - Columbia County Sheriff Walt Hessler told county commissioners last week that he will retire, effective June 30. Also an- nouncing her retirement in June is Carole Sleeman, who is administrative assistant and chief civil deputy in the Sheriff's Office. Hessler is currently serving his second term, which ends in 2014. He was origi- nally elected sheriff as a write-in candidate in 2006. He was re-elected in 2010. Hessler declined an interview request from The Times. In a written...
After the decision was already made to begin including a crossword puzzle in each issue of The Times (the first one appears this week on page 10), I did a little research and discovered that we’ve just begun the centennial anniversary year of the crossword puzzle. The first word puzzle in the form we know today as a crossword appeared in the New York World newspaper on December 21, 1913. So it’s about time we got on board. Believe it or not, crossword puzzles have endured their share of con...
