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  • Comedy, Music at the Royal Block

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Jul 14, 2022

    WAITSBURG-The Royal Block in Waitsburg hosts Open Mic nights on the first Thursday of the month at 6 p.m. July's event highlighted the comedy of local stand-up comedian Deanna Tipton. Backed up by Ken Taylor on cello, Tipton shared some Texas humor with the audience. Owners Tiina Jaatinen and Joe Roberts invite musicians, comedians, poets, and spectators to come out and bring their talents and interests. The Royal Block hotel is open seven days a week, the wine bar is open Thursday through...

  • River recreation safety addressed in Waitsburg

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Jun 30, 2022

    WAITSBURG—After recent Dayton City Council actions delaying compliance with Department of Ecology guidelines for effluent release, residents of Waitsburg brought concerns to Waitsburg city officials. City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe contacted the Department of Ecology’s Water Quality Program manager Llyn Doremus for guidance. In an email response, Doremus stated that the effluent from the Dayton Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) meets the required permit limits for fecal coliform. “The fecal coliform content measured (weekly) has been signi...

  • Cheers

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Jun 30, 2022

    The Bruce Mansion is getting much needed work this year thanks to a grant from the Sherwood Trust. Maurilio Lara is preparing and painting the historic home over the next few weeks....

  • Best kind of Plot Twist

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Jun 9, 2022

    WAITSBURG­-The Waitsburg Historical Society was excited about the visit of three Sherwood Trust representatives on Tuesday morning, June 7, at the Bruce Mansion on Main Street. The plan was to welcome the visitors and arrange a photo accepting the recently awarded grant from the Trust. The Historical Society had applied for a grant to help pay for painting and repairs to the Bruce Mansion. Before the traditional check presentation photo, Sherwood Trust Project Manager Julia Leavitt gave the...

  • Slight increase seen in Waitsburg Sales tax

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Jun 2, 2022

    WAITSBURG—Waitsburg residents may, or may not, notice a slight increase in sales tax starting July 1. The Transportation Benefit District (TBD) has been in place for the last ten years. It funds transportation improvement projects, including sidewalks, road maintenance, and major reconstruction projects like the millrace grade crossing improvements completed in the previous year. The city council approved a resolution on November 17, 2021, to put a ballot measure for the February 2022 special election asking voters to authorize a sales and u...

  • Port shuts down Touchet Valley Trail funding

    Justin Jaech and Lane Gwinn, The Times|Apr 21, 2022

    DAYTON – Actions taken by the Port Commisioners at the April 13, meeting may have ended years of work on the Touchet Valley Trail Project. The meeting at the Columbia County Fairgrounds Youth Building was standing room only and well attended on Zoom. Director Jennie Dickinson, Chair Gene Crowe, and Council Members Seth Bryan and Johnny Watts were present. The meeting began with public comments focused on the Touchet Valley Trail Project (TVTP). Concerns from those against the project included f...

  • Mustang Rescue: Wild to mild in Prescott

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Apr 14, 2022

    PRESCOTT-Kimberly Smith grew up working with horses and cattle in Prescott, Wash. She spent ten years participating in 4-H showing animals, arts and crafts, and photography. Many will remember her days in the Days of Real Sport royalty in 2006, 2007, and 2008. Recently, Smith has become involved with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wild horse and burro program. BLM manages and protects wild horses and burros on close to 27 million acres of public lands across western states in the U.S. The g...

  • Nine (plus two) over 90

    Karen Huwe Beka Compton and Lane Gwinn, The Times|Apr 14, 2022

  • American 35 opening new chapter

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Apr 7, 2022

    Waitsburg Commercial Club is holding its Annual Awards Dinner at the new restaurant on April 12. WAITSBURG-A pizza maker and a Bloody Mary mix master walk into a bar. No joke, the bar was the empty Anchor Bar located in the American Legion, post 35, building on Main Street in Waitsburg. Tom and Judy Bennett have embraced the building's history and want to incorporate the essence of the American Legion post and what it once was; good company and good food to their new business American 35. The co...

  • Location change for April 13 port commissioners meeting

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Apr 7, 2022

    DAYTON-The Port of Columbia has changed the location for the April 13 regular meeting of the port commissioners. Anticipating an increase in the number of community members who will attend, the port moved the meeting to the Youth Building at the Columbia County Fairgrounds. The meeting will still begin at 5 p.m. The meeting will also be held on Zoom to encourage further community involvement. One reason for the increased public interest is that the Touchet Valley Trail is on the agenda, and the...

  • The Lions Club Rib Feed and the Commercial Club Awards Dinner make up for lost time

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Apr 7, 2022

    WAITSBURG­—Next week is the Waitsburg Commercial Club Awards Dinner on April 12, at American 35. Since the club could not hold its annual event during the pandemic, it will be three times the fun this year. The club will be presenting awards for outstanding service from community members and businesses for the past three years. The last winners were awarded the 2019 Service Awards for their work in 2018. This year the honorees will receive 2020, 2021, and 2022 awards. The 2022 dinner is dedicate...

  • Streaming Review: Things are not always as they seem

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Apr 7, 2022

    Is it Cake Netflix, 2022 I love a good baking show. Baking is either magic or science, maybe both? And for me, it is usually disastrous. This show challenges bakers to first identify baked goods from the actual items they are made to look like in the Find the Cake round. Three winners move on to choose one of the items to replicate in their own hyper-realistically decorated cake. Each of the three bakers presents their creation hidden within a display of their mimicked items. The bakers use a...

  • Yes, the streetlights keep turning purple

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Apr 7, 2022

    WAITSBURG-This year, residents across the country have noticed some streetlights are turning purple. There have been theories that they scan for COVID-19 vaccinations, wards off vampires, or are just better for the environment. None of this is true. We still have to take our chances with vampires. The change to purple is due to a manufacturer's defect. It could be an issue with the coating or a chip in the LED bulb. There are quite a few in this area. The power company has replaced some only to...

  • A journey from music teacher to chief of police.

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Mar 24, 2022

    Recently I was introduced to a local police chief who is also a classically trained musician. Doug Boedigheimer is the Police Chief in Milton Freewater, Oregon. He makes the trip out to Orchard Street Studio in Waitsburg to bring his guitars to be set up by my brother-in-law, Joe Patrick. He also comes to talk music. "The first guitar I brought him I had for 31 years, I didn't know about setups and guitar care. I was a music teacher, so this thing has been drug through everything. He turned...

  • Local Book Review:The Waitsburg Family 1858 -1900 The Beginning

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Jan 27, 2022

    One of the first couples I met in Waitsburg was Sandra and Lupe Torres. They owned the building next door to the commercial property I bought in 2015. They owned Nothing New Antiques, one of only a few businesses open on Main when I arrived. After moving to town in 2004 and looking for a new adventure, the Torres bought and restored their building, including lodging upstairs. They embraced the history of their building and incorporated many of the original features into their remodel. Sandra...

  • Streaming and Book Review:

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Jan 13, 2022

    Station Eleven Book by Emily St. JohnMandel Series Produced by HBO "Because survival is insufficient," a message from Star Trek that is spray-painted on the lead wagon of a post-apocalyptic traveling Shakespeare troupe. Station Eleven is not about pandemics. It is about family, community, art, and loss. It is not the typical post-apocalyptic story; there are no zombies or mutants to fight. Just regular people who survived a deadly swine-flu pandemic that wiped out 99% of the world's population....

  • The Wrestler's Daughter

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Jan 13, 2022

    The Wrestler's Daughter by Markeeta Little Wolf The locally anticipated and internationally renowned memoir by Markeeta Little Wolf is now available on Amazon. Years ago, decades ago, I found a postcard of a wrestler with clenched fists and a beautiful headdress. The attitude of confidence, with eyes full of humor, made him the perfect talisman for my studio. The card has lived on my easel ever since. After moving to Waitsburg, I met Markeeta Little Wolf, who has confidence and humor, a...

  • Thursday Murder Club series

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Dec 9, 2021

    The Thursday Murder Club: A Novel By Richard Osman Meeting in the Jigsaw Room at a retirement village, four friends take up the tradition of amateur sleuths in murder mysteries. It does become apparent that each brings their own strengths and experience to their work. Elizabeth is the founder of the group and digs through cold cases from the files of her friend, Penny Gray, a former police officer who is in a coma at the village’s nursing home. Joyce is a retired nurse who serves as the principa...

  • Weller Library Library Book Club reads:

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Dec 9, 2021

    The Return by Nicholas Sparks Published September 2020 New York Times bestselling author Nicholas Sparks returns with a book in the tradition of his best-selling books Dear John and The Lucky One. The story follows an injured Navy doctor, Trevor, to his family home. He returns to a dilapidated cabin he inherited from his grandfather to regroup from devastating injuries sustained in Afghanistan. Of course, there is a complicated love interest, Natalie, who keeps him at a distance even though...

  • Streaming Review:Why Women Kill

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Nov 18, 2021

    I first ran across this series while scrolling for something to watch this fall. I assumed Why Women Kill was a reality show about murderesses. I wasn't interested. However, after a recommendation from my brother-in-law, I decided to give it a try. Luckily it is not a reality show but fiction and scripted. The series is a darkly comedic drama, reminiscent of the 1955-65 television show Alfred Hitchcock Presents. It has plenty of murderers. Some kill by accident and some very deliberately. Not...

  • Movie Review:

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Nov 18, 2021

    This week I went to Walla Walla to see Wes Anderson's new movie The French Dispatch. The film was entertaining and one of Anderson's best. In each production, he brings back members from his eccentric troupe of actors, this time including Bill Murray, Adrian Brody, Tilda Swinton and Edward Norton. He also surprises us with some new faces, Benicio Del Toro and Timothee Chalamet. There is also an army of extras, with many cameos from Hollywood. The story is close to my heart, it focuses on a...

  • My favorite ghost stories on TV

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Oct 28, 2021

    Dead Like Me Some of the scariest characters in afterlife lore are grim reapers. Shadowy skeletal figures, in hooded black robes, carrying a scythe who take souls to their final destination. Dead Like Me offers a very different take on these dark characters by portraying reapers as ordinary, though dead, people stuck in limbo. They are tasked with guiding souls to their afterlife before they themselves can move on. The main character, George (Ellen Muth), is killed after being hit in the head...

  • Book Reviews:The Little Paris Bookshop, The Paris Hours: A novel

    Todd Vandenbark and Lane Gwinn, The Times|Oct 21, 2021

    The Litte Paris Bookshop by Nina George, translated by Simon Pare Reviewed by Todd Vandenbark, MLS. Library Director, Columbia County Rural Library District, Dayton, WA Floating on the banks of the Seine River in France is a barge where Monsieur Perdue has a bookshop. He considers himself as a "literary apothecary" and uses his intuitive sense of what a person needs to "prescribe" novels about the hardships of life. Perdue's gift has helped to mend broken hearts and wounded souls for his custome...

  • Out and about: Fine Art, design, & dining in Vancouver, BC.

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Sep 30, 2021

    Last week, I took a trip to British Columbia to visit friends, see some art, go to the season opening of the Symphony and eat. Seems like ages since I stayed in downtown Vancouver and was curious to see how it has fared over the pandemic. First I had to get into the country. At the time of my trip, U.S. citizens were allowed to cross the border by car or flight. I used the ArriveCAN app to make sure I had the current travel information. I chose to drive, allowing me to take too many clothes,...

  • A new artist in town

    Lane Gwinn, The Times|Aug 19, 2021

    This month, one of the most talented people I know has moved to town. David Gignac has been a close friend, fellow artist, co-exhibitor, and collaborator since I met him decades ago on Whidbey Island. It always amazes me but never surprises me, the ingenious way his mind works. It is always a joy to work on big and small projects, art and building, theater, and real-life problem-solving. I love living in Waitsburg and always hoped I could entice him to make this his home. When Jeff and Gayle Bro...

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