Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 268
TVAMP and RYSE kicked off the Halloween season with their fundraiser "BooGrass" at Waitsburg's Plaza Theater. Music by the Skyline Strings (above), The Epic Minstrels, and their mentors including Kate Hockersmith, Carrie Hendrix, Glen Morrison, and Jimmye Turner....
OLYMPIA — After unknown persons set off incendiary devices in several ballot boxes in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, last week, Washington voters are reminded to use the ballot tracker at https://voter.votewa.gov. The state website allows voters to register, check their registration data, and track their ballots. Ballots for the general election were mailed on Friday, October 18. Anyone who has not received their ballot can go to https://voter.votewa.gov to verify if and where a ballot was mailed. Walla Walla County voters s...
WAITSBURG — At its meeting on October 16, the Waitsburg City Council voted unanimously to tear down the grandstands, announcer booth, and timing towers at the Waitsburg Fairgrounds. The council found the structures to be surplus and a safety hazard with no value to the city. Weller Public Library Supervisor Sarah Roberts presented an update to the council on the library. She said the interior has been repainted, material checkouts and foot traffic are up from past years, and money has been raised for programs, including the summer reading p...
WAITSBURG - October 20 through 26 is the American Library Association's 19th annual National Friends of Libraries Week. The Weller Public Library Board and Library Supervisor Sarah Roberts would like to acknowledge the active members of Waitsburg's Friends of the Library. "The Friends of WPL have worked alongside the library staff and Board of Trustees in countless ways, supporting our programming and allowing us to hold events that would otherwise be difficult to support with our small staff,"...
PRESCOTT - After another successful season, the Prescott Pool has been emptied and was being repainted this week to prepare for winter. The pool offers recreation, swim safety and education, and Aquacize classes to the Prescott, Waitsburg, Dayton, and surrounding areas. The Prescott Parks and Recreation has been able to do this with the support of its community and Prescott voters who pass operation levies to fund much of the work. The Walla Walla YMCA partners annually with the district to...
WAITSBURG - The Plaza Theater, originally named The Neace Theater, was built in 1929. "The plaza is an especially fun place to hold our bluegrass concert event," said Touchet Valley Acoustic Music Project founder Kate Hockersmith. "It has great charm, acoustics and the history of the building is close to the history of bluegrass music which became popular with "Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys" in the early 1930s." This year, TVAMP brings BooGrass to the Plaza Theater on Sunday, October 27 at...
WAITSBURG-From October 19 to November 23, Explore artwork by Rachel L. Smith at Tate Art Waitsburg Studio. Greg and Twila Tate, owners of the studio, invite the public to the opening reception on Saturday, October 19 from 4 p.m to 7 p.m. Smith is a multidisciplinary artist working with ephemeral materials to create mixed-media, collage, performance, and installation works. "My practice is built on collecting, altering and combining ephemeral materials, thread and unrelated subject matter that...
DAYTON — The Columbia County Parks and Recreation Pool District will host a town hall meeting to present and discuss the proposed excess levy on the November 2024 ballot. The public meeting will be held at the Dayton Multipurpose Room at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, October 16, 2024. The Parks and Rec commissioners encourage community members to come and learn first-hand about the proposed excess levy, ask questions, and have an open conversation about the pool district’s needs, goals, and pri...
WAITSBURG - The Weller Public Library has received an exhibit box from the Burke Museum at the University of Washington in Seattle. The museum loans Burke Boxes to libraries, classrooms, and families and contains museum-quality items highlighting the natural world and Washington's cultural heritage. The Waitsburg library has received the Burke Box on fish from the museum's life sciences collection. The box contains 15 specimen jars with fish, fish models, skeletons, scales, bones, and other...
WAITSBURG - Touchet Valley parents and caregivers needing help obtaining diapers face significant barriers, including long drives to distribution centers and the need to provide personal information and proof of income. To help meet community needs, the Waitsburg Christian Church has started a small-scale diaper bank to complement its clothing ministry which has served hundreds of families facing emergencies and meeting everyday needs. The church is asking the community for donations of diapers...
WAITSBURG — The Waitsburg School Board met at the elementary school library on September 19, 2024. Board Chair Stephanie Cole, directors Christy House, Charlie Barron, Abby Grende, and Interim Superintendent Carol Clarke were present. After Carol Clarke was sworn in as Interim Superintendent, Cole introduced Cedar Stengal as the student school board representative. Clarke gave the athletic director’s report, reporting on participation numbers for fall sports. HS football has 20 students, MS football has 12, and cheer has 14. High school vol...
WAITSBURG - Four teachers have joined the Waitsburg School District for the 2024-25 school year. Westin Wallace and Kim Hamann teach in the high school, Kimberly McNarland teaches physical education K-12, and Donovan Romero is a teacher at Preston Hall. Wallace graduated high school in the farming town of Toledo, Washington. He said he was proud that his father and grandfather still work on the family farm, like many families in Waitsburg. After high school, Wallace attended South Puget Sound Co...
WAITSBURG-Scouting is about kids, family, and community. Waitsburg and its surrounding area, including Dayton and Prescott, are fortunate to be the home of Scout Troop 337. Scoutmaster Justin Stegall, Assistant Scoutmaster Tim Hollingsworth, and Troop 337's committee members Jon Roberts, Sarah Roberts, Paul Mantz-Powers, and Brandi Hollingsworth have run the troop since restarting it in the spring of 2023. On Monday, September 30, 2024, the troop will host a Court of Honor ceremony and an Open...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg Commercial Club and Waitsburg Town Hall will host a Candidate Forum on Wednesday, September 25. The club invited all state and Walla Walla County candidates in the November 2024 election to participate. Before the forum begins, attendees will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with the candidates from 6:45 to 7:15 p.m. Virginia Romine and Joy Marie Smith will moderate this year's forum. At the time of publication, the following candidates have agreed to participate:...
WAITSBURG - An essential part of Waitsburg's history will be reintroduced to the community at the Pioneer Fall Festival this Sunday by the Waitsburg Historical Society. The Miehle No. 3 flatbed press, used by the "The Times" for decades, has found a permanent home at the Wilson-Philips House in Waitsburg. The press was first assembled in 1912 and later bought by Emerson Wheeler, who published "The Times" until he died in 1942. The paper used the flatbed press until December 1975, when...
WAITSBURG - Waitsburg Friends of the Pool, Parks and Recreation, and Rural Youth Enrichment Services held a Rhythm and Fun Festival at the fairgrounds on Saturday, August 24. Over 100 people came to hear the live music, have dinner, play carnival games, and watch young banjo and fiddle contestants. The fundraiser for the pool raised $3,600. Kate Hockersmith brought her community of bluegrass musicians to the Don Thomas Building with the first Jasper Mountain Opry Youth Festival. A large circle...
The Cruizin Prescott Car Show was held Saturday, August 17. The well attended show brings out car and truck lovers and thier rides. Waitsburg resident, Karl Newell, took home the Best Old Truck award for his 1951 Chevy Panel truck. He appreciated the Walla Walla Electric sponsored award. At Cheer Camp this week, Waitsburg City Council member Jillian Henze offered kids 4 to 17 the chance to jump, climb, dance, cheer, and make new friends. Waitsburg Cheerleader Cedar Stegall helped these young...
Superintendent David Woods resigned On Thursday, Aug. 1, the Waitsburg School Board held a special meeting to address the immediate resignation of Superintendent David Woods, who had served in the role since July 1, 2023. The board appointed Waitsburg School Board Chair Dr. Carol Clarke as acting superintendent. The board decided to begin the search for an Interim superintendent. Clarke retired as the district's superintendent in 2017 and has served on the school board since December 2021. She...
WALLA WALLA - Walla Walla Community College is celebrating the launch of its new Audio Engineering program with a fun-filled, two-day Open House and Jam Session later this month. On Aug. 7 and 14, from 1 to 5 p.m., students and visitors are invited to WWCC's Walla Walla campus to check out the new audio lab in the Professional Technical J Building, where WWCC students will be able to learn about audio engineering, audio recording, digital audio, and live sound. WWCC submitted the new Audio...
DAYTON— The Economic Development Steering Committee met for its monthly meeting on July 2, 2024. Port of Columbia Executive Director Jennie Dickinson presented updates on port business retention, recruitment, and development. Lyons Ferry Marina is transitioning new concessioners with the help of the prior operators, who will stay on through the summer as mentors. The Jasper Mountain Reserve is open and offers outdoor recreation on the privately owned 330-acre nature reserve. It is open to the public for hiking and camping with day or annual p...
WALLA WALLA—Walla Walla Fire Department crews responded to four fire incidents in the same general area of the city over 24 hours from August 4 to 5, 2024. At 10:32 p.m. on Sunday, August 4, 2024, crews from Walla Walla Fire Station 1 and Station 2 were dispatched to the area of W. Pine Street and Cayuse Street, adjacent to the eastbound lane of Highway 12, for a natural cover fire. Crews from Walla Walla County Fire District 4 also responded as part of a mutual-aid agreement. The first unit arrived to find an estimated quarter-mile fire l...
DAYTON - The Missoula Children's Theater will present an adaption of the classic "Treasure Island" at The Liberty Theatre at 7 p.m. on August 9 and 3 p.m. on August 10. Talented youth from the community have been working with MCT director Zoey Paulson and Leila Abou-Jaoude, who will play the role of Long John Silver. Rehearsals and workshops were held daily this week in preparation for the two performances. For many Touchet Valley kids, participation in an MCT production is the first step...
WAITSBURG - Local artist Twila Tate welcomed students to Tate Art in Waitsburg on Saturday, August 3, as part of ArtWalla's First Weekend Art Tours. Jennifer Hammer and Brittney Croft spent three hours learning how to make collagraphs, monoprints, and block prints in Tate's Main Street studio. "I had a great time! Twila was a terrific instructor, explaining things well and letting us experiment," said Hammer. The students said they would recommend the printmaking class to others. All the...
WAITSBURG - At its June meeting, the Waitsburg City Council discussed the condition and future options for the grandstands at the city's fairgrounds. The council was to vote on a a resolution to raze several structures at the city propery, including the grandstands. During public comment on the resolution, Friends of the Fairgrounds, Waitsburg Parks and Recreation District, and community members asked the council not to approve the action until a full fairgrounds plan has been completed by Parks...
WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg Presbyterian membership has made it official; Heidi Lum has been named Pastor of the church. She takes over from Pastor Stan Hughes, who has been serving in a transitional role since April 2019. Lum, her husband Ellery, and son Matthew moved to Waitsburg last year after Hughes invited her to intern at the church. She met Hughes at the Presbytery of the Northwest after the Lums moved to Kettle Falls, Washington from Honolulu, Hawaii. Lum said she chose Washington to...
