Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 234
The Waitsburg City Council met at the city hall for its regular meeting on Wednesday, May 15, at 7 p.m. Council members Kevin House, Jim Romine, Jennifer Bishop, and Court Ruppenthal attended in person, and Jillian Henze attended on Zoom. In new business, the council discussed Ordinance 2024-1090, which would amend the municipal code regarding how the city council conducts business. Council members would no longer be limited in the use of a virtual option to attend meetings. Another change was adding Section I(10), which limits council members...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg Citywide Garage Sale is coming up on Saturday, June 1. "The Times" will publish the go-to map for the event in the May 30, 2024, edition. The map will have addresses for all the participating garage and yard sales in Waitsburg and Prescott. It is free to be included on the map, so send your garage sale details to "The Times" to be included. Information must be sent to "The Times" by 3 p.m. Friday, May 24. Please email advertising@waitsburgtimes.com with all the necessary... Full story
PRESCOTT - Laura Chabre's fourth-grade students participated in an art workshop with artist Victor Trejo, a native of Mexico City. Working with clay and papier mâché, Trejo worked with the kids to create mythical and magical creatures in the Mexican folk-art style of alebrijes. Trejo first drew examples of animals the kids could choose to create alebrijes. Next, he demonstrated how to use clay to make armatures for the papercraft pieces. Working with red clay, the students filled their w...
WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg BE, P.E.O. held the chapter's 100th Anniversary luncheon at Town Hall on Sunday, April 28, 2024. Over 100 attendees, including long-time members, new members, and B.I.L (Brothers in Love) members, enjoyed the luncheon. The hall was decorated with period clothing and memorabilia from the Waitsburg Historic Society collection. Members recognized at the luncheon included Barbara Danforth, who has been a member for 60 years. Lynn Mantz-Powers, Linda Stonecypher, Kathy... Full story
WAITSBURG - Four bike riders stopped at Ten Ton Coffee in Waitsburg on their estimated 50-day journey to NYC. Bob Zalnis, Chris Watson, Lucas Murga, and Paul Brazeau began on April 24 after the riders and bikes arrived at the Seattle Airport. Chris Watson traveled the farthest, from Salisbury, England, to meet up with friends Brazeau and Zalnis from Wisconsin and Murga from California. The bike adventurers told The Times, "We do this not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be...
WAITSBURG -The Waitsburg Commercial Club honored community members at its annual meeting and community service awards dinner on Tuesday, April 16. The event was held at American 35, where guests enjoyed a lasagna dinner, desserts, a silent auction, and a chance to celebrate Waitsburg's one-of-a-kind community. The 2024 Community Service Award was presented to Jillian Henze. Incoming Commercial Club President Tiffany Baxter presented the award to Henze for her work on the Waitsburg City Council...
DAYTON - The Dayton Historical Depot Society (DHDS) is sponsoring a free screening of "Colors of Threads" on Monday, April 22, at 7 p.m. at the Liberty Theater in Dayton. The movie "Colors of Threads" was written by Josie Henderson, a WWU alumna, and produced by the Center for Media Ministry (CMM) at Walla Walla University. The screening at The Liberty will begin at 7 p.m. , followed by a question-and-answer period with producers. The film was produced as a proof of concept project, a short...
WALLA WALLA - The Columbia Walla Walla Fire District 2 volunteers and board are grateful for the voters' approval of the 2023 Levy Lid Lift. In allocating these resources, the department has prioritized hiring a full-time, paid Fire Chief. The department understands the importance of the community having an opportunity to give input on leadership of CWWFD2. Assistant Fire Chief Matt Spring formed a hiring committee of department and community members to begin the process. The committee reviewed... Full story
OLYMPIA - On Tuesday, March 26, Senate Bill 5824, sponsored by Sen. Sam Hunt (D-Olympia) and requested by Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, was signed into law in Olympia. The bill raised the required number of petitioners from 10% to 25% of eligible voters. In addition, eligible voters include all residents who pay taxes to fund the library district. "The Dayton library was on the verge of becoming the first library in the country to shut down because of a dispute over the books inside," Hunt sai...
WAITSBURG-Students and chaperones from Tamba-Sasayama, Japan, visited Waitsburg on April 2. Their first stop was lunch at Ten Ton Coffee, where barista Cheyenne Frohreich shared a scrapbook and photos from her exchange trip to Sasayama. Following lunch, the group walked down Main Street to the Bruce House where Waitsburg Historical Society members Sarah Wilson and Margaret Terry gave the group a tour. of the museum's collection. Next, the students experienced the creative side of town with...
WAITSBURG— Waitsburg City Council held its regular meeting on March 27 after being delayed one week due to council members’ availability. In public comment, Joy Smith told the council that with the success of new businesses in town, there is now a budding parking problem. She said Waitsburg Commercial Club and the city have used signage to direct visitors to additional parking, usually the city-owned property west of the Main Street bridge. Smith suggested it may be time for businesses to post parking options on their websites. She also sai...
DAYTON - The Columbia County Commissioners met for a special meeting on March 25, 2024. Chairman Jack Miller and commissioners Ryan Rundell and Marty Hall were present. The commissioners and County Prosecutor Dale Slack discussed changes to the county's coroner services required due to amendments to RCW 36.16.030. The coroner function must be separated from prosecutors starting in 2024. The commissioners decided not to turn the position into an elected office, choosing to appoint or contract...
WAITSBURG - Members of the Waitsburg Corral Wranglers and Pen Pals 4H gathered on Main Street Monday afternoon to break into four scavenger-hunting groups for their annual food drive. Each team received a list with nearly 50 items broken into 11 categories. Items were given values from 10 to 50 points each. The team with the highest point total would win the evening's philanthropic competition. Coveted items on the list included proteins like canned tuna, chicken, and ham, each with 40 points.... Full story
PRESCOTT - After losing Izzy in January, Tawnya and Mickey Richards have decided to begin another dromedary journey. Izzy left a big hole in the community and the Richards family's hearts. Hearing how his friends and neighbors felt about the sweet boy, Mickey knew they missed Izzy. However, finding a new camel was not only about the community. Mickey misses his friend of 17 years. Mickey asked Tawnya what she thought about a new camel. She was on board but asked if they could look for a baby... Full story
DAYTON/PRESCOTT —The Club, which offers after-school and out-of-school programs, is working with community stakeholders to develop a water safety component as part of its summer program. Representatives from The Friends of the Dayton Library (FDL), Dayton Hospital, Kiwanis Club, and Prescott Joint Parks and Recreation met on March 7 to discuss the program. Club Program Director Shakira Bye told the group that there was a safety issue for kids in the community who do not have access to swim lessons. She said that until a pool is built in D... Full story
DAYTON—The Friends of Dayton Memorial Library is hosting an innovative evening of conversation on Thursday, March 7, from 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. Set up in a café setting, the event for Columbia County residents will be held at the Columbia County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Dayton. The topic of the evening’s discussion will be “Books in Libraries,” exploring the challenges facing the public and school libraries in Columbia County. The Walla Walla Civility Project (WWCP) will provide the format and facilitate the event designed to enhance personal... Full story
Council member Charles steps down WAITSBURG - Mayor Marty Dunn called the city council meeting to order at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 21, 2024. Council members Cindy Bishop, Kevin House, Jim Romine, Jillian Henze, and City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe were in attendance. Hinchliffe introduced representatives from the Washington State Department of Commerce to present the city with a 2023 Governor's Smart Community Award. The Smart Project Award was given to the City of Waitsburg for its...
WAITSBURG - On February 11, the Touchet Valley Acoustic Music Project (TVAMP) began recording local musicians for a new album to be released on CD. This is TVAMP's fourth production, preceded by two CDs for the Blue Mountain Troublemakers and one for Switchgrass Delta. TVAMP Project Leader Kate Hockersmith said, "We have so many wonderful local musicians in and around Waitsburg, and for years I've wanted to record local singer/songwriters. In early February, Mike Easton of Bar Bacetto,...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met in the high school library at 6:30 p.m. on February 21, 2024. Board members present were Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Zac Fabian, Aneesha Dieu, and Grant Griffin. Superintendent Rich Stewart was also present. The board approved the consent agenda, including hiring Danica Porter as the Middle School Head Softball Coach. Dayton FFA Trap Shooting Team members presented plans for an overnight field trip to the Wenatchee area. Six Dayton students expect to p...
DAYTON – At the beginning of the year, Ace Automotive began its journey offering domestic and foreign car repair at 527 Cameron Street in Dayton. Andres Lara, 34, bought Jay Ball's garage after working there for seven years. Jay's Garage offered serice for close to ten years at the Rock Hill Industrial Park. The Port of Columbia County signed a three-year lease with the new owner in December last year. "Jay and I had been talking for a while about his retiring and selling the place to me," s...
WAITSBURG — On Saturday, February 24, get your hiking shoes on and join Barbara Jaksa to hike up to the cell towers north of town to watch the Full Snow Moon rise. Meet up with Jaksa and fellow hikers in front of American 35, at 128 Main St, Waitsburg, at 5 p.m. The group will head out of town over the Main Street bridge. From there, the route follows Millrace Road east, left on Whoopem Up Hollow Road and left on the service road that leads to the top of the hill. The roundtrip hike is five m... Full story
WAITSBURG -After rounds of competition beginning last September, four Waitsburg students have come out on top and will participate in the National Great Shakes Competition. Carter Barron, Chloe McCaw, Verbena McLaughlin, and Wyatt Parish will travel to the Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, in March. As a bonus, since Waitsburg students did so well at regionals, Olivia Kiefel, Jaylynn Gleason, and Lilian Carpenter will also attend the national competition as wildcards. Twenty-five Waitsburg...
WAITSBURG—This year, the Celebration Days committee has chosen the Armed Forces as the theme for the weekend. Waitsburg Celebration Days is on the third weekend of May and features activities including breakfast hosted by the American Legion at Town Hall, the Waitsburg Car Show at Preston Park, the ATV Poker Run at the fairgrounds, a Soapbox Derby, and the Parade. The committee encourages all our area clubs, school groups, local businesses, non-profits, equestrians, and anyone who loves a parade to sign up. The registration deadline is May 1...
WAITSBURG- The 2024 Booster of the Year Awards were presented by Club President Ross Hamann during halftime at the boys varsity basketball game against Yakama Tribal on Friday, February 2. Becky Harshman and Karen Huwe received well-deserved applause and recognition from the crowd attending the game. Becky Harshman nomination: "Becky is truly deserving of special recognition as she has served the booster club with tireless dedication and enthusiasm. Not only did she serve as a Club Officer and... Full story
DAYTON — A special Dayton City Council meeting scheduled for Wednesday, January 31, was canceled on January 30. The purpose of the meeting was to convene an executive session to discuss pending litigation against the city and Council Member Laura Aukerman. A second agenda item for the meeting was for the council to consider a request from Aukerman that the city pay her legal fees in that case, US District Court Case No. 23-2-00790. The request was made Washington State RCW 4.96.041 and requires the council’s approval. The public could att...
