Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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DAYTON-Denise Smith of Deer Park, Wash., has been chosen by school officials to be the new Dayton Elementary Principal, and she will begin work , officially, on Monday, Aug. 7. "I'm so excited. I'm getting ready to move," said Smith speaking from her home in Deer Park, where she was busy packing her household. Smith plans to rent a home in Walla Walla for herself and her 16 year old son, Michael, who is a high school junior. Smith also has a 20-year-old daughter, Lexi, who is an incoming junior...
DAYTON-Not only is Rachel Hutchens the WSU Extension Office Weed Control Board coordinator, but she is also the extension office manager, assisting WSU Extension Agent Paul Carter with accounts payable, writing publications, and planning for special programs like the Wheat and Legume Variety Tour which took place at the end of June. "We're a resource for information. I like being able to help people. I like the interaction with the public, and I like agriculture," said Hutchens, who paused...
DAYTON—The Columbia County Rural Library District Board of Trustees met last week to evaluate and discuss the structure of the staff positions and job descriptions, after the library lost two key staff members this month. Adult Services Specialist Howard Beuhler’s last day on the job was Aug. 4, and the last day for the Children/Young Adult Services Specialist Carolyn Laib was Aug. 11. “The board needed to add staff, sooner, rather than later,” according to Tanya Patton who serves as chairpe...
DAYTON- City council meetings will take place at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month, beginning on Aug. 9, as approved by the city council at last week’s meeting. The city hall business office will be closed on Fridays, returning to Mon. -Thurs. hours beginning on Aug. 4, according to Mayor Craig George. George said there have been 20 hours of productive time lost due to the Friday business day. He also pointed out there had only been one customer on the prior Friday. Also, swimming pool hours have been changed to reflect an a...
DAYTON-At last week's hospital board meeting the commissioners approved a request from CEO Shane McGuire to proceed with the development of a hyperbaric wound suite at the hospital, which will be the first of its kind in the local community, he said. "I feel confident we can make a run at this. This is a new service line. It is not offered in the region. It would be exclusive to us, for whatever time we could maintain it exclusively," McGuire said. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is used to treat a...
DAYTON--There are commercial harvests other than for wheat, barley, or peas, in our region. Marcus and Lacey Mead of Smith Hollow Farmstead, Lorrie Ryzek Bensel of Verdurous Gardens, Richard Heieren and Amanda Allred of Tucannon Farms, and Patricia Sacha of Hidden Gardens, are growing many of the foods we eat, and are available for sale at the Blue Mountain Station. These organic farmers have a passion for growing healthy food for their families, and for the community, as well as building relati...
DAYTON- A special meeting has been scheduled by the Dayton School District Board of Directors on Aug. 1, to reveal the district's choice for the position of elementary principal. At a meeting held on July 18 in the high school auditorium, the three candidates spoke to the public about their education, experience, hopes, and aspirations for the position. All three of the candidates emphasized the importance of building relationships, team building and collaboration, and achieving a safe,...
DAYTON-The City of Dayton has received a certificate of appreciation from the National Park Service, marking the 50-year anniversary of the National Historic Preservation Act. The city is one of 1,966 Certified Local Governments nationally, said Dayton Historic Preservation Commission Chairman Mike Smith at last week's council meeting. Mayor Craig George said there were 952 towns and cities in the state of Iowa, alone, who received this award, and that being recognized is an honor for the City...
I was on my way to a Columbia Cares meeting at the Delany building last Wednesday when a white van with the logo "Road Yeti" got my attention. The van turned right from 3rd St. onto Hwy. 12, and drove out of sight. Seconds later the van appeared around the corner of Clay St., back onto 3rd St., and into the parking lot at Dayton Cut and Wrap. I grabbed paper, pen, and my camera, and took off to see who was driving. When I got there nobody was in sight. There was a phone number on the van, which...
DAYTON-Dayton Cut and Wrap is back in business doing mobile slaughter, and is under new ownership. Joe Nyce owned and operated the business with his brother in law Roger Trump since the 1980s, before the Westergreen family came on board with Tucannon Meats in 2006. The business became available in March of this year, and Scott Groom, a butcher from Walla Walla, bought the business from Nyce, and opened shop on June 1. Groom changed the name back to "Dayton Cut and Wrap." "I was here running it,...
DAYTON--Outdated telecommunication equipment is causing consternation for the staff at the county’s emergency management dispatch center, the sheriff’s office, Fire Districts No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3, and ambulance crews. It could be posing a safety issue for county residents as well. Emergency Management Director Lisa Caldwell, Public Works Director Andrew Woods, Fire Chief Jeremy Phinney, Sheriff Rocky Miller, Allan Harris from Fire Dist. No. 1, and Thor Wiegman, from Industrial Com...
DAYTON--Columbia Rural Electric Association is paying for Saturday rides on a Columbia County Transportation coach to Walla Walla, so local citizens living in Columbia County and who have vouchers for the Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program, the Senior Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program and benefits with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education can redeem them at the Downtown Farmer’s Market in Walla Walla, according to Brad McMasters, who is the President of the Blue Mountain Stati...
DAYTON—Dayton Alumni Weekend will take place the weekend of July 14-16 according to Dell Groom, who graduated from Dayton High School in 1957, and who serves on the Alumni Association Committee as Parade Chairman. On Friday, most of the classes work on their individual floats,” Groom said. On Saturday, an hour before, and during the parade, alumni will be able to register, pay dues, buy raffle tickets or visit on the corner of 2nd Street and Main Street. Money from the dues will go toward sch...
CCHS will welcome applications from displaced Walla Walla General Hospital employees DAYTON-Phase 3 of the Dayton General Hospital renovation and enhancement project will come to an end in July. The total construction project is 83.57% complete, said CEO Shane McGuire at the June Hospital District Board meeting. "The parking lot is finished, and the new signs have been placed at the entrance. The new nurse work area is up and running in the Emergency Department. The lab has been cleaned, and...
The off-leash park is near completion thanks to strong community support DAYTON--Generous donations, grants, and volunteer efforts are paying off for the Friends of the Dayton Dog Park, as their dream of having an off-leash park for dogs is becoming a reality, said Carol Rahn, who is co-captain on the FDDP steering committee, along with Candy Jones. Rahn called the city's donation of land for the park, "a magical gift from heaven". The city also supplied dirt to the site, and the city crew...
DAYTON--On June 22, Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Skiffington presented the Columbia County Health System Board of Commissioners with the American Hospital Association and the Washington State Hospital Association positions regarding the U.S. Senate’s Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, which is the Republican proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The CCHS pays dues to both hospital associations, Skiffington said. “This is not partisan,” she clarified. Skiffington read...
POMEROY—Sharing emergency management services, as a cost-reduction measure, was the topic of discussion when the Columbia County Commissioners and Columbia County Emergency Management Director Lisa Caldwell met with commissioners from Garfield and Asotin counties, the Garfield County Emergency Management Director, two Greater Spokane Area emergency management deputy directors, as well as a representative from the Washington State Military Department, on June 13. The major area of concern for C...
CAMP WOOTEN – "You can almost tell a kid in 4-H from one who is not," said Bi-County 4-H Camp Director Deb Hays on her fourth day overseeing the 2017 4-H Camp activities at Camp Wooten. Hays said youth who participate in 4-H club activities are more responsible and more respectful, and make for better adults. Camp Administrator Sheree Ledgerwood agreed. Ledgerwood recalled one 4-Her, who seemed an "odd man out," but who has turned out to be a "great guy," in large part because of his i...
DAYTON – Dayton Elementary School Principal Pam Lindsley has accepted a job in the Spokane School District, which is closer to her home and family, Superintendent Doug Johnson said at last week’s school board meeting. She has resigned as of June 30. Johnson said, “I’m going to miss her. She’s done an outstanding job.” Job postings have gone out, and Johnson said he hopes to have a qualified applicant hired by July 10. “I hope I get as lucky, as I did with her,” Johnson said about Lindsley’s cred...
STARBUCK – The Port of Columbia Commissioners held their monthly meeting on June 14 at Lyons Ferry Marina. Jim MacArthur, who, along with his wife, Angela, operates the marina facility, including campground, restaurant and store, spoke to the commissioners regarding frustrations they are having this year. These include slow progress on repairs to the marina, inability to secure full staffing in the restaurant, and weather that, except for Memorial Day weekend, put a damper on business early in the year. MacArthur called it “the toughest yea...
DAYTON/WAITSBURG — Early in May, local citizens and stakeholders attended a Blue Mountain Region Trails – Bridges, Towns and Rivers workshop in Dayton, to provide input into the prioritization of specific region-wide non-motorized trail connections, and criteria needs for sidewalks and bike routes. Many were dismayed to see the longed-for bike route going from Dayton to Waitsburg absent from the newly created map, showing trail connections. Port of Columbia Manager Jennie Dickinson explained that “spots” in the railroad right of way were st...
DAYTON--Tom Schirm's wood carving of a rainbow trout earned second place in the Trout, Salmon and Char category at the World Fish Carving Championship in Peoria, Ill., in May. It also took first place in the subcategory for rainbow trout. His brown trout carving won third place in the miniature category for freshwater fish, and third place overall in the same category, he said. This artform seems to be a natural fit for Schirm, who works as a habitat biologist for the Washington Department of...
DAYTON—The Dayton Historic Preservation Commission is interested in honoring two of Dayton’s most important boosters, Dr. Marcel Pietryzcki and his wife Mary, by replacing the entry sign at the Dayton City Park with a sign that includes the Pietryzcki (Pit rus kee) name, the DHPC Chairman, Mike Smith, told the council last week. Smith also recommended that the city and the DHPC work towards adding a monument near the park entry with an account of the Pietryzcki land donation for the park, and the contributions of the Pietryzkis to the com...
DAYTON – Based on recommendation from the Columbia County Planning Commission, the application for a conditional use permit by Trailhead Cannabis Co. to open and operate a retail marijuana store in the county was approved on June 6 by Columbia County Land Use Hearing Examiner, Andrew Kottkamp. The proposed site for the store 36711 Hwy 12, is on a .34-acre parcel on the north side of Hwy 12, just west of Dayton. The site is outside city limits, in an area of commercial and light industrial uses. According to the Columbia County Planning and B...
DAYTON – Columbia County Health System is offering Memorial Bricks for sale as part of a fundraiser for the Dayton/Waitsburg Community Health Foundation Fund, said Steve Stahl CCHS Human Resources Director. The bricks will be used to face two pillars at the new main entrance of the hospital. Additional bricks will be used to build a wall at the Emergency Room entrance, he said. The cost for each 8x8 inch brick is $150. One brick can handle 3 lines of 18 characters each, with the addition of o...
