Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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DAYTON--Volunteers with Blue Mountain Heritage Society have been busy putting the finishing touches on two new museum displays that will open to the public in April. Paula Moisio, President of BMHS, said volunteers spent the better part of the winter taking inventory of artifacts that are on loan or have been donated to the Palus Museum, and organizing them for display in the museum annex. The artifacts range in age from early homestead days through the 1960s, Moisio said. "This is a really fun...
DAYTON—Have you been perusing garden seed catalogues and wishing you had adequate space to grow fresh vegetables and fruits for yourself and your family? The Dayton Community Garden, located on 1/3 acre, off the main entrance on Cemetery Road, may be the answer. And what could be simpler? Watermaster Bob McCauley tills the garden, does the watering, and keeps a watchful eye. The only thing required of each gardener is to keep the weeds down, the trash out, and contribute to a “secure, hap...
DAYTON—At last week’s department head meeting, the Columbia County Commissioners asked for feedback on how to fund essential services in 2018 in light of continued reductions in state funding and continuing budget issues. “Our budgets are not flush for the next couple of years,” said Commissioner Norm Passmore. The commissioners and department heads discussed the merits of asking voters for general budget help, or for specific help in particular areas, such as Law and Justice, which has seen drastic revenue shortfalls. According to Distric...
DAYTON--The quality of healthcare received at the Columbia County Health System has gotten a shot in the arm thanks to a Kadlec Medical Center grant that provided CCHS with three telehealth units. One is installed in the Dayton General Hospital Emergency Department, and there is one in the Waitsburg Clinic and one in Columbia Family Clinic. The telehealth unit is a rolling cart with a camera and computer that can be dialed to reach a consulting physician "anywhere in the world" to help with...
DAYTON – Last year, Vicki Zoller, library assistant at Dayton Memorial Library, wrote a grant request to Umpqua Bank asking for help funding the library's monthly Family Story Time and Dinner. They responded with a $3,800.00 contribution. The money goes toward food for the dinner, provided by Melissa Weatherford of Grassroot Catering at Blue Mountain Station, and for new books each month for participating families, Zoller said. "Studies have shown that book ownership helps increase literacy, a...
DAYTON—When the Columbia County Hospital District Commissioners met last week, CEO Shane McGuire discussed the progress of the hospital renovation and enhancement project. Phase III of the renovation project will begin the week of March 27, when demolition begins for the new laboratory department. There are a few projects yet to be finished in Phase II, and McGuire said those would be accomplished by the third week in April. Installation of the new CT scanner will begin on March 27. The old C...
DAYTON—Last week, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5023, the “levy cliff” measure, into law. The bill extends the safety net for local levy collections an additional year. According to local school officials, this was needed because the State Legislature has reduced the amount of money local school districts can collect from voter-approved M&O levies, in anticipation of full funding for basic education, as ordered by the State Supreme Court, in the McCleary ruling. “The bill is a plus,” said Dayton School Superintendent Doug Jo...
DAYTON-Since September, a group of stakeholders has been meeting to develop a plan for improving the facilities at the Columbia County fairgrounds. Last week, a draft of the plan was presented to the committee for comment by Meagan Bailey, Columbia County Planning Assistant, who has been coordinating the effort. Her department has been tasked with the job by the Columbia County Commisioners. The purpose of the project, which is broken down into three phases, is: To provide a safe, healthy,...
DAYTON—The Dayton School Board met last week and received updates on a wide range of topics. Kristine Warren, who is the graduation counselor for Dayton High School, talked to the board about the work she is doing to prepare students for graduation. She said student graduation requirements are being met, and that she has been busy helping with scholarship applications, test applications, career counseling, and keeping track of community services reporting. “The kids are on track for gra...
DAYTON—The General Manager of Columbia County Public Transportation, Stephanie Guettinger, is on paid leave, pending an investigation of issues relating to performance of her duties and responsibilities. “We’re looking into the internal management of the organization,” said City of Dayton Mayor Craig George, who is the president of the CCPT board. George said that an end-of-year report from Diversified HR of Wenatchee, and some “whistleblower” complaints, lead to the decision by the CCPT board...
WALLA WALLA—When she spoke at the Dayton Senior Center in, on March 7, Mary Cleveland who is the Local Program Coordinator for the Southeast Washington Aging and Disability Resource Center, talked about programs available for seniors, and for adults with disabilities, through the local area Aging and Long Term Care offices. Cleveland said the cost of nursing home care is 2.6 times more expensive than care at home. Programs through ALTC help people receive care in the home setting, which is l...
DAYTON--Megan Schmidt, a senior at Dayton High School, has received an "A Legacy of Legends" scholarship to study "natural horsemanship" with people who studied under Ray Hunt and Tom Dorrance. Hunt and Dorrance are considered to be the "greatest and most influential horsemen, of all time", according to the "A Legacy of Legends" website. Megan saw a post on Facebook about the scholarship a couple of months ago and, after going back and forth in her mind, decided she would apply, according to...
Staffers from McMorris Rodgers’s office also visited Columbia County last week DAYTON—“A picture is worth a thousand words,” said Commissioner Merle Jackson, at the March 6 meeting of the Columbia County Commissioners. Fairgrounds Facilities Improvement Plan Coordinator Meagan Bailey asked the commissioners to approve using some money from Planning and Building Special Assessments funds to pay for aerial photography of the fairground. The photos would be used to create a visual artistic vision...
DAYTON—The Washington State Department of Ecology has accepted the tri-county Southeast Washington Shoreline Master Program Update, with “no proposed changes”. “This is a huge deal,” said Columbia County Planning Director Kim Lyonnaise. “It’s really big.” Lyonnaise met with officials in Garfield and Asotin Counties in February 2014, about the possibility of collaborating on updates to their respective regional master shoreline plans. Because of similarities in topography and demographics, a...
DAYTON—At their February 27 meeting, the Dayton City Council approved an agreement between the city and Columbia County for the city to provide code compliance services to the county. The City Code Compliance Officer’s weekly hours will increase by eight, and the county will pay the city $11,000 per year. Councilman Dain Nysoe said the city’s approach to code enforcement has been proactive, but the county “only responds to nuisance issues if someone complains.” Nysoe asked the County Planning...
DAYTON-- Paul MacKay and his partner, Amy McGuire, have been busy putting their own touches on the Moose Creek Café and Bakery since MacKay bought it from Chuck and Raylene Sursley in January, 2016. MacKay is a financial manager, and McGuire looks to the day-to-day operations at the business Since their "very quick" opening in February, 2016, the two have expanded seating at the café to an outside patio, introduced some seasonal local produce, and added an additional restroom. They are now in th...
DAYTON—In his report to the Dayton School Board last week, Superintendent Doug Johnson discussed providing middle school students with baseball and softball programs through a joint effort with the Waitsburg School District. There has been “a sudden interest” in participation, by seventh and eighth grade boys and girls, Johnson said. He said the district is now searching for coaches, for both programs. Johnson also said that Principal Paul Shaber has found a solution to some trans...
DAYTON--Anne Higgins, Columbia County Emergency Management Homeland Security Assistant, introduced an updated 2008 Columbia County Community Wildfire Protection Plan to stakeholders and landowners at a meeting last week at Fire Station District No. 3. “Over time things change,” said Higgins about work that has been done on the CWP Plan. The biggest change has been the effort to coordinate all local, state, and federal agencies in firefighting efforts, she said. Higgins said a $9,000 grant fro...
DAYTON--Drug Free Grant Coordinator Peggy Guiterrez, and ASB SHEO Club Advisor Jennifer Price accompanied students in Dayton's SHEO Club to Olympia on Feb. 20 for Prevention Policy Day. Representative Terry Nealey took them on a tour of House Chambers and showed them how the electronic voting system works. He also talked about the progress of three pieces of legislation concerning substance abuse and violence prevention. "That part of the trip was great," Guiterrez said. The next day, the...
DAYTON - "January was a bang-up month," Columbia County Health System CEO Shane McGuire told the Board of Commissioners at last week's meeting. McGuire was referring to the $1.7 million growth revenue for January, before accounting treatments. "Revenue for all of 2016 averaged only about $1.43 million per month, including the months before our rate increases were applied," said Hospital Controller Tom Meyers in his report to the commissioners. "This is a good start!" he added. In his picture of...
Fairgrounds Facilities and Code Enforcement are also discussed DAYTON-The Board of County Commissioners had a busy week last week. Recycling When they met on Mon., Feb. 13, the board heard a proposal from Public Works Director Andrew Woods concerning plans to establish a new recycling station, to be located at an unused portion of property at the county transfer station. The plan will consolidate all the recycling bins in the county, including those behind Dingle's Hardware Store, and at the...
DAYTON-Last week, Superintendent Doug Johnson impressed upon those in attendance at the "Show and Tell" portion of the regular school board meeting the importance of high school business teacher Bob Cummings' work with students he teaches. As part of his curricula, Cummings has incorporated the Visual Arts and Economics into studies for the students, and those subjects are related to life skills, which was listed as an important component of the District's Strategic Plan, going forward, Johnson...
STARBUCK -- Jim McArthur's reuben sandwich junkies will be happy to hear that the restaurant at the Lyon's Ferry Marina will have an earlier than usual opening this year. McArthur said an early opening will go a long way to alleviate his wintertime blues, which have been worse than ever this year. This is partly because he is recuperating from total knee replacement surgery, but also because there has been considerable damage to the moorages and walkways at the marina due to winter ice accumulat...
DAYTON-Take a tour of a new exhibit at the Dayton Historic Depot Museum, beginning on March 1, to see some gadgets that made the lives of women "easier" in the years from the early 1900s to the 1950s. "We're looking at the intersection of consumerism, changing women's roles, and rural electrification," said Museum Director Tamara Fritze about the idea behind the exhibit. Most of the appliances on loan to the museum are electric, with the exception of a display of hand tools for mixing, and some...
DAYTON-Good things have been happening at the Dayton Memorial Library, including a recent honor bestowed on the library by the American Library Association, for the Family Dinner and Story Program, which will be featured on the ALA website "Future Trends of Libraries". Since Dusty Waltner hired on as the Library Director in March of 2015 there have been many visible improvements at the Dayton Memorial Library. "My goal has been to increase programming and services, and boost awareness in the com...
