Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 676 - 700 of 794
DAYTON-Faye Amor has been sewing fashionable dresses for girls and their dolls since her move to the Touchet Valley four months ago, she said. Amor, who is a member of the American Institute of Floral Designers, said she owned floral shops in Chinook, Mont., and Palm Desert, Calif., before retiring in 2012. Amor said she has children living in Washington, Hawaii, and Montana, but she moved here to be closer to all of them. "They have to get around," Amor said with a smile. Amor said she found...
DAYTON— On Oct. 13, Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney Rea Culwell came before the Board of County Commissioners to pitch a fifth proposal for uses of an Office of Crime Victims Advocacy grant. Following Culwell’s presentation, the BOCC conferred with their court-appointed attorney W. Dale Kamerrer, and in a letter to Culwell, dated Oct. 14, they reiterated, in part, their former stance allowing the use of OCVA grant monies to increase the deputy prosecuting attorney’s salary and hours. In th...
DAYTON—Last week’s city council meeting agenda was so packed that the City Administrator Trina Cole, suggested holding council meetings twice a month, instead of just once a month. On the council’s agenda were five committee reports, various commission reports, nine ordinances and resolutions, public testimony about animal nuisance codes, a public right of way hearing, and a public hearing about prohibiting medical marijuana cooperatives in the city. At the meeting Briana Fulbright, Event...
DAYTON-Alicia Walker has accomplished everything she is required to do, and more, in order to open the doors to a new restaurant in Dayton by the end of October or the beginning of November. Walker is calling the restaurant The Noble Hunt, which is aptly named for all she hopes to accomplish in it. As if running a restaurant isn't enough, Walker said that she also plans to work as a job coach for developmentally disabled adults, with the goal of placement into gainful employment in Columbia...
DAYTON – Brad McMasters, Economic Development Coordinator for the Port of Columbia, said the rain ended just as he was putting the finishing touches on the children's bounce house at last Saturday's Oktoberfest celebration at the Blue Mountain Station in Dayton. The Dayton Kiwanis and the Dayton Lions increased their sales of Tucannon Meats' bratwurst and Chief Springs Fire and Irons' beer over last year, McMasters said. The Blue Mountain Station Co-op Market's German potato salad and German r...
DAYTON—The Dayton School Board discussed a possible sports combine with Waitsburg schools for high school baseball and for wrestling during their regular meeting last week. “Students, coaches and parents have been working well together to support both districts and communities,” Superintendent Doug Johnson said about the football combination program with Waitsburg. Johnson told the directors that there are ten or eleven high school students in Waitsburg who would like the opportunity to play...
DAYTON--On Sept. 28, the City of Dayton asked Superior Court Judge Jackie Shea-Brown to accept the withdrawal of its request for a temporary restraining order against Columbia County, and its Prosecuting Attorney, Rea Culwell, requiring them to restore prosecutorial services to the city. Quinn Plant, attorney for the City of Dayton, said that Culwell has agreed to restore services to the city for a period of 90 days, if the court allows. Plant said that because the nature of the situation is no...
DAYTON-The Columbia County Health System Board of Commissioners formally adopted a new District Compliance Plan at their monthly meeting on Sept. 29. CCHS Chief Executive Officer Shane McGuire publically thanked Chief Compliance Officer Cheryl Skiffington for all the work that went into the plan. "This is a milestone moment. We are excited to get it out to our staff," McGuire told the commissioners. In a separate interview Skiffington said, "We had been operating with a previous plan that...
DAYTON-Dayton High School Youth and Government Club advisor Shayna Hutchens and her students, Colton Johnson, Cal Martin, Luis Ortiz and Alex Jenkins, were present for show and tell at the Dayton School Board meeting on Sept. 21. The students shared their experiences in Olympia in May, where they went to simulate the legislative process at the capitol building. Brent Gaither, the Washington State program director for Youth and Government Clubs was also at the meeting to give the directors a...
DAYTON--Jim Westergreen, the owner of Tucannon Meats in Dayton, is in the process of handing over day-to-day operations of the butcher shop on East Main Street to his son, and to his son's army buddy. "He's going to stick with us for awhile and make sure we're good to go," said Josh Westergreen, about his father's diminishing role. The younger Westergreen said the focus of the business will still be on custom slaughter, retail sales of cured meats, and processing of wild game. "We have already...
DAYTON—Port Manager Jennie Dickinson said a plan to write a five to 10-page strategy request, making the case to the Washington State legislature for funding for rehabilitation of the rail lines for the Columbia/Walla Walla short line railroad, is in the works. Chris Herman, Senior Director of Trade and Transportation for the Washington Public Ports Association, who also has background in the Rail Division at the WSDOT, is helping the port in that endeavor, said Dickinson. “I write, Chris rev...
DAYTON-The Columbia County Sheriff's Department has a new deputy, and the Public Works Department has three new hirees. Robbie Patterson's first day with the Sheriff's department began on Sept. 12, and was filled with the usual orientation procedures, he said. Patterson said he knew when he was in high school he wanted a career in law enforcement. Patterson, who originally hails from Laurinburg, North Carolina, met his wife Crystal, there. He said they left Laurinburg in 2002 for Fort Lewis,...
DAYTON-The Dayton Memorial Library is offering some new activities, as well as some recurring activities, during the autumn months, according to the librarians. Banned Book week runs from September 24 through October 1. The Dayton Memorial Library is partnering with the Liberty Theater on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 6:30 p.m., to show the movie The Indian in the Cupboard, according to librarian Dusty Waltner. Banned Book Week began in 1982, and it is a call to celebrate the freedom to read, and of...
DAYTON—The 2016-17 After School Program has been moved forward to an Oct. 4 start date, and it will run for seven weeks during the fall quarter, according to Peggy Guiterrez, Drug Free Grant Coordinator for the Coalition for Youth and Families. The After School Program is being offered to third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in the Dayton School District, and will take place between from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays through Thursdays, she said. Potential activities are cooking, gardening, a...
DAYTON - At the close of their Sept. 7 meeting, Columbia County Commissioners and Columbia County Prosecutor Rea Culwell discussed the idea of seeking mediation to help overcome an impasse regarding how to utilize excess funds from a federally funded crime victim advocacy grant. The disagreement now threatens business as usual in Columbia County and Dayton. Last year the U.S. Department of Commerce tripled funding for crime-victim advocacy. In Washington, every county prosecutor's office receive...
DAYTON—In his report to the Hospital Board of Commissioners on Sept. 8, Columbia County Health System CEO Shane McGuire said active marketing by his marketing team is paying off in getting patients to utilize Dayton General Hospital for their health care needs. Marketing has been accomplished at Kadlec Medical Center, St. Mary’s Providence Hospital in Walla Walla, and elsewhere, since McGuire has instituted an active marketing plan, he said. McGuire attributed active marketing to a strong inpati...
DAYTON—The Dayton School Board heard about enrollment numbers from Superintendent Doug Johnson at their regular meeting on Sept. 7. Johnson said that school enrollment on the first count day was right at four hundred, higher than it was in September, 2015 and he said it is only the second time in the past nine years the count has been higher than the end of the prior year enrollment. “This is a very good sign for us,” Johnson said. Johnson said he is concentrating on the goal of making Dayton th...
DAYTON-From Pioneer Days to Modern Ways is the theme of the 126th Columbia County Fair, and from the beginning of opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 9, until the fair closes at 5 p. m. on Sunday, Sept. 11, expect to see a mix of new and traditional activities. New for this year are; a performance by the Wenatchee Youth Circus, sponsored by Columbia REA, a magic act featuring Professor Bamboozle, and a comedy juggling act called The Curt Show, performed by Curt Carlyle, as well as...
DAYTON—Keeping junior high school students engaged was a hot topic for participants at the Aug. 17 Dayton School District board meeting. Dayton High School/Middle School teachers Jeff McCann and Kristen Frankie were on hand to provide the board and administrators their perspectives on keeping junior high school students engaged. Superintendent Doug Johnson said that informal data suggests that student failure to progress academically begins in the junior high school years, and the a...
DAYTON-The Columbia County Commissioners and the County Planning Department are in the process of developing a Facilities Plan for the Columbia County Fairgrounds and the Touchet Valley Golf Course. County Planner Meagan Bailey has been tasked with coordinating that effort. Special events might be held in the area where the East Grandstand is currently located. The grandstand is to be demolished sometime during the winter months, according to the commissioners. That area, along with the...
DAYTON—A program coordinator is still being sought for Dayton’s 2016-17 After School Program, which will start on September 20, according to Peggy Guiterrez, Drug Free Grant Coordinator for the Coalition for Youth and Families. Gutierrez said funding is in the budget for the position, which will require four hours a day on the three days the program is offered. An additional amount has been budgeted for planning time. The foundation for the program has already been laid by the temporary pro...
DAYTON—Allen Litzenberger, owner of 4-Point Construction in Walla Walla, is building a second building at the Blue Mountain Station, according to Port of Columbia manager Jennie Dickinson, at the port commissioner meeting, last week. “It looks like it will be done quickly,” she told the board. Dickinson said a traffic study and SEPA study are not required, and that the building permit has already been approved. Design meetings with the port planner, engineers from Anderson Perry, and an archi...
DAYTON—The summer reading program at Dayton Memorial Library came to an end on Aug. 10 with a celebration featuring ice cream sundaes, games, and announcements of winners of the Summer Reading Challenge. Jamie Finch and Sandy Dare each received $75 in Dayton Dollars from the Chamber of Commerce in the Adult category of the Summer Reading Challenge. Quintin Rapoza won in the Young Adult category, Jack Zanger won in the Elementary category, and Mia Paquette was the winner in the Preschool c...
DAYTON—The Dayton City Council authorized ordinance No. 1899, following a Public Hearing at a special meeting held in council chambers on Monday night. The Ordinance will allow for the repeal of the south side local register historic district, and the Washington Street local register historic district, and their zoning overlay restrictions, according to city officials. Between March, 2016 and July, 2016 property owners in the local register historic districts cast two sets of votes in regards to...
DAYTON--Bill Poolman has been farming and harvesting soft white wheat in Columbia County for the past fifty-two years. But this year will be his last, said his wife Joanne, who posted a heart-felt tribute to him on Facebook last week. "I was not prepared for the impact of watching my husband on his antique MH2 make the final cut, the final dump of wheat into the red Dodge truck, or watch him climb out of said combine, for the very last time. It feels like an era has come to an end," she posted....
