Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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DAYTON-The Dayton Chamber of Commerce announced the selection of the 2020 Community Choice Awards on March 3rd. Each year, nominations are taken for exceptional citizen, employee, business and youth, and a committee made up of a cross-section of the community makes the selections. Although the awards couldn't be presented at the annual banquet, the Chamber felt it was especially important to pay tribute to these outstanding individuals. Citizen of the Year: Denise Hoon Denise is a dedicated...
DAYTON—In February, U.S. Congressman Mike Simpson, representing Idaho, District 2, unveiled a $33.5 billion proposal for breaching the four lower hydroelectric dams on the Snake River to address the problem of how to save salmon populations in Idaho, without disrupting the system that provides millions of people with electrical power. His proposal “The Northwest in Transition” calls for removing Lower Granite Dam, Little Goose Dam, Lower Monumental Dam, and Ice Harbor Dam, located in Washi...
DAYTON-CCHS CEO Shane McGuire provided the Hospital District board with a project update at their February meeting. The floor in the Dayton General Hospital Emergency Department was replaced in February. The old flooring was roughly nine years old and was showing significant wear. It was also becoming a risk for infection due to large gaps and cracks in the seams. The hospital's new generator will be delivered in the middle of March, and Nelson Construction of Walla Walla, will pour a pad for...
DAYTON-Although initial COVID-19 vaccination efforts have been uneven, incremental progress is being made, CCHS CEO Shane McGuire told the Hospital District Board of Commissioners at their meeting last week. "A lot of the story still remains about supply," he said. McGuire said inventory of the vaccine was initially managed to cover first and second doses. After the governor issued an edict requiring 95% of the vaccine should be used each week, vaccines reserved for second doses were used as...
DAYTON-Todd Vandenbark is the new Library Director for the Dayton Memorial Library. Vandenbark said he became interested in Library Science when a friend told him that libraries value people who come from diverse backgrounds and have varied work experience. Indeed, Vandenbark has had a variety of jobs. He has worked as a daycare teacher, computer tech support consultant, customer service rep at a major telecom call center, lifeguard and swim instructor, school bus driver, camp counselor,...
DAYTON-Adam Schmidtgall, Principal Engineer, and Brian Hansen, Project Engineer for Anderson/Perry & Associates, provided an update about progress on the Touchet Valley Trail design at the February meeting of the Port of Columbia commissioners. Schmidtgall said the intention is to have 30-percent of the trail design completed by the end of February to submit to the Port commissioners for review. "We believe a month and a half is enough time for a community meeting in mid-April," he said....
DAYTON—At their meeting in February, the Port of Columbia commissioners approved an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) with NoaNet (Northwest Open Access Network) to provide broadband service to the Port office and to Port-owned businesses. Dickinson said the Port office will be used as a hub for a wireless system that will serve the tenants in the Rock Hill Industrial Park, and, possibly other businesses and residences, at that end of town. “According to NoaNet wireless system technologies have imp...
The African Doctor (Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont, 2016) Inspired by true events, The African Doctor is about a doctor from Zaire, who moves with his family to a small provincial village in France, in the mid-1970s. For Seyolo Zantoko, serving the villagers as their doctor provides an avenue to gain French nationality, and better opportunities for his family. The story was written by Zantoko’s son, the Hip Hop artist Kamini. It is about how the family overcame obstacles to being accepted by the villa...
DAYTON—When they met last week, the Dayton School District Board of Directors approved a new dismissal time and bell schedule for Middle School and High School students. After March 1, dismissal will be at 2 p.m. for secondary school students. Superintendent Guy Strot said the District would send emails and letters to parents about the change. Information will also be posted on Facebook and the District website. Strot said lunchtime will be from 11:11 a.m. until 11:45 a.m. The Middle School h...
DAYTON—Jana Eaton has been working on updating the Dayton School District’s website with some new features made available by the website host. They include a pop-out-side menu. Click on the Website Menu at the top for this feature, she said. Gold tabs under the picture gallery have been alphabetized, and improvements to font color, size, and text style will make things easier to find on the site. Report A Bully-Anonymous Reporting is a new quick-link added to the site. Eaton said that any...
DAYTON—At the Feb. 10 Port Commission meeting, Port officials discussed a letter and a petition signed by 37 people with concerns about whether there is a proposal to annex Port-owned property to the City of Dayton. The letter was written by Betty Longen, who owns property close to the Port’s Rock Hill Industrial Park, and it was read at the meeting by the Port’s Executive Director Jennie Dickinson. “I am adamantly opposed to annexation. We have circulated a petition showing our opposit...
DAYTON—City of Dayton Mayor Zac Weatherford provided an update about the Interlocal Agreement with the county for Law and Justice, Dispatch, and Municipal Court services at last week’s city council meeting. The Public Safety Committee has reviewed the contract and provided it to the city attorney for review. It has been sent back to the county with a few minor recommendations, he said. Weatherford agreed with County Commissioner Ryan Rundell, who was at the meeting, about the need for cau...
DAYTON-The Feb. 2020 flood that caused $7.2 million in damages at more than 120 locations has added extra work, time, and stress for County Engineer Charles Eaton and staff in the public works department. While much has been accomplished to repair flood-related damage over the past year, there are still roads, bridges, and levees in need of repair. Eaton said Wolf Fork Road, Robinson Fork Road, Tucannon Road, and South Patit Road's upper reach, where the road washed out, are still in need of...
DAYTON—Local restaurants can now open their doors to indoor dining at 25% capacity, Columbia County Public Health Administrator Martha Lanman told the Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday. Over the weekend, the South-Central Region, which includes Columbia County, was given the green light to advance to Phase 2 of the governor’s plan for recovery from COVID-19. The region will remain in Phase 2 for two weeks, then will be reevaluated, she said. “We will have to be vigilant in order to stay...
DAYTON—Middle and High School (MS/HS) Principal Kristina Brown has met with her staff to discuss strategies and interventions they can use to help students struggling with failing grades, she told attendees at last week’s school board work session. During the first semester of the school year, there were 34 middle school students with at least one F grade and 16 middle school students with at least one F. In the high school, there were 18 students with at least one F and 25 students with at leas...
DAYTON-The Columbia County Health System's Executive Leadership team participated in a five-day leadership course led by its Semi Bird, Executive Director of Team Concepts Training Services, reported CCHS CEO Shane McGuire at the hospital district commissioners meeting in January. Team Concepts will continue providing training to CCHS staff throughout the year. The goal of the training is to transform workplace culture. Each department-level manager will receive the same training as the...
DAYTON-The Columbia County Public Health Department moves from 270 East Main Street to their new location at 112 North Second Street the week of Feb. 15, with plans for the department to be officially open on Feb. 22. County Public Health Administrator Martha Lanman said there are several benefits to making this move. There is adequate space for all the staff to occupy the new offices while complying with current social distancing guidelines. Lanman said two department staff members are...
Michele Smith’s picks Caste by Isabel Wilkerson The concept of caste has been around long before the concept of race. In her book, Caste, Isabel Wilkerson takes us on a trip through the Hindu caste system, the Nazi plan to exterminate Jews and others deemed inferior, and through to the caste system in America, which is based on race. As an artificial hierarchy, caste determines one’s place in society and which members will benefit from having better access to resources. Tecumseh and the Prophet:...
DAYTON—The COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Columbia County Fairgrounds is working well. However, only 110 doses will be administered this week, according to Stephanie Carpenter. Carpenter is the Columbia County Health System Chief Operating Officer and is in charge of the Columbia County Hospital District vaccination plan. Carpenter said Dayton General Hospital Pharmacy Manager Cheryl Pell requested 400 doses of the vaccine for use this week but only received 100 doses. There are ten doses l...
DAYTON—County finances have “definitely” been affected by the flood and COVID-19, said County Commissioner Ryan Rundell, following an update on fourth-quarter finances from County Treasurer Carla Rowe last week. “As Carla said, because we are a bare-bones taxed county, we have been less affected by COVID-19 than some counties who rely on extra taxes, like an entertainment tax, with large venues, and the like. However, the flood coupled with COVID-19 has done visible damage to the county and its...
DAYTON-When offered a chance to work remotely, more and more people are moving where they choose. If the City of Dayton and the Port of Columbia play their cards right, Dayton, with its beautiful blue skies, friendly people, and green vistas, could become the next little boom, or "Zoom" town. When the question of whether people should consider moving to Dayton was posed to Port of Columbia Executive Director Jennie Dickinson and City of Dayton Planning Director Meagan Hayes last week, the answer...
COLUMBIA COUNTY—The Board of Columbia County Commissioners has gone on record to let Washington State Governor Jay Inslee know they are displeased with the COVID-19 Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery plan. The Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery plan is using a regional approach for a phased recovery. The state has designated eight regions, with Columbia County part of the South-Central Region, Kittitas, Yakima, Walla Walla, Benton, and Franklin counties. All eight regions start...
DAYTON-Fourteen students in the Dayton School District received winter coats and snow boots purchased from generous donations from Homestreet Bank and the Grace Episcopal Church "We are so fortunate to live in a community where people notice a need and step in to fill it immediately," said Judi Pilcher, VP/Assistant Branch Manager at HomeStreet Bank....
DAYTON—2020 was a busy year for staff inside the Columbia County Planning and Building Department, primarily due to the Feb. flood. Work has continued apace, despite the COVID-19 slowdown. Planning Manager Dena Martin provided a synopsis for the county commissioners at their meeting last week. The Planning and Building department oversees county land use, zoning, comprehensive plan updates, and environmental uses. The department also provides building services for Columbia County, the City of Da...
DAYTON-The Dayton School District kicked off the second semester of the school year on Jan. 21. Report cards will be mailed home for middle and high school students on Jan. 27 and for elementary school students on Jan. 26. Dayton School District Superintendent Guy Strot provided an update about the elementary school at the school board meeting last week. He reported challenges were keeping some elementary classrooms open during the two weeks after Christmas break because some of the staff were...
