Articles from the August 5, 2021 edition
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 25
Middle Waitsburg Road fire consumes 20 acres
WAITSBURG-A small fire broke out in a standing wheat field on Middle Waitsburg Road on August 2. The fire, which consumed an estimated 20 acres of crop, was quickly contained by firefighters from...
New wave of COVID-19 hits Washington
WASHINGTON—Washington State is just shy of reaching a 70% population vaccination rate, but a new wave of COVID-19 has shown just how quickly the virus is spreading among non-vaccinated individuals....
Alarming rise in COVID-19 cases in Columbia County
DAYTON—COVID-19 cases have risen sharply over the last couple of weeks in Columbia County. On Tuesday, August 3, there were 27 active cases. “We have been very fortunate over the past few...
Four wheeler starts wheat fire Saturday morning
WAITSBURG-A small standing wheat fire was started in the early hours of the morning on July 31. According to the Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office, Lonnie R. Marick was riding his four-wheeler in a... Full story
Columbia REA announces More Powerful Together Community Grant program
WALLA WALLA—Grant funding will be available to selected organizations from Walla Walla County, Columbia County, and NE Umatilla County. The grant program’s goal is to make a one-time donation to one or more organizations that serve our...
Columbia Pulp CEO John Begley to retire
DAYTON—Columbia Pulp is announcing the retirement of John Begley effective September 3. Begley has been CEO of Columbia Pulp since its inception and has led the company through its development, financing, design, construction, and start-up phases,...
Ava Jean McMillen Gagnon
Ava Jean Gagnon, 96 years, one month, a longtime resident of the Waitsburg area, passed peacefully, surrounded by her Whitman Place family on July 26, 2021. Ava Jean was born to Frank and Genevieve...
A harvest-time memory
WAITSBURG—In 2019, the Waitsburg Historical Society honored the Don Thomas Family as 2019 Pioneers of the Year. Thomas’ sons, Gary and Jay, sat down with The Times’ editor Dena Martin to share...
Letter from WSD Superintendent
Dear Waitsburg School District Families, It’s hard to believe that we are a little over a month away from starting the new school year. The first day of school for Waitsburg students is Tuesday, September 7th. With the guidelines for schools and... Full story
Friends of the Weller Public Library discuss survey results
WAITSBURG—The Friends of the Weller Public Library met on July 28 at 7 p.m, to discuss the results of a recent community survey. Over 20 community members were in attendance. The overall goal...
Port of Columbia Awarded $2 Million Broadband Infrastructure Grant
DAYTON—Port of Columbia staff, along with private partner Columbia iConnect, made a presentation to the Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) on Thursday, July 14 in Olympia and left with a $2 million award. Acceptance of the $2 million... Full story
Camp Wooten Work Party
WASHINGTON—Soon, we will enter autumn full of gratitude to the incredibly hard-working men and women who suppressed the numerous wildland fires of summer. The Umatilla Forest has been shut down due to fire, with some areas beginning to reopen as...
Umatilla National Forest to reopen most lands
PENDLETON—With recent precipitation and reduced initial attack on new fires across the forest, Umatilla National Forest officials will reopen much of the Forest on Wednesday, Aug. 4, including all Heppner and North Fork John Day Ranger District lan...
Summer Stage Festival postponed until 2022
WALLA WALLA—Gesa Power House Theatre regretfully announced the postponement of the Walla Walla Summer Stage Festival, previously scheduled for August 6-15. The new performing arts festival will be rescheduled to August 2022. “This weekend, our...
Green Ridge Fire grows to more than 11,000 acres
DAYTON—The Green Ridge Fire, burning 30 miles East of Walla Walla, has burned a total of 11,449 acres as of August 3. According to a morning update, the fire is 15% contained. More than 380 personnel are working the scene. On Tuesday, fire crews...
Palouse Outdoors: The Ebb and Flow
The old cliché "The only thing constant in life is change" was coined by Greek philosopher Heraclitus. This epiphany struck him around 500 B.C. I assume taxes were not a thing at the time,...
Focus on Firefighters
Jumping into a truck and charging into a standing wheat fire, or encountering a burning building is not for the faint of heart, but for Captain Miguel Castillo, Columbia-Walla Walla Fire District 2,...
Reviewing the Mariners Trade Deadline moves
SEATTLE—As expected, the Mariners made some moves during this year’s trade deadline. Most fans were probably hoping the team would attempt to pick up some players to help during this season’s playoff. Instead, they shuffled the roster around a...
Flowers in the Veggie Garden
While I'm a sorry excuse for a flower gardener, as anyone who's seen our landscaping would agree, I'm a huge fan of flowers in the vegetable garden. In fact, sometimes the flowers do better than the...
Business Rules
I’ve found that in owning a restaurant, gardening, and life in general, many of the rules and clichés I’ve learned throughout my eons in the business world still apply. First, the 80/20 rule,...
Cool green Fords, different eras, same vintage feel
John and Illiana Schuring driving a 2004 Thunderbird back home to Portland, stopped in Waitsburg after spotting Jade, a 1978 Ford F-150, owned by Tiina Jaatinen and parked in front of The Royal...
PIONEER PORTRAITS
Ten Years Ago August 4, 2011 Jillian Beaudry, an editor and reporter for the Daily World in Aberdeen, Wash., will become the new managing editor for the Times based in Waitsburg, the newspaper’s...
Ratatouille
Every summer, without fail, I am surprised by how productive the zucchini plants are in our garden. With new zucchini sprouting up every night, there is always an abundance of the striped, green...
At the Liberty:
Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), confronts her ledger’s darker parts when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises in this new Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller. Pursued by a force that will stop at... Full story