Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 29
If you're looking for a reason to get out and about, Starbuck and Lyon's Ferry are the places to be these last few weeks of summer. The number one event on the agenda is the First Annual Swim the Snake open swim, with participants swimming from the old Lyons Ferry State Park site to the Lyons Ferry Marina. This non-competitive fundraiser is open to anyone 10 years old and up, though anyone under the age of 15 must swim with a designated adult (for obvious reasons). A $30 entry fee includes a...
It's hot, it's humid, you've been working out in the back 40 all day, you're tired, thirsty and if you're anything like me, somewhat cranky too. The worst part is you're also out of ideas. You've had more lemonade than humanly possible over the first half of summer, drank 9 bottles of water this morning, soda is just too sweet for the heat and a beer just isn't doing the trick. Where to turn? This is a serious problem I know but bear with me - I have a solution and it works using a rather maligned grape from right here at home -...
It's Sunday morning and before I even open my eyes thoughts drift downstairs, hoping the kitchen fairy is putting a package of bacon in the oven. That magical smell wafts up like a Bugs Bunny cartoon smoke swirl, tickling taste buds with a waving, beckoning come-hither finger. Bacon - that supreme porky treat which is everywhere at once these days. Why am I writing about bacon when everyone else already has? After all, isn't bacon beyond trendy? I mean really - ti's everywhere including some places where it just shouldn't be - from soap to...
When our country was founded, Thomas Jefferson declared that governments should only derive their power from the "consent of the governed." Four score and seven years later, at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln reminded us that ours was a government "of the people, by the people, for the people." Last week, the House of Representatives paid worthy tribute to the legacy of our Founding Fathers. We have renewed our commitment to putting people before politics. Last week, House Rep...
DAYTON - In a tradition that started 44 years ago, 16 students and three chaper- ones returned home Saturday after spending two weeks in Japan as part of an ongoing exchange program between Dayton High School and Ya- mate Gakuin Junior/Senior High School in Yokohoma. According to Dayton High Exchange Advisor Kristine Warren, the private Yamate school was founded on the idea of international friendship and emphasizes responsible participation in community and international affairs. The founders...
When Gail Gwin was still a water color painter, her imagery was almost photorealistic. She would paint small granite rocks so perfectly defined you can almost hold them in your hand. In one composition, they are whimsically linked to finely ren- dered miniature furniture by lines and symbols reminiscent of a road map. In short, she had complete control over her objects and where she placed them in a three-dimensional space in a two-dimensional painting. Nowadays, as a printmaker, she still has...
Born on Oct. 14, 1940, John David Burns passed away on July 31, 2013, in Dayton near the Touchet River that he loved. He loved fishing and listen- ing to the sounds of the wa- ter. He and his wife Margie were married in 1961, later divorced and were reunited in marriage again in 2009 - 40 years later. John spent 15 years in the Navy and served in Vietnam. He was honor- ably discharged in 1972 as Chief B.T. He attended San Francisco State University and earned a degree in Me- chanical Engineering. He is survived by wife Margie of Dayton:...
DAYTON - The Liberty Theater and the Missoula Chil- dren's Theatre are busily preparing a cast filled with local youth for a live production of Robinson Crusoe this week- end. Robinson Crusoe will be presented to the public at 7pm on Friday, August 9 and Saturday, August 10 at The Liberty. Tickets are $5 & $7 and can be purchased at the box office and online at www.libertytheater.org For more information contact the Liberty Theater at 509- 382-1380 or via email at info@libertytheater.orginfo@libertytheater.org...
DAYTON - A drawing to win a beautiful chainsaw bear carving, created and donated by Terry Lee Woodworth of Waitsburg, was held July 20. The raffle was in support of the Debbie Hays Medical Fund and the lucky winner was Craig Moisio of Dayton....
SPOKANE - Final sentencing for 43-year-old Santiago Contreras Orozco, who was arrested in Columbia County in July 2011 at the scene of a large marijuana bust in the upper Tucannon River drainage, has been delayed at the federal court level. During the course of his trial, Orozco was overcome with severe depression and spent several months being evaluated a federal facilities. Since Orozco was found guilty but incompetent for sen- tencing, the federal rule mandates that he be detained for life without parole until such time as he can be found...
DAYTON - Patricia Becker remem- bers the smell like it was yesterday. On an early fall morning three years ago, she went to her son's home to get it ready for his return from a week at the hospital in Walla Walla. When she opened the door, an unpleasant odor struck her nostrils and she discovered that raw sewage was coming into the house on East Patit through two floor drains in the basement. "It went all the way up to the wall," Becker, who owns 306 East Patit, said in an in- terview this...
WALLA WALLA - Members of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce, some of which are Waits- burg businesses, can get discounted tickets to the Shakespeare Summer Festival in Walla Walla Aug. 8 -18. Presented by Columbia REA, this summer's festival features 12 performances of the bard's Merchant of Venice at the Gesa Power House Theater. The Merchant of Ven- ice shines the spotlight on themes of prejudice and redemption, timely and relevant even four-hundred years after the work was written. The Merchant of Venice will be performed in modern dress, set...
PRESCOTT - Prescott Joint Park & Recreation District will be holding a car show on Saturday, August 10 at Fieldview Park. Cars should be parked by noon. Trophies will be awarded at about 3:00 p.m. There is no entry fee. Come, park your car in the shade, and enjoy visiting with other car own- ers. Hot dogs and soda will be available....
SEATTLE - Oola Distill- ery's bourbon named after Waitsburg is now available at Trader Joe's Washington state grocery stores. The Waitsburg Bourbon name will beam from the liquor shelves at the popular chain's 19 locations, most of which are in western Washington. The California-based company has one outlet in Spokane. Oola owner Kirby Kal- las Lewis said his staff cel- ebrated the landmark retail industry entry by putting together a Bourbon-packed summer BBQ menu using ingredients at the Madison Avenue Trader Joe's near the boutique...
WAITSBURG - While several 7th Street residents have been saddened by the necessary removal of the grand old trees that lined the planting areas between their sidewalk and the newly renovated roadway, a fresh start is just around the corner. This week, yards are staked and awaiting the arrival of replacement trees, supplied by the city. As part of the 7th Street Reconstruction Project, it was necessary to remove a total of five large trees grow- ing in the planting areas between the sidewalk and...
August 9: Kaye Wagoner, Tish Hulce, Adam Rogers, Tracy Gluck, Robert Anderson. August 10: Skylar Wood, Connie Langlo, Tyson Cole, Jim Leid, Dean Smith, Glynn Davis, Alan Jackson, Sr., Janice Bode. August 11: Alfred Peters, John Wood, Gary Pierson, Kim Townsend, Dorothy Anderson, Bradley Grende. August 12: Seth Deal, Gordon Gilmore, Abby Hyder Barrantes, Darleen Dozier, Shawn Smith, Suzanne Schulke, Mia Becker, Bess Herndon, Patsy Fouste, Keaton Jean Larsen. August 13: Shawn Thomas, Tammy Wood, Mark Leid, Angela Williams, Forrest Waltermire....
Ten Years Ago August 7, 2003 Weller Library is proceeding with plans to have its col- lection and patrons managed by a Library Tracker Catalog and Circulation system. The software has been installed, networked and library personnel are beginning to add pa- trons and books to the system. Once the library's collection has been input, Weller Library will have a working catalog of its books, videos and audio tapes. In the meantime, additional labeling materials are being purchased using the Blue Mountain Community Foundation Grant funding to comple...
I might be pushing the seasons along, but this morning when I stepped into the garden I could smell fall in the air. I glanced down at the pumpkin plants, tendrils winding among the lavender and noticed several squash flow- ers opened in bright shades of yellow. Pumpkin flowers are a sure sign you'll have squash in fall, truly my favorite winter vegetable in soup, stew, casserole, chutney and pie. Later in the day, I drove out along Mill Creek Road to a friend's potato farm and helped dig-up the last of this year's yellow fin potato harvest....
When seasonal lows are expected, when the trend has been flat-to-downward for a year and winter wheat harvest in the US is effectively complete, these are the times that try men's patience (with apologies to both Thomas Paine and the women whose pa- tience is also tried). The wheat market has been unable to identify a low point. Each new attempt to rally wheat futures in Chicago since the lows of mid-June has produced only a lower high than the previous attempt, along with a lower low following, the classic definition of a negative trend. On...
Waitsburg 8-1 Electric winch taken from vehicle on Highway 12.8-4 Male suspect on W. 2nd Street, arrested on Columbia County Warrants. Prescott 7-30 Report of runaway on N. "B" Street. Dayton 7-29 Theft of debit card and cash on S. 1st Street. Report of trespassing on S. 5th Street. Possible theft from storage unit on N. Cottonwood Street. Civil dispute on S. 4th Street. House vandalized on E. Dayton Avenue; window broken and sauceand seeds were thrown at house. Juvenile problem on S. 1st Street. Theft of medications on S. 4th Street. 7-30...
We're about a month out from the first day of school. I'm excited, but I'm apparently alone in my ex- citement, because every time I make some wistful com- ment about wishing school were back in session I get the death stare from my little brother. I recently read an article about "Summer Learning Loss," a phenomenon in which children forget a good deal of the past year's learn- ing over the summer. "Well, hey," I thought, "that can't be a problem for me. People are always telling me how great...
Luthier: Someone who makes or repairs lutes and other string instruments. From the French word "luth" (lute). I f you haven't met them yet, I hope you will soon: Joe Patrick and Gail Gwin. This week and next, we'll be introducing them to you through two feature stories. Mine about Gail's print- making art runs this week in the Touchet Valley Life section (see page 7). Larry Davidson's piece about Joe's instrument shop will be in the Times next week, but I couldn't resist giving you a preview....
More than three years ago, we wrote an editorial reminding Dayton residents to watch what they flush down the toilet or the kitchen sink. The crew at the waste water treatment plant had a problem keeping out items that do not decompose or are toxic enough to make the fish in the Touchet River sick. The facility on the edge of town that processes sanitary waste can handle organic matter that it breaks down with bacteria that eat it. It's a lot like a septic system that way. But when it comes to items such as diapers, tampons, applicators,...