Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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Classic red barns stand out against winter blue skies and white dashes of snow. Soon, they will be complemented with lush greens of an eastern Washington spring....
DAYTON—Dr. Kyle Terry, Medical Chief of Staff at Dayton General Hospital, touched briefly on vaccine distribution and safety protocols for patients and staff when he spoke to the hospital board of commissioners on Dec. 17. Terry said COVID-19 vaccines would be distributed according to population numbers. With 2-percent of the national population, the state of Washington State will receive 2-percent of the vaccine. He thought Walla Walla County would receive the first distribution of the Pfizer v...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met on December 16 for a regular meeting. The board discussed an inter-fund loan and reviewed budget amendments. The Council also held the final public hearing for the 2021 City Budget. At the November 2020 meeting, the City Council discussed a potential second round of business grants to use the remaining amount of the CARES Act funding the city received. Due to time constraints, it was decided to use the money for infrastructure purposes, focusing on w...
DAYTON—The Dayton Chamber of Commerce has announced the annual award banquet’s cancellation because of COVID-19 restrictions. However, the Chamber is accepting nominations for the Dayton Chamber of Commerce 2020 Community Choice Awards. “It is especially important that we still pay tribute to the exceptional businesses, organizations, and citizens in our community who have gone above and beyond in 2020.” To make a nomination, fill out the electronic form found on the Dayton Chamber website...
DAYTON-This year has been challenging for us all, especially many of the kids served by The Club. To help spread some joy, The Club's Board of Directors and staff hatched a plan to provide holiday gift bags to our members. What happened next is a shining example of the giving nature of our community. Kiwanis Club of Dayton, due in part to a shared board/club member, came up with an idea to provide a little something to The Club's kids while simultaneously supporting local business. The idea:...
DAYTON—Washington State Arts Council (ArtsWa) recently awarded a $5,000 support grant to the Touchet Valley Arts Council (TVAC) owner, and operator of Dayton’s historic Liberty Theater. ArtsWA, in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Commerce, made the CARES relief funding available to Washington State arts and cultural organizations impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The review panel consisting of ArtsWA staff, ArtsWA commissioners, and community members evaluated applications based on financial need, arts and cultural pro...
Congratulations to the 2020 Festival of Trees winners! First prize: Blush Salon People’s Choice: The Burger Hut Waitsburg FFA would like to thank all of their participants for decorating trees and sharing the holiday cheer with Main Street Waitsburg. Trees will be up through the remainder of the holiday....
WALLA WALLA—The Blue Mountain Land Trust is thrilled to announce The Blues V, the next volume of The Blues collection of photo books. The Blues V edition features dramatic landscapes of the John Day River Basin by Bill Rodgers and Burien photographer Mark Hussein. This volume contains 30 images of mountains, canyons, rivers, prairies, and the stunning John Day Formation. The photo book is available to preorder at www.bmlt.org and will be shipping in late-January, just in time for V...
PRESCOTT—The Prescott School Board met on December 17 for a regular meeting. A brief update from the Associated Student Body (ASB) Co-Advisor Bob Young, thanking the administration for their continued support of the ASB and the students. Superintendent Justin Bradford said that more than 60 students attended a virtual hot cocoa party. Bradford said the kids were happy to see their teachers and thanked staff for making the event happen. He said they have been having some student engagement p...
WALLA WALLA— On Nov. 19, a cohort of 15 participants graduated from Mercy Corps Northwest’s Micro-Business Assistance (MBA) Program, which offers support for entrepreneurs looking to start or grow a small business. The MBA program has now served 50 entrepreneurs in Walla Walla and has disbursed a total of $200,000 in grants over the last two years. The program is available to business owners and entrepreneurs in Walla Walla and Columbia Counties and the City of Milton Freewater. It provides grants, loans, and education to new and existing bus...
OLYMPIA—The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges awarded nearly $5 million in federal CARES Act dollars to community and technical colleges across the state as they work to restore workforce-related programs affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The one-time grants come from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds provided by the CARES Act. Workforce programs, in which 48% of the community and technical college system’s approximately 356,000 students were enrolled in the 2019-20 school year, were signi...
Letter to the editor My name is Sharon Eaton, and I do not like to cause problems or arguments. However, there was an incident at the Dayton Senior Center on Dec. 15 that has caused me concern. Because of COVID-19, we are not going into the Senior Center Building. We are able to pick up meals safely on Tuesday and Thursday thanks to Orinda Woods and other volunteers. (Most of whom are over 65.) The senior citizens do this by driving up in their cars and are given a meal by volunteers- all wearing masks. When we pulled up, on Dec. 15, we...
I had the nicest surprise last week. UPS had a Christmas mix-up and delivered a package for me to the wrong address, here in Waitsburg. The lovely person who received it took it to the Post Office so I could be found. I was delighted when I got a call from Sarah at the P.O. telling me my package was waiting for me there. Thank you, Sarah and a BIG thank you to the person who dropped my Cougar Gold cheese off at the Post Office. I love our little town! Kate Hockersmith...
December 14 A woman attempted to mail an illegal controlled substance to her incarcerated boyfriend. Walla Walla Deputies recovered a trailer discovered stolen out of Oregon. Walla Walla County December 15 Residence burglarized while resident is away. Prescott Shop window damaged. Touchet Male arrested for malicious mischief, DWLS 3rd and attempted vehicle prowl. Walla Walla County December 17 A motor vehicle theft was reported. Walla Walla County Deputies stopped a vehicle and the State Patrol took over DUI investigation. Waitsburg December...
Dear Editor, We at the Waitsburg Resource Center (the Food Bank) are so grateful for the donations made during this challenging 2020 year of the pandemic. As a non-profit we also thank all who volunteer (20+) at the WRC. Each month the WRC serves about 100-150 neighbors in Waitsburg and Prescott, distributing over a ton of food each month. With the generous monetary donations received, we purchase other food and hygiene supplies as needed. The support from community members, businesses, youth gr...
Verla Ernestine Rouse, age 102, passed away peacefully at home in Dayton, Washington on December 10, 2020. She was born on October 17, 1918 on Angel Ridge out of Peck, Idaho, the youngest of five children born to George Oren Stevens and Julia Matilda Johnson. She graduated from high school in Kooskia, Idaho in 1939 and attended beauty school in Waterloo, Iowa. Verla married Joseph Edward Rouse on December 17, 1941 in Milton-Freewater, Oregon. They had two children, Audrey Lynn Rouse (1944) and W...
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced on Dec. 10, 2020, a preliminary plan for distributing COVID-19 vaccinations it will implement once the Food and Drug Administration issues an emergency use authorization for a vaccine. VA has worked in close coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Operation Warp Speed to plan for COVID-19 vaccination of VA staff and Veterans. VA will first provide vaccinations to front-line VA health care workers and Veterans residing in long-term care units i...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg School Board met on December 17, 2020, for a regularly scheduled meeting. Chairman Ross Hamann announced that he would not be running for another term after 18 years of serving on the board. He stated that he is looking forward to spending time with his family, especially his grandkids, and that being on the board for nearly 20 years has been a great joy. The board elected Pam Chapman as the new Board Chair. Secondary school Principal Stephanie Wooderchak reported a...
DAYTON – Santa, superspreader of joy, was spotted driving down Main Street in Dayton over the weekend. It's rumored that he has a long list of deliveries come Christmas Eve, he is going to need extra cookies to keep up. Don't forget to leave the reindeer a carrot or two!...
DAYTON—The Port of Columbia held the annual Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) stakeholders’ meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 16. The forum gives community stakeholders a chance to discuss projects they are involved in and provide input into the five and ten-year CEDS project list. Each year, at the end of the meeting, stakeholders are asked to prioritize economic development projects for the community. Fifty-seven stakeholders attended last week’s CEDS meeting and voted for the proje...
With last week’s win over the Washington Football Team, the Seahawks have secured a place in the NFL Playoffs. Instead of going over this week’s matchup with the Rams, I thought I’d go through the various playoff scenarios for Seattle instead. The other teams to keep an eye on the next couple of weeks are the Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Let’s start with the best case for Seattle. That would be clinching the #1 seed in the playoffs. For that to happen, Seattle has to...
Recent declines in salmon and steelhead survival across the Pacific Basin have been documented since approximately 2013 and affecting all stocks in dammed and undammed systems. An ocean "dead zone," or hypoxic, warm water mass, heavy with algae blooms, plays a significant role in the ocean rearing component of these fishes' life history. Declines in winter steelhead populations spurred a need for emergency adaptive management among the coastal fisheries in Washington's Olympic Peninsula....
Before visiting Greg Petersen at his Dayton home, I'd not heard the term "Antiquarian Horologist." But that's what's on his calling card. Horology - from the Greek "hora," meaning time - is the study and measurement of just that. Greg is a man who keeps the measure of time on antique mechanical clocks. Entering his home was like stepping back in time. Looking around in awe, I asked Petersen how many clocks he had. "Oh, about 50 or 60, somewhere in there," he answered. The clocks in his charming...
DAYTON—At the Dayton City Council meeting on Dec. 16, 2020, Planning and Community Development Director Meagan Hayes discussed progress by the Affordable Housing Commission. The Commission is reviewing multi-family tax exemptions, which could stimulate the construction of new or existing multi-family housing. The commission is also in the process of developing a marketing campaign. The Dayton Planning Commission is working on docketing items and will be opening the Subdivision Code. Hayes s...
I assume I’m not the only one ready to bid good riddance to 2020, am I? Ever the optimist, I am cautiously hopeful that 2021 will be a good or at least better year. And since it was an unusual year, I am going to do something unusual for me. I am going to be reflective for a change. Although maybe it’s just a way to reinforce 2020 is over! Daniel and I reconciled, then he moved here in March. This adjustment to my 10-year single life coincided with the pandemic and lock-down. Togetherness sud...
