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  • To The Editor,

    Nov 1, 2012

    With the Nov. 6 elec- tion approaching I feel it is important that each voter examine the qualifications of the candidates and make a well-informed choice. As a taxpayer and resident of Wal- la Walla County for 39years, I, along with the rest of the community, have been fortu- nate to have fiscally respon- sible county commissioners elected to office throughout the years. For example, we presently have three individ- uals in office that have signed both sides of a paycheck and met that obligation with their own money. I feel very strongly that...

  • To The Editor,

    Nov 1, 2012

    This letter will serve as a strong endorsement of Mike Talbott for position 2, Columbia County Com- missioner for the next four years. I have known Mike on a personal level since we were Green Giant Pre-graders back in the mid to late 1960s. After retiring from the WSU faculty in 2007 and moving to Dayton, I have gotten to know Mike again at that personal level, as well as a fellow member of the Columbia County Planning Commission for the last 4 years. I have seen how Mike works with others and how he addresses difficult issues with fairness...

  • To The Editor,

    Nov 1, 2012

    I have had the pleasure of serving with Commissioner Perry Dozier while he was involved in the Washington Association of Wheat Grow- ers. I sat on the Executive Committee of WAWG, Perry was elected as a WAWG State officer. In preparation for a lobbying trip to Wash- ington DC, we both attended the Ambassador Training Program at Princeton where very valuable skills in com- municating with our federal lawmakers was the focus of the program. I have attended lobbying trips with Perry, both in Olympia and Wash- ington, D.C. and have found him to be...

  • To The Editor,

    Nov 1, 2012

    I've known Perry my en- tire life and believe he has the right financial tools to help oversee the county's $55 mil- lion budget. The agriculture economy is very cyclical and planning for the future is critical for sustaining your business. My background in agriculture and commercial banking, 23 years, allow me to have an understanding of budgetary needs. Perry has held strong at keeping the county's current expense reserves at 25 percent, which is used for unexpected emer- gencies. For example, if one case of Tuberculosis happens in Walla...

  • Nettles Wants To Fight For Working Families

    Nov 1, 2012

    Why am I running for State Senate? Throughout my life I have always been taught that when something is broken one should try to fix it. As a state employee I have seen things become more and more broken costing the working family more and more. The cur- rent way of doing in busi- ness in Olympia must be changed. My opponent has shown time and time again that he only has his eye on the people at the top and pays less and less attention to the little guy. The work- ing family, the actual small bus...

  • Closing The Gap Reopens Park

    Nov 1, 2012

    A t a recent Dayton City Council meeting, skateboarder Michael Milan described the city's skate park facility as a "second home." "I think the skate park is a good place where kids can go and relax," he said, explaining that he "went there all the time." Now, thanks to the thoughtful action of the Dayton City Council and involvement of the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, Milan and at least a dozen other kids who enjoy the park can return there. We want to applaud the council, law enforcement representa- tives and the community for coming toge...

  • Political Cartoon

    Nov 1, 2012

  • To The Editor,

    Oct 25, 2012

    Chris Blackman is best candidate for Commissioner I would like to express my support for Chris Blackman's campaign to become County Commissioner for District #2 and give my reasons why: Chris has a diverse back- ground and education. When I first met her she was em- ployed by Washington State Division of Children's Ser- vices, more commonly referred to as Child Protective Services. She handled everything from families in poverty to families suffering from abuse or drug addiction. I was immediately impressed with her tenacity, energy, and...

  • Dear Editor:

    Oct 25, 2012

    When I first met Mike Talbott some 35 years ago, he impressed me with his honesty and dedication to his job. He is well read and keeps on business developments. He also has the ability to listen and hears and understands what people say to him .He keeps up with the latest world and regional events so he is able to make decisions whether it be for his successful farm, the downtown busi- ness he and his wife operated for ten years, or the other important positions he has held like the Dayton School Board, County Planning Commission or the...

  • To The Editor,

    Oct 25, 2012

    For decades, Walla Walla County has been an agricultural economic based community and history has shown when agriculture is successful, the rest of our community benefits by cir- culating those dollars, over and over. Agriculture, in the broad sense, is the third highest employer in Walla Walla County and the second larg- est employer in Washington State. It is logical that the Walla Walla County Board of Com- missioners should have a member that is not only acutely aware of the issues relating to that specific eco- nomic base in our...

  • To the Editor,

    Oct 25, 2012

    I recently listened to Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers talk about how the Afford- able Healthcare Act, also known as Obamacare, has increased health insurance rates. This isn't fair since it doesn't fully kick in until 2014. The fact is health insur- ance rates had been increasing annually prior to The Af- fordable Healthcare Act. My premiums were going up 15 percent or more every year for years and 39 percent the last year before I moved to Washington where I couldn't get health insurance at all because of a pre-existing condition! McMorris...

  • To the Editor,

    Oct 25, 2012

    If you haven't watched the only televised debate that Rep. Cathy McMor- ris Rodgers would partici- pate in with Rich Cowan, I suggest you watch it on the internet: video.ksps.org/ video/2288981922 It is a shame that Rep. McMorris Rodgers was un- willing to do a debate in every one of her counties, as Mr. Cowan requested, in- stead of only two debates in Spokane. If she had debated in Walla Walla, I would have asked her why she signed a pledge of allegiance to Gro- ver Norquist, a pledge that many other Congresspeople who signed it have ended...

  • To the Editor,

    Oct 25, 2012

    It's time to send someone to Congress from the 5th District who has richer and more varied life experience than the incum- bent, who is a career politician. Rich earned the rank of Eagle Scout in his youth and qualified for a pilot's license in high school. Rich Cowan worked his way through WSU by living in the Fire Station and working as a fireman and EMT. After receiving his BA and MS, he worked for KHQ-TV in Spokane for ten years. Then, in 1990 he took a big risk by starting the film production company North x Northwest which has made over...

  • Letter to the Editor:

    Oct 25, 2012

    A couple of weeks ago, about 30 representatives from charitable foundations in several states came to Dayton for a presentation by community leaders. The presentation was about how Dayton has transformed its downtown in the past 25 years. The bottom line in the presentation was that we were successful because the entities and agencies in our community were able to work together and get the funding necessary to com- plete this transformation. As budgets get squeezed, it will be important that we continue to work together to keep our county...

  • To The Editor,

    Oct 25, 2012

    I wasn't surprised to learn the Union-Bulletin's en- dorsement of Johnson, Dozier, and Walsh. After all, the U-B rarely endorses anyone other than the incumbent. But I continue to be disappointed with the U-B's lack of fairness or actual reporting of the candidates' strengths. The U-B indicated that Walsh's opponent, Mary Ruth Edwards, had "no pub- lic service" yet she is a public school teacher and served this country as a Marine. The U-B criticized Mark Spinks for wanting to micromanage the budget, yet couldn't have the arrest of former...

  • Hewitt Has A Long Business Background

    Oct 25, 2012

    Biography of Sen. Mike Hewitt Elected to the state Senate in 2000, 2004 and 2008, Senator Mike Hewitt rep- resents Washington's 16th Legislative District, a com- munity he has been connected to for a lifetime. Senator Hewitt's peers elected him to serve as Senate Republican Leader in 2005, a position he has held since that time. Prior to serving as leader Hewitt served as Senate Republi- can Whip, Majority Whip and Republican Assistant Whip. Senator Hewitt serves on several standing Senate...

  • Fear Not

    Oct 25, 2012

    Trick-or-treaters notwithstanding, these are scary times for some of our households. As the Times reported last week, more families are showing up at the local food bank needing basic support. Ac- cording to board members who run the Waitsburg Resource Center, 10 more families are stopping by regularly these days compared to the same period last year. That brings the number of neighbor families in need to 65, for a total of 157 people in Waitsburg alone. In Dayton, the local food bank puts its number of clients there at 160 per month. There...

  • Political Cartoon

    Oct 25, 2012

  • CORRECTION

    Oct 18, 2012

    In the photo accompany- ing the story "Bulldogs take Down Jaguars In Three" in the Oct. 11 issue of The Times, a Bulldog player was misidentified. She is Court- ney Mings....

  • MEMORIALS

    Oct 18, 2012

    Waitsburg Memorial Scholarship Fund In Memory Of Elmer Hays From: Dorne and Dorothy Hall Waitsburg Ambulance Service Memorials In Memory of Elmer Hays From: Luella Thompson, Dale & Ginny Linklater, Milan Lin- klater, Janet & Doug Beverly, Lois & Bill Cookston, Bill Dawes, Paula & Glenn LeVan, Dorothy Gehrke, Diana & Don Elder, Bob & Carol Hays, John & Susan Segraves and Maybelle Johanson...

  • To The Editor,

    Oct 18, 2012

    Mike Talbott cares about our community and he has dem­onstrated his concern through his many years, past and pres­ent of community service and involvement. His work experi­ence and board leadership has given him the tools to serve us extremely well as County Com­missioner. Mike, a fiscally conservative Republican has served on the Dayton School Board for 17 years where he was chairman of the board several times. He has owned and operated a success­ful farming operation for many years and represented many of us farmers and landowners on the Colu...

  • To The Editor,

    Oct 18, 2012

    Chris Blackman is by all comparisons the right choice for Walla Walla Coun­ty Commissioner District 2. Throughout her 20 plus years of public service to our community she has always put the right issues in front. These are the issues that directly impact our families and the issues I know Chris Blackman will fight for. She is an independent thinker who is not afraid to question the status quo, especially when it is an injustice to oth­ers. Smart thinking is crucial if Walla Walla County wants to remain fiscally sound, while prioritizing w...

  • Dear Editor,

    Oct 18, 2012

    I am writing to commend the actions of a Starbuck resi­dent, Mr. Jack Fletcher. I was tooling along yesterday on Highway 261 on my way to see Palouse Falls when the rod to my gray water holding tank (came) loose, falling to the road surface. I was calling my insur­ance company for roadside assistance when Mr. Fletcher came out of his house to give me a helping hand. He worked for public works in Walla Walla for years and had the necessary jocks and skill to reattach and secure my rod so I could con­tinue on my merry way. What a good Sa...

  • To The Editor,

    Oct 18, 2012

    Please join me in supporting and voting for Mike Talbott for Columbia County Com­missioner. Having served on numerous boards and local committees over the years, including numerous terms on Dayton's School Board, gives Mike a good and broad per­spective of the needs and issues facing Columbia County. In these times of limited revenue he will bring new ideas for maximizing our assets and re­sources. Mike is a good listener and will take all the concerns of all into his decision-making. He is able, capable and willing to address and deal with th...

  • To The Editor,

    Oct 18, 2012

    I am writing in support of Mike Talbott's bid to be elected for Position 2 of the Colum- bia County Commissioners. As manager of the Columbia County Grain Growers, I have worked with Mike on the Board of Directors of the Grain Growers since 2006, where he recently completed his last term as president of the association. While Mike was on the board, the Grain Growers completed two major capital projects which required extensive con- sideration by the board. Mike was involved in prioritizing selected capital improvements based on merit and...

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