Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1180 - 1204 of 1333
Two weeks ago, I wrote about our pleasant surprise when we learned that the Times was a business with two buildings. We bought the company because we wanted to run the newspaper, but we also wanted to open a coffee shop on Main Street. At first, I thought the Times building at 139 Main would be the best place for an espresso bar, but the more I considered it, the more I realized we'd be much better off consolidating our news offices in a renovated front office and making the Mock building next...
Horseracing in the Touchet Valley and Walla Walla was dealt a blow last week when the Washington State Horseracing Commission announced it would give only six racing days to the entire Class C circuit of four eastern Washington tracks and that it will give all of them to Sun Downs in Kennewick. However, this setback, which doesn't come as a complete surprise, need not spell the end of a fine tradition here. In fact, we feel it can be a turning point for the sport. The Waitsburg Days of Real Sport board has already decided that their annual...
This is in response to Verna Foley's recent letter to the editor. I have been on city council for the town of Starbuck since 1996. I am also the certifi ed wastewater operator for the town. I do this voluntarily. Foley's letter to the editor was full of false statements. Foley implied that she should not be charged a sewer dump fee at the trailer park she and Mayor Darcy Linklater own because she is already being charged at a rate above what other residents and businesses pay. This is not true. Their overall bill is higher because their usage...
A firefighter's full bunker gear (the boots, pants, coat and helmet), mask and selfcontained breathing apparatus weigh close to 75 pounds. The boots are big, heavy and tough, making you feel as though your feet have been encased in rubber-coated cement blocks. The thick pants are nearly inflexible, like wearing rubber shields. The helmet itself weighs several pounds and is loaded with attachments. And the whole get-up is hotter than an attic in the summertime. A firefighter's duty, however, is...
Far be it for us to suggest how local authorities should enforce the law. But we've had a chance to observe some patterns and activities in Columbia County, intentional or unintentional, which raise questions about fairness. Let's begin with Ski Bluewood. Along Fourth Street in Dayton and the North Touchet Road in the county, an unusually large number of patrols were seen pulling over motorists for speeding violations. According to reports, two sheriff's office deputies were along the route in the mountains and two patrols from the U.S. Forest...
"The Poultry Plungers" in The Times photos two weeks ago were not identified in correct order. Vickie Hamann was the woman jumping into the water holding her nose. Joanna Lanning was third in line next to Patty Hazelwood. The Times apologizes for its error....
I n response to the letter to the editor submitted last week by Darver Tackle owner Verna Foley, I would like to point out a few important facts that she does not appear to fully understand. I am aware the city council approved an RV park built on McNeil Street, but the RV dump on this property is what is in question. It was not approved by city council, and we have found no documentation in the city minutes that it was ever discussed. The dump was put in after the RV Park was built and, to my knowledge, was not inspected by any approved...
The first time we drove into Waitsburg, I knew there was something missing on Main Street. Someone in Walla Walla had recommended the Whoop ' Em Up Hollow Café for dinner, and once downtown, we discovered Waitsburg also had a charming hardware store, a great bar, a friendly pub and even a homegrown brewery. But we could find no place to get espresso. Other than John and Marilyn Stellwagen's table at the Waitsburg Hardware and Mercantile, there was no place to get together during the day, there...
Since we took over the Times in late 2009, we've made a number of changes to your newspaper. We hope you enjoy the new look, content and services we provide. Soon, our offerings will include reproduction services and retail office supplies in our renovated historic office on Main Street in Waitsburg. As a newspaper team, we truly enjoy putting together the Times every week because we get lots of encouragement from you, our readers. This is one of the reasons why it saddens us to bring you some bad news with regards to the long-term future of th...
Dear Editor: Starbuck City Council members Ruth Shearer and Fred White have decided that I should have sewer rates raised on the three-space McNeil RV Park and Dump. Ruth leads you to believe that Darver put this RV park and dump in secretly or underhandedly. The facts are that former Mayor Dianne Lusk was working for Darver Tackle and was very much aware and informed on the progress of the McNeil Park, as was the council. Darver asked Clark Posey, Columbia County planner, to lead me through this step by step just so I wouldn't be doing...
A lthough the recent article appearing in the Times, "Eager Beavers Worry Hofers," was written with obvious journalistic skill, I take exception to the headline and leading sentence: "Although Cindy Hofer loves the beavers who visit the family farm on the banks of Coppei Creek, she gets nervous when they settle in." It would be more accurate to say that the beavers cause little or no uneasiness. In fact I enjoy their antics and feel honored to live so close to their chosen habitat. My actual...
The Waitsburg City Council last Wednesday listened to comments during a hearing about the BMX track proposal initiated by Tawnya and Greg McVey. Late last year, the council voted to deny the use of up to five acres of city-owned land to site the track, and it did so again on Wednesday night, after its members heard brought up some old and some new concerns about the land-use proposal. We welcome the council's thoughtful effort to explore the possibility of this youth activity and the research several members did to see if it would be viable...
I was reading about life "being simple" in Dayton in 1902 from a booklet printed in 2002 celebrating Grace Episcopal Church's centennial. "Only 14 percent of the homes in the entire country had a bathtub," it read. I noticed there was no mention of pianos in the homes, but that's what was on my mind. I took piano lessons in the '20s and '30s. It occurred to me that many of my friends or acquaintances did have pianos as well as my family. That was during the Depression. I have felt blessed that my parents kept paying for my lessons, and I...
Editor's Note: This is the fifth and last installment about the work of Clear Path International. Imbert Matthee is one of the organization's co-founders. Its mission is to offer medical and socio-economic aid to survivors of land mine accidents. T he twenty men at the Care Villa may no longer be able to walk, see or eat their food without help. But they still have their voices and they are always eager to sing for any visitors to the Mae La refugee camp on the border between Thailand and...
A few weeks ago, Dayton High School senior Davy Philips was sitting behind a table in the entrance to the gym during one of the Bulldogs' evening basketball games. He had a number of silent auction items laid out for patrons to bid on, including a generously donated season's pass to Ski Bluewood. Philips' goal was to raise funds for Dayton's fifthgrade ski program run by teacher John Lindsey. And he succeeded, bringing in about $1,000 that, if all goes as planned, may be matched by the Pepsi Co. Last fall, a Waitsburg High School senior, Megan...
John Turner, the new Walla Walla County Sheriff, got off to a running start last week when he formally introduced his new team to the media and to area law enforcement colleagues, including newly re-elected Columbia County Sheriff Walt Hessler. The team includes Undersheriff Eddie Freyer, Operations Captain Barry Blackman and Jail Superintendent Keilen Harmon. Turner and his team were sworn in the week before, but at the time he was presented with little opportunity to outline his vision for the office. On Friday, he released more details...
A sk any third grade boy how many types of guns they know, and you'll get an impressive list. Broaden the category to war weapons, and you'll also be amazed. But ask them how many war heroes they have heard of, and you'll probably get a blank stare. And it will shock you that while war and weaponry are "cool" to them, they have no respect for the people that voluntarily man, dodge, and risk getting hit by these weapons on a battlefield halfway around the world, protecting us from the danger they...
I am proud of America, and I believe that is a good way to express my patriotic role as a young United States citizen. I am only in eighth grade, and as I grow up I am sure I will feel even more proud of my country. To be a patriot is to love your country and support its authority that is something we all should do. I am proud of America for what we have accomplished and what we still can do in the future. I believe in supporting our troops and I want to try to do whatever I can to help them. They are fighting to keep us free and I am grateful...
We want to congratulate Waitsburg High School freshman Meara Baker for winning the prestigious Americanism essay contest from the American Legion Auxiliary. Baker's essay, which broadly discusses what she feels her patriotic duties are as a U. S. citizen, was chosen by the organization from among about 10,000 entries in the western region. It should be noted that she became the second winner in a row from the Waitsburg School District. Last year, Emma Philbrook, who was in 6th grade at the time, won the same award for her essay encouraging her...
