Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1205 - 1229 of 1333
Dear Editor: In regards to the article "The Library According to Su," in last week's paper, the $600 that has been raised toward new computers for the Weller Public Library was not raised by me. The money was raised from the showing of Karen Stanton's film "A Not So Still Life" at the Plaza last summer. Karen came up with the idea and showed her movie, Robbie and Marilyn Johnson donated the use of their movie theater and lots of people donated money when they came to see the film. I was lucky enough to get to see the film, but I had nothing to...
Editor's Note: This is the fourth installment in a series about the work of Clear Path International, which is based on Bainbridge Island and aids survivors of landmine accidents in Asia. Imbert Matthee is one of its cofounders. I f you ever saw the movie "The Killing Fields," you'll remember the devastation and horror brought upon Cambodia during the four-year Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970s. An estimated 2 million people died in the small Southeast Asian nation sandwiched between...
We begin the New Year with an apology. In last week's Sports Year In Review, we neglected to mention two important highlights that should have been listed as top stories 8 and 9 for the 2010 Sports Year. The first is the Dayton High School football team making it to the playoffs after an inspiring season that showed much promise for 2011 and an equally exciting mini-qualifying round in which the Bulldogs came out on top. The team was bumped in the first playoff round by the ever-strong franchise by the same name from Colfax, which narrowly...
Recently the Dayton School Board took action to place a supplemental maintenance and operations levy on the February ballot. When the board approved this measure, I estimated the cost per thousand to be 65 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Due to some miscalculations on my part, the cost is actually estimated to be 45 cents per $1,000. The error occurred when I used the wrong tax table for calculations. When the ballot information was passed on to the county, the error was found and corrected by Chris Miller, Columbia County Assessor. The...
When I first visited Vietnam more than a decade ago, it wasn't immediately obviously to me that this Southeast Asian nation was a war-ravaged country. Certainly, there were crater marks in the landscape as we flew into Hue City, and on our way to Dong Ha, Quang Tri Province, I saw a number of roadside bunkers and watchtowers that stood as a quiet testament to the conflict that had ended a quarter century before I first traveled there. But even the mostly rural province of Quang Tri looked like...
It's been a week since the Times moved back into its historic front office on Main Street. The new quarters still look a bit bare. IT specialist Scott Underwood is still straightening out the computer system, and contractor Ron Smith is still putting the finishing touches on the trim. Otherwise, the brand-spanking-new bullpen (an industry term for the newsroom) is up and running, ready for 2011. Meanwhile, the newspaper collating, stuffing and mailing operation has been moved to the very back of the Mock Building so it can use the alley for...
Lois Mettler invited me to go with Russ and Barb Knopp to The Music Man, produced by the Touchet Valley Arts Council Productions Group. Lois bought the tickets. We were seated in the front row of the Liberty Theater in Dayton. Lois apologized for the location of our seats. Yet I discovered that our seats were the ideal place to watch the performance and be amongst the members of the orchestra. Anyone who knows me will realize how exciting this was for me. I sat by Nicolas Pearson on my left, who played the electric keyboard, and Linda Hermanns...
Editor's Note: This is thesecond in an ocassional seriesabout the work of ClearPath International. KarenMatthee is the organization'scommunications director. In a country like Afghani stan, where many young adults find it tough to get work and disabled young adults find it tougher still, the best hope for landmine accident survivors is to be trained in a skill that generates income. Better yet is for them to use their new skill to help make Afghanistan's countryside safer for others who face...
In the recently released movie, "The Next Three Days," actor Russell Crowe plays a school teacher whose wife is falsely accused of murder, serves time in a Pittsburg jail and faces the prospect of many more years locked away from him and their young son. Desperate to free Laura (played by Elizabeth Banks), John (Crowe) resorts to a well-planned scheme for her escape. Without giving away too much about the plot of this edge-of-your-seat, what-would-you-do drama, suffice it to say that John uses a clever method to open a car door that is also...
Dear Editor and Mr. Paul McCaw, I just read your latest letter to the editor in last week's edition of the Times. While I cannot possibly argue with your theory, since you have obviously devoted much time and study to your thesis, my lingering question to you is WHY? What is the point of your diatribe disparaging the merits of high school sports? What could your motivation be? The kids that participate in football, basketball, track, soccer, baseball, softball, cheerleading, etc., are-if nothing else-making a commitment to something that...
VIENTIANE - I am on a basketball court in the capital of Laos. The shouts of the players and the cheers from onlookers bounce off the walls of the brightly lit gym as we race between baskets, dribbling, passing, shooting - all from our wheelchairs. I am not disabled but the special sports chair I am strapped into levels the playing field for those among us who are physically impaired. In theory. In reality, the field is anything but level. The disabled players who have practiced and competed here at the National Rehabilitation Centre (NRC) a...
In his guest column "The Six Points Of War," published here on Nov. 18, Ells Bartlow opened his narrative with a description of war's casualties. In all, the wars fought by Americans, including the Civil War, resulted in the loss of about 1 million American lives. We commemorate these losses, these personal sacrifices, these tragic ends to often heroic lives every year on Memorial Day and rightly so. What gets overlooked in most discussions about the legacy of war, however, is the toll it takes on civilians. We're not just talking about w...
Dear Editor: Your Dec. 2 edition incorrectly stated that the football team this year was the first Waitsburg team to have an undefeated season. In response, please let me tell you about the undefeated 1967 Waitsburg Cardinals. We not only had a perfect 9-0 record, but we were dominant. In eight of the nine games, the first-string defense shut out the opponent. The only game in which an opponent scored on the first-string defense was a 40-12 victory over DeSales. Our offense was not as good as our defense, but our offense was good. The first...
For the last two and a half years, Greg and I have been diligently working to establish an American Bicycle Association sanctioned BMX track for the Waitsburg community. When we joined this town four years ago, we saw the benefits for our four children and ourselves. Previously, we had become involved with the Walla Walla BMX track and with the other families developing and using that facility. In addition to the exercise and healthy lifestyle surrounding BMX, a local track would perm...
The current Waitsburg City Council has thus far kept a steady hand on "the ship of state," and we support their fiscally prudent management of city affairs. Its members have conducted public hearings on proposed, albeit small, tax increases and solicited public input on other agenda items, plus contributed thoughtfully to other decisions before the city. But we need to respectfully ask the council to take another look at an important item on which they acted, at least in our opinion, too hastily during their last public meeting. On Nov. 1...
Dear Editor, The writer of the Burg opinion piece several weeks ago seemed to be "dissing" the local gridiron program. Who wrote this article? A major klutz whose two left feet wouldn't let him do anything more difficultthan run up the stairs with a handrail? One who never had the chance to hear the roar of the crowd when he sank the basket a second before the game bell? Big time wrong! Paul McCaw was Prescott's quarterback, and a good one, pitched a no hitter that made Touchet cry, and was a guard with a great jump shot. He was also a re...
Last Christmas my daughter Merridy and granddaughter Megan talked about their upcoming trip to Ireland. I became interested as Ireland is a country I have wanted to visit. As time went on, I was encouraged to go along. The first item of business was to update my passport. Megan investigated tours and dates, and it was decided to go with C.I.E. International Tours the first week of September. All flight and tour arrangements were made by Megan and Merridy. I went along for the ride, and what a ri...
Pete's, for years a Walla Walla retailer where many bought their winter gear, went out of business a few weeks ago. Most merchants plan months ahead when it comes to stocking up for holiday and winter sales. Owner Hal White said he simply couldn't hang on until there was certainty about the future of Ski Bluewood, which is scheduled to open this week. But there was another reason he couldn't hang on. Aside from the sluggish recovery, he said Main Street retailers like him are a dying breed, circumvented by manufacturers' direct or indirect...
Dear Editor: Last month the Waitsburg Preschool went on a field trip to the Waitsburg fire station where Fire Chief Jim Callahan, First Captain Brian Callahan, and firefighter Greg McVay gave us our tour. What I thought would be just a fun experience for the kids turned out to be a great learning experience. I have always talked about fire safety with my son and was sure I had covered everything. It wasn't until Brian put on his full firefighter gear, mask and oxygen tank, that I realized how scary a firefighter can look to a child. Jim expl...
Representatives Nealy and Haler argue that electricity from coal is necessary and inexpensive. Coal is the worst of fossil fuels and is quite expensive if externalities are added. We in the United States use much more energy per capita than those in northern Europe, with both areas having a high quality of life. When we purchase and use fossil fuels, we are not paying for externalities: air pollution, global climate change, rising sea level, poorer health. The world has warmed 1°C (1.8° F) since the Industrial Revolution. Because of the lon...
