Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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Last time we checked, the city of Dayton contained about 2,700 souls. They make up a large portion of the total population of Columbia County, which stands at around 4,200. The city and county each has its own legislative body, and each oversees important services for its constituents. Dayton residents get many services from both entities. And some services overlap. Many years ago, Dayton had its own police department. After much discussion and negotiation, some of it very con- tentious, the police department was disbanded and the city...
Over Christmas break, my grandma got something in the mail. It was a catalogue. A seed catalogue, to be more specific. It wasn't terribly glossy, and it wasn't a famous sup- plier. But boy, that thing was thick. It had a beautifully illustrated cover, a water- color painting of flowers, herbs, and vegetables. And inside, it had for sale more flower, herb, and vegetable seeds than I knew existed; each described concisely and accompanied by a fullcolor picture. Oca. Quinoa. Purple-skinned tomatoes. Fifty-pound squash shaped like pink bananas. I,...
High School athletics are a funny thing. In high school, I was more involved with band and the occasional theater production than I was with sports. Plus, golf was my sport and it's not as geared toward spectators as basket- ball, football or volleyball at the high school level. In towns like Waitsburg, Dayton and Prescott, high school sports are important because we don't have quite as much going on every night like we would in a bigger city like Walla Walla. Don't get me wrong, we have a lot...
New York has the Knicks and LA has the Lakers. Seattle hashellip;well, hopefully the Sonics soon. Here in the Touchet Valley we have the Waits- burg-Prescott Cardinals and the Dayton Bulldogs. This week, the Lady Bulldog and Lady Cardinal basketball teams are in the playoffs. Several WP wrestlers have moved on to regional tournaments. Rooting for them all gives us a chance to be fans of the hometown team, even if we don't live in NY or LA or Seattle. In a three-part column in The Times last month, sports reporter Dan Groom addressed the...
Whoo! January's almost over and I still can't remem- ber what year it is. Yessir, February officially begins this Friday. Just an- other number to mess up on essay headings. That makes this Saturday Groundhog Day. Or Candle- mas, to some people. Or, for a certain girl I know, corona- tion day. Hannah Grant is (like me) a sophomore at Waitsburg High School who is (like me) active in Leo's Club and Knowledge Bowl and (also like me) expects to be recruited into the National Honor Society this February. Unlike me, however, she is also active in...
We know the benefits of getting enough sleep. And we have all heard the praises of getting enough exercise. But we never talk about breaks. Sure, getting out of the house is nice, but none of us really have the time to sleep and exercise, let alone take a vacation. Then there's the money. Oh, the money. There never seems to be enough of it for our day- to-day operation, let alone enough to whisk away to an exotic locale where an at- tractive and attentive service staff brings bottomless gin and...
Local taxpayers long ago agreed to provide support for Dayton's hospital and other local healthcare ser- vices through the formation of the Columbia County Hospital District, which includes the Waitsburg area, as well as all of Columbia County. A portion of the taxes paid by each property owner in the district goes to support local healthcare. However, for the management and directors of what is commonly known as the Columbia County Health system, the ultimate goal has been to maintain a break-even operat- ing margin. That means that the...
Having been in band at Waitsburg’s Preston Hall for two years, my son Niko knows what it takes to get ready for performances. But his most recent “gig” was a bit different. Niko, who plays guitar in jazz band at Bainbridge High School, along with three dozen of his fellow band members, received a surprise last-minute invita- tion to a special event last week. How last-minute? Let’s just say they had a mere five days to practice four pieces, three of which were original arrangements of songs t...
The Coalition for Youth and Families ( CYF) in Dayton, of which I am a member, discussed Dayton School District’s drug and alcohol policy during its meeting last week. The policy is being solidified for students who end up in trouble for the use, possession or distribution of drugs or alcohol. The policy is still in prog- ress, and it aims to get students “into the system” – not necessarily with the intent to criminalize them, but to help the school and local authorities reach out and help st...
Sometimes it can be troubling when a local name is almost better known as a fine wine label than it is as the Native American tribe it recalls. But most residents of the Touchet River Valley know that "Cayuse" refers to the people who once roamed the hills now planted in wheat and peas, and into the Blue Mountains beyond. Located largely between the Columbia and Snake rivers, Cayuse villages and territory were as far as the Upper Grande Ronde and as close as the Tucannon and Touchet rivers them- selves. Waitsburg was pretty much smack in the...
In Prescott Rallies For Family After Fire story in the Jan. 10 issue, the phone number to find out the family's needs was listed incorrectly. The number should have read 509-629-0567....
Chris Korsmo, CEO of the League of Education Voters called for a "Sputnik moment" to bring Washington policymakers together to create ample, equitable, and stable funding solutions for public education. OLYMPIA - Chris Korsmo, CEO of the League of Education Voters, called today for a "Sputnik moment" to bring Washington policymakers together to create ample, equitable, and stable fund- ing solutions for public education in Washington State. "After the Soviet Union beat the United States into space with the Sputnik satellite, America responded...
The lobby of the theater was cold despite being full of bodies in a line that snaked around on the concrete floors, trembling with anticipation almost in unison. The open call for AMC’s traveling talent show started at 9 a.m. at the Gesa Power House Theatre in Walla Walla. By the time I was all checked in and getting in line – about 9:15 – I had a numbered wristband, 97, and the crowd was still growing behind me. The camera crew seemed larger than life. A man wield- ing a massive and heavy...
Those of us who help make newspapers spend a lot of our time observing what the rest of you are doing. We're like spies, or voyeurs. And, best of all, we get paid for it. As a newspaper editor, I try to make sure that, when we report those observations as "news", we are as objec- tive and unbiased as we can be. When you read a news story, you should expect a clear and concise description of what happened, without the writer's opinions and biases seeping in. But all of this objectiv- ity and...
By necessity, the economies of rural communities rely on entrepreneurs running small businesses. They might be farmers, restaurant owners, store owners or other service providers. Even newspapers qualify. Boeing and Microsoft don't have operations in the Touchet Valley, so small businesses provide the employ- ment base for our towns. When Blue Mountain Station completes its first build- ing later this year in Dayton, it will provide a home for five new small food-processing businesses. Most of the owners of those businesses are newcomers who...
Dear Editor: Years ago a co-worker completed a master's degree, earning a boost on the pay scale-and into the next higher tax bracket. After receiving his next paycheck (with less take-home) he commented he wasn't sure he could afford many more raises like that. Hearing the President's praise of legislation passed to "reduce the deficit" reminded me of that incident. A CBS news report stated that piece of legislation contained $70 billion of tax loopholes, including for rum, wind energy, race car owners, and Hollywood movie produc- ers. (These...
I n 2007, a young man with lots of optimism and no experi- ence started a newspaper called Blue Mountain News. (OK, I was already old enough to join AARP, but you're as young as you feel. And being optimistic and mostly clueless made me feel younger.) Blue Mountain News lasted five years and it was great fun to produce. And for the most part it was well received. It definitely gave me lots of good ex- perience. I decided to start BMN, in part, because I love newspapers. I've read them enthusi-...
During a visit to The Times office this week, State Rep- resentatives Maureen Walsh and Terry Nealey talked about the three-month legislative session which be- gins Monday in Olympia. In a wide-ranging discussion, the two touched on many of the issues they'll be facing between now and early April. Nealey pointed out that the legislature goes in facing a budget shortfall of about $1 billion. This compares to a nearly $5 billion dollar hole the legislature faced entering last year's session. "It's 'only' $1 billion," Nealey and Walsh both joked....
The calendar in the Dec. 27 issue stated incorrect show dates for "Nunsense II." The show will take place on Jan. 18-20 and Jan. 25-27....
