Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1281 - 1305 of 1333
During this year's Days of Real Sport, this writer was told by a worried official that if Walla Walla and Tri-Cities were to end their pari-mutuel horse racing this year or next-a real possibility-the days of thoroughbred racing at the fairgrounds would end. What to do? Reinvent the event? My thinking: Building on the upcoming Days of Real Sport's Centennial, organize-very soon-a Waitsburg 2013 Committee with 50-75 members, representing as many relevant interests, talents, resources and const...
A few weeks ago, the Waitsburg City Council voted unanimously to make a change in the municipal code allowing for a longer permit to use the city's Preston Park. The change was prompted by a request from the Dayton's Farmers Market, which has been interested in using Preston Park for its weekend activities. At the time of the vote, Mayor Walt Gobel said a farmers market here should be called "Wait's Market," a name coined by community activist and former real estate agent Deanne Johnson in honor of the town's founder. Now that Cycle Oregon has...
Dear Editor: I was surprised to see the results of the Columbia County primary election, which showed Prosecuting Attorney Rea Culwell trailing her opponent. It appears that many voters may have voted along party lines instead of voting for the better candidate. As a rural county prosecutor, I understand the demands of the job, which include a lot more than prosecuting criminal cases. While the challenger claims experience, I question whether it's the right experience to be as successful a county prosecutor. You, the voter, should be as...
When the American Cancer Society approached Dayton resident Delphine Bailey about starting up a local Relay for Life event, Bailey was worried she wouldn't be able to rally enough people to make it work. "But I have been totally amazed at the people that have come forward to help with this wonderful event," she said Monday. This weekend, Saturday, Sept. 18, through Sunday, Sept. 19, supporters will rally again, for the third year, at the Dayton Sports Complex to raise cancer awareness and money for the American Cancer Society at the Rel...
When Ski Bluewood co-owner Stan Goodell first began operating the ski resort in 1983, he wanted to raise lift ticket prices. He first contemplated a bump to $14 from $13, but he settled on $13.50. His staff quickly pointed out that resort cashiers would have to stock up on a boatload of quarters with that ticket price. This was before the popularity of credit cards, and many skiers paid in cash. But Goodell had a better idea. Instead of quarters, which quickly melt away in the money-change circuit, he got a boatload of half dollars to give his...
With Concept In Hand, City Can Now Approach Sponsors To Help Build A Museum Gathering Place Where Historic Flour Mill Stood As you may remember, following the fire that destroyed Wait's Mill last September, the Mayor and City Council commissioned the Waitsburg Community Revitalization Committee (WCRC) to explore alternatives for re-use of the mill site. A public meeting was held at which several suggestions were made. A primary theme among these suggestions was to do something to comme...
On Tuesday, Sept. 14, the population of Waitsburg will triple in size, at least for a few days. Normally around 1,250, the addition of about 2,500 bicyclists and support personnel from Cycle Oregon means there will be almost 4,000 people in town. Waitsburg is used to having lots of visitors. The annual Lions' Rib Fest and Days of Real Sport horse racing event in May, and the Commercial Club's salmon barbeque and the Pioneer Fall Festival in September usually bring hundreds, sometimes more than 1,000 folks to town but never this many. Not even...
I am a 77-year-old retiree who lives in Dayton. I am very angry at Sheriff Hessler for promoting an ORV law/ordinance that would allow such unsafe vehicles to run through our streets. I can just see our streets in the summer time just full of these dangerous things. This is not what a Sheriff should be doing. This position should be held by somebody who keeps our streets safe and thinks of the welfare of the citizens. This is especially true for seniors. Where is the respect for older people. This law will drive down the value of pr...
I am very appreciative of the wonderful letter from the Reeves attesting to Clarence Stearn's good character. I would like to add an example of Clarence's support for his community. The Weller Public Library participates in the Fall Festival at the Bruce House with a large book sale, proceeds from which help the Friends of the Library purchase new books. In the past this was a bit arduous as the boxes of books are many and heavy and must be hauled down very steep stairs from the second floor storage room above the library. For the last five...
We could easily hold forth for several pages about the importance of our educators. At a time when school is underway or close to resuming, there probably wouldn't be enough room to describe the challenging task teachers, staff, coaches and volunteers undertake for the next 40 some weeks. Parents in the Touchet Valley place their kids in their hands, knowing instructors will do their utmost to help them learn, grow and engage in meaningful pursuits in the classroom and on the sports fi...
In this edition of the Times, we're bringing our readers a special fall sports preview section. It's an outlook for the coming season during which we hope to cover as many of the Cardinals/Tigers' and Bulldogs' football, volleyball, soccer and cross country events as our small staff can get to. We know we'll get cooperation from the coaches to report the results from the ones we can't attend. We hope to use our new website - www.waitsburgtimes.com - to bring you the scores as soon as possible after the games or events, so you don't have to...
Dear Editor, Ten years ago Clarence Stearns made a choice and a mistake that nearly ruined his life, not to mention being an affront to the country and to its laws. Ten years ago he thought his life was ruined anyway, with back-breaking child support and unfair alimony demands (by which I make no excuses for him, only supply background). He paid with a maximum sentence despite it being a first offense. He was a model prisoner in a minimum security facility. With his debt to society paid, his rehabilitation 100 percent, and despite the u...
Dear Editor, I would like to share with your readers why I support Rea Culwell for reelection as Columbia County Prosecutor. Prior to retiring and relocating to Dayton four years ago, I lived and worked in NC, SC, TX and VA. I was called to serve as a juror in each state. In October 2009, I received a notice to report to serve on the jury at the Superior Court of Columbia County. After the selection process, I was chosen to sit on the jury panel of a criminal trial. This was to be the smallest venue of all my judicial experiences, and I wasn't...
The bottom fell out of my stomach as Bill pulled the combine to a stop and stood from the driver's seat. "Okay, now it's your turn." "Uh," was all I could get out. Bill Blessinger, known around town as "Wild Bill," is a large man, wearing bib overalls on this day. He stood stooping in the cab of the wheat harvester and began edging his way around me, effectively scooting me into the driver's seat. "You'll be fine. It's just like driving a lawn mower," he said. Oh sure, I thought. And then he...
Last month my daughter, Bubs Cerma, and I stopped at Dunham Cellars located at the Walla Walla Municipal Airport. I mentioned to the young man who showed us around that I used to dance there during World War II. I found out later that I hadn't danced with soldiers there, because the Dunham Cellars had been used as hangars for B-17 and B-32 airplanes! In Robert A. Bennett's book, "Walla Walla, A Nice Place to Raise a Family," he writes, "Three days after Pearl Harbor it was announced in Washington, D.C., that Walla Walla was to be one of seven...
Recent city council meetings involved heated debate over a proposed city ordinance that, if passed, would allow unlicensed, uninsured, unsafe, and extremely noisy off-road vehicles (ORVs), including dirt bikes, to be driven on designated streets covering the length of Dayton heading to Eckler Mountain. Furthermore, this ordinance would allow loading and unloading of such four-wheel ORVs and dirt bikes from conveying pick-up trucks and flatbed trailers at any point along the route, be...
When Columbia County Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Jenkins searched Melinda Meske's home at Valley View Court in Dayton on the evening of May 6, he found 14 different colored baggy containers with trace amounts of methamphetamine. He also found one needle, two torches and a metal smoking device - enough evidence of controlled substances to send the 30-year-old woman to jail. It seemed disturbing enough that a mother of three, including an 11-year-old, a two-year-old and a three-year-old would be in possession of the items. But that's not where the st...
On the way home from Walla Walla recently we found ourselves stuck behind a combine on Highway 12. My first instinct was to finda quick way around the slow-moving vehicle so we wouldn't have to travel the rest of the way to Waitsburg at 30 miles per hour. I eased up right behind it, looking for an opportunity to pass it in the oncoming lane. Then I relaxed somewhat, remembering this is harvest time, and I backed off to make sure I didn't make the combine driver feel pressured. It's easy to forget that farmers have little choice in using...
It's 6:30 a.m. Granted, the sun is already angling in over the treetops in our yard off Main Street, but I wouldn't normally be up this early if it weren't for our brand new puppy. I'm wandering around in the dewy light in boxers and a T-shirt, giving him a chance to do his business. It's been two weeks since Lucy, our beloved Airdale, passed away after an accident. Last week, our older dog Snowy, a wire-haired Fox Terrier, succumbed to old age. Two weeks ago, I described how we picked tw...
Dear Editor, To see is to believe. After researching the candidates for the open Walla Walla County Sheriff's position, there is no doubt in my mind that John Turner is the right person for the job. Spend five minutes with John and it becomes very clear that he among any of the candidates has the best credentials and the ability to lead the department into the future. From his work as a gang unit police officer, corporal, senior lead officer, law enforcement attorney, and most recently serving in Iraq investigating and going after...
Dear Editor, I am delighted that John Turner is running for Walla Walla County Sheriff. Both of his opponents currently work for the Walla Walla County Sheriff and have for over 30 years. They've been the captains in charge for the last 12 years. Unless John Turner is elected, I tend to believe it will be more business as usual. Currently the sheriff's officedoes not provide 24/7 coverage, they ran our K-9 program into failure, and there is a huge lack of attention to the rising gang problems our area has been experiencing. As a former police...
