Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 245 - 269 of 997
WAITSBURG - At the Waitsburg School Board's October meeting, Super- intendent Carol Clarke re- ported the district had 13.1 students over the 270 enroll- ment the district budgeted for 2013/14. At November's meeting Clarke reported that number had taken a significant drop, with 8.5 full time equiva- lent students having left the district. Clarke is also aware of another family that is planning to leave before Christmas. Clarke noted that afford- able housing and employ- ment opportunities were...
WAITSBURG - Last week's Commu- nity Food Drive - sponsored by the local Leo and Lions clubs - brought in a total of 1,267 pounds of food, which filled the shelves of the Waitsburg Resource Center. That is 110 pounds more than what was collected in the 2012 drive. At 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Waitsburg High Students met at the school parking lot and divided by class to prepare for the food drive competition. The town was divided into sections and each class was accompanied by a Lion's member who...
DAYTON - Dayton Chamber of Commerce Execu- tive Director Brad McMasters announced his resignation last week. He will leave his position no later than January 15, 2014. In an email to chamber board members, McMasters said he is moving to a new home near College Place, and hopes to re-enter the education field. "Sometimes our lives lead us in directions we didn't necessarily expect," he said. "That has certainly been the case for me in the past few years." Chamber Assistant Linze Purcell, who...
DAYTON - Dayton na- tive and former Seneca ex- ecutive Duane Dunlap was named "Citizen of the Year" by the Dayton Chamber of Commerce last week at its 67th annual awards banquet. The Chamber also awarded courthouse maintenance supervisor Dave Finney as employee of the year, the Weinhard Hotel as Busi- ness of the Year and Dayton High senior Carlos Oribio as Youth Citizen of the Year. Dunlap has been a long- time volunteer as a board member of the Dayton Historic Depot and has led the effort to...
WAITSBURG - Fewer than 20 people attended a community forum Tuesday night at Waitsburg Elementary School - with only four of those not on the district payroll. The gathering was held to solicit input from community members regarding the amount of sup- port the Waitsburg School Board will seek from taxpayers to meet maintenance and operations needs as well as fund future capital expenditures. School Superintendent Dr. Carol Clarke opened by sharing some of the issues Waitsburg schools are...
PRESCOTT - Prelimi- nary results from last week's election show the Prescott Pool Maintenance and Op- erations Levy passing by 64% - a few points above the required 60% supermajority. The 2014 levy is for $110,000, approximately 40 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value. Due to a rise in assessed property values, the levy rate is down slightly from the 2013 rate of 45 cents per $1,000. Unlike the neighboring cities of Waitsburg, Day- ton and previously Walla Walla, the City of Prescott has...
WAITSBURG - Charges of first-degree burglary and second-degree assault were filed Friday in Walla Wal- la County Superior Court against Waitsburg resident Stephen R. Gipson of 231 Bruce Street. Sixty-eight year old Gipson, known by locals as "Doc Rivers," was arrested on Tuesday, October 29 after allegedly attacking his neigh- bor, Norma Raymond the day prior. According to Walla Walla County Public Information Officer, Undersheriff Edward Freyer, 67-year-old Raymond alleged that Gip- son...
Peter Pan: The Musical comes to Dayton, opening November 15 DAYTON - Next week the Liberty Theater stage will come alive with pirates, fairies, Indians and rag-tag boys who never want to grow up, as the Touchet Valley Arts Council presents its annual fall musical, Peter Pan. Opening Friday, November 15, at 7 p.m. and running through December 1, this beloved J.M. Barrie tale of the Dar- ling children and their adventures in Neverland with Peter and the Lost Boys is suitable for ages 5 and up....
WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg School District is inviting community members to attend a com- munity forum next week to learn more about the programs, operations and facilities of the District. The forum will be held Monday, November 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Waitsburg Elementary School. Community input is being sought by the School Board on maintenance and operations needs, as well as its future building plans. This input will assist the board in determining the amount of support it will request of taxpayers. In February 2012, vot- ers in the...
WAITSBURG -- Four young ladies and their families took the initiative and commitment on April 16th to spend their spring and summer representing as the Waitsburg Celebration Days Royalty. Queen Emily Adams of Waitsburg, Princess Bryeana Myrick of Dayton, Princess Megan Morrison of Waitsburg and Princess Morgan Forney of Prescott, traveled to promote the valley in over 17 Pacific Northwest events. "It has been amazing to watch these girls grow into young women" stated one of the court advisors: Amanda DeRuwe. "These young ladies have deve...
DAYTON - The Columbia County Sheriff's Office reported this week that it has received 45 calls since January reporting fraudulent telephone calls, emails, postal mail and other scams. "We all need to be aware of the scams that are out there and how to protect ourselves," said Sheriff Rocky Miller in a press release. According to Miller, a variety of methods are being used to try to get money out of local residents. They include emails requesting financial information, telephone calls where the...
DAYTON - The north side - the side away from the highway - is where the action will be at the new Artisan Food Center at Blue Mountain Station. The HVAC units will be humming back here and large trucks will come and go. Big roll-up doors will allow workers to unload raw materials and load final products. A big steam boiler is tucked in between the doors. The building is the first phase of the Port of Columbia's new business park, on Dayton's west edge. It is nearing completion, and four ne...
WAITSBURG - "Third time's the charm" for the Waitsburg City Council. At a special Thursday evening meeting, called specifically for the purpose, the council approved the purchase of a building to protect its new cardboard baler and the cardboard bales it generates. Proposals had been presented and rejected at both the September 18 and October 14 council meetings. Purchase of the baler was made possible in June through a grant that covered 75% of the $14,418 pur- chase price. At that time it was...
WALLA WALLA -- Walla Walla County and the cities of Prescott, Waitsburg and Walla Walla will hold a public information meeting Tuesday evening to provide information on the upcoming update of each jurisdic- tion's Shoreline Master Program. The meeting will be held in the County Commissioners' chambers in the Walla Walla Public Health and Legislative Building at 6:30 p.m. A brief presentation with time for general questions, from 6:30 to 7:15, will be followed by an informal open house from 7:15 to 8:30. Preliminary shoreline jurisdiction maps...
DAYTON - About 50 local residents, including healthcare providers and community leaders, gath- ered here Tuesday evening for a presentation by the Washington Rural Health Association and to discuss upcoming changes in rural healthcare. Several partici- pants also shared ideas about how health outcomes could be improved in our area. The Roundtable was sponsored by the Columbia County Health System, which operates Dayton General Hospital and clinics in Dayton and Waitsburg. The meeting was...
WAITSBURG - Orange is the traditional color of fall, adorning everything from pumpkins to the turning leaves. Last Wednesday, the halls of Waitsburg High School and Preston Hall Middle School were filled with orange as well - but it had nothing to do with fall or Halloween. Waitsburg students, as part of a month-long awareness campaign sponsored by the high school ASB officers, wore orange to demonstrate a united stand against bullying. ASB members decided to participate in National Bull...
DAYTON -- Two suspects arrested in Dayton early Friday morning, after a chase initiated in Waitsburg, have been formally charged and are being held in the Walla Walla County Jail on $50,000 bail. Walla Walla dispatch received a call in the early morning hours of Oct. 10, from Jacob LuJan, of 100 Murphy Street in Waitsburg, reporting that an unknown assailant had broken into his home, stolen his wallet and assaulted him. Columbia County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Dian Ver Va...
DAYTON - The Dayton Schools Facilities Committee on Tuesday decided to delay making a recommendation to the Dayton School Board for a construction bond levy to finance major reconstruction at the schools. The District will not put a levy request before voters in February, as originally expected. According to a statement issued by Superintendent Doug Johnson, at the committee's October 8th meeting, the group determined that they need more public input before moving forward. He said that,...
WAITSBURG - Final voting day for the 2013 General Election is November 5, but mail-in ballots are on their way to voters in Walla Walla and Columbia Counties. This year's election features two state-wide initiatives - one designed to change the initiative process itself, and the other to add new labeling requirements to genetically modified foods. Also on the ballot is one judicial race - for completion of an unexpired term for the Washington State Court of Appeals. Judge George Fearing was appointed in May to fill the six-year term of Den...
DAYTON - A committee of school staff and interested citizens has been meeting for more than a year to consider potential renovation and changes to Dayton's School facilities. On October 2, the group was presented with a series of options by consultants from BLRB Architects for major renovations to the high school and elementary school buildings, as well as adding some new construction. The projected costs for the six options presented ranged from approximately $17 million to just over $27 m...
DAYTON - Robert Bridwell pleaded not guilty Thursday to sexual exploitation of a minor and other charges relating to photographs he is alleged to have taken of underage women. Bridwell, 64, of Dayton, was charged last month with 35 felony counts by the Columbia County Prosecutor's Office after his seized cell phone was found with sexually explicit photos. He and his attorney, public defender Dale Slack, entered the not guilty pleas during a hearing in front of Superior Court Judge William Ac...
Art and History are the centerpieces of fall event DAYTON - Last year, Dayton Chamber of Commerce Director Brad McMasters said he was surprised that more than seventy people were eligible for the special Art Crawl drawing. To become eligible, participants must visit every Art Crawl venue and get their program stamped. This year, visits to at least fourteen locations, including galleries, restaurants and offices, will be required to qualify for the drawing. McMasters is expecting even more...
