Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 281 - 305 of 997
DAYTON - Early this spring, Port of Columbia Manager Jennie Dickinson invited local food producers to a meeting on the subject of ag-tourism, with the goal of identifying and promoting food producers and products already available in Colum- bia County. That initial gathering of local "foodies" culminated in an entire weekend of food related activities known as The Heirloom Gardeners Food and Wine Weekend. The event, a joint effort of the Port of Columbia, the Chamber of Commerce and the Dayton...
DAYTON - Dayton Ambulance, Fire District 3 personnel and deputies with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of a possible drowning Monday, at approximately 4:10 p.m. A 54-year-old man, who was unidentified at press time, was swimming in the Touchet River downstream from Dayton near the Touchet Valley Golf Course. The caller reported the man had been trapped under a man-made log dam in that portion of the river and was not conscious. Responders pulled the man from the water and transported him to Dayton General Hospital....
DAYTON - Dayton City Planner Karen Sharer says that Dayton does not currently have a marijuana moratorium in place, but the possibility is under review for consideration. The city is in the process of determining how to best respond to the policy mandates and is drafting a letter to be presented at the Sept. 23 City Council meeting. "We are evaluating the situation and trying to figure out what is best for the City," said Sharer. "We are in the process of putting together a letter and bringing all the issues before the council on the 23rd. W...
WAITSBURG - Last December the Waitsburg City Council placed a temporary moratorium on the production and sale of marijuana within city limits. The moratorium was established in order to allow the Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSLCB) time to respond to the passage of I-502 and develop policy for the legalized growth and sale of recreational marijuana. "People who want to set up shops are going to look for spots with no rules in place," said City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe. "That's why it was important for us to get something in...
DAYTON - Anyone hoping to buy, sell or grow pot in the Touchet Valley area under Washington state's new law legalizing marijuana, may have to wait a while. Walla Walla and Columbia counties, whose voters opposed Initiative 502 last year, are drafting ordinances placing a moratorium on such activities until the state's Liquor Control Board has its act together and the rules are clear. And while those ordinances apply only to unincorporated parts of the two counties, their cities are makin...
DAYTON - The Columbia County Commissioners will hold a Public hearing September 18 to consider a new ordinance placing a moratorium on marijuana- related businesses in the county. According to a release issued by the Commissioners' office, the board has drafted a measure "Declaring an Emergency, Establishing an Immediate Moratorium on the Siting, Establishing, and Operating of Any Structures or Uses Related to Marijuana Production, Marijuana Processing, or Marijuana Retailing, and Medical Marijuana Collective Gardens and Dispensaries, and t...
WAITSBURG - "I've always been intrigued by trains. In fact, I would jump the train that ran behind the store and ride it to Dayton so often the crew got to know me and would invite me to ride up front with them," said Wade Wolfe, recalling memories of his childhood in Huntsville. Born and raised in Huntsville and a graduate of Waitsburg High, Wolfe is the as Pioneer of the Year honoree at this year's Fall Festival. The twists and turns of life have resulted in Wolfe living in all four c...
WAITSBURG - Waitsburg City Council members ap- proved the proposed sidewalk repair policy at their August 21 meeting. The policy allows the city to partner with homeowners in sharing the cost of sidewalk repairs. The new policy allows the City to use its own labor force to demolish, prepare, pour and finish damaged sidewalks, with the home- owner obligated to pay only for the cost of materials. City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said he already had people waiting to take advantage of the program. The next step in the process is an overall...
DAYTON - Clay and Rachel Hutchens, of Dayton, have been selected as the new tenants for the W. W. Day Trust Farm on the Whetstone, north of Dayton. The selection was announced last week by U.S. Trust Farm and Ranch Services of Spokane. The income beneficiaries of the farm are the Dayton School District and the Columbia County Hospital District, who share equally in the annual distribution of income. The farm's current tenants are Steve and Phyllis Schreck, who have Managed the Day Trust farm for 35 years. The Schrecks will plant the winter...
WAITSBURG - Widely differing cost estimates between architects and contractors have caused a temporary halt to the interpretive kiosk project at the Wait Mill site. Architects, Jones & Jones originally estimated the cost of the project at $7,000. The kiosk is to consist of a large steel roof, supported by beams, that will over- hang the existing vault at the old mill site. The overhang will provide space for informational panels commemorating both the Lewis & Clark Expedition and the history of...
Wednesday Craig Morgan Concert & Royalty Introductions Thursday Demolition Derby Friday Kids Day / PRCA Rodeo Saturday Cowboy Breakfast Frontier Days Parade Downtown PRCA Rodeo Sunday Cowboy Church Market Livestock Sale PRCA Rodeo For more information on event times and gate prices, see Page 11....
DAYTON - Portland General Electric, which begins construction of the new Tucannon River Wind Farm next month, has an- nounced that hunting will be prohibited within the wind farm boundaries during the construction period. According to company spokesperson Brianne Hy- der, the restriction will begin September 1, and will be lifted on June 1, 2015, upon completion of the project. Hyder told The Times that, once the wind farm is in operation, PGE expects to landowners within the proj- ect...
WAITSBURG - This September, many Waitsburg schoolchildren will find the trek to school significantly safer than in recent years. Designating specific ar- eas of town as "hazardous walk routes" will allow for students to be bused to the school, rather than walking in dangerous conditions. In years past, students living east of the Touchet River Bridge were eligible to ride the bus safely to school. Shortly before Dr. Clarke's appointment as Waitsburg School District Superintendent in 2004,...
DAYTON - John Smiley, a retired hospital administrator from Prosser, has begun work as part-time interim CEO at Columbia County Health System in Dayton. He takes over for Dale Polla, who agreed to resign August 1 after less than a year on the job. Smiley spent about six months as CCHS's interim CEO in 2012, after the departure of Charlie Button and prior to Polla's hiring. "Smiley is highly respected in the state," said CCHS board chair Lisa Naylor in an interview. "He knows everybody and he...
WAITSBURG - From designing and sewing her own Rainbow formals as a teen to having her designs showcased in British Vogue, Waitsburg native Calley (Andrews) Gonzalez has literally "come a long way, baby!" Gonzalez' designs have traveled from the quiet streets of Waitsburg to fashion shows across the east coast and spreads in magazines around the world. A business that was originally intended as "something I could do at my own pace" has forged ahead at such breakneck speed, Gonzalez is strugglin...
DAYTON - Portland General Electric Company announced it completed purchase of the development rights for a portion of the Lower Snake River Wind Energy Project from Puget Sound Energy on August 2. The purchase includes 116 wind turbine sites in northern Columbia County, east of Highway 12. PGE spokesperson Brianne Hyder said that construction at the site is expected to begin within a month, with completion in early 2015. The new project will be called the Tucannon River Wind Farm. Hyder s...
DAYTON - It may not be the massive invasion of cyclists Waitsburg hosted in 2010, but the 300 cyclists from Bicycle Rides Northwest who descend on Dayton this week will definitely be noticed. The group, which arrives in town on Thursday and will spend two nights at the city park, is making a weeklong tour of northeast Oregon and southeast Washington. Their trip started this weekend in Athena, takes them through LaGrande, Joseph and Asotin before ending in Dayton. Bicycle Rides North...
DAYTON - Reactions to the unexpected departure of Columbia County Health Systems' CEO Dale Polla late last week were mixed. Less than a year on the job, Polla resigned on Thursday following a special executive session of the hospital district's board. Board Chair Lisa Naylor said the parting of ways was mutual. "There was agreement on both sides," she said. "He was a great person to keep things nice and steady, but in this changing world we wanted someone on the cusp of things." In the i...
WAITSBURG - Is the movie on your laptop freezing up? Can't have more than one person in your house gaming or watching videos at one time? Dropping too many Skype calls? Help is on the way as home and business owners can finally hook up to the NoaNet high-speed fiber optics cable that now runs through the Touchet Valley. Waitsburg's Touchet Valley Communications and Dayton's Touchet Valley TV offer download speeds so high applications for it have yet to be invented. But for now, speeds of up to 50 megs will help make streaming a lot more re...
WAITSBURG - In a town like Waitsburg, the start of fire season has an unmistak- able sound. It's not the tone of the Main Street siren, it's the frequency. If composer Claude De- bussy was right about music being the silence between the notes, the composition that announces the most ignitable time of year picked up sev- eral beats this weekend. And if local fire fighting officials are right about the conditions that can feed the flames, this summer could be more wor- risome than previous ones....
(DAYTON) Columbia County Hospital District Chief Executive Officer Dale E. Polla resigned Thursday following a special executive session of the Board of Commissioners. Polla leaves the District after nearly a year of service. The Board of Commissioners cited several compelling factors to Polla’s resignation; including a change in the direction of District's overall management, embrace of the detalls of the coming Affordable Care Act and the long-term operational health of the public hospital. Polla was compensated for the remainder of his e...
