Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 403 - 427 of 997
WAITSBURG - Kate Hockersmith, the instiga- tor and, some might say "mother," of Waitsburg's bluegrass scene, remembers the first local jam night. It was some time in December at the old Carmen's Deli on Main Street. She put the youthful Troublemakers, fresh from their musical exchange in Ja- pan, in the same room with several veteran bluegrass musicians from Walla Walla and created a Touchet Valley tradition marking its fifth an- niversary this winter. Together with bluegrass lessons...
PRESCOTT - After serving as its "accidental" superintendent for three years, Dr. Bill Jordan announced last week he will be leaving the Prescott School District at the end of the school year. "Our district is strong, good things are happening," Jordan said in a telephone interview. "It's a good time for someone to come in and take over this district." Jordan, who has been universally praised for turn- ing around a school dis- trict struggling with enrollment, morale and academic achievement,...
DAYTON - Columbia County Health System CEO Dale Polla said he is optimistic, if a bit wary, about the or- ganization's financial future. On the plus side, one of his most important goals - a positive operating margin - was reached in two out of the last three months of 2012. As for his wariness, he said, "I'm nervous about what the legislature's going to do." He referred to the potential for cuts in Medicaid and other funding CCHS receives from the state, which faces a $1 billion budget...
Prosecuting Attorney Rea Culwell said in an interview that she made a strong effort to settle the murder case against Joseph Shuba in part because trials, especially murder trials, are so expen- sive for the county. According to Columbia County Clerk Lynn Lese- man, court costs and legal defense costs for the Shuba case have already added up to more than $14,000. That doesn't include jail costs incurred by the Sheriff's Of- fice. Shuba has been in cus- tody for nearly nine months. Columbia County Com- missioner Dwight Robanske said that each...
DAYTON - Joseph Shuba, charged with killing his wife last April in Dayton, pleaded guilty to second degree murder at a hearing in Columbia County Superior Court on January 16. Shuba was originally charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of his wife, Suzanne, and was scheduled to stand trial January 28. Last year, Shuba entered a plea of not guilty by reason of selfdefense. His attorney, Dale Slack, had hired a psychologist who was to testify as an ex- pert witness that Shuba...
WAITSBURG - Waits- burg Mayor Walt Gobel has invited the Confeder- ated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to join in the 100th anniversary of the Days of Real Sport this spring in Waitsburg. And one idea for their participation is an Indian relay event, often described as one of the most exhilarating equine sports. The idea drew immediate enthusiasm from a race coor- dinator for the Umatilla tribe, who said Native American relay racers from all over the west would welcome such a...
DAYTON-Five small food processing businesses are expected to be up and running when Blue Mountain Station opens its first building in Dayton later this year. Gypsy Girl Granola, Big Kahuna Hot Sauce, Grass Roots Goats (cheese and yogurt), Roubideau Artisan Cheese and Mace Mead Works (wine and mead) have all signed leases for the building. With those tenants in place, all of the leasable space in the Building 1 at the Port of Columbia's new artisan food processing facil- ity is spoken for....
DAYTON - The jury trial of Joseph Shuba, who is accused of murdering his wife Suzanne in Dayton last April, is scheduled to begin January 28 in Columbia County Superior Court. Shuba is charged with first degree murder and has en- tered a plea of justifiable homicide by reason of self defense. Defense attorney Dale Slack has hired expert wit- ness Dr. Mark B. Whitehill, a forensic psychologist from Lakewood, Wash., who ex- amined Shuba and will tes- tify on his behalf. According to documents...
WAITSBURG-Several years ago, Waitsburg resident Leroy Cunningham had a vision for helping kids learn about business and have fun at the same time. He established Rural Youth Enrich- ment Services as a non-profit organization, and its board went through the lengthy process of obtaining 501c3 tax-exempt status. Current board president Anne Walsh of Waitsburg said that the group has gone through some ups and downs in the past few months, and Cunningham has left the group. But RYES is now...
PRESCOTT - Residents of Prescott are rallying behind the family that lost nearly everything this week- end in one of the town's worst structure fires in three decades. Jason and Christine Steele and their four children were forced from their home at 410 Touchet St. on Sun- day after a fire that started in their garage spread quickly through the four-bedroom one-story structure. Walla Walla fire districts 7 (Prescott) and 2 (Waits- burg), along with other area stations, responded to the...
DAYTON - 'Tis still the season of giving for local American West Bank branch manager Andie Holmberg, who presented the Dayton School District band director Scott Carson with a check for $1,000 on behalf of the bank to help support the music program. Holmberg said the money was presented to the music department so Carson could purchase instruments, music and make any repairs nec- essary to instruments the department currently owns. "Repairs are our number one need," Carson said. "Because with mor...
WAITSBURG - It's rare for burglary victims to ever see their stolen goods again. But Waitsburg residents and even some Columbia Coun- ty households who were hit last year may get lucky. And some already have. During a drug bust in Walla Walla last month, local law enforcement of- ficers stumbled on an enor- mous treasure trove of stolen items, the county's largest in recent memory. The find leads authorities to hope they can soon nab a handful of burglars operating in the Touchet Valley and return much of their loot to the rightful owners. The...
WALLA WALLA – Waitsburg’s Joanna Lanning can breathe a little easier these days. More than a month ago, the part-time caretaker of the Pioneer Park Aviary in Walla Walla was dusting off her resume after getting a layoff notice from the city. She was starting to make calls and send off emails to organize a massive foster home placement effort for the 150 birds at the facility. And she was getting deeply depressed at the thought of emptying the pens and closing down the feathered friend...
DAYTON - The Dayton boys basketball squad got a little larger and a bit younger thanks to a school board decision during the Dec. 19 board meeting that allows eighth-grade students to play junior varsity basketball. The proposal, agreed to by Southeast 2B members and granted under Washington Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) rules for schools with low turn-out, will also allow eighth-grade girls to practice with the high school, though not play. Only 15 boys and 17 girls turned-out for basketball from Dayton high school's student...
DAYTON - Columbia County Health System board members are prepared to bend the by-laws a bit to help keep the board consistent for new Chief Executive Officer Dale Polla at the monthly hospital board meeting on Thursday, Dec. 27. The board moved to keep current chairman Ted Paterson for six months, half of a normal term beyond the year he already served as chairman, to offer continuity for Polla. Polla was hired on Oct. 1 for a two-year term. The vote was unanimous. Board member Jim Kime initially moved to keep Paterson for a whole year, but P...
DAYTON - Thirty-three- year-old Donald Cowden was arrested Wednesday, Dec. 26, and charged with seven counts, including burglary and theft of a motor vehicle. Cowden, a Milton-Freewater resident, was arrested in Columbia County and has been charged with burglary in the second degree, a Class B felony, theft of a motor vehicle, a Class B felony and possession of a stolen vehicle, a Class B felony, each of which carry a maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment and/ or a $20,000 fine. Cowden has also been charged with theft in the second deg...
WAITSBURG - With the first tenant already in hand, the Port of Walla Walla plans to break ground for its new Waitsburg Business Park north of town in January, according to Jim Kuntz, the agency's executive director. "We think it's going to be a magnet for other businesses," Kuntz said in a presentation last Tuesday to members of the Waitsburg Commercial Club. "We're excited about it." The 12.6-acre industrial site will have seven lots of varying sizes. The first order of business is the constru...
WAITSBURG – A group of Waitsburg community leaders is determined not to let the 100th anniversary of the Days of Real Sport go unnoticed or, better yet, make the third weekend in May a full-fledged horse- centered extravaganza with or without the return of pari- mutuel racing. “We’re just getting off the ground,” Waitsburg Mayor Walt Gobel said about the group that met for the first time on Dec. 17 to plan for the 2013 DRS commemorative festivities. “But I’m really excited about it. Ther...
DAYTON - The 2012 Dayton Chamber of Commerce honored employee of the year doesn't see herself as the best employee in the community, but a positive attitude and dedication to the Weinhard Café earned her community-wide recognition. Jennifer Smith-Villaro was born and raised in Dayton where she still lives with her husband, 11-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter. After Smith-Villaro's 11 years working at the Weinhard Café in Dayton, she was recognized at the 2012 Dayton Chamber banqu...
DAYTON - On the eve of Ski Bluewood's 2012 open- ing, the resort's owners have hired new managers to run the mountain and get it better known in the region. With more snow in the forecast this week and into the weekend, Ski Bluewood looks poised to open at 10 a.m. on Friday, the new managers said this week. WWG Ski, the Tri-Cities- based group that bought Ski Bluewood more than two years ago, has hired Jody and Brandy Ream, a veteran ski industry couple from the Midwest to become the re- sort's...
WAITSBURG - The re- cent Thanksgiving holiday appeared to have been the perfect timing for burglars to target locations on Main Street. Between Nov. 21 and Nov. 25, three burglaries and one attempted burglary were reported to the Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office. All of the burglaries called in were from locations on Main Street, according to information from the sheriff's office. In the recent events, burglars made off with a laptop computer, digital projector and a guitar. No one has yet been arrested in connection to the recent Waitsburg...
