Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 519 - 543 of 997
WAITSBURG - After five months of weighing different options for how to remove the dilapidated bunk house from city land, three parties interest- ed in the property may come up with a solution that puts money in the city coffers and actually could make everyone happy. The bunk house, formerly an apple-packing plant that collapsed in a storm in late 2011, was previously believed to contain asbestos or lead and removing it could have been costly for the city. In March, the council learned there was little or no toxicity from asbestos or lead and...
PRESCOTT - Changes to the Walla Walla County Library District could mean facility ex- pansions and improvements at the Prescott and Vista Hermosa public libraries. Aletha Bonebrake, the in- terim executive director for the rural library district, said for years the rural district has had a con- tract for services with the public library in the city of Walla Walla. Because recently the city library and the rural district couldn't agree on a payment amount for the city library's services, the contract will expire in December and the partnership...
DAYTON -- The sec- ond annual Mule Mania will mosey its way back into Dayton this weekend for four days of mule-fueled events. The event will take place at the Columbia County Fairgrounds and features free admission and the luxury Cadillacs of riding animals, Chairman of the Mule Mania Committee Les Teel said. "Mules are very comfort- able to ride and they'll never get you in trouble," Teel said. "They're just wonderful ani- mals to be around." Dayton Chamber of Commerce Director Brad McMasters...
STARBUCK - The Starbuck School District may have lost a beloved staff member, Karl Edie, as he moves on to new opportunities, but in his place students and staff members have gained an experienced professional who is ready to take charge in the district. Starbuck School Board members officially appointed Laura Christian as the new principal at the Thursday, June 28 board meeting. School board Chairwoman Carol Wildman said the decision to approve Christian was bittersweet because, despite their...
WAITSBURG - Burn bans have been set for the Touchet Valley, Firefighters are spending extra time training and preparing tenders and trucks with the hope that this summer will be a quiet fire season. The Fire District 2 burn ban for Waitsburg and the surrounding area began on July 1. The Fire District 3 burn ban for Columbia County began July 9. The bans will last through mid- September. Fire District 3 Chief Rick Turner said the Touchet Valley is a very dry and flammable area with lots of gr...
DAYTON -- Blue Mountain Station now has two committed tenants and one potential tenant hoping to move into Dayton's first organic and natural food processing facility, according to Port of Columbia officials. The station, a project of the Port of Columbia, has the potential to be a revolutionary new model for the entire artisan food industry, according to Gary White, the marketing consultant for the station. It is a proposed organic and natural food processing facility and foodie attr...
DAYTON -- Mike Talbott said if he is elected as Columbia County Commissioner, he intends to bring his experience running a small farm and his love for the city of Dayton to work with him every day. Talbott was born and raised in Dayton. He and his wife have three grown children, the youngest of which recently graduated from Washington State University. After attending Dayton High School and Walla Walla Community College, Talbott intended to continue on to Eastern Washington University, but at...
WAITSBURG - About 50 years ago, five local Waitsburg teens brought long hair and rambunc- tious rock 'n' roll to the Touchet Valley with their band LSD & The Adicts. The band played in Waitsburg, Prescott, Walla Walla, Dayton, Milton-Freewater, Ore., Pend- leton, Ore., and a few members even made some trips to Seattle and San Francisco hoping to score a record deal. Today, four of those original five, Dr. Randy Pearson, Mi- chael Hubbard, Robert Maib and Clint Donley have remained in the...
PRESCOTT - Amid con- cerns that the city of Waitsburg may be further reducing its public safety coverage from the Walla Walla Sheriff's Office under a new contract, some resi- dents say they are ready to start a neighborhood crime watch to cover the gaps. At the Sheriff's Roundtable last Thursday at the Prescott School Library, residents told Undersheriff Edward Freyer they are worried about the crime rate in Waitsburg and what will hap- pen if the patrol coverage drops. "Where is Waitsburg...
DAYTON -- The Touchet Valley community is in mourning after a Dayton family lost its oldest daughter following an accident at home Wednesday. On Wednesday afternoon, seven-year-old Hosanna Lorang fell about 20 feet from a tree and was rushed to a local hospital. She was next was airlifted by helicopter to a Spokane hospital, according to a source with Columbia County Fire District 3. Lorang later died in Spokane. Lorang's parents are Tara and Jake Lorang. Lorang had two younger siblings, Mandy and Benjamin, according to a video posted on...
VISTA HERMOSA - Forty Prescott students who live in Vista Hermosa take part in an opportunity of six weeks of extra schooling over the summer to help them remember and even improve their skills before the next school year begins. Scott Branson has been with the Prescott School District for three years. His teaching position is fund- ed by the federal GEAR UP grant that partners with Washington State University Tri Cities. "The goal is to get (students) into universities," Branson said. The local school districts that also have GEAR UP pro-...
DAYTON - Columbia County Commissioner candidate Tom Bensel can al- ready tout 18 years of ex- perience working with the county, making him a candi- date with special insight into the position. Bensel, a Dayton resident, has had work experience in many fields, from nuclear energy to street maintenance that he can draw on to help the county in a variety of ways if the public chooses him. If elected to the county post, Bensel said he has no major agenda of change. Although he does have an idea of...
DAYTON -- The Liberty Theater is preparing for the end of an era. As the film industry replaces 35-millimeter film with digital technology, theaters have been upgrading to digital projectors to keep up with the times and this includes Dayton's restored Liberty Theater. Liberty Theater Manager Kirsten Schober said the transition will require a costly new projector, which all together will come with a price tag of $69,450. Recent donations have made the projector within reach. Initially the...
DAYTON - Dayton's elu- sive squatter-burglar went for- ward with a plea agreement last Thursday in Columbia County Superior Court after previously sending a note to the prosecutor saying he had changed his mind. Daniel Baxter, a transient man, was arrested in February and charged with 28 burglary- related counts stemming from the seven months or so he spent breaking into vacant homes in the city of Dayton and squatting in them overnight. Last Thursday, Baxter did plead guilty to Judge William...
WAITSBURG - The current Waitsburg city contract for services with the Walla Walla Sheriff's Office is too expensive for the city to maintain and city staff and the city council are consider- ing a reduction in services to also reduce the annual price tag. The sheriff's office cur- rently patrols and serves the city of Waitsburg for 47.5 hours per week. This level of service costs the city $125,000 per year. "The city can't sustain it at the rate it's going," said City Administrator Randy...
WAITSBURG - Preliminary scores for the 2011-12 High School Proficiency Exam are in for Waitsburg and Prescott and the students and staff members have a lot to be proud of. Waitsburg earned 100 percent in meeting both reading and writing standards. Prescott earned 84.6 percent in reading and 100 percent in writing. The annual proficiency exam measures how much students are learning and serves as the state's exit exam in reading and writing. Students must pass this assessment or a state-approved alternative in reading and writing in order to be e...
ELECTIONS 2012 DAYTON -- Current small business owner and former auditor Anne Higgins says she is the best candidate for the Columbia County Commissioner seat because she knows the books. Born in Memphis, Tenn., Higgins, now a mother of three, moved around with her family because her father was in the military. She moved to Dayton with her long-time partner Gary Snyder when she started attending Wash- ington State University for zoology, later switching to social science. She commuted to the...
DAYTON -- Main Street was packed from end- to-end last weekend as old favorites and new exciting events came together for a warm and sunny annual Dayton All-Wheels Weekend. The event brought classics including the car show and drag races, the groundbreaking of the new Best Western Hotel and a pub crawl that catered to the young adult event attendees. More than 360 cars were registered for judging and there were 413 cars parked along Main Street, coordinator Bette Lou Crothers said. "It was out...
DAYTON -- The new chamber director in Dayton is one of the town's well-known restaurateurs, Brad McMasters. McMasters was appointed into the position last Wednes- day by the Dayton Chamber of Commerce board and he will officially begin his duties on July 9. McMasters said he is "unbelievably excited" to have been selected for the position. McMasters owns the Wein- hard Café, which he purchased at the end of 2010. He was a school teacher for six years before going into the restaurant business. He...
DAYTON - The number of reported burglaries continues to climb in Columbia County, but the sheriff's office is making some arrests and ramping up patrols, hoping the total of 39 reported residential and commercial burglaries since January doesn't climb higher. With the recent string of burglaries reported in the county, the sheriff's office has arrested six individuals on suspicion of burglary. The three most recent arrests were of 15- and 16-yearold juveniles taken into custody on suspicion of...
PRESCOTT -- Royal blue robes fluttered through a gym full of camera flashes and cheering family and friends as the class of 2012 marched up to the stage while "Pomp and Circumstance" flowed from a piano played by AJ Jacobson at the Prescott High School graduation ceremony last Friday evening. The ceremony opened with praise from Superintendant William Jordan for the recent academic achievement and school distinction awards Prescott High School received this school year. Valedictorian Claudio...
Twenty WHS Graduates Honored By School Staff, Friends, Family W AITSBURG - Ten girls and 10 boys earned standing ovations, cheers and plenty of scholarship money during the 116th commencement at Waitsburg High School last Friday. The seniors marched into the gym in full caps, gowns, stoles and brightly colored cords to cheerful, upbeat music played by the high school band. Families were treated to a special slideshow of photos of the graduates throughout their lives bringing back happy memories...
WAITSBURG - After 30 years selling liquor on Main Street in Waitsburg, Bonnie Olson closed the doors of her liquor and spirits store on May 21. Olson had obtained a license from the state before the big transition that allowed her to carry and sell liquor, and but she recently decided that running her own store wasn't a priority. "I just decided I really didn't need to do that," Olson said. Initiative 1183 was passed by voters in the last General Election. The initiative took liquor sales in Washington out of the hands of the Liquor Control...
DAYTON -- Feral cats prowled their way into the Dayton City Council meeting May 29 during the public hearing regarding the growing feline nuisance and the impact they have on residents. Mayor Craig George opened the public hearing segment of the meeting by reminding attendees that the decision required the input of the community and it could not be a decision made by the council alone. "We want the city involved in the decision," George said. Dr. Kennie Reeves of the Dayton Veterinarian Clinic took the floor to give hearing attendees some...
DAYTON -- The 131st class to graduate from Dayton High School recessed from the gym and into the rest of their lives on Saturday with thousands of dollars in scholarship money in hand and an upbeat Kenny Chesney country song filling the room. Valedictorian Carter Currin said any bad moments in high school were ultimately tiny blips on the radar and many happier moments await the group. "We, the class of 2012, are ready to make that future bright," salutatorian Keisha Phillips said. The future do...
