Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 527 - 551 of 997
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...
WALLA WALLA - Frank Brown wants to be clear about why he wants to be a Walla Walla County Commissioner - and that's to serve people. "I want to work for the people," he said. Brown, who is 58 and lives on Blue Creek Road, is a 1973 graduate of Walla Walla High School and has lived here most of his life. He did leave the area for college in St. Louis and Seattle to study forensics and engineering, but since 1989 he has lived on his current 20 acres in the Mill Creek area. Brown is the third...
DAYTON - Dayton's alleged elusive squatter-burglar Daniel Baxter has reached a plea agreement with the prosecutor's office that will put him in prison for 40 months. According to Columbia County Prosecutor Rea Culwell, the state and Baxter, with his attorney Andrea Burkhart, reached a plea agreement last week. The agreement says Baxter will plead guilty to seven of his 28 total burglary-related charges. Culwell said he will plead guilty to making false or misleading statements to a law...
DAYTON -- The Dayton School Board is looking at next school year's budget trying to figure out whether to offer full-day kindergarten or employ a second fourth grade teacher to keep up with projected enrollment for that grade. This decision is a tough one and Superintendent Doug Johnson said he wants to hear from staff members, parents and community members to help the school board decide what is more important. Johnson said he has concerns about fall enrollment and the budget that will accompany it. The current full-time equivalent enrollment...
WAITSBURG - Last week, new City Councilman KC Kuykendall asked the council whether it would like to add a prayer or invocation to the opening procedures of the monthly council meeting. The council did not make a decision last Wednesday on whether the members would like a prayer to be added to the proceedings because it would like to hear from community members on the topic. "It was an obvious gap in our proceedings," Kuykendall said the morning following his proposal. "It has an obvious benefit to our process." Kuykendall said the benefit that...
DAYTON -- The Columbia County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday it arrested two juveniles, age 15 and 16, in connection to a burglary early May 25 at Fiesta En Jalisco on Main Street in Dayton. Reportedly, two bottles of high-end liquor were stolen. Both suspects have been arrested on suspicion of burglary of the second degree, theft of the third degree, malicious mischief of the third degree, possession of stolen property and minor in possession of alcohol. They are in custody at the Walla Walla Couny Juvenile Justice Center. More...
WAITSBURG - City Councilman and longtime Waitsburg resident Scott Nettles has thrown his hat in the ring to run against incumbent Mike Hewitt for State Senator of the 16th District. He announced his candidacy last week but has not yet filed to run. Nettles said he will run on the Democratic ticket. "I've been kicking the idea around for the last couple of year," Nettles said. "I want to make sure (working people) have a voice." Nettles said because Hewitt has recently run unopposed, it felt...
DAYTON - Tipsy, deep in debt, recovering from a winter car accident and stressed out from a fight with his wife, Joseph Shuba snapped on the evening of Sunday, April 29, went into the couple's bedroom to get his .22-caliber pistol, returned to the kitchen where the couple had been preparing dinner and shot Suzanne Shuba in the head, according to police reports obtained by the Times. "Nothing could stop me from walking into that bedroom and doing what I did," Shuba is quoted as telling Columbia...
DAYTON - The Columbia County Prosecutor on Wednesday was expected to file first-degree murder charges against a Dayton man accused of fatally shooting his wife at the couple's home on South Third Street Sunday evening. A new police report from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office indicates the alleged murder may have been premeditated and will help form the basis for the upgraded charges, Prosecuting Attorney Rea Culwell said on Tuesday. "The state will be filing murder one charges tomorrow...
