Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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PASCO - After being tripped up in the playoffs by the mighty Bulldogs two years in a row, the WP Cardinals finally took the puppies from Colfax to the pound 42-13 Saturday at Edgar Brown stadium in Pasco and became the first-ever combine team to go to Tacoma for the state championship game in football. quot;It's no longer a dream,quot; one of the WP assistant coaches told the elated players after their semifinal victory. quot;Pinch yourselves. We're going to Tacoma!quot; The Cards were the first to score and went up 28-7 by halftime. At no...
WAITSBURG - A recent water and sewer rate study shows the City if Waitsburg needs to increase its rates to break even. The Waitsburg City Council last Wednesday heard a presentation from Alan Schroeder, the vice president of the Walla Walla company Anderson Perry & Associates. Schroeder said he was hired by the city to see if the cost of utilities is keeping up with the cost of service. He found both rates needed to be increased so the city stops losing money. For water, Schroeder said the city is currently charging $27.10 a month, with an...
DAYTON - Don't let the turkey coma take over after Thanksgiving or you'll miss all of the wintry, holiday fun in Dayton during its annual Christmas Kick-Off Friday and Saturday. "It boosts businesses and gets people in the holiday spirit," said Claudia Nysoe, the executive director of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce. Business owners and community members are putting on the final holiday touches this week to prepare for the big post-Turkey Day festival. Vicky Beckmeyer, owner of Crofts, said her...
DAYTON - The Columbia County Hospital District and members of the community are rallying all resources and writing letters to legislators to stop a proposed $404,000 budget cut to Dayton General Hospital that will be on the table in the upcoming special session. "It's the big news of our community," hospital CEO Charlie Button said. "If we don't act, the potential could be that we could close." Button said the proposed cut would mean the current cost-based reimbursement model for critical access hospitals that helps Dayton's hospital care for...
DAYTON - Columbia County Health System staff members and commissioners voiced concern Monday night that recently proposed budget cuts at the state level may cause the closure of Dayton General Hospital. Jim Kimes, a member of the district's board of commissioners, told the Dayton City Council on Monday that a round of cuts to be proposed in the upcoming special session would cut about $400,000 from Dayton General Hospital's budget. The cuts target critical care access hospitals in rural areas across the state. "If their proposal goes through,...
SUMNER - Only in their second year as a high school soccer team, the WP Tigers fought their way to the top of their sport in the state. After defeating their tough rival St. George of Spokane 2-1 on Friday evening, Tigers went on to take on the Highlanders, defending state champions. Francisco Gonzalez scored the winning goal and goalie Pedro Mendoza was instrumental in keep the Providence shots at bay to clinch the victory. More in this week's print edition Thursday....
The WP Cardinals beat the Ritzville Broncos in Pasco Saturday, sending the undeated home team to the semifinals, again in Pasco, against Colfax next weekend. The lopsided 42-7 victory came despite fears that Ritzville, which lost only one game against the Colfax Bulldogs during the season, would be a tough opponent. The time of the semifinal has yet to be announced....
WAITSBURG - Last Wednesday night, a room in Preston Hall packed with school district employees and community members honored the closure of Terry Jacoy's 23 years on the Waitsburg School Board. Jacoy has served on the board since 1988. School board Chairman Ross Hamann said that in the time that Jacoy has been on the board, 590 kids have received their diplomas. "When you do something like this, you don't do it with the idea of being remunerated," Jacoy said. Jacoy said he enjoys looking back...
WAITSBURG - With the passing of Initiative 1183 that takes government out of liquor sales, the future of Touchet Valley liquor stores is uncertain. "At the state level, I don't think they thought it would pass," said Karen Hoyle, the manager of the liquor store in Dayton. "Everybody's got to scramble." The Washington State Liquor Control Board is trying to answer questions as best as it can, but there are not many concrete answers out there at this time, said Brian Smith, the communications director for the board. The board has put up fact...
WAITSBURG -- Karen Fisher-Alaniz had no idea her father was a hero. When he was 81 years old, her father Murray Fisher gave her more than 400 pages of letters about his service during World War II. It turned out Fisher-Alaniz's father did not sit behind a desk during the war as he had told her before, but he had been secretly breaking the code of the Japanese. Fisher-Alaniz presented part of her story and her book "Breaking The Code" to Waitsburg High School and middle school students last...
WAITSBURG - It was an exciting evening for Dayton's Colleen Sproul, a retired nurse who took a shot at running for a position as commissioner for the Columbia County Hospital District and found herself ahead of her incumbent by 61.03 percent on Tuesday night in the General Election. With the combined results of Walla Walla and Columbia counties, Sproul was ahead of incumbent Blaine Bickelhaupt by 61.03 percent, 1062 votes. Bickelhaupt had achieved 38.96 percent, 678 votes. "I think it's pretty exciting - I'm really surprised," Sproul said...
PRESCOTT - Prescott Jr.-Sr. High School made the list of highest improving schools in the state recently, proving the hard work of the staff and students is paying off, Superintendent Bill Jordan said. Ninety-nine schools received the award for School of Distinction recently. The award is given by the Center for Educational Effectiveness (CEE), the Association of Educational Service Districts (AESD), the Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP), Phi Delta Kappa-Washington Chapter...
DAYTON - The Dayton School District is looking at asking taxpayers to pass a $1.3 million maintenance and operations levy in February that would help fund personnel, activities, athletics and other general maintenance costs for two years. Superintendent Doug Johnson said the levy would be on the Feb. 14, 2012 ballot. It is a replacement levy for a current M&O levy that will last collect in October 2012. The new taxes, if the levy is passed by voters, will be collected the following year. The district still has yet to make decisions on the...
WAITSBURG - The welcome many newcomers have received from Waitsburg residents over the years has inspired acts of gratitude in the past. Larry and Deanne Johnson's now-famous and well-attended summer gumbo party at their home on Fifth Street is a case in point. But this week was the first time newcomers ever lit up the entire downtown as a thank you for the way Waitsburgers brought them into their midst. Allison Bond and Bruce Donohue, who bought the former Lybacker home on Fourth Street almost...
DAYTON - Dayton is getting a Best Western hotel that will broaden the kind of accommodations available in town. "This is going to give Dayton an opportunity to springboard us to the next level," said Claudia Nysoe, the executive director of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce. Nysoe and Windermere agent Blaine Bickelhaupt have confirmed the hotel is in the works. "It's just in the beginning stages," Bickelhaupt said. "We're getting it rolling as fast as possible." The developers are meeting, but Bickelhaupt said nothing will happen soon because the...
DAYTON - Three groups in Dayton are working hard to uncover, document and educate the community on the history of the area. This is a look at each of those three groups and an explanation of their history, what they have already accomplished and their visions for the future. Dayton Historic Preservation Commission In 1992, the Dayton Historic Preservation Commission was created. "Our purpose is to educate and identify historic homes," said Kathy George, the chairwoman of the commission. The...
DAYTON - Because of a company merger, Dayton's Tumac store that sold tractor equipment and parts will close its doors permanently on Friday after about 40 years of service to the community, said President Tim Larkin. The store's closure not only means that Columbia County farmers will have to go to Walla Walla for oil and other small parts for their tractors, but that two jobs will be lost, Larkin said. "The Columbia County community has been very supportive," Larkin said. "It wasn't a decision that was made lightly." Larkin said the closure...
DAYTON - The Dayton City Council Tuesday night reviewed the proposed 2012 city budget that would raise garbage rates and sewer rates to maintain city services amid a tough economy. "It's a very conservative budget knowing things will go south farther than they will go north," Councilman Merle Jackson said. The budget does not include any large projects for the city in 2012, so the city can keep its head above water until the economy improves, Mayor Craig George said. "So when things move forward, we can move forward," Jackson said. For the...
WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg City Council members are torn between putting thousands of dollars into the city's seldom-used BMX track or removing it. The track was put in by the Lion's Club in 2001 for the children to ride and jump their bikes in a safe place. Dan Katsel, the city's director of public works, said at the council meeting last Wednesday the track has visible large rocks and puncture vine and said the track receives "zero use." Councilman Orville Branson, said the track was expensive for the club to put in and it is an asset to the...
WAITSBURG- Th e Waitsburg High School 2011 Homecoming festivities began with classes decorating their designated spots of the hallways in their own fashion to show off their Cardinal pride. Although the seniors' lights and streamers were a festive addition to the cage, the juniors took top prize with their football field surrounded by red lights, and their hanging volleyball net with cutouts of the class. Monday's dress up was a color-coded theme to show what your status was for the dance....
DAYTON - A propane gas leak at Dayton High School Thursday evening forced the cancellation of a home volleyball game and closed down parts of Second and Third Streets. Rick Turner, the fire chief of Columbia County Fire District 3 in Dayton, said his crews were called to the high school about 5 p.m. The call was for a strong odor of propane in the high school gym, he said. When his crews arrived, high school personnel had evacuated the gym. The fire department found remnants of a gas cloud and the strong smell that was reported. The doors to...
DAYTON - Residential burglaries are on the rise in Dayton, especially in vacant homes, according to Sheriff Walt Hessler. He is urging neighbors call law enforcement as soon as they see any suspicious activity to catch the burglars. "We've never had this serious of a problem before," Hessler said. "This is the first time." The burglaries in Dayton have become more frequent over the past two or three months, he said. This year, there have been six non-residential burglaries, meaning businesses were broken into, and 21 reported residential...
WAITSBURG - Members of the board of the Days of Real Sport, Dayton Days and other groups affiliated with local Class C race tracks scribbled their signatures on a letter to members of the Washington Horse Racing Commission with the hope that the commission will give the tracks money in 2012 to bring back their horse racing events. The commission's fund balance, a cut of money earned from wagers at Auburn's Emerald Downs, only allowed for six days of Class C racing in 2011. The funding does not come from tax payers. The commission last winter...
WAITSBURG - To say Sunny Thompson was nervous when she first performed the role of Marilyn Monroe in "Marilyn: Forever Blonde" may be an understatement. After all, one of the first audiences to see her new show in Los Angeles was made up of die-hard fans of the late "American Goddess," including some of the producers, cast and stylists from the original "Some Like It Hot." These were people who knew Monroe personally or at least knew her style, body language and mannerisms intimately. At least a...
