Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 490 - 514 of 997
DAYTON - The Colum- bia County Coalition for Youth and Families is one of 60 organizations nation- wide to receive a Drug Free Communities grant from the Office of National Drug Control Policy. The grant money will bring $ 125,000 a year for five years, a total of $625,000, into the Dayton community to help reduce the use of drugs and alcohol by minors. The coalition applied for this grant last year as well, but missed being chosen by one point on the scale. Grant applications are scored by peers and the 60 top-scoring grants receive funding...
WAITSBURG - The city of Waitsburg would like to annex into Fire District 2, but the fire commissioners aren't ready to let that happen any- time soon. "The city is just looking for ways to cut the budget," said Commissioner Jim Leid. "We are already paying the fire chief." The fire district was created by the county tax payers in April 1945, according to the Walla Walla County Assessor's Office. Since that time, the taxpayers' money has funded the district with help from the city of Waitsburg through a mutual aid agreement, said Waitsburg City...
WAITSBURG - Two very important jobs will be in the hands of elementary-aged children this school year that provide for safety of other stu- dents and honor our country. Last Monday, about 15 children attended safety patrol training for the coming school year where they donned or- ange vests and safely ushered their peers across the street and learned how to fold flags with local veterans at Waitsburg Elementary School. "You have a very important job this year," said Margie Douglas, who will teac...
WAITSBURG - Stryke Alarm says there were company representatives in the Touchet Valley area recently when complaints about the employees' sales tactics spread throughout the community. Dayton residents said the employee sounded as though he was peddling a scam in neighborhoods in Waitsburg and Dayton because he was misrepre- senting who he was and providing false informa- tion. Stryke Alarm representa- tives say it is possible an imposter acting as a Stryke representative was giving false inform...
DAYTON - Monday night the Dayton City Council field- ed complaints from concerned citizens and voted to uphold the revocation of the solicitor's license for Stryke Alarm Inc. The alarm company's so- licitor's license was revoked for the Dayton area last week because of the complaints and calls city hall received. Citizen complaints includ- ed Stryke Alarm employees giving false or misleading statements or withholding information about the com- pany. Residents also reported the employees giving...
WAITSBURG - For a Waitsburg City Council- man Scott Nettles to take on a 12-year senator, Nettles knew he was fac- ing uphill battle. Nettles is challenging incumbent Sen. Mike Hewitt for the District 16 seat and after the Primary Election results rolled in last week, Nettles was pretty happy with him- self. Nettles reaped in 4,495 votes in District 16 in the primaries, or 30.31 percent. Hewitt earned 10,333 votes, or 69.69 percent. "I don't think that's too bad," Nettles said two days after...
PRESCOTT - The Prescott City Council is hoping to renegotiate its contract with the Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office to add in specifics about maintaining a level of service and a better pres- ence in the small city. Prescott's City Attorney Kris Hedine said the previous contract for service between the Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office and the city of Prescott was signed in 2006 and an addendum was signed in 2009. That addendum was only good for one year, and so the contract has lapsed...
WAITSBURG - A nar- row race in the Primary Election on Tuesday kept three Columbia County commissioner District 2 candidates on their toes with a margin of just 64 votes between the leading and eliminated candidates. With 171 votes Tuesday night, Mike Talbott led the commissioner candidates for that seat, advancing to the General Election on Nov. 6 with 40.62 percent. A total of 1,132 votes were cast in Columbia County with 421 votes for the commissioner candidates. "It looks like it's going to...
Waitsburg Fall Festival O r - ganizers of this year's Pi- oneer Fall Festival are hoping Waitsburg merchants will step up to provide food for the event's nu- merous guests now that the traditional buffalo barbecue has been discontinued. Dayton Business Program Local business improvement, job creation and education are the goals of a several-months long business program that will be coming to Dayton, Pomeroy and Connell at the end of September. Prescott New School Hire With more students...
PRESCOTT - The Wal- la Walla County Rural Library District over the next couple of months will be looking into expanding the Prescott Public Library into the empty lot next door or buying land or a building from the Prescott School District, officials say. Aletha Bonebrake, the interim executive direc- tor, said the library district owns the empty lot next to the current library, but she doesn't know if the library should expand into the space. Bonebrake said South D Street, where the current li...
WAITSBURG - Some farmers in the northern Touchet Valley area are pushing back harvest even further this sum- mer because wheat crops are still too green. Waitsburg wheat farmer Neil Carpenter said his harvest work had been held up four days last week because of unripened wheat. "It doesn't thresh real well," Carpenter said. "It's tough." Carpenter said it's not a happy sight to see green wheat kernels in his tank. He be- lieves he's still got some green wheat because of the wet, cold spring....
SPORTS CLEARANCE NIGHT 7-12 Sports Clearance Night will be at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Aug. 14 in the High School Auditorium for grades 7th through 12th. Dayton School District's first day of school is Aug. 28 Call the district for more information at: 509- 382-2543. DAYTON NIGHT AT THE SWEETS GAME DAYTON - Teen Scene of Columbia County, a summer recreation program for local teens, is hosting Dayton Night at the Sweets Game. There are 50 tickets for the game on Aug. 2, on a first come, first serve basis, available to anyone in the community. Ti...
WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg School Board passed a conservative budget for the 2012-13 school year last Monday night reflecting staff cuts made in the spring and officials warned that more cuts will be on the table this year. The school board unanimously approved a $4.1 mil- lion budget for 2012-13. The general fund that pays for everything but debt service, capital projects, transportation and the Associated Stu- dent Body, was approved at $3,574,175 - down $153,261 from school year 2011-12. Board members Dr. Randy Pearson and Marilyn Johnson wer...
DAYTON - Threshers Bar and Grill staff and pa- trons demonstrated strength in community last Friday during a benefit for the Lo- rang family that generated revenue for a family reeling from its recent loss. Owner Sandi Siess said the total donation will be $1134.49 from the benefit. Community members flocked to the Main Street eatery last Friday because 100 percent of the profits from the entire day were donated to the Lorang fam- ily. The proceeds included all profits made during the res-...
WAITSBURG - Waitsburg's be- loved Postmaster Caroline Wendt is moving on to a position in Pomeroy after more than eight years working in Touchet Valley post offices. Wendt and her husband, Doug, are moving to Lewis- ton because of his promotion within the McGregor com- pany, she said. Her last day in Waitsburg was July 26. "It's really bittersweet," Wendt said. "You have to start all over and it's new people. And I won't have nearly as good of help as I have here." Wendt, age 49, is known to Wai...
DAYTON - The final three candidates for the Columbia County Health System CEO position were narrowed to one this week when two applicants withdrew for personal and finan- cial reasons. The sole candidate left is Dale Polla of Missoula, Mont. "We didn't anticipate this would happen," Board Member Lisa Naylor said. " No one will be hired for the CEO position until after Polla visits Dayton and the surround- ing area on the week of Aug 20, Naylor said. During Polla's visit he will visit local hospitals and clinics to get a feel for the area. With...
DAYTON - Full-day kin- dergarten will not be an op- tion for the coming school year in the Dayton School District. Superintendent Doug Johnson broke the news at a school board meeting Wednesday, July 11. "It was a difficult deci- sion," Johnson later said. "In the end we felt it was impor- tant to continue investing in retaining all of the programs we have and providing some additional support to best serve students." School Board Chairman Steve Martin said full-day kindergarten is one of the highest priorities for the board. The district's...
WAITSBURG - The Waits- burg School District board members and staff had hoped a large project that tore up the track and field to put in a new light system and press box would be completed before track season began this spring. But the project is not close to being done and the first foot- ball game of the season is just six weeks away. The school board approved the new lighting project in February, hoping to get it done before the beginning of track season so the track team wouldn't have to...
For a story on the organizers behind the event, see page 2....
Rick Hamilton, a former WP coach, was appointed by the school board to the athletic director position for the Dayton School District on Wednesday, July 11. Dayton’s former athletic director, Jack Smiley, passed away in early May. Hamilton was the head WP soccer coach in 2010-11 and after the season he transferred to Arizona for a job opportunity. Dayton Superintendent Doug Johnson said Hamilton is notable because he worked closely with Smiley to help form the Waitsburg and Prescott athletic combine. Hamilton begins his new position in A...
WAITSBURG - Wheat har- vest in the Touchet Valley area is expected to be a couple of weeks later than usual again this year, but the wheat looks long and robust and should provide some great returns for local farmers, they say. Last year, the wheat harvest took place at the end of July because of wet, spring weather. The typical start date for harvest is about the middle of July. JE McCaw, the Waitsburg branch manager of the Northwest Grain Growers, said this year our rainy June has pushed the s...
