Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 638 - 662 of 997
DAYTON - Columbia County's 2012 budget is slightly higher than in 2011, but because of state funding cuts, a few integral departments will be losing a substantial amount of money from the previous year. "We're trying to maintain our level of service, even though we're in (a tough) economic situation," Auditor Sharon Richter said. The 2012 budget, passed Dec. 28 by the county commissioners, has an amount of $3,587,498. This increased just slightly from the 2011 county budget that had an amount of $3,516,682. There will not be any layoffs at the...
WALLA WALLA - For nearly 50 years, horse-loving women in the Walla Walla Valley have had a place to call their own. In 1962, the Valley Girls Barrel Racing Association was created to bring together the best barrel racers of all ages in the area. Many of them hail from the Touchet Valley, including Kelli Currin and her daughter Shayla, who have been active in the barrel racing and rodeo scenes. The Currins live in Dayton. Kelli has been racing since she was young and brought up her daughter in...
WAITSBURG - The Baby Jesus figure from Waitsburg's Presbyterian Church was found hanged by a tree near the church Monday morning. Pastor Bret Moser of the church said the recent incident is a violent crime and is asking the community to help find the suspects. Moser said a neighbor saw spectators in front of the church on Main and Fifth streets taking photos Monday morning about 8 a.m. and upon realizing the hanged figure, alerted Moser and removed it. Deputy Brian Bush with the Walla Walla...
WAITSBURG -- A group of Waitsburg residents wants to resurrect the town's defunct flood control district, a prospect city officials say they welcome. "We want to keep Waitsburg safe and beautiful," said Allison Bond, who spearheaded a recruiting effort that has yielded the required number of volunteers to serve on the district next year. "There are a lot of people willing to put the time in," she said. "And they have great ideas." Citing concerns about the stability of the levees along the local rivers, the ongoing risk of decertification by...
The year of 2011 brought sports victories, a bumper harvest, hospital district changes and other newsworthy stories to the Touchet Valley. For a full roundup of all the best news and sports, see pages 7&8....
DAYTON - On the eve of the year-end holiday season, the Columbia County Sheriff's Office is warning homeowners that an elusive burglar is still at large in the Dayton area. The sheriff has also released a general description of the man, who has been sighted by several witnesses, but not close enough for a police sketch. Authorities describe him as a "tall, white male, between the ages of 25-50." The suspect has been targeting vacant homes inside the city limits for the past several months, forcibly entering them, stealing personal property and...
DAYTON - Last Wednesday evening, community members gathered in the library's Delany building to see the final suggestions from an architect company as to what the city's Historic Commercial Avenue could look like in the next 10 to 20 years. Dougherty Landscape Architects, from Eugene, Ore., was the company hired to redesign the street to enhance its connection to Main Street and link the county courthouse, Blue Mountain schoolhouse and all of the "jewels" in between. "It was (David Dougherty's)...
WAITSBURG - Citizens of Waitsburg should be ready to be recounted. City Manager Randy Hinchliffe said the recent federal census count was lower than the city believes it is, at 1,217 people. With a lower count, the city will receive less money from the state each year, he said. The state currently dishes out funding through liquor tax, gas tax and other revenues based on the city's current population. With a low count, Hinchliffe is worried that until the next census, the city could miss out on a good amount of state money. "If you leave it...
DAYTON - Dayton High School Student Carlos Oribio asked the Dayton City Council Monday night to take a tough stand and prevent youth access to alcohol amid the changes to state liquor laws since the passage of Measure 1183. Orobio spoke on behalf of the school's Students Helping Each Other club, which has about seven core members to encourage their peers to stay away from alcohol. Oribio said he and his club members are concerned that Measure 1183 will make it easier for teens to obtain alcohol because liquor will no longer be sold and...
WALLA WALLA - About 160 positions were eliminated at the Washington State Penitentiary recently, affecting many valley residents. Chad Lewis, spokesman for the Washington Department of Corrections, said the cuts made two weeks ago are the result of an analysis earlier this year that showed the state could reduce the budget for corrections as well as the custody levels at different prisons. As of last Monday, there are 32 prison employees residing in Dayton, 14 in Prescott and 49 in Waitsburg, according to Shari Hall, a public information...
DAYTON - After 25 years as a commissioner for the Port of Columbia, Lawrence Turner has decided it's finally time to hang up his hat. "I thought it was time to go home and farm for a while," Turner said with a laugh. Turner, now 83, was asked by the manager of the port in the mid-1980s if he would be interested in filling a vacancy on the board of commissioners. Turner had public service experience. He had served Columbia County as a commissioner from 1972 to 1980. He has lived in Dayton all of...
WAITSBURG - Thi s Wednesday night, the Waitsburg School Board will be deciding whether to place a levy on the Feb. 14, 2012, ballot asking voters to pay $882,000 over two years to maintain school programs and facility operations. Last Wednesday, the board directed Dr. Carol Clarke, district superintendent, to prepare a levy resolution for the board to vote on this week. The levy is a maintenance and operations levy that would run for two years if approved, and would replace a current maintenance and operations levy. If approved, the district...
WAITSBURG -- It seems like a grinch, or perhaps a group of young grinches, was bent on stealing the spirit of Christmas last week. Police and citizens' reports indicate they stole outdoor Christmas lights, decorations and even absconded with a plastic likeness of Baby Jesus. The spate of vandalism and theft throughout the city started last Tuesday and continued through the weekend. Some called it the worst the town has seen in years. In all, half a dozen reports of stolen or damaged Christmas...
TACOMA -- The WP Cardinals claimed the 2B 11-man football state title with a 33-7 victory over the Morton/White Pass Timberwolves last Saturday night in the Tacoma Dome. The undefeated Cardinals became the second WP team to win a state title this fall after the Tigers won it for soccer. Only two other teams in the state - Odessa and Davenport - accomplished this before in football and volleyball, according to sports historians. The road to the dome is a journey that began long before the...
DAYTON -- In previous years, Ski Bluewood may have waited to open with a minimal snow base of 20 inches. But this year, the new owners were prepared with the right equipment to pack a solid foundation for the rest of the ski season. Ski Bluewood opened last weekend and will remain open just on weekends until a high pressure system surrenders its grip on the Pacific Northwest and allows some more moisture into the region for additional snow fall on the mountain, coowner Mike Stephenson said Tuesday. About 70 percent of the mountain is open to...
DAYTON - After allegedly using counterfeit $20 bills and a 21-hour standoff with Walla Walla police last week, Skyler Glasby, 23, of Dayton, is in Walla Walla County Jail under charges of three counts of forgery and one count of third degree theft. Glasby is in jail with bail set at $10,000. He will be arraigned at the Walla Walla County Courthouse on Dec. 12 at 3 p.m. Glasby was arrested Wednesday, Nov. 30 at a mobile home on Plaza Way in Walla Walla. The standoff began at about 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 29 when Glasby and Joseph Dejesus, 20,...
TACOMA - The 2011 WP Cardinals became the first football team in history to win the 2B State Championship trophy for their communities on Saturday. The 14-0 team beat Morton/White Pass 33-7 in the state title game at the Tacoma dome in the same convincing fashion as it defeated most previous opponents the past several seasons. The Cardinals were the first to score and never looked back. They were up 14-0 at halftime. Morton/White Pass scored early in the second half and for a few moments, it...
WAITSBURG - With the City of Waitsburg's proposed 2012 budget cutting half of Fire Chief Jim Callahan's stipend, Columbia County Fire District 2 will step up to bridge the gap. Ci ty Manage r Randy Hinchliffe presented the council with the proposed 2012 budget on Nov. 16 that eliminated the chief's $250 monthly stipend from the city. For the past two years, the city had paid Callahan $250 a month and the fire district matched that amount, giving him $500 a month for his work. The fire district's boundaries do not include the City of Waitsburg,...
WAITSBURG - This Saturday and Sunday Christmas comes to Waitsburg with Santa, a lighted parade and plenty of shopping and prizes during the town's annual Hometown Christmas event. "Come to the Town Hall for vendors and gifts," said Ruth Peterson, an organizer of the event. Held every first weekend in December, this annual tradition centered in Town Hall is sure to be a delight. This is the festival's 26th year in Waitsburg, Peterson said. The fun starts on Saturday with Turkey Bingo. Turkeys...
SUMNER -- In only its second season as a high school soccer combine, the Waitsburg Prescott Tigers beat the defending state champions Saturday and brought home the coveted trophy. It's the first time WP has won a state title as a combine, the first time a team has won it for Prescott in 35 years and the first time in 109 years since a team has brought a state trophy home for Waitsburg. An eight-man PHS football team won the state title in 1976. A 1902 WHS football team won the then-equivalent...
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...
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,...
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...
