Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 948 - 972 of 997
WAITSBURG - Shortly after Cycle Oregon organizer Tara Corbin arrived in Waitsburg ahead of the 2,250 cyclists coming here for their midweek stay last week, Mayor Walt Gobel took her to see the city's "Hollywood" sign on the hill: a giant bicycle ploughed into the field south of town to greet the far-flung visitors. "That almost brought tears to my eyes," Corbin said about the iconic welcome initiated by local hospitality coordinator Deanne Johnson. "It was one of those standout moments for me...
WAITSBURG - Ye Towne Hall in downtown Waitsburg was built by local American Legionnaires in 1928. Next week, a new generation of Waitsburgers will rededicate the historic building, officially reopening the renovated structure for another 100 years or so of civic service. The town will celebrate this reopening on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m. in a program honoring the history of the old building following the regular dinner meeting of the Waitsburg Commercial Club at 6:30. Those who would like to...
DAYTON - City officials Monday night voted down the much-debated ordinance proposed in July to legalize the operation of off-road vehicles on some of Dayton's streets. It was a tough decision for city councilors; that was obvious to all at the council meeting. Some prefaced their choice with an explanation while others remained silent, but the vote itself made clear the division of opinion on this hot topic. It was a tie. Councilors Terry Herrin, Jim Cooper and Charlie Button voted to approve the first reading of the new ordinance. All three co...
WAITSBURG - Some years back, the Waitsburg Masonic Lodge No. 16 had a dilemma. Its members were getting older, and the only way some of them could make it up to the temple on the second floor above the grocery store was with the help of an elevator. There was only one small problem. The stairs were steep and had two landings. An installation would have to be so sophisticated, it would cost more than $15,000. So, the Lodge turned to one of its members, Bill Zuger, for a solution. Known for his...
DAYTON - Ski Bluewood, whose current owners said earlier this year they would need to shut the resort down unless they could hand it over before the upcoming season, has a prospective buyer. "We're negotiating," said Stan Goodell, who owns Ski Bluewood with his wife Nancy. Goodell declined to share the name of the possible buyer for fear it might upset the talks. Neither would he speculate whether a deal could be reached before the beginning of the 2010 - 2011 season. But he indicated that talks between the two parties are going well and...
DAYTON - In what could be seen as a breakthrough on the part of the Columbia County Public Hospital Board of Commissioners, member Ted Paterson acknowledged last week that the board "may have become complacent" in the face of recent management practices, staff decisions and unsatisfactory work environment within the system. "Maybe we didn't ask the right questions," he told the audience at the Catholic Church in Dayton on Thursday. "Maybe we were just looking at the dollar signs and seeing, 'it's black, it's black, it's black.'" Paterson spoke...
STARBUCK - Diane Lusk liked the way Bob Bulota always greeted her when he called from one of his far-flung trips. "Hello Mrs. Lusk, this is Bob Bulota," he would announce to the Starbucks post master in tongue-in-cheek formality. Lusk still gets calls from someone who sounds just like Bob. For a split second, her heart rises at the thought that it might be her friend of eight years - the one who regularly brought her apples, pears and flowers at work. But it's wishful thinking. Bob has been...
PRESCOTT - The Board of the Prescott School District has appointed a former deputy superintendent of Walla Walla Public Schools as its interim superintendent. The district announced the temporary appointment after an executive session before its regular meeting Thursday night. The announcement comes a week after the board decided to forego interviews with seven applicants who have sought the permanent appointment so far and take more time to expand the pool of recruits during the school year. The board said the interim appointment gives the...
DAYTON - Several homeowners were evacuated from the Tucannon River valley Thursday as dozens of firefighters from three counties battled wildfires that spread across thousands of acres northeast of Dayton. A fire that started off Patit Road Tuesday and was thought to be under control flared up again Thursday afternoon and grew rapidly with winds of up to 35 miles per hour fanning the flames through wheat land stubble, grass, brush and trees in gullies and canyons. The fire dropped down into the Tucannon River valley between Hartsock and...
The Board of Directors of the Waitsburg School District will host a reception for retiring teacher Pam Conover at the Waitsburg Elementary School 4:30 - 6 p.m. Sunday Aug. 26....
One winter's day earlier this One year, when Ally Chapman and One her mom Brenda were on their way to piano lessons in Waitsburg, the 11-year-old got an idea. Inspired by her grandfather, Brian Black, who orchestrated the creation of the Veterans' Memorial in the Chapman's hometown of Dayton, she had been wanting to do something good for her community, something big. So she decided to write to the comHeart that make some of her favorite products to see if they might be interested in helping brin...
WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg City Council last week passed a law that may have appeared limited in its applicability to Mayor Walt Gobel who enjoys getting around town using a different mode of transportation. But there are others who say they'll take advantage of a new ordinance allowing the use of golf carts on city streets. WP football coach and PE teacher Jeff Bartlow, for one, is a big fan. "I'll use mine for a lot of things now that I can," said Bartlow, who bought a used golf cart - read: a...
PRESCOTT - If you were one of the applicants for the position of superintendent of the Prescott School District, the Times is interested in hearing from you. After an executive session last week, Prescott School Board Chair Karen Tonne issued a short statement saying the district is chosing not to interview a single one of the seven candidates for the superintendent's position, reportedly because the board wants to have a larger pool of recruits to consider. Instead, the board will consider appointing an interim superintendent while seeking mor...
DAYTON - This year's fire season in the Touchet Valley brings back some memories of the Columbia Complex fire that raged four years ago and became the nation's top firefightingpriority that summer. They're memories that most who lived through the 100,000-acre fire would just as soon forget. But starting at the Columbia Court House on Monday, some people whose lives were affected by the devastating blazes will relive the experience in front of a jury. Ironically for one of them, former...
DAYTON - The consultant who has been hired to conduct a work environment assessment reportof Columbia County Hospital District #1 will be presenting her findings during the district board's regular meeting at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Unlike previous meetings, a different venue has been set aside for the meeting on Aug. 26. It will be held at the Catholic Church Fellowship Hall, 112 South First Street in Dayton. The presentation by Susan Newton of Development Strategies Plus in Walla Walla is scheduled for 30 minutes about 20 minutes into the...
WAITSBURG - In another step to reach its readers in cyberspace and to become the Touchet Valley's predominant news source, the Times has launched its own website: www.waitsburgtimes. com. Earlier this year, the Times established its first online presence with a Facebook page which now has nearly 750 fans. On www.facebook.com/waitsburgtimes, fans get updates, discussions and photos from the Times. They can also share comments, but there is no full access to the newspaper's content. The new website, www.waitsburgtimes.com, gives the newspaper,...
DAYTON - When it comes to envisioning a more attractive, more prosperous downtown Dayton, the ideas flowfrom far and wide. Focus on the Green Giant and the history of the cannery, some say. Develop along the Touchet River, our most valuable asset, say others. Concentrate on children - have an All Children's Weekend, they continue. But members of the Dayton Development Task Force, which has been around for over 25 years, say the town already has a theme - "Historic Downtown Dayton." Now...
UMATILLA NATIONAL FOREST - A wilderness raid in the upper Tucannon watershed Tuesday morning earned Columbia County Sheriff's deputies the largest marijuana seizure since 2008. Deputies pulled 4,562 pot plants from a steep slope inside the Umatilla National Forest about fivemiles from a site where 11,000 marijuana plants were seized in 2008. No arrests were made in either case. "We're speculating that it may be the same group that set up this new grow site," said Jeff Jenkins, narcotics deputy...
WAITSBURG - Cardinals T-shirts, Touchet Valley farm truck decals, Kison Court sports banners, Dayton shop signs, Waitsburg High Letterman jackets. The list of items produced by Blue Crystal Screenprinting Signs on Willard could go on and on. Chances are they all look familiar. They're icons of our everyday lives and our every-weekend sports. In the 16 years since it was founded, Waitsburg entrepreneur Elizabeth Cole has supplied the Touchet Valley and many clients in Walla Walla with at...
WAITSBURG - Citizens of Waitsburg could get an opportunity to save on gas and enjoy certain new liberties if Mayor Walt Gobel has anything to say about it. Gobel has encouraged city councilors to take a look at an ordinance that would allow golf carts on streets inside Waitsburg city limits. The proposed ordinance will be discussed at the next city council meeting, on Aug. 18. "Well, it's a bit personal," Gobel said Monday. "My wife has one and we have, in the past, run it around town staying pretty much on the sidewalks." But state...
Volunteer fire fighters in the Touchet Valley spent a weary weekend battling blaze upon blaze as foul weather, careless drivers and faulty machinery conspired to keep emergency personnel on their toes from one end of the valley to the other. Times correspondent Laverne Mayberry, of Prescott, reported that close to 200 firefighters from across the state, 40 engines and a helicopter were called in to help contain a fire that raged over 23,000 acres near Eureka over the weekend. More than half a...
DAYTON - It's Monday afternoon. Auditions are over, and the roles have been cast. Now 48 children in the Touchet Valley have just four days to rehearse for a live, musical performance they'll stage in front of friends, family members and total strangers this coming Friday and Saturday nights at the Liberty Theater. For most of the children, who range in grade level from first through 12th, the annual summer play in Dayton is their only shot at experiencing theater arts - and they welcome the...
