Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG - Retired Waitsburg School District teachers Jim Davison, Liv Leid, Roseann Groom, and retired Prescott teacher Susan DeRuwe attended the 2026 Washington State School Retirees' Association State Convention on June 8-10. At the convention, Davison was honored with the Ester Wilfong Award. He was nominated by the Walla Walla-Columbia School and the Benton Franklin School Retirees' Associations. The Ester Wilfong Legislative Advocacy Award is presented to a WSSRA member who has...
WALLA WALLA – Blue Mountain Community Foundation is pleased to announce that applications are open for its Community Grants Programs for Walla Walla County, and a separate program for Milton-Freewater, Athena, and Weston, Oregon (MFAW), for nonprofit organizations, public agencies, churches, and fiscally sponsored projects serving these areas. Blue Mountain Community Foundation (BMCF) is launching a new, county-based approach to community grantmaking designed to better align charitable resources with the communities that support them. B...
SPOKANE — Aaron F. Farinacci, of Spokane, Washington, was arrested Monday, August 3, 2026. He has been charged with first-degree arson in connection with the Old Trails fire, the largest of three wildfires in the region, and held on a $1 million bond, according to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office. Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels said a witness driving near the area where the Old Trail Fire is believed to have started, reported seeing a man “bending down” near the grass and standing up, looking “very nervous.” The witness had contacted p...
OLYMPIA —The Imagination Library of Washington (ILWA) has been awarded two grants to help restore Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The library provides free, high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to children from birth to age five in Washington. The financial commitments from the Roots & Wings Foundation and the John and Tami Marick Family Foundation will stabilize ILWA’s 50% book-cost match, which supports local program partners, and restore service in paused communities as quickly as possible. Together, these commitments provi...
WAITSBURG — The Southern Delta Aquariids and Alpha Capricornids meteor showers will overlap between July 28 and 31, 2026. The two showers will peak this week, occurring back-to-back between July 28 and 31. The Southern Delta Aquariids shower will arrive first, with the highest activity between July 28 and 30. At its strongest, there should be about 15 meteors an hour. They are not particularly bright, and appear to radiate from the area of Alpha Capricorni, a double star visible to the naked eye. The meteors are the result of debris left b...
DAYTON — Columbia County Health System and Dayton General Hospital have earned accreditation from Det Norske Veritas (DNV) through its National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations (NIAHO) Critical Access Hospital Accreditation Program. The accreditation verifies that Dayton General Hospital has satisfied the patient safety standards, known as the Conditions of Participation, set forth by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. DNV’s accreditation program also integrates the ISO 9001 standard for quality man...
WAITSBURG - With regional wildfires producing smoke in Eastern Washington, it has been hard to ignore the health issues associated with it. The National Weather Service and local agencies have issued air quality alerts for conditions forecasted to continue through next week. The air quality index (AQI) in Waitsburg, Walla Walla, and College Place has reached moderate to unhealthy levels. On Tuesday, Waitsburg's AQI registered 159, with a forecast for Wednesday and Friday rising to 166. College...
DAYTON — The Dayton School Board met in the high school library on July 15, 2026. Superintendent Jeremy Wheatley, Board Chair Jeffrey McCowen, and Board members Ryan Paulson, Pat Davidson, and Grant Griffin participated in person in the school library. Aneesha Dieu was not present. The board passed the consent agenda, which included an announcement that Tawnya Johnson, a College Place resident, had been hired as a teacher at the elementary school. Wheatley said Johnson was one of nine applicants for the position. Wheatley said the school’s comp...
DAYTON — City of Dayton Mayor Michael Smith called the Dayton City Council to order at 6 p.m. on July 14, 2026. Council members Shannon McMillen, James Su’euga, Kyle Anderson, Joann Patras, and Dave Harvey were present; Glenn Hagfeldt was not in attendance. In public comment, a resident said he and his neighbor thought the new road striping on Main Street was great. Belinda Larsen, the Chamber of Commerce Director, said that the success of All Wheels Weekend was due to community involvement, and gave a shout-out to the Columbia County Fai...
Walla Walla — Cirque Italia is bringing the wicked world of the Paranormal Cirque Voodoo to Walla Walla on July 24, 25, and 26. This unique event combines theatre, circus, and European-style cabaret for a mature audience. The Paranormal Cirque Voodoo is an innovative horror story that producers say blurs the divide between reality and illusion. It is definitely not the traditional circus of clowns, animal tricks, and peanuts. The show also follows a strict animal-free policy. Dare to get wicked for one night under the big black and white t...
WAITSBURG – The Waitsburg Commercial Club has moved to quarterly general membership meetings. The meetings are the second Tuesdays of July, October, and January at noon. The meeting in April will be on the third Tuesday and is the annual meeting and Community Service Awards. The first quarterly meeting was held on Tuesday, July 14, at Waitsburg’s Town Hall. The Commercial Club President Brittany Crane, 1st Vice-President Karen Huwe, 2nd Vice-President Paul Mantz-Powers, Secretary Tiffany Baxter, Treasurer Joy Smith, and a dozen members were in...
WALLA WALLA & WAITSBURG - Common Roots Housing Trust has begun work on Fern Avenue Cottage Homes, the trust's inaugural project in Walla Walla. The seven-home plan is projected to be occupied by the end of 2026 or early 2027. Looking forward, CRHT Board Member Joy Smith said that the work on the Fern Avenue project is giving the trust valuable on-the-job experience to bring to the Waitsburg endeavor. In 2025, the land trust purchased two parcels across from the corner of E. 2nd and Garden Ave. W...
WAITSBURG - The safety of the Waitsburg community, residents, and agriculture rests in the hands of the volunteers of the Columbia Walla Walla Fire District #2 (CWWFD#2). The Waitsburg-based fire department is looking for new team members for firefighting and Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Volunteers are encouraged to focus on their interests and not feel the need to do it all. The station responds to both fire and medical calls. "In 2024, we ran 188 medical and 59 fire calls," said CWWFD#2...
DAYTON — The Port of Columbia Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5 p.m. on July 7, 2026, at the port’s conference room. Present were Commissioners Mike Spring and Scott Hudson, Executive Director Jennie Dickinson, and Economic Development Coordinator Shane Laib. Commissioner Johnny Watts did not attend. The commissioners completed the agenda administrative items without debate. Dickinson said the conference room remodel would not begin until August 2026. She also said the sale of the Lyon’s Ferry Marina and Campground had still not c...
DAYTON - In June, flyers from a west-side political action committee landed in the mailboxes of residents in the Columbia County Hospital District. In the flyers, the committee charged the GOP U.S. House of Representatives and Rep. Michael Baumgartner(R) with harming health care access for millions of people after H.R.1, known as "The One Big Beautiful Bill Act," became law on July 4, 2025. Columbia County Hospital District CEO Shane McGuire offered his thoughts, noting that healthcare is a...
WALLA WALLA - This weekend, the Walla Walla Movie Crush returns with three days of American short films. Curated by co-founder Warren Etheridge, the films will be shown in thematic one-hour blocks beginning on Friday, July 10. The festival has showcased narrative, documentary, animated, musical, and experimental films, over the past ten years. This year, the 100 shorts are from Oscar-winners, rising stars, professional, and student filmmakers. In 2025, "Moviemaker Magazine" named Movie Crush as...
DAYTON - To encourage Columbia County kids of all ages (including adults) to learn to swim, the Friends of the Pool Committee in Dayton has offered to pay for certified swimming lessons. This includes both basic and intermediate lessons through certified Red Cross programs at the Walla Walla YMCA or any comparable certified program. The offer also includes paying for lifesaving skills and lifeguard certification for advanced swimmers. This offer will extend throughout the year. Families and swim...
Waitsburg — The Waitsburg Friends of the Pool, Rural Youth Enrichment Services (RYES) and Waitsburg Park and Recreation members continue to make a community survey’s top priority a reality. The results of the 2022 survey put building a new city pool as the number one priority. The previous pool was constructed in 1925, a period when small towns built public swimming pools for safe summer recreation and swimming lessons. The Waitsburg pool was a centerpiece of summer life, built to teach residents how to swim in a community surrounded by riv...
DAYTON/WAiTSBURG - It is summer, and there are plenty of events at the Dayton and Waitsburg libraries to entertain all ages. At the Dayton Library Repeating events include Terrific Tuesdays!, the library's game night at 5:30 p.m. On July 7 and 21, enjoy the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. The second Tuesday, July 14, is an evening of board and card games, and the last, on July 28, is Pokémon night. Toddler Storytime is on every Wednesday at 10 a.m. A story or two is read aloud,...
DAYTON — Dayton’s 2026 All Wheels Weekend was a fiery success, with over 5,000 visitors, 300 vehicles on display, races, a special movie showing, food, games, and the demolition derby....
DAYTON—It was standing room only when the Columbia County Rural Library Board of Trustees met for its regular board meeting on Monday, June 15. Of special interest to people attending was an agenda item to review the library display policy. Chair Dale Walling expressed regret about the optics and timing of placing that on the agenda in June, which is LGBTQ Pride Month, and about the possibility of reigniting past controversy over material seen as objectionable to some in the community. “It was n...
DAYTON — The Dayton School Board met at the high school library at 6:30 p.m. on June 16, 2026. Superintendent Jeremy Wheatley, Board Chair Jeffrey McCowen, and board members Ryan Paulson and Grant Griffin participated in person in the school library. Aneesha Dieu joined remotely. Pat Davidson was not present. The board approved the consent agenda, which included a list of surplus property and the personnel report. In this month’s personnel report, Dawn McGhan at the Elementary School will be retiring after 45 years of service. Also leaving are...
WAITSBURG — The Waitsburg City Council met on Wednesday, June 17, at City Hall. City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe, Mayor Marty Dunn, and Council members Jen Bishop, Jillian Henze, Brian Richards, Jim Romine, and Kevin House were in attendance. The council opened with a public hearing on the 6-year Transportation Plan, focusing on the Preston Street Bridge. The bridge, located on the state highway, can only be replaced or maintained by the Washington Department of Transportation. Jillian Henze proposed widening the bridge’s walkways and dec...
DAYTON - Waitsburg's music teacher Elizabeth Arebalos-Jagelski walked into the Dayton Liberty Theater's annex with plans to practice lines for the upcoming play but instead found the room packed with well-wishers at a surprise retirement party on Tuesday, June 9. Party organizers, including Waitsburg teacher Brenda Henderson, managed to keep the event a secret, leaving Jagelski completely jaw-droppingly surprised. Henderson had a few secret guests hidden in the back room, so Jagelski could play...
DAYTON – The Port of Columbia Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5 p.m. on June 10, 2026, at Lyon’s Ferry Marina. Commissioners Mike Spring, Johnny Watts, and Scott Hudson were joined by Executive Director Jennie Dickinson and Economic Development Coordinator Shane Laib. During public comment, a resident expressed concern about the condition of the marina’s breakwater, which apparently prevents larger craft from entering. The marina concessionaire, Joanne Knouf, said the restriction on large craft had been resolved, but exten...
