The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

STARBUCK-If you see a traditional dugout canoe paddling down the Snake River over the next couple days, wave and say hi! Willow Bill is completing his second trek to the ocean, but not before stopping...

STARBUCK-The first thing you notice when you meet Starbuck School District Superintendent Kevin Graffis is what a big man he is. Graffis has played professional football, and as he begins to talk,...

WAITSBURG-Columbia-Walla Walla County Fire District 2 is excited to announce the new fire chief, Michael Moynihan, from San Francisco, California. Chief Moynihan began his position as the first paid...

WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg School Board met September 17, via Zoom meeting. High School Principal Stephanie Wooderchak said that the school year was going smoothly though there have been some issues...

WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met Tuesday, September 15, via conference call. All members of the Council were present. The Council reviewed an application for the first of a series of...

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court and a pioneering advocate for women’s rights, died on Friday at her home in Washington, D.C. She was 87. The cause was...

DAYTON-Kim Clark, General Manager of Bluewood Ski Resort, said the forecast is for a "good, strong snowfall all winter long," and he is keeping his fingers crossed. Clark said the goal for the upcomin...

STARBUCK-The town of Starbuck, nestled between Hwy. 12 and Lyons Ferry Marina, northeast of Dayton, has a small school district serving forty students. All of the District's students, except for...

A massive smoke cloud covered Washington with heavy smoke over the weekend A supermassive cloud of smoke blanketed parts of the Pacific Northwest over the weekend, leaving many areas in the...

WAITSBURG-How do you make tired volunteer firefighters smile in the middle of one of the worst fire seasons on record? If you ask the local Girl Scouts, it is as easy as donating a few cases of...

WAITSBURG-Nancy's Dream Garden Center has moved closer to main Main Street. Owner/operators Janet Lawrence and Doug Biolo said the move has been great for business, with a new surprising customer...

DAYTON-Dayton is becoming a magnet for people who are attracted to the rural lifestyle. Dayton Chamber of Commerce Manager Molly Weatherill-Tate said a couple from Colorado recently moved to Dayton,...

DAYTON—City Administrator Trina Cole provided the Dayton City Council with an update about the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) project at last week’s council meeting. “We are moving forward...

DAYTON-Things looked a little different at the Columbia County Fair last weekend. There were no spectators, still-life exhibits or fair food, but that didn't stop the livestock classes or sale....

DAYTON—In the aftermath of the Flood of 2020, and during the COVID-19 shutdown, Columbia County Commissioner Mike Talbott expressed the following sentiment. “All we need now is a trifecta....

The town of Malden taken from a Whitman County Sheriff Department drone on Tuesday, September 8, 2020. The day before much of the town was destroyed by a wildfire that spread due to high winds. The...

WALLA WALLA—A Pendleton man is facing felony charges after being arrested last week in Waitsburg for sex crimes. Robert Miguel Aguilera, 37, was booked into Walla Walla County Jail on felony...

DAYTON—Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney Dale Slack said it took jurors just 45 minutes to return a verdict of Guilty of Assault in the First Degree in the trial for the State vs. William...

Prescott School District kicked off the start of school with a bus parade....

A devastating wind event swept through Washington on September 7, Labor Day. Weather experts said that a strong cold front moved down from Canada, creating wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour in some...

DAYTON—On Tuesday of last week, Columbia County Commissioner Ryan Rundell reached out to the Times to present the County’s side of the story regarding talks with the City of Dayton for law...