Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1112 - 1136 of 5665
WAITSBURG-Summer BBQ menus are going to be a little less sweet in Waitsburg this summer. After 30 years of growing a secret variety of sweet corn, Ed and Cathy Lambert are retiring to focus on family, Ed's lumber milling, and their own family garden. "We started growing corn when we moved here in 1988," Cathy said. "Our kids would load up a wagon with fresh vegetables and walk around the neighborhood, selling the veggies to neighbors. Everyone loved it!" Cathy said it didn't take long for local...
DAYTON—Garry Snyder, owner of Christy’s Realty in Dayton said local home sales remain strong, in spite of the state mandated restrictions on in-person meetings, put in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 . “I’ve had a very good year,” Snyder said. “It has been very busy. We’ve had a lot of sales under contract.” Snyder said there are fewer current listings, but that was true for this time of year even before the COVID-19 restrictions. Snyder has thirteen active listings with home prices...
WALLA WALLA—The Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla is happy to announce that the Cepheid platform for rapid testing has arrived at the hospital. The Cepheid can produce a COVID-19 test result in 45 minutes. The equipment now is undergoing approximately a week of validation testing, then will be put into use. Initially, it will be limited to patients at the hospital due to continuing national shortages of testing supplies. As more test kits become available, they will be able to e...
WALLA WALLA—City of Walla Walla officials have finalized plans for a three-part virtual town hall series to address topics relating to local policing including a local officer’s tattoo, police practices, policies, and funding. The meetings will be conducted online via Zoom, and the schedule will be as follows: Thursday July 9 at 6:30-8:30 p.m. — Presentations by City Manager Nabiel Shawa on City budget and police funding; City Attorney Tim Donaldson on legal issues surrounding Officer Nat Small’s tattoo; and Police Chief Scott Bieber on Wall...
DAYTON—County officials are dealing with projected shortfalls, state required cuts, and are trying to maintain adequate funds to cover expenses. In her second quarter financial report to the Board of County Commissioners on Monday, County Treasurer Carla Rowe offered a dire forecast for state revenue collections over the next few years due to the COVID-19 situation. She said the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council announced an estimated decrease in revenue collection for the 2019-21 budget of around $4.5 billion. “It is rep...
In the wake of February’s flooding event, the Blue Mountain Long-Term Recovery Group (BMLTRG), a multi-state, multi-county organization, has been formed to reflect the structure of similar long-term disaster recovery groups across the nation. The new group will continue the work taken on by multiple community groups in our region including the Waitsburg Flood Mitigation Group. BMLTRG’s Executive Committee is co-chaired by Christy Lieuallen from the United Way of the Blue Mountains and David Reinholz from The Community Action Program of Eas...
DAYTON—The Dayton School Board met July 1 for a regular monthly work session via Zoom. The board reviewed the middle and high school principal contract, and the 2020-2021 budget. This work session was Superintendent Guy Strot’s first regular meeting for the district. The board reviewed the middle and high school principal’s contract. Board member Fred White noted that there was one area with non-inclusive language within the contract, and the board agreed to fix the language to read ‘his/...
OLYMPIA—On Monday, June 6 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Washington state’s “faithless elector” laws. The Office of the Secretary of State won the lower-court rulings in both the state Superior and Supreme courts, and these decisions were supported today by the U.S. Supreme Court. Secretary of State Kim Wyman was confident that Washington state’s laws would be reaffirmed. “I am pleased to see that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld our role to ensure the popular vote of the people is represented in the electoral votes cast,” she said. The...
WAITSBURG—Waitsburg School District held a virtual public hearing on June 30 to discuss the upcoming school year. No more than four families attended the informative hearing to discuss concerns regarding classroom structure, face shields and masks, and other education concerns arising with the longevity of the coronavirus pandemic. Superintendent Mark Pickel started the meeting off by expressing that the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has been revising in-classroom t...
WALLA WALLA—Recent survey results, representing feedback from nearly 2,000 Walla Walla Public Schools parents, provided district staff critical guidance as they begin finalizing Fall 2020 reopening plans. Results from this recent survey, in addition to three prior surveys representing thousands of respondents, a focus group interview with students, and 10 different workgroups consisting of dozens of staff and community partners, have provided a path forward as the district modifies in-person instruction this fall. The strict, 6-foot social d...
As stay at home orders persist, and nearly every aspect of daily life is impacted in some way, it is no surprise that mental health problems are increasing across the country due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Kaiser Family Foundation notes that significantly higher shares of people who were sheltering in place (47 percent) reported negative mental health effects resulting from worry or stress related to coronavirus than among those not sheltering in place (37 percent)....
Take me out to the ballgame In Chronicles #2 and #3 I introduced you to Mr. B, Cookie's lifelong companion, ward and wing man. And I may have mentioned that Mr. B generally hits the sack earlier than the rest of us, the 'sack' being an empty slot in the kitchen spice drawer. Cookie is quite fond of this routine, and though we sometimes forget to put Mr. B to bed right after dinner, she will leave him on the kitchen floor, just below the drawer, as a gentle reminder. And that is where she will...
Mom made yet another quarantine mistake. Actually, Mom and Dad were both in on this one. It didn't involve shaving cream and the Roomba, but a TV show called "Shark Tank." Mom thought she was going to deter little me from the TV by watching a 'big kid' show, but boy was she wrong! I'm hooked, everyone. "Shark Tank" is a show where entrepreneurs pitch an idea, an invention or a business to billionaires like Mark Cuban (Mark is one of my favorites). Sometimes, the presenters have a great plan and...
Last summer, my first in Waitsburg, I planted three tomato plants and harvested enough tomatoes to keep Heinz making ketchup for years. I was so proud, I sent pictures back to everyone in Los Angeles, bragging about my abundant tomato crop. Then came the frost, and all I had were limp dead plants, and planters loaded with green tomatoes. Experienced gardeners advised me " don't be discouraged, pick them, put them in a box in the pantry or laundry room and you will have tomatoes through...
See the attached guide for more information....
WALLA WALLA-The Walla Walla YMCA is currently open with significant Phase 2 restrictions in place. Only members may visit, locker rooms will have limited access, there is a health screening at entry, and reservations are required for most areas. In order to provide fitness opportunities for a greater number of people, the YMCA is now offering a Virtual Membership for a $25 monthly fee. The Y's online offerings provide a way for people to maintain their physical health from the shelter of their...
Ten Years Ago July 28, 2011 The Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office is considering bringing a program to Waitsburg that would dispose of residents’ prescription and illegal drugs to keep them out of sewer systems and landfills, but an inability to fund and staff the program could prevent its fruition. Zooming by on Highway 12, it’s easy to miss the unassuming signs that mark the county line. “Entering Columbia County” reads the one going east. “Entering Walla Walla County” greets drivers heading west. For T. J. Hersey, running her father’s...
WALLA WALLA—Individual business owners in Walla Walla are all managing Governor Inslee's mask wearing proclamation in their own unique ways. Cugini's Italian Import Foods on Wallula in Walla Walla posted a sign noting masks were required, but clothing was optional! At Ellen's Cutting Edge Barbershop, notices on the door required masks, as well as a prior appointment to get a cut. I had been a frequent customer of Saager's since I moved to town nine years ago-as it was where I had my two young s...
DAYTON—Finances for the Columbia County Health System continue to be impacted due to the COVID-19 situation, which caused a significant reduction of patient services during the first months of the year, according to CCHS CEO Shane McGuire. An average of 771 patient visits were recorded at the Columbia Family Clinic, during the first three months of the year, but only 542 visits were recorded in May. However, the month of May saw an increase in patient volumes in several areas; including R...
Local horsemen spent their weekend at the Columbia County fairgrounds working with renowned horse trainer Buck Brannaman. The four-day horsemanship clinic was attended by 21 riders but did not allow spectators this year....
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met Wednesday, June 24 via conference call. All council members were present. The council discussed the six-year transportation plan, local coronavirus relief funds, and other items. The council reviewed the six-year plan as presented to them by city administrator Randy Hinchliffe. The plan, which starts in 2020 and ends in 2026, includes work on Main Street, Bolles Road, and city-wide maintenance. The total expenses over the six-year period is budgeted at j...
DAYTON—Doug Johnson is a man who loves kids and he will be involved with them, in some way, even after he retires at the end of June. Johnson has been in the field of education for over 41 years, teaching history to middle school students, serving as a school principal, and as a school superintendent. For the past year, he has performed a balancing act at the Dayton School District, as school superintendent and principal of the elementary school. Johnson stepped in to fill the vacant e...
DAYTON—Andrew Bassler, of Dayton, chose to combine his career and his love of fishing when he took the Education Coordinator position with the Salmon in Schools program. After four years of teaching local students about all-things salmon, he is ready to pass the torch to someone new later this year. “I didn’t really know much when I started,” the avid fly fisherman said. “It was as much a learning opportunity for me as it was for the kids.” Bassler said that serving as the Education Coordinator...
WALLA WALLA—Whitman College and Northwest Archives is creating a digital archive of the Walla Walla community’s experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. As our community begins to reopen, it is important to reflect on our experiences of the pandemic, including our experiences at work and school, our social and family interactions, and the changes to our routines. The college welcomes submissions in all languages from all members of the Walla Walla and regional communities. In partnership with the Walla Walla Mutual Aid Network and the Soci...
