Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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OLYMPIA—Washington State education officials released a guide to reopening schools for Fall 2020 on Thursday, June 11. The document lays a framework for schools to begin planning what their return to school in the fall looks like. The guidance was developed in partnership with the state Department of Health (DOH); the Governor’s Office; the Department of Labor and Industries; and a broad stakeholder group of more than 120 educators, practitioners, parents, community-based organizations, legislators, and students. State School Sup...
DAYTON-People shopping at the Blue Mountain Station Co-op market have been able to find some of the items they couldn't find at retail grocery stores, because of hoarding by panic-stricken shoppers reacting to the coronavirus pandemic. Market Manager Valerie Mudry said there were no impacts or disruption to their supply chain, largely because all products at the market are locally sourced. People are now consistently buying their meat, produce, dairy, and eggs from the Co-op, she said. Business...
DAYTON—Tom Dingus, owner of Dingus/Zarecor & Associates, Certified Public Accountants, presented the 2019 Basic Financial Statements, and Independent Auditor’s Reports to the Hospital District Board of Commissioners at a special meeting last week. 2019 Financial audit Dingus said the 2019 financial audit went smoothly. “Half the hospitals in your group are doing better and half are doing worse,” he pointed out. He said the Hospital District has the resources to pay its obligations, as they be...
STARBUCK/DIXIE-A unique partnership between two rural school districts was cut short this school year when Governor Inlsee issued his Stay Safe, Stay home proclamation, and schools closed in-person instruction due to COVID-19. Starbuck School Superintendent Kevin Graffis has worked with Starbuck Elementary School teacher Lynette Palmer-France and Dixie Elementary School teacher Bill Clancy to offer the "Salmon in the Schools" program to their students. This informative and hands-on program is...
Within a week of my move to Waitsburg, construction started on my house. My ears were bombarded with drills, hammers, compressors, nail guns, saws and lots of cursing. About two weeks ago, construction slowed down for a short time. The silence was deafening, much appreciated, albeit too short. The first few nights I spent in Waitsburg the silence was so eerie I had to keep the TV on to fall asleep. It was winter and I swear I could hear the snow falling, and icicles forming. It was culture shock...
Had the Curse of the Lost Security Deposit not loomed in the temporal distance, our intrepid adventurer might well have ceased her quest for the Lost Treasure of Apartment 1B rather than brave the belly of the Ford Fusion. Marked as sacred by the Ground Transportation Gods, it was taboo to cause it any injury. But the Fusion shared no such concern for the welfare of its riders, and the labyrinthine streets of South Bend, Indiana, were no willing ally to our adventurer and her mother. "Turn the...
(On The Road Part Five) Following the harrowing rescue of Mr. B from the (potential) clutches of the pterodactyl, we proceeded on down the coast uneventfully. Which believe me, was a blessing. On a previous trip south in the pre-Cookie days, we'd randomly stopped each day in whatever town we happened to find ourselves in, looking for what seemed to be interesting or unusual places to overnight. On one memorable occasion we'd knocked on the door of a B&B that sat on a high bluff over an ocean...
WALLA WALLA-Plans are underway to boost business income in Walla Walla's downtown corridor through active collaboration between the City, local agencies and business owners. The proposals all encourage utilizing outdoor spaces which many believe is a safer alternative to dining indoors, recognizing data that shows the coronavirus is transmittable through prolonged contact in enclosed spaces. The Walla Walla City Council has approved a number of measures to increase outdoor seating, allowing rest...
OLYMPIA—When COVID-19 hit, just over 670,000 Washington households were already one emergency away from financial ruin—a 10-year record high— setting the stage for the unprecedented economic impact of the crisis, according to the state’s latest Asset Limited Income Constrained, Employed Report (ALICE) released on Tuesday, June 16 by United Ways of the Pacific Northwest, in partnership with United For ALICE. Over the last decade, Washington’s low-income families systematically lost buying power and financial stability as the high cost of essent...
I truly believe the best ideas are hatched at cocktail parties. Or maybe it's just with cocktails, but we had an idea. Brad hunts and fishes, his wife Alexandra (Ali) is an expert and prolific gardener, Daniel is a professional chef, and me – well, I do dishes and love to eat! Hence, an idea was born, to combine our talents and appetites and come up with a menu, based on our local food, because we are lucky to live where it's possible to truly eat local! Ali swooped by our front porch one m...
Back in April, Waitsburg saw a sudden uptick in the local bigfoot population. Lisa Russell, the owner of Cryptid Comforts, was at the heart of the population boom and is ready to bring more legends and cryptids to town. Russell taught herself to sew sock monkeys a few years ago and before long she had all sorts of interest from friends and family to purchase the monkeys. While teaching at Portland Jewish Academy, a colleague suggested a unicorn sewing class, and while Russell liked the idea,...
DAYTON—At the Port of Columbia Commissioners meeting last week, the Touchet Valley Trail Steering Committee presented a draft trail concept plan, along with a recommendation to allow its use by Anderson/Perry & Associates, as they continue to study the feasibility of the trail and work on the preliminary design. Eighteen stakeholders on the steering committee signed the letter of recommendation and 12 people on the committee spoke about how organizations they represent support the project, a...
Mr. C's Smoking Co Mr. C's is open Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m- 6 p.m, and Sunday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. They will continue to offer smoked cheeses and other goods, as well as butchering services. Mr. C's is located at 405 Preston Ave. https://www.loc8nearme.com/washington/waitsburg/mr-cs-smoked-meat-and-cheeses/3055054/ Tim's Carpentry Tim's Carpentry is open and ready to help with your remodeling projects. Tim can be reached at (509) 386-1738. Claudia's Therapeutic Massage Massage therapist Claudia Abel...
WALLA WALLA-A grassroots group of people of color from the Walla Walla Valley community organized a second Peace Rally on Sunday, June 7 near Walla Walla's Land Title Plaza. With impassioned speakers and music, the rally gave a platform for people of color to be heard and for non-POC to listen. The gathering attracted a larger crowd than the May 31 rally at the same location. Estimates of crowd size for both events vary from several hundred to over 2,000. There is no disagreement, however, to th...
DAYTON—Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman and Governor Jay Inslee have approved Columbia County to move forward to Phase 3. Individual Phase 3 business sectors can reopen only after the state publishes its guidelines for the specific sector. Individual business is only allowed to reopen after it can implement those guidelines. Dr. Wiesman retains the right to revoke the approval and Governor Inslee retains the right to reimpose restrictions under his authority. Phase 3 went i...
WALLA WALLA—At a meeting on Monday, June 8, Walla Walla County Commissioners voted to cancel the 154th Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days due to safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic. Commissioners said that the decision did not come easily. The decision ultimately came down to a safety issue, as coronavirus numbers are slowly beginning to rise in the county again. Meeting attendees expressed that they were uncomfortable hoping that Walla Walla County would be in the proper phase of G...
WALLA WALLA-The amateur baseball team, the Walla Walla Sweets, announced the cancellation of the 2020 season last week due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects felt across the Northwest. Season ticket members with 2020 tickets will be able to roll over their tickets automatically to next year-and they'll receive tickets to two extra games at no additional charge "We are disappointed that there will not be Sweets baseball this summer," Sweets general manager Cody Miller said. "We did...
WALLA WALLA-The news of repeated break-ins and killings of birds at the Pioneer Park Aviary in Walla Walla has prompted an outpouring of support and funding from community members. Walla Walla Police reported that there have been multiple incidents over the past two weeks of someone cutting the netting at the Aviary and killing approximately 12 birds. The City is offering a $1,000 reward for the arrest and convictions of the person(s) responsible for the killing of the birds. The reward money...
OLYMPIA—The Washington State Library (WSL), a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, has been tasked with distributing $688,000 to public and tribal libraries, and museums for COVID-19 response efforts. The funds are part of the $50 million allocated in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to the Institute of Museum and Library Services to assist museums and libraries across the country address the digital divide during the pandemic. Three grant opportunities are available for libraries and museums. All appl...
DAYTON-New businesses opening in Dayton, despite the coronavirus slow-down, is a testament to a community that will step up and help each other. It also says a lot about the pluck and determination of three entrepreneurs who are opening or have just opened businesses in town The new owners of the Weinhard Hotel, at 229 East Main Street, are open to hotel traffic and have opened their new cafe, Jacob's Public House. "I love people, food, and hospitality," said Christina Dingman, who along with he...
DAYTON—CEO Shane McGuire told the Hospital District Board of Commissioners he is now cautiously optimistic about Columbia County Health System finances. “2020 won’t put us out of business and we are ready for fall,” he told them, at their regular board meeting in May. The CARES Act set aside one billion in aid from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services for hospitals and health systems to weather the COVID-19 challenge, and the CCHS has been allocated around 4.4 million dollars, he said. McGuire said an initial award in the amount of $654...
We had hoped to receive some guidance from the state, Governor and State Superintendent of Schools, regarding returning to school next fall yesterday. What we received instead was a note explaining they are still working on guidance and are waiting for information from the Department of Health and other agencies. They hope to share information with all school districts by the end of the week. While this is disappointing, it is also a message illustrating the many complex pieces returning to school will bring and the desire to provide best...
Yay! Governor Inslee has approved Phase 2 status for Walla Walla County. Such fortuitous timing, in the midst of so many other "phasing" events, like high school and college graduations, now those students will phase into their new lives as college freshman, or (hopefully) employees-maybe graduate school? June is also a big month for weddings, and couples "phasing" into married life. And some of us are just phasing into rural life, (and loving it). But, like all things in life, "phasing"...
(We last left our intrepid adventurer and her mother in the plague-stricken wastes of SeaTac International Airport, where nobody could be bothered to wear a mask despite being crammed like sardines into the concourse-and-a-half that was actually open. However, given that mask policy has become a hot-button political issue, our intrepid adventurer will use her lightning-quick reflexes to avoid this topic until later in this serial, where she will be stuck in consecutive four-hour layovers and...
WAITSBURG-Walla Walla county businesses got the long awaited 'go-ahead' to move into Phase 2 of Governor Inslee's Safe Start plan and Waitsburg business owners are preparing to provide sit down dining, post-pandemic haircuts, shopping, and more. Blush Salon and Spa: Brooke Mikesell and Madison Mings have begun accepting appointments for hair, nails, lashes and more at Blush Salon located at 214 Main Street. Beginning June 1, the salon is open for clients by appointment only. All clients must...
