Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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(On The Road Part Three) We all travel for many different reasons, but one defining feature for any type of travel, whether for business, pleasure or pure adventure, is that it breaks you out of your day-to-day routines. If you work at home, and your family basically consists of your spouse and a dog, as ours does, then travel will throw a monkey wrench into just about everything. One big reason for Cookie’s initial displeasure upon embarking (pun intended) on her first big road trip was this t...
When the Times last wrote about the Liberty Theater in Dayton, we described the efforts and planning that went into the staging of their celebratory 20th anniversary variety show. Set to open on Friday, March 20, 2020, the event was sadly derailed by the coronavirus. The program was to feature favorite musical numbers from the Touchet Valley Arts Center's live theater productions over the past 20 years and was being directed by Peggy and Cara James. Since that time, theater staff and board have...
DAYTON—Most of us are acquainted with the five stages of grief, which are; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, and most of us have experienced grief, firsthand, through the loss of a job, the loss of financial security, the end of an important relationship, or through the death of a loved one. Can the feelings we are experiencing about the reality of COVID-19 be thought of as a grief reaction? Chrisann Christensen, the Clinical Director at Blue Mountain Counseling thinks so, a...
IN THE WEEDS-Here it is, just after Mother's Day weekend, planting time. We Washingtonians are pretty much guaranteed a frost-free growth season from here on in. (Not so much for friends at higher elevations and/or in Colorado.) It seems as though the garden goes from an idea to a plan to behind schedule practically overnight. Those plants started indoors can finally spread their roots in the garden beds or pots previously prepared for them. Working with plant starts is incredibly satisfying bec...
In Celebration of Waitsburg, a social-distancing parade of antique and classic cars, trucks, and motorized vehicles will cruise from the North end of downtown Waitsburg down Main Street to 7th Street and Orchard, another right on 4th brings us back to Main Street and back to downtown on Saturday, May 16 at 10 a.m. Enjoy the cruise while maintaining six feet distancing from the comfort of your vehicle or home....
We missed one Mom in last week's Mother's Day feature, but moms should be celebrated every day, so......
DAYTON-On Friday May 1 Governor Jay Inslee announced a four-phase plan for reopening businesses in Washington state. That announcement included an opportunity for ten smaller, rural counties to apply for a variance to reopen certain businesses a few weeks earlier than other counties, and Columbia County is on that list. On Monday, Columbia County Public Health Director Martha Lanman presented the criteria needed to comply with requirements to apply for a variance to the Board of County...
WALLA WALLA—The COVID-19 outbreak in our area has risen sharply over the past week, with 92 confirmed cases in Walla Walla County as of May 5 at 11 a.m. This is an increase of 35 cases from April 27. Walla Walla County experienced the first loss of life to the virus, when it was reported that a hospitalized local man passed away on May 4. He was in his late 70s with underlying health conditions. The Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc. plant in Wallula, WA is among many other agribusiness plants across the country who are seeing spikes of the infection. Wit...
Visits to the emergency rooms have declined in Walla Walla county and across Washington since the COVID-19 pandemic began. “Overall, the number of people coming to the Emergency Department are down significantly. On an average, pre-pandemic day, the Providence St. Mary Medical Center Emergency Department sees between 80 and 100 patients. Currently, it is seeing from 40 to 50,” said Kathleen Obenland, Director of Communications for Providence. “A concerning trend we are seeing are people with serious medical emergencies, such as stroke or heart...
DAYTON—Kari Dingman, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife assistant manager for the Wooten Wildlife Area said all State Lands will be reopened to the public for Day Use, only, on May 5. “Locally that will mean the Wooten Wildlife Area will be open for fishing in the lakes and for Day Use activities,” she said. She said the access roads to Spring, Blue, Rainbow, and Deer Lake, were not damaged by the February flood and the lakes have been stocked with fish. However, repairs have not b...
WALLA WALLA-In less than a week, private citizens, cities, agencies and fire departments in the Walla Walla area stepped up to donate over $174,000 through the Providence St. Mary Foundation to make rapid testing for COVID-19 available in this community. As hospitals across the nation grapple with the economic pressures from the pandemic, it is becoming increasingly difficult to generate the operating revenue needed to invest in technologies and equipment. The hospital's foundation is playing a...
OLYMPIA-On April 30, Gov. Jay Inslee announced additional guidance for the existing order on limiting non-urgent medical procedures. The Governor's 'Stay Safe, Stay Home' proclamation ensured appropriate surge capacity and personal protective equipment (PPE) in hospitals and other health care facilities to manage an influx of COVID-19 patients. This new guidance provides clarification on what type of non-urgent surgeries are permitted under the order. "Washingtonians have taken the threat of...
DAYTON—Columbia County Health System officials are working to shore up the system’s finances, which have been negatively impacted due to preparations required for a possible COVID-19 surge. There has been a loss of revenue from a decrease in clinic visits and fewer inpatient and outpatient therapies that depend on lab tests, x rays and other imaging services. In spite of that, CCHS Controller Tom Meyers had some good news to report to the Hospital District Board of Commissioners in April. He...
Readers Bill and Wendy in Vancouver, B.C. caught their dog Dante taking the convertible out for a spin. The mask is either COVID-19 preventative, or an attempt to hide his identity....
DAYTON-Judy Jones an advisor from the Walla Walla Small Business Development Center met with Port of Columbia Director, Jennie Dickinson and local business owners in a Town Hall meeting on April 21. The purpose was to provide strategies to help business owners "survive and thrive" during the nonessential business shutdown, due to the COVID-19 challenge. Jones said the time is now for small business owners to take a hard look at some strategies for staying afloat. She said the most important...
This was actually the title of an "essay" assigned to my sister for Mother's Day when she was in 4th grade. My mother treasured this master literary work, it was the only childhood memento that she saved from any of us. None of our homemade cards, shell art, lariats or wood carvings made at camp were found among her treasures, just this paper. The title aptly suited my mother. She was a superstar; I miss her every day. She was a good sport, had a wicked sense of humor, could hold a grudge...
(On The Road Part Two) Having hunkered down in our peaceful Nye Beach cabin after an exhausting first day on the road, we awoke to a bright winter sunrise and the sound of waves crashing on the shore below. The beach, which had been cloaked in darkness when we arrived, now beckoned irresistibly. We'd already decided to spend an extra night here, so a wide open play day awaited. As soon as we gazed out the living room windows at the unbroken expanse of ocean, sky and sand that spread out from...
Don't do crimes! At the time of this writing, I've finished one three-hour nightmare of a final and have three more such finals in my future. By the time you read this, I'll be done with three and have one left to finish. (And if anybody needs me for anything over the weekend, ask someone else. I'll be asleep.) Seeing as it's getting so close to crunch time, I figured this week's unsolicited advice would do double-duty as a review session. That's right, folks: it's time for some unsolicited...
As high school graduation approaches, Waitsburg's Main Street is getting prepped for a dash of color and a few smiling faces. While the details for a socially-distanced graduation are still being ironed out, the community has been looking for ways to honor the Class of 2020. Last month Senior Advisor, Matthew Wyatt, turned to Facebook to ask the community's help to raise funds for Main Street banners celebrating the seniors. In true Waitsburg fashion, the community rallied together to raise...
I must admit I am my mother's son, and apparently that of her mother as well. Both enjoy collecting beautiful things to display, as well as saving practical materials that may be of use at some unknown (and inexplicable) point in time. I am not a collector, per se, but I am guilty of keeping things like useless wood scraps and old nails and bolts. And I just can't bring myself to discard antlers, handsome game hides or upland bird plumage. Art is a recurring theme among my tales and reflections...
Buying a new car is always exciting. Spending hours at the dealership, negotiating your heart out and signing a tree's worth of papers... not so exciting. There is a way around the showrooms and bargaining that is quickly gaining traction: online car dealerships like Vroom, Carvana, and True Car. As a matter of fact, at least one car recently seen around Waitsburg was delivered earlier this year from the online car dealership Vroom. Albert Diaz and his wife, Brigid, of Waitsburg, recently...
JOHN DAY, PENDLETON, and BAKER CITY, Ore.-Personal-use mushroom picking is free and does not require a permit or payment under the legal limits, which authorizes an individual to harvest, possess, or transport less than a gallon in Oregon and less than five gallons in Washington. No commercial permits are available this year due to coronavirus These free mushrooms are only available for personal consumption and cannot be sold, bartered, or given away. Those seeking to pick more than the free...
Look Ma, no hands!...
PASCO-Carly Coburn of Pasco, WA announced on Thursday, April 30th that she will be running as a Democrat for the 16th Legislative District, position 2, currently held by Representative Skyler Rude. Coburn is a community leader with a history of serving and standing up for marginalized residents of the 16th LD. Coburn first moved to Eastern Washington in 2014 to College Place and moved to Pasco in September of 2015. She has been married for 11 years, and has an adorable chihuahua named Mimi, and...
DAYTON-Employees of the Columbia County Health System are being assisted with their childcare needs thanks to a $12,500 award from Innovia Foundation, according to The Club's manager Jim Pearson. Pearson said The Club, the Columbia County Health System, and the Dayton School District have coordinated the childcare program. Between twelve and fifteen youth, ages two through eleven, are being served by the program, which is located in the Dayton School District facilities. The Club's Program...
