Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 185 - 209 of 5682
WAITSBURG-To have an impact in the community that others take notice of, yet remain quietly behind the scenes, is what Louie and Marie Gagnon do, day after day. The Gagnons will uncharacteristically be front and center as this year's Waitsburg Celebration Day's Parade Marshals. The Celebration Days parade committee selected the couple for their years of volunteerism and service in the Waitsburg community, including their involvement with the Weller Public Library, Waitsburg Town Hall, and the...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met in the High School Library at 6:30 PM on April 17, 2024. School Board members present were Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Zac Fabian, Ryan Paulson, Aneesha Dieu, and Grant Griffin. Superintendent Rich Stewart was also present. The board approved the consent agenda, which included the approval of Kelly Steinhoff as a middle school track volunteer, Adam Puckett as MS Head Baseball Coach, and Carlos Norris as MS Assistant Baseball Coach. The consent agenda also included the resignation/retirement of Terry Lambert as a...
WAITSBURG -The Waitsburg Commercial Club honored community members at its annual meeting and community service awards dinner on Tuesday, April 16. The event was held at American 35, where guests enjoyed a lasagna dinner, desserts, a silent auction, and a chance to celebrate Waitsburg's one-of-a-kind community. The 2024 Community Service Award was presented to Jillian Henze. Incoming Commercial Club President Tiffany Baxter presented the award to Henze for her work on the Waitsburg City Council...
DAYTON- Mayor Roger Trump called the Dayton City Council to order at 6 p.m.on April 9, 2024. Trump and council members Teeny McMunn, James Su’euga, Michael Smith, Kyle Anderson, Joann Patras, Laura Aukerman, and Shannon McMillen met in city hall. Trump said it was National Library Day and therefore fitting that the council’s first task should be to vote on whether the city will place a measure to withdraw from the Rural Library District on the ballot. Aukerman said community input was mainly against the measure being placed on the ballot. She...
WAITSBURG - Its almost the end of the school year and Waitsburg is preparing to celebrate the school district's graduates. "The Times" will share the senior's stories, a few each issue, until Graduation Day on June 7, 2024. Jayce Gleason Attending Waitsburg Schools since pre-school, Jayce Gleason has fond memories of playing sports. At the high school level, Gleason has excelled at football and baseball. Gleason attends high school full-time. This year, he was elected ASB treasurer and assists...
DAYTON — The Port of Columbia Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5 p.m. on April 10, 2024. Commissioners Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, Mike Spring, and Executive Director Jennie Dickinson met at the port office. During public comment, Don Hicks, who said he had lived in Dayton for twenty years, asked if there had been any attempt to lower the speed limit to 45 mph by Blue Mountain Station. Dickinson said the port tried to have the limit lowered when it built Blue Mountain Station. However, the state could not change the limit unless the B...
DAYTON - The Dayton Historical Depot Society (DHDS) is sponsoring a free screening of "Colors of Threads" on Monday, April 22, at 7 p.m. at the Liberty Theater in Dayton. The movie "Colors of Threads" was written by Josie Henderson, a WWU alumna, and produced by the Center for Media Ministry (CMM) at Walla Walla University. The screening at The Liberty will begin at 7 p.m. , followed by a question-and-answer period with producers. The film was produced as a proof of concept project, a short...
WALLA WALLA - The Columbia Walla Walla Fire District 2 volunteers and board are grateful for the voters' approval of the 2023 Levy Lid Lift. In allocating these resources, the department has prioritized hiring a full-time, paid Fire Chief. The department understands the importance of the community having an opportunity to give input on leadership of CWWFD2. Assistant Fire Chief Matt Spring formed a hiring committee of department and community members to begin the process. The committee reviewed...
WALLA WALLA - The Living History program at The Fort Walla Walla Museum will highlight stagecoach driver Charlie Potter. The man loved his horses; that's what the history books say about Charlie Potter, the famed stagecoach driver from Walla Walla. Visitors have seen the museum collection's iconic stagecoach and can now meet the driver. Living History reenactor Ron Krause will bring Potter to life in the museum's Pioneer Village at 2 p.m. on April 14. The stagecoach driver is a new character...
OLYMPIA - On Tuesday, March 26, Senate Bill 5824, sponsored by Sen. Sam Hunt (D-Olympia) and requested by Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, was signed into law in Olympia. The bill raised the required number of petitioners from 10% to 25% of eligible voters. In addition, eligible voters include all residents who pay taxes to fund the library district. "The Dayton library was on the verge of becoming the first library in the country to shut down because of a dispute over the books inside," Hunt sai...
WAITSBURG— Waitsburg City Council held its regular meeting on March 27 after being delayed one week due to council members’ availability. In public comment, Joy Smith told the council that with the success of new businesses in town, there is now a budding parking problem. She said Waitsburg Commercial Club and the city have used signage to direct visitors to additional parking, usually the city-owned property west of the Main Street bridge. Smith suggested it may be time for businesses to post parking options on their websites. She also sai...
DAYTON - The Columbia County Commissioners met for a special meeting on March 25, 2024. Chairman Jack Miller and commissioners Ryan Rundell and Marty Hall were present. The commissioners and County Prosecutor Dale Slack discussed changes to the county's coroner services required due to amendments to RCW 36.16.030. The coroner function must be separated from prosecutors starting in 2024. The commissioners decided not to turn the position into an elected office, choosing to appoint or contract...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met in the high school library at 6:30 p.m. on March 20, 2024. Board members present were Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Zac Fabian, Ryan Paulson, Aneesha Dieu, and Grant Griffin. Superintendent Rich Stewart and student representative Madison Richardson were also present. Jeremy Wheatley, the prospective superintendent, attended using Zoom. The school board approved the consent agenda, including the senior class trip, two HS band trips, and a GEAR UP spring break trip. Richardson informed the board about the plans for t...
WAITSBURG - Spring is here and it seems everyone is back outside. Since its opening, Nancy's Dream Garden has helped many in Waitsburg and surrounding areas have productive and beautiful gardens. Owners Doug Biolo and his sister Janet Biolo Lawrence, working with Janet's son Mark Laroue, Jr, have created a full-service, year-round nursery. Earlier this month, Mark sustained extensive injuries in an accident. Janet has been by his side at a Seattle hospital as he begins the long journey to heal....
PRESCOTT - After losing Izzy in January, Tawnya and Mickey Richards have decided to begin another dromedary journey. Izzy left a big hole in the community and the Richards family's hearts. Hearing how his friends and neighbors felt about the sweet boy, Mickey knew they missed Izzy. However, finding a new camel was not only about the community. Mickey misses his friend of 17 years. Mickey asked Tawnya what she thought about a new camel. She was on board but asked if they could look for a baby...
DAYTON – The Port of Columbia Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5 p.m. on March 13, 2024, in the port office. Commissioners present were Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, Mike Spring, and the Executive Director, Jennie Dickinson. The meeting was called to order and opened for public comment. Several citizens spoke of Bryan’s remarks from the last meeting about Dickinson after Watts and Bryan declined to offer her a new contract. Most commenters supported Dickinson; some called for Bryan to resign, and others asked for more professional con...
DAYTON—The Dayton City Council met at 6 p.m. on February 13, 2024. Council members Teeny McMunn, James Su’euga, Michael Smith, Kyle Anderson, Joann Patras, Laura Aukerman, and Shannon McMillen were at Dayton City Hall. Public comment opened with Katie Roughton again speaking about the city withdrawing from the rural library district. She suggested city tax dollars paid into the library district could be redistributed to city services like the EMS and Fire Departments. Funds from levies are specific and cannot be reallocated. James Byrd spo...
WAITSBURG-Rosy Nechodom, the school counselor for the Waitsburg School District, is in her second year as a mentor in the Sources of Strength program. The Walla Walla Health Department provides the district with a grant to fund the program. Sources of Strength is a best-practice youth mental health program using peer social networks to prevent suicide, violence, bullying, and substance abuse. It prevents adverse outcomes by increasing well-being, help-seeking, resiliency, healthy coping, and...
WALLA WALLA - The YMCA is known as "America's swim instructor." It is dedicated to teaching children of all ages and backgrounds how to have fun safely in and around water. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineer (USACE), as one of the nation's largest providers of outdoor recreation, shares the Y's commitment to water safety. Locally, the USACE provides the Y with life jackets for its water safety training. The Y is also an American Red Cross-designated training partner, serving pools and communities...
WAITSBURG - "Remember... Only YOU can prevent forest fires," which originated in 1947, is a slogan that children everywhere associate with Smokey the Bear. The Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign was created in 1944 and is the longest-running public-service advertising campaign in U.S. history. There is a lot of interesting information at smokeybear.com, which asks you to celebrate 80 years of Smokey by exploring Smokey's history throughout the generations. Weller Public Library's...
DAYTON — Neighbors United for Progress (NUP), a nonpartisan political action committee in Dayton, has been awarded the Candace Morgan Intellectual Freedom Award 2024 by the Washington Library Association. NUP president Elise Severe accepted the award at the WLA Annual Conference on March 2 at the Spokane Convention Center. The award is presented annually to “an individual or group for their efforts to defend, champion, support, or educate others about Intellectual Freedom in Washington State.” The award recognized NUP’s successful effort...
DAYTON/PRESCOTT —The Club, which offers after-school and out-of-school programs, is working with community stakeholders to develop a water safety component as part of its summer program. Representatives from The Friends of the Dayton Library (FDL), Dayton Hospital, Kiwanis Club, and Prescott Joint Parks and Recreation met on March 7 to discuss the program. Club Program Director Shakira Bye told the group that there was a safety issue for kids in the community who do not have access to swim lessons. She said that until a pool is built in D...
DAYTON - The Dayton School Board met in the Elementary School library at 6:30 p.m. on March 7, 2024. School Board members present were Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Zac Fabian, Aneesha Dieu, and Grant Griffin. Superintendent Rich Stewart was also present. The school board approved the consent agenda, approving the WIAA Spring Sports Cooperative between Dayton and Waitsburg for the H.S. boys and girls golf and track and field programs. Also on the consent agenda was a leave of absence for an employee,...
WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg Middle recognized Preston Hall students with February's Pep Band, Perfect Attendance, and PRIDE Awards at an assembly on Friday, March 8. Emcee Rosy Nechodom presented Shawna Hilton, Joy Nechodom, Rosalynn Harvey, Olivia Kiefel, Carter Barron, Colt Boudrieau, and Gage Mynear awards for their participation in pep band during the high school home basketball games. The school acknowledged Sophia Castillo, Verbena McLaughlin, Abel Creeley, Colt Boudrieau, Laila Long, Jake...
WAITSBURG-"What is it about this piece of art that offends you?" That question inspired Joseph Roberts' decision to start a monthly discussion called Art Talk. Roberts and Tiina Jaatinen are the team that founded the hotel and wine bar Royal Block in downtown Waitsburg. The high ceilings and gallery lighting make the space perfect for displaying artwork from Robert's extensive art collection. "Encouraging artists to strive on their path was one of the reasons that led me to collect art," Roberts...
