Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 2534 - 2558 of 5638
WAITSBURG – After 20 years as a member of the Waitsburg School Board, Dr. Randy Pearson has stepped down, leaving a vacant seat which the district is trying to fill. The reason for his resignation? Pretty simple, he says: "I don't reside in the school district anymore, so I can't legally be on the board. Otherwise, I'd probably still be there." "It is bittersweet," he added. "We love Waitsburg, and we have a lot of friends here. I grew up here, and I raised all my kids here, and it's a bitterswe...
DAYTON-The Columbia County Sheriff's Office has a new deputy in the making. Since he was hired on July 1, 32-year-old Caesar Rivera said he has been getting to know the ropes. "It feels good," he said. "I'm trying to remember names." Rivera is a 2002 graduate of Pasco High School and attended Columbia Basin College in 2005-06. When he was a student at CBC, his uncle, Jesse Romero, who is a Pasco Police Dept. detective, suggested he try a career in law enforcement. Rivera said after a ride along...
DAYTON – The annual Dayton High School Alumni Weekend is coming up on July 20 and 21. Several classes will be holding reunions that weekend, along with the traditional parade on Saturday morning, and many other activities. Longtime DHS Alumni Association members Dell and Phil Groom will serve as parade marshals. The Alumni Association is also giving special recognition to Dayton native Eulalie Schreck, who will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of her 1938 DHS graduation. The Alumni Association has announced some important changes from its p...
WAITSBURG-Last week, on a balmy Wednesday evening, area voters pressed through the propped-open doors of Waitsburg's Town Hall to meet the candidates running for four positions in local, state, and national government. The forum was sponsored by the Waitsburg Commercial Club. Nine candidates, grouped by the office they sought, were seated at folding tables along one wall as the audience settled into rows of folding chairs. Moderator Jim Davison explained the forum's format to the crowd over the...
DAYTON--Stephanie Kubej and Kristina Brown are the two finalists for the Dayton secondary principal position, and they spent the day last Thursday getting acquainted with students, staff and teachers, and the community. Kubej hails from Spokane, where she is an interim elementary principal at Balboa Elementary School. She has served as an assistant principal in the Spokane School District, two years as dean of students and PBIS Coordinator in the Bellevue School District, and has 17 years of...
WAITSBURG – A vital and active parks & recreation department may or may not become a reality for Waitsburg, but the Waitsburg City Council agreed to give it a go. At their June 20 meeting, the council voted unanimously to request that Walla Walla County reactivate the Waitsburg Parks & Recreation District. Approval was granted in order to give interested parties the time necessary to gather information on revitalizing the department and to submit it to the county in order to run a levy on the November ballot. “Whether parks and rec is the sil...
DAYTON-Former Waitsburg Christian Church Pastor Mike Ferrians will become the new manager of Dayton's Liberty Theater at the end of this month. He will replace Kirsten Schober. Schober says she is leaving to enjoy a little time off before exploring interests she has in community development. Schober has been the theater manager since 2011. She took the job after a stint as the executive director of the Kirkman House Museum in Walla Walla. She also managed the Liberty Theater in Ellensburg in...
Birds. They come in all sizes and shapes, with plumage ranging from beiges and greys to outrageous color combinations that visually shout out their presence. For woodcarver Jerry Poindexter, of Spokane, a truly well-carved bird sculpture is one that takes into account this uniqueness of each subject, and accurately represents the many and varied details of a particular species. To artistically replicate a black-capped chickadee, say, or a snowy owl, the artist needs to spend a lot of time...
DAYTON – The last of four Community Health Conversations took place in Dayton last week and drew a crowd of about 17 interested citizens from around the community. Catherine Veninga, from the Community Council in Walla Walla, led the discussion, saying, “Today is all about the data.” Veninga presented data for established goals in demographics, education, economy, natural environment, and safety. Columbia County Public Health Director Martha Lanman presented the goals in the category for health and wellness. The goals are: The ability to acces...
WAITSBURG-When the ballots are counted in August for the proposed emergency medical services levy, Jay Penner wants to see one-hundred percent of voters in favor of it. Penner and his wife, Jackie, farm wheat, dried peas and a small chickpea called Billy Beans in Columbia County, north of Waitsburg. On October 3, 2016, EMS personnel from Fire Districts 2 and 3 responded to an accident on their farm that has placed Penner in a wheelchair for life. Penner said that on that morning, he went out to...
WAITSBURG – For Russ Knopp, "retirement" may have meant stepping away from his official duties, but it hasn't slowed down his passion for helping kids. On June 14, the former Waitsburg Elementary School principal, Preston Hall teacher and current school board member was awarded the Southeastern Washington Association of School Administrators Community Leadership Award at the 2018 SEWASA Annual Honorary Banquet held at the Meadow Springs County Club in Richland. Knopp was one of 13 individuals a...
DAYTON – A request by Cobalt Cannabis Co. for a condition use permit to develop a marijuana grow facility in northern Columbia County was the subject of a public hearing on Monday. If the CUP is approved, the facility will be located at 402 Paulson Road. After concerns were expressed by neighboring landowners about potential liability from pesticide spray drift, the business owner and applicant, Meri Bush, said she has revised her plans to limit the facility to an indoor grow only. Her application originally stated that an outdoor grow area w...
WAITSBURG – The Waitsburg City Council moved forward with the annual state-mandated adoption of the city's six-year transportation plan at their July 20 regular meeting. No public comment was received in the public hearing preceding the plan adoption, and no new projects have been added to the plan. Two items – widening of East 7th Street, and Park and Ride Development – were removed from the plan, which now lists seven projects: City-wide street maintenance – projects will continue to be ongo...
DAYTON – During last week’s regular meeting, Dayton School Superintendent Doug Johnson told the school board that no athletic director has yet been hired for the Dayton/Waitsburg athletic combine, and there is still work to be done to hire some coaches. Round one of the hiring process for the middle school/high school principal position has been accomplished, and the next round will take place with meet-and-greets for the two finalists on June 28. Johnson said several summer facility projects are underway, including replacing the boilers and...
DAYTON—Speaking at the June Dayton City Council meeting last week, Planning Director Meagan Bailey said dividing the city into eight zones has made code enforcement easier. Vehicles and RVs parked in the right of way is the biggest current problem, she said. Council member Matt Wiens said enforcing obstruction on sidewalks from RV tip outs is problematic for the Sheriff’s Department. He said RCWs and WACs exist, but there is no penalty attached. This issue will be referred on to the city planning commission for correction, Mayor Craig Geo...
DAYTON – Columbia Pulp is now well on the way to having the employment impact in the area that community leaders have been hoping for for nearly five years. In an interview with The Times last week, Columbia Pulp CEO John Begley said that his firm received about 100 resumes during a job fair in Dayton earlier this month. Hiring fairs have also been held in Walla Walla and Pomeroy. “We will begin making offers in about three weeks,” Begley said. He said that most jobs at the company’s main facility near Starbuck will start in mid-to-...
DAYTON-There is now a two-way race for the District 3 Columbia County Commissioner seat in this year's November election. The winner will replace retiring commissioner Merle Jackson beginning in January. Dayton native Dain Nysoe, who currently serves on the Dayton City Council, has filed to run against Chuck Amerein, who announced his candidacy earlier this year. Nysoe filed as a Democrat, and Amerein, as a Republican. Nysoe said economic development is at the top of his list of priorities. "Our...
WAITSBURG – The Waitsburg Commercial Club and the Waitsburg Town Hall board of directors will host a candidates’ forum on Wednesday, June 27 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Town Hall. Candidates for Walla Walla County Sheriff and for two state representative positions from Legislative District 16 are expected to be in attendance. Walla Walla County Sheriff Candidates include former sheriff’s deputy Tom Cooper, current Undersheriff Mark Crider and Matthew Stroe, director of security at Whitman College. State representative Position 1 candidates are Repub...
Since 2019, neither rain nor sleet nor snow has prevented the U.S. Postal Service from delivering mail to people living along the Snake River in the remote and rugged regions of Hells Canyon. Last Wednesday was no different, when 20 of us boarded the mail boat in Clarkston for the 160-mile round trip. We pushed off the dock at the Port of Clarkston on a beautiful, sunny day, and were expertly guided through some of the most rugged and scenic landscape the country has to offer, by Riverboat...
