Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG-During their August 15 meeting, the Waitsburg City Council agreed to delay a decision on what to do with the grandstand structure at the Waitsburg Fairgrounds. Council members said they want to wait until the city's Parks and Recreation District is up and running. The council made the decision to resurrect the district at its June 20 meeting. One of the main purposes of the new district will be to sort out issues at the fairgrounds, including the fate of the grandstands, booking events...
DAYTON-"Dirty Hands and Country Fans" is the theme of this year's 128th Columbia County Fair. From the opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. on Sept 7 until the fair closes at 5 p.m. on Sept. 9, expect to see a mix of new and traditional activities. "Things are coming together. We have a pretty good team right now," said Fair Board President Matt Johnson. Johnson said a few more reliable volunteers would be welcome, to help with fair activities. "There will be even more variety at this year's fair,"...
WALLA WALLA-"We are decorating Sunday," said the post on the Waitsburg FFA's Facebook page. "Please meet [at] 10 a.m. Bring extra supplies such as zip ties, wire, or side cutters if you have them." The accompanying picture showed pink letters on a black background: "I CAN'T KEEP CALM IT'S FAIR WEEK." The reference was to the upcoming 152nd Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days. On paper, the event lasts a bit less than a week, kicking off this Wednesday and ending on Sunday. But as far as...
WAITSBURG-During their Aug. 15 meeting, the Waitsburg City Council discussed potential solutions to ongoing issues with the city's wastewater treatment facility. According to City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe, the system's two digesters are nearing capacity. Hinchliffe presented possible options to alleviate the immediate need, which included trying to find a temporary press or finding an organization to accept and transport the excess waste. The Council received packets that included a quote...
DAYTON—During a special meeting last week, Port of Columbia commissioners voted to move forward with purchasing Building No. 2 at Blue Mountain Station in Dayton. Port officials say they have determined that owning the building will assist in the continued development of businesses at the BMS. The Port’s Executive Director, Jennie Dickinson, and private developer Colby Litzenberger have negotiated a purchase price of $264,000. Dickinson said the building was recently appraised at $270,000. Kathryn Witherington, the Port’s Economic Devel...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg School Board has decided to postpone its decision on whether to keep a life-skills class as a graduation requirement until the community has had more time to offer input. Nancy Bickelhaupt, who has taught the Life Management Skills course at Waitsburg High School since its inception, was in attendance at last Thursday’s board meeting. She spoke passionately in favor of keeping the requirement. She noted that the course was made mandatory after it had been offered for only a year, and that the decision had been sup...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg Christian Church, located at 6th and Main, sponsored Vacation Bible School for youths ages 4 to 6th grade on August 13-25. This summer's theme was The Moose on the Loose which was attended by a total of 70 children. The Raccoons took first place and along with the help of many community volunteers, were able to collect 480 pounds of goods for the Waitsburg Resource Center. "Pastor Matthew Wyatt and Lash Leroue were the ones who received the pie in the face by the team...
A mile north of Venice, Italy, is a series of islands called Murano. Linked by bridges within the Venetian Lagoon, Murano is renowned for its glassmaking, a process its artisans have perfected over centuries. Richly colored and with distinctive and unique patterns, Murano glass -- in the right hands -- transforms into one of a kind beads, which are then set into necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. A pair of those right hands belongs to Veneta Simpson, a jewelry artist from Richland who uses a to...
DAYTON-Sometimes you have to leave home before you appreciate it. Suzi and Duane Tasker and their 11-year-old son, Noa, did just that, and are now happy to be back in Dayton. The Taskers called Redding Calif. home for ten months, but realized quickly that Redding was not going to be their forever home. After 10 months of "healthy perspective," and a visit to Dayton this spring to ready their home for sale, the couple realized how much they missed living here. "When we came home, we recognized a...
WAITSBURG-After serving for nine years, Waitsburg School Board member Marilyn Johnson has handed in her resignation. While Johnson and new board member Lisa Morrow exchanged a few jokes about Johnson resigning as soon as Morrow was hired, correlation doesn't equal causation in this case, as Johnson had been planning to retire for some time. "I'd like to thank you for your service to the district for the past nine years," said chairman Ross Hamann. "It's been a real pleasure having you on the...
Aug. 16, 2018 WAITSBURG—Present at last week’s meeting of the Waitsburg School Board were board chair Ross Hamann, vice-chair Marilyn Johnson, members Christy House and Russ Knopp, and newly-appointed member Lisa Morrow. The meeting opened with a presentation by the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Department on the possibility of the district hiring a school resource officer – a deputy who would spend most of his or her time in the district’s three classroom buildings. “Just being there for t...
DAYTON-Clint Atteberry is well into his second year working out of the county Planning and Building Department as the Code Enforcement Officer for both the City of Dayton and Columbia County. Atteberry said he patrols all eight zones in the city, tackling one zone every day, looking for violations of Dayton's municipal code. He also investigates citizen complaints for both the city and county. "It's an ongoing process," said Atteberry. "We're doing everything by the code, and I'm doing as much...
Washington Army Guard pilot Chief Warrant Officer Melissa Coombs and her co-pilot, Major Ray Leonard, flew this Lacota UH-72 light utility helicopter to Dayton for the Aug. 7 National Night Out celebration in Dayton city park. They said the helicopter is used for homeland security, disaster response missions, and for medical evacuations. National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police, emergency personnel, and community partnerships to make neighborhoods safer...
WAITSBURG—Most Waitsburg High School alumni over the past couple of decades were required to take a class called “Life Management Skills” their junior year. The class met in the Home Ec lab, a long room in the middle of the building with a row of kitchen stations against the far wall. Students balanced mock checkbooks, put together hypothetical budgets, learned how to comparison-shop for groceries, and went over the ups and downs of using a credit card. Come test day, they were expected to be experts on everything from car insurance to IRAs,...
DAYTON—Preliminary results from the Aug. 7 election showed that the Columbia EMS Levy is passing with just over 71% yes votes. A 60% yes vote is required for passage. Fire District 3 Chief Jeromy Phinney said that although there are still votes out there to count, it is safe to say it is passing. “I’m most happy to have that kind of support from the community. It looked like the precincts in all areas of the county were supportive,” he said. “I think that’s huge. It will help us with our staffing and equipment needs and generate the funds t...
WAITSBURG – After two days missing, Kate Hockersmith, of Waitsburg, began to worry about her cat, Finn MacCool. "He's an indoor cat during the day, then he goes out at night," Hockersmith explained. Hardly one to pass up an opportunity for food or affection, Finn made his way to their Seventh Street home eventually. Along with him he dragged a foot-long, steel claw trap which had caught and broken two of his toes. Hockersmith did not see which direction Finn came in from, only that "he came up s...
DAYTON-Vicki Zoller, President of the Friends of the Dayton Pool Committee, spoke to the Dayton City Council last week about work the committee is doing to help the community build an aquatic center in Dayton. The city pool was closed this year because of infrastructure issues, and youth in the Summer Recreation program have been swimming in the Prescott Pool, she said. Zoller said the committee used funds from grants to pay for their swim passes, and to bus them from Dayton to Prescott and...
Authorized Anderson and Perry and Associates, Inc. to complete engineering services associated with Inert Waste Landfill Project. Authorized Change Order No. 1 for the FEMA Street Repairs Project – FEMA portion Authorized Change Order No. 2 for the FEMA Street Repairs Project – City/Seneca portion Authorized Ordinance No. 1937, amending certain sections of Title 11 of the Dayton Municipal Code – Zoning. Planning Director Meagan Bailey referred to this a general housecleaning of the DMC. Authorized Pacific Power to replace all street light...
DAYTON—On Monday, the Columbia County Civil Service Commission ruled that Columbia County Sheriff Rocky Miller was justified in firing deputy Don Foley earlier this year. Foley was terminated by Miller in May for overstating his time on timesheets. A letter signed by commission members Craig George, Richard Di Lorenzo, Jeff McCann and Bonnie Williams said, “Mr. Foley’s termination was made in good faith, and his dismissal was substantiated.” At an August 8 hearing in front of the commission, Foley’s attorney, David Rose, said that the Sheri...
LEWISTON—On August 10, a large fire on the top of Lewiston Hill damaged Inland Cellular’s infrastructure, causing a significant loss of service to a large area affecting several counties, including Columbia and Walla Walla. Inland reports that their voice and text services are not operating. However, their 4G LTE and 3G data services are working and operational. In a press release Inland Cellular said that until services are restored, customers will be unable to dial 911 in the event of an emergency. The company recommends using a land lin...
DAYTON-Jim Pearson, Program Director at The Club, Dayton's new after school activity center, has been busy helping the team get the program up and running for a Sept. 4 opening. Pearson said building construction at The Club has entered its final phase. "Last week a lot of elements have come together," he said. Pearson said the goals for the program are to help students take pride in ownership, develop healthy self- esteem, and learn how to get along well with others. While students will...
OLYMPIA - The Washington State Public Works Board last week awarded $5,430,540 in pre-construction loans to 10 cities, counties and water districts throughout the state, including Waitsburg and Dayton. According to a news release, this is just the second time in five years the Board has had funding available to issue low-interest loans for public infrastructure improvements to roads, water, sanitary sewer and street systems. Waitsburg will receive $90,000 for water and sewer line extensions...
