Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 285 - 309 of 5682
DAYTON - Proposition 2 will not appear on Columbia County's general election ballot this November. Columbia Superior Court Commissioner Julie Karl ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, Neighbors United for Progress, Elise Sever, and Gerald Kaiser, in their lawsuit to block the measure from the November ballot. The hearing was held on Wednesday, Sept. 20, at the Columbia County Courtroom in Dayton, Wash. After entering the courtroom, Karl asked the filled courtroom to observe proper decorum. She...
DAYTON – The Columbia Port Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5 p.m., September 13, 2023, in the Port Office. Commissioners present were Genie Crowe, Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, and the Executive Director, Jennie Dickinson. Dickinson opened the meeting with a discussion of the current and 2024 draft budgets. She will complete the final 2024 budget and schedule a public hearing in October. Reporting on port assets, Dickinson said Cedar Rain signed a new two-year lease at Blue Mountain Station. Abbi Russell, Senior Communications S...
DAYTON - Neighbors United for Progress (NUP), a political action committee in Dayton, has produced a booklet in response to the effort by citizens sponsoring Proposition 2 to dissolve the Columbia County Rural Library District. Authored by Tanya Patton and Diane Longanecker, both of Dayton, the booklet provides information about the history of Dayton's Public Library and the creation of the Columbia County Rural Library District. It also includes the official wording of the proposition for the...
DAYTON- The Dayton City Council held its regular meeting at 6 p.m. on September 12, 2023. Mayor Zac Weatherford and council members Teeny McMunn, James Su’euga, Michael Smith, Kyle Anderson, Dain Nysoe, Laura Aukerman, and Shannon McMillen were in City Hall. Sheriff Helm gave a report during which he discussed the increasing graffiti problem in the City of Dayton but did not discuss a solution. The first public comment period opened with a resident asking if the City of Dayton would take over the library should the Columbia Rural Library D...
DAYTON - Waitsburg's Natalie Knudson, a freshman at Walla Walla High School, has been dancing since age four. Erika Greenup, recently of Dayton, has been sewing since age six. Her husband, Devin, had a knack for contorting his face in all sorts of funny ways. His parents called him the next Jim Carrey. These are the new directors who are working hard on this fall's Touchet Valley Arts Council (TVAC) production of "The Little Mermaid," scheduled for a 13-show run beginning November 9 at the...
WAITSBURG-It was a beautiful sunny day for the annual Pioneer Fall Festival at the Bruce House in Waitsburg on Sunday, September 17. An occasional gust of wind blew through, but it did not deter visitors from all the festival had to offer. After the morning community church service on the front lawn of the Bruce House, the Waitsburg Historical Society recognized Barbara Danforth as the 2023 Pioneer of the Year. Danforth, a lifelong resident of the area, was accompanied by her daughter Susie as...
DAYTON-Waitsburg's FFA and 4H students brought their animals, skills, and competitive edge to the 2023 Columbia County Fair held in Dayton from September 8 though 10. Both groups did well, earning many Grand Champion and Reserve ribbons to acknowledge their hard work. FFA advisor Nicole Abel said of the event, "The Columbia County Fair is a great time to connect with the community, friends and family. A small fair where there is not much outside distractions. People can celebrate local...
COLUMBIA COUNTY–In an emergency hearing on Wednesday September 6, 2023, the Columbia Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) preventing the County from printing ballots for the November general election that include Proposition 2. Neighbors United for Progress asked the court for a fourteen-day TRO, citing irreparable harm to voters should the rural library district dissolution measure be placed on the ballots. A lawsuit filed by NUP on August 29, 2023, asserts that City of Dayton voters would be denied constitutional voter a...
WAITSBURG—As luck would have it, the timing of a recent call to Waitsburg’s Deanna Coulston was almost perfect. Getting in touch with Coulston to talk about the P.E.O Sisterhood (Philanthropic Educational Organization) Chapter BE revealed that the local group will celebrate 100 years of existence in May 2024. “This is great!” Coulston said in a recent interview. “Our chapter started in 1924, and we’ll soon be starting to make plans for how to celebrate next year.” Waitsburg’s Sisterhood has...
DAYTON-It takes an army of good-natured volunteers to put together the displays for the Columbia County Fair at the Pavilion. There are over thirty booths and displays in the Pavilion, featuring food preservation, garden and produce, baking, floral, fine arts, needle craft and sewing, photography, quilting as well as booths advertising businesses and fraternal organizations. For each, there are superintendents who are there to accept the entries and display them to be judged. Rose Englebrite...
WAITSBURG—Everyone in the Touchet Valley knows where to find Waitsburg Grocery. Some may not have realized that the building is the home of Masonic Lodge #16. Waitsburg’s current lodge was constructed in 1913 for $26,000 after the original structure was lost to fire. Members rebuilt with a second floor for Masonic use, reserving the ground floor for a local business. For decades, that business has been Waitsburg Grocery, now owned and operated by Jamie Allen. “That way, the lodge would have...
WAITSBURG-The the Waitsburg Historical Society proudly announces Barbara Danforth as the 2023 Pioneer of the Year. Danforth never thought in her wildest dreams that she would one day be "Pioneer of the Year." Both sides of her family were pioneers in Oregon but moved to the farm outside Waitsburg in 1928. "I was stunned as I never dreamt I would receive such an honor," said Danforth. Born at the original Walla Walla General Hospital on May 6, 1930, Barbara was an only child and raised on a farm...
The 2023 Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days wrapped up this weekend. With four days of livestock showing, three nights of PRCA Rodeo, a near-record breaking demolition derby, and a full house at the Beach Boys Concert, fun was had by all!...
WAITSBURG-On Monday, August 28, 2023, Scout Troop 337 convened a Court of Honor at the Lions Club building in Waitsburg. The troop is a joint Cub Scout and BSA Troop with a history in Waitsburg. After years without scouting, Troop Committee Chair Sarah Roberts, Cubmaster/Committee member Jon Roberts, Scoutmaster Justin Stegall, and Assistant Scoutmaster Tim Hollingsworth began meeting in March to bring back Troop 337. The first official troop meeting followed in April. The evening's events on...
Dayton — Neighbors United for Progress (NUP), Columbia County’s bipartisan political action committee, has filed a lawsuit that may save the Columbia County Library. The group filed a suit on August 29, 2023, asking the Columbia County Superior Court to issue an injunction prohibiting the Columbia County Auditor’s Office from placing Proposition 2—a ballot measure to dissolve the Columbia County Rural Library District—on the November 2023 ballot. The suit also asks the court to recover a...
DAYTON—The Washington State Library falls under the auspices of the Office of the Secretary of State, and due to concerns over recent attempts to ban books, staff in that office has begun drafting bills to provide librarians with more autonomy over collection development and to strengthen current nondiscrimination laws. Since a qualified petition has been submitted to the county, the state cannot intercede in the upcoming ballot measure (Proposition 2) asking voters to dissolve the Columbia C...
WAITSBURG-School spirit was in full force Monday night at Waitsburg Booster Club's Membership Drive and Community Kick-Off event. The multipurpose room at the Elementary School was packed with students, family, staff, and community members, all in support of the fall sports season for Cardinal athletes. David Long of Walla Walla DJ set the energy just right with his tasteful tunes and gave special introductions to the football, cheer, and volleyball students. Attendees enjoyed a tasty BBQ...
WAITSBURG - Waitsburg's new school chief doesn't see himself as a "top-down" kind of administrator. Think of him as being more of a round-table man. Woods came to Waitsburg from the East Wenatchee School District, where he served as the middle school Assistant Superintendent and Special Education Director for 900 students. He earned a bachelor's degree from Montana State University. His master's degree and principal and superintendent certifications came from Washington State University. He is...
DAYTON—The Dayton School Board met at 6 p.m. on August 16, 2023, in the High School library. School Board members present were Chair Jeffrey McCowen and Grant Griffen. Superintendent Rich Stewart was also present. Zac Fabian and Aneesha Dieu used Zoom to establish a quorum. One seat on the board remains vacant. The board approved the consent agenda, which included approval of prior minutes, bills, and payroll, hiring Kerry Johnson as a Title 1 Paraprofessional, and accepting the resignation of Amber McDonald as a Title 1 Paraprofessional. I...
WAITSBURG-Waitsburg City Council convened at city hall for its regular meeting on August 16, 2023. Present were Mayor Marty Dunn, council members Randy Charles, Jillian Henze, Court Rupenthal, Jim Romine, City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe, and city attorney Jared Hawkins. City attorney Jared Hawkins was also present. Member Kevin House was absent. Hinchliffe gave an update on the city's Public Hearing Capital Facilities Plan. Hinchliffe said there are minor updates from last year. The council...
PRESCOTT—On Saturday, August 26, the Prescott Pool will celebrate its 65th year with an all-day public party at the Prescott Pool. Built by the Prescott School District in 1958, the district operated the pool for 23 years until it could not continue funding. In 1981, Prescott voters approved the creation of a junior taxing district for parks and recreation. The Prescott Joint Parks and Recreation (PJPR) operates the pool and maintains park grounds with funds from an annual Maintenance and O...
WAITSBURG - When Andrew Knee and his wife, Tricia Adams-Knee, moved from Seattle to Waitsburg earlier this year, it signaled the start of a new chapter in their lives. Little did Andrew know that it would include a summer side hustle. Knee described that their search for a new home had not been straight-line process. Having decided to move to the Walla Walla Valley, looking online at homes for sale, Andrew would show Tricia a house in Walla Walla. "She would say, 'Oh, that's nice.' Then she...
DAYTON-The group, represented by Dayton resident Jessica Ruffcorn, continues to garner attention from national print and televised media over efforts to dissolve the Columbia County Rural Library. The Seattle Times is the most recent newspaper outside of Columbia or Walla Walla Counties to publish an article about the potential of Dayton's public library becoming the first in the country to be closed due to collection content. The article is available at https://tinyurl.com/5nscwbck. Allen Leist...
WALLA WALLA – The National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Warning for portions of central, north-central, northeast Oregon, and central, south-central, and southeast Washington through 11:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 17, 2023. Dangerously hot conditions are expected, with temperatures between 103° to 110°, and residents should take precautions. To assist Walla Walla and area residents who do not have access to air conditioning during the hottest part of the day, an emergency cooling station will be open at the Christian Aid Cen...
DAYTON- The Dayton City Council held its regular meeting on August 8, 2023. Mayor Zac Weatherford and council members Teeny McMunn, James Su’euga, Michael Smith, Kyle Anderson, Dain Nysoe, and Shannon McMillen were in City Hall. Laura Aukerman was absent. Sheriff Helm gave a report during which he discussed the increasing graffiti problem in the City of Dayton but did not discuss a solution. In his report for the county, Commissioner Ryan Rundell said the county hired Jan Strohbehn as the Public Health Director. Strobehn had most recently b...
