Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 3095 - 3119 of 5705
DAYTON--The Columbia County commissioners continue to look at additional ways to streamline departments and budgets. At last week’s regular meeting of the BOCC, Commissioner Norm Passmore said talks are underway to create one county-wide maintenance department. The county does not plan to replace Parks and Recreation Manager Roger Trump when he retires at the end of 2017, so money for his wages and benefits would go directed to the newly created maintenance department, according to Passmore. H...
Shannon Kinsella, Principal Engineer from Reid Middleton, Inc., provided several different design options for moorages, docks, boat launches, walkways, tent sites, RV spots, etc. at a Port-sponsored public hearing, at the Lyons Ferry Marina restaurant last week. A new master facility plan will help the Port in seeking funds toward updating and modernizing the aging infrastructure at the marina. The marina was constructed in the early 1970s....
Aug. 27 Report of an injured person on Preston Ave. transported to Dayton General Hospital. Injury possibly self-inflicted. Aug. 24 DUI investigation on Lewis Peak Rd. Bicycle found abandoned on W. Third and Bruce St. in Waitsburg....
Like most anyone who has lived in the Touchet Valley for any length of time, I was vaguely familiar with Broetje Orchards and the work they do to help others. But when I learned that an upcoming Learning on the Land event called 'The Big Apple' included a tour of the orchards and the story of its founders I was quick to sign up. The opening talk took place at the Vista Hermosa chapel, under a mural of a smiling Jesus, opening his arms to the orchard and community below. Vista Hermosa, located ab...
DAYTON-Dayton natives, Carlos "Charlie" Oribio, and Sebastiana Radebaugh, are now working alongside Shakira Bye and Vicki Zoller, Head Librarian Dusty Waltner, and pages Don Fulbright and Andrew Price, at the Dayton Memorial Library. Dusty Waltner said Oribio learns quickly, has a lot of enthusiasm and has good customer skills. "His last employer said he is the ideal employee," she said. Oribio said he was happy to be working at the same library he spent many happy hours in as a youth. While in...
DAYTON-Steve Martin has a new job title. He is now the Executive Coordinator for the Governor's Salmon Recovery Office. Martin said he started his new job on Aug. 1, and he is currently traveling back and forth from his office in Olympia to, his home in Dayton. "I have no plans to move. I am deeply rooted in our community," said Martin, whose wife Jody and twin daughters are at home in Dayton. Martin said he will be "mostly on the road", as he has been tasked with building relationships with...
The much anticipated return of Family Story Time and Dinner begins on Tues., Sept. 5. This event will be ongoing on the first Tuesday of each month, at 6 p.m., through December. Book Chat, the “Not a Book Club Book Club,” returns on Sat., Sept. 16, at 6:00 p.m. We are looking forward to hearing what everybody has been reading, all summer. Plus, there is ALWAYS PIE!! The Friends of the Library meeting is at 4 p.m. on Wed., Sept. 20. Robot Club will meet on Sept. 22 from 3:15 – 4:30 p.m. Micah and Me Children’s Music Show, a dance party for tod...
DAYTON--The Washington state legislature recently approved a four-year, 7.3 billion education package to satisfy a Supreme Court ruling requiring the state to fully fund basic education. The burden of basic teacher salaries will now be shifted to the state from local districts and salaries will be paid depending on regional housing costs. The amount set aside from the package for 2018-19 biennium is $1.8 billion. Details about how funds will be disbursed and what the rules are, are being...
WAITSBURG – On Sept. 17, pies will once again be judged and auctioned in the third annual Laurette McCaw Pie-oneer Fall Festival Pie Baking Contest during Waitsburg's annual celebration. Bake a pie and help support the pool! This will be the third year for Friends of the Pool to host the successful bake-off contest which raises funds to help support the operations of the city pool. In 2016, funds were used to purchase sun shades and seating. The money earned from last year's bake-off was used t...
WAITSBURG – "Apple Detective" David Benscoter will visit Waitsburg on Sat. Sept. 30 and is looking for some help in learning the location of the Columbian Orchards and Nursery (Babcock Orchard) and the Taggard and Dickinson orchards prior to his visit. The Columbian Orchards grew a variety of apple that Benscoter has been searching for. Hockersmith and Benscoter have pieced together some information on the Columbian Orchard. The owner, Col. E.F. Babcock was born in New York on Jan. 8, 1831 and d...
Campground 3 and Deer Lake Access road will be closed longer than anticipated as work has just begun on Rainbow Lake. Culbert Construction of Pasco has been awarded the project to deepen the lake so it can be reconfigured. The goal is to open up more flood plain for the Tucannon River, improve water quality to the Tucannon Hatchery, and to improve fishing in the lake. The project is part of the 2014 W. T. Wooten Floodplain Management Plan....
The Dayton Memorial Library closed its doors on Monday morning and staff headed to Dayton's Blue Mountain Station where the library hosted an eclipse viewing party and gave away free eclipse glasses. The BMS co-op served breakfast and community members enjoyed viewing the event en masse. See more eclipse-related photos on the Last Page....
WAITSBURG – “Ginny and I have spent years trying to answer the question, ‘what can we do to give back?’” said Dan Butler, addressing attendees at the Christian Women’s Connection luncheon in Waitsburg last week. Now they feel like they have hit on an answer. The couple are honoring their hometowns in a big way, by organizing a Boys & Girls Club to serve children in the Touchet Valley. Butler said he grew up in Waitsburg, as did his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He said his wife fee...
DAYTON— The final estimate from FEMA for the cost of repairing city roads damaged by winter snow and ice has come in at roughly $1,034,700.00, said City Administrator Trina Cole, at last week’s city council meeting. “FEMA provides 75% of the funding. The state authorized that portion of their capital improvement budget; they will provide 12.5%, and the city is obligated for 12.5%,” she said. “The money is in the bank,” she added. “As soon as we finish design and put it out for bid, we can go to construction.” Construction will take place early...
Maintenance crews at area schools have been working through summer to get school buildings and grounds ready for back-to-school....
Aug. 19 Warrant service on material witness warrant from Columbia County served on Coppei Ave....
Plea Changes: -Benjamin Glen Smith, 34, Dayton; charged with rape of a child in the third degree, two counts of first-degree child molestation, two counts of second-degree child molestation, and two counts of third-degree child molestation. Court records state Smith did not want to go to trial and changed his plea to guilty on all counts, refusing the state’s offer for settlement. Following a pre-sentence investigation, he is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 6. Smith, a former Washington State Penitentiary correctional officer, is being h...
The Times building got an extra bit of bling earlier this month, as did Town Hall and the Weller Library. Plaques were placed on buildings next to "The Waitsburg Trilogy," The Waitsburg Monument" and "The Waitsburg Story" statues. The plaques list the name of the monument, the artist, the dedication date and event and funding collaborators. All three art pieces were dedicated during Waitsburg Celebration Days in 2015, in honor of the city's sesquicentennial anniversary....
DAYTON—At last week’s school board meeting the Dayton School District Board of Directors approved a plan to form a committee that will work with a Waitsburg School District committee to achieve a full combine for sports and activities for the 2018-19 school year. Waitsburg School District Superintendent Jon Mishra and Waitsburg School District Chairman of the Board of Directors Ross Hamann were at Wednesday’s board meeting to ask the DSD Board of Directors to move forward on developing a commi...
DAYTON - Eleven-year-old Elsie Mann has had a fun summer filled with new experiences while representing Columbia County as the 2017 Jackpot Rodeo Queen. Mann, daughter of Jeni Richie and Chris Mann, said she is excited to be in the arena during Dayton's Jackpot Rodeo on Sat., Sept. 9. While many of her summer experiences – such as speaking in front of crowds – have been new, riding in the Columbia County Fairgrounds arena is not. Mann began competing in leadline barrel racing when she was jus...
COLUMBIA COUNTY – Every year, the weekend after Labor Day brings about a sense of joy for those both young and old in Columbia County. A weekend full of fun awaits as kids get a day off school and a chance to make money on the livestock they have been raising for the previous months. Of course, this is the Columbia County Fair. Another fixture of the fair each year, in addition to the livestock showing's and demolition derby, are the presiding Fair Hostesses, which are chosen by the Columbia C...
DAYTON—There will be something for everyone at the 2017 Columbia County Fair, which takes place this year on Sept. 8-10. Step right up and see if you have what it takes to win Freddie’s games! Freddie Prez is bringing games and contests to the fair, including the chance to win $10,000 in a Frisbee contest. Catch Freddie Prez roaming the Midway on Friday from 3-4:30 p.m., from 5:30-6 p.m., and from 7-9:30 p.m. On Saturday, Prez will be on the Midway from 3-3:30 p.m., and from 5:30-6 p.m., and...
WAITSBURG – Kimmie Hamann is one of a select few Waitsburg High School graduates to earn the American FFA Degree – the highest one degree in the organization. "This is the highest degree one can earn in the National FFA Organization. In Washington State, there were only 38 members who qualified for the award, out of the more than 3,000 members," said Waitsburg FFA Advisor Nicole Abel. The twenty-one-year-old earned her degree by raising sheep for her Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE) and...
-Reviewed wellness policy - Superintendent Mishra gave an update on preschool. The preschool is fully enrolled for a morning session with 20 students. Five are returning out-of-district students who were grandfathered in. There are four children on the waiting list. If more ECEAP applications are received, the district will consider adding an afternoon session. The program currently operates at about $5,000/per student which is less than the $6,500-$7,000 ECEAP estimate, and includes the program, personnel, and meals. -Discussion on retaining...
WAITSBURG – In spite of a miniscule turn-out, the Waitsburg School Board voted to retain the district's cross-country program in hopes that numbers will increase in 2018-19 when Waitsburg will participate in a full athletic combine agreement with Dayton High School. "This is really that gap year. We don't know what's to come. It would be a shame to eliminate the program. Looking at past practice, if it goes away, it's going away for good," said district superintendent Jon Mishra. The exit of f...
