Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 3362 - 3386 of 5667
Terry Jacoy has been repeatedly recognized for his service over his 40 years living in Waitsburg. Jacoy farmed, worked for Brea Ag., and then was office manager for The McGregor Company until his 2010 retirement. He joined the Lions shortly after moving to Waitsburg in 1977 and received the prestigious Melvin Jones service award in 2014. He helped with the Days of Real sport for 30 years, was treasurer from 1985-2010, and was honored as the final DRS parade marshal. Jacoy served on the...
Incumbent KC Kuykendall moved to Waitsburg in 2010. He was asked to fill a vacant council seat in 2013 and has remained on the council since. He is on the county planning commission, and he and his family are active in school sports, 4-H, FFA, church, and annual events. Kuykendall believes that city government exists for the will of the people. He says he is committed to listening and studying each issue that comes before the council, as evidenced in the way he has handled recent topics like...
Lisa Morrow was born and raised in the Touchet Valley and has lived in Waitsburg for 13 years. She has coached Little League, leads the 4-H PenPals Swine Club, and is treasurer of the Home and School Association, spearheading many events and fundraisers. Morrow thinks her fresh "eyes and ears" may bring a different perspective to the council, and sees her career experience at the Washington State Penitentiary as a benefit. "Working for the State, I have been exposed to diverse situations and wor...
Council candidate Dave Paxton was born and raised in Benton City and has resided in Waitsburg for nearly three years. He moved here to be closer to the mountains and to spend more time hunting and fishing with his young boys. Dave and his wife, Rachel, have been married 21 years and have five children. He is 48 years old and holds an AA degree in auto body repair from Columbia Basin College. He has owned and operated Mr. Chips, LLC, doing paint chip repair on automobiles at local car...
Council candidate Matt Spring, his wife, and one-year-old daughter have lived in Waitsburg for three years, He grew up in the Walla Walla area and has worked at the Waitsburg McGregor Company plant since 2009. Since moving to Waitsburg, Spring has become a member of the Waitsburg Lions Club and is a volunteer firefighter for Columbia-Walla Walla Fire District No. 2. "I wanted to run for city council because it is my desire to see Waitsburg succeed," Spring said. "I think I am a good candidate...
Jim Romine has lived in northern Walla Walla County all his life, except for the six years he served in the U.S. Navy. He was raised in Prescott and is a PHS graduate. He and his wife moved to Waitsburg in 2013, where he serves on the Town Hall Board of Directors and is the Waitsburg Republican precinct committee officer. Romine said he chose to run for city council because several residents encouraged him to do so. "I love the people here and would welcome an opportunity to give back to this...
Waitsburg institution Jack McCaw celebrated his 90th birthday with a patriotic themed party completel with Navy decor....
Residents of Dayton and Waitsburg often agree that our small towns are treasures, but this photo by Janis Gerlitz may be proof. Here, Dayton looks like it is literally the Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow. Gerlitz snapped the photo on March 25, on the Hogeye, after one of the many recent rains....
WAITSBURG – The City of Waitsburg may be able to breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to keeping the timeline for replacement of the city’s Main Street Bridge on track for the summer of 2017, according to City Manager Randy Hinchliffe. He is hopeful that an anticipated nine-tenths of one percent sales tax grant of $100,000 from the Port of Walla Walla will bring the project back under budget. City officials received an ugly surprise when bids for the demolition and replacement of the bridge were opened on Feb. 23. The lowest of 12 bids came i...
DAYTON—At last week’s department head meeting, the Columbia County Commissioners asked for feedback on how to fund essential services in 2018 in light of continued reductions in state funding and continuing budget issues. “Our budgets are not flush for the next couple of years,” said Commissioner Norm Passmore. The commissioners and department heads discussed the merits of asking voters for general budget help, or for specific help in particular areas, such as Law and Justice, which has seen drastic revenue shortfalls. According to Distric...
WAITSBURG – After holding preliminary interviews with five candidates, the Waitsburg School Board invited a lone candidate, Dr. Jon Mishra, back for a final interview for the position of Waitsburg Schools District Superintendent. As The Times went to press on the evening of Tues., March 28, Mishra was scheduled to meet the public at the elementary school library, followed up with a second school board interview. Dr.Mishra is currently employed at the Hermiston School District as the Executive D...
Eleven WHS students were inducted into the National Honor Society at a ceremony at DeSales High School on Wed., March 22...
Two-year-old Bridger Abel gave snowboarding a try and Ski Bluewood's annual Bluewood Bash last weekend. Bluewood will be open April 1-2 and April 8-9, which will be the last weekends of the season....
WAITSBURG – More than 100 friends and family members gathered at Waitsburg Town Hall on Saturday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Dr. Roger and Laura Jean Hevel. Attendees came from as far as Santa Cruz, San Jose, Oakland, and Los Altos, Calif., Portland and The Dalles, Ore, to honor the couple, who have been an integral part of the Waitsburg community for more than 60 years. The couple met in Pendleton, Ore., where they attended second grade together. By their junior year of high school, t...
DAYTON--The quality of healthcare received at the Columbia County Health System has gotten a shot in the arm thanks to a Kadlec Medical Center grant that provided CCHS with three telehealth units. One is installed in the Dayton General Hospital Emergency Department, and there is one in the Waitsburg Clinic and one in Columbia Family Clinic. The telehealth unit is a rolling cart with a camera and computer that can be dialed to reach a consulting physician "anywhere in the world" to help with...
DAYTON – Last year, Vicki Zoller, library assistant at Dayton Memorial Library, wrote a grant request to Umpqua Bank asking for help funding the library's monthly Family Story Time and Dinner. They responded with a $3,800.00 contribution. The money goes toward food for the dinner, provided by Melissa Weatherford of Grassroot Catering at Blue Mountain Station, and for new books each month for participating families, Zoller said. "Studies have shown that book ownership helps increase literacy, a...
DAYTON—When the Columbia County Hospital District Commissioners met last week, CEO Shane McGuire discussed the progress of the hospital renovation and enhancement project. Phase III of the renovation project will begin the week of March 27, when demolition begins for the new laboratory department. There are a few projects yet to be finished in Phase II, and McGuire said those would be accomplished by the third week in April. Installation of the new CT scanner will begin on March 27. The old C...
DAYTON – Woody's Bar & Grill (214 E. Main, Dayton) is hosting a Benefit Dinner & Auction to support the Rascal Rodeo on April 29 from 5:30 – 7 p.m. The fundraiser benefits the non-profit organization that provides "Exceptional Rodeos," free of charge, for anyone, of any age, with mental and/or physical disabilities. The benefit will begin at 5:30 with a brisket dinner and live music. An auction will be held at 7 p.m. Tickets are $40 per couple and $25 per individual. Tickets may be pur...
WAITSBURG – Members of Waitsburg's favorite bluegrass band, Switchgrass Delta, are playing host to several Japanese students as part of the Sasayama-Walla Walla Sister City Exchange Program this month. In October, the band members themselves will be the ones making the long flight to Japan as part of the program's 45th anniversary cultural exchange. The family of Switchgrass Delta fiddler Kaleb Kuykendall is hosting 16-year-old Kenji Nakamura, and the family of standup bass player Robert W...
WAITSBURG - Waitsburg's annual elections were delayed two weeks when city council candidate filings fell one short of a full slate of five members. The filing period for council seats was reopened from March 27 - 29, with the voting deadline extended to April 17. Ballots are expected to be mailed at the end of the month. As The Times went to press on Tuesday, David Paxton, Matt Spring, and Jim Romine had added thier names to the slate of candidates that includes incumbents KC Kuykendall, Karen...
WAITSBURG – The Waitsburg Celebration Days parade committee is currently accepting nominations for 2017 parade marshal(s). To nominate an individual or family that has made significant contributions to Waitsburg, send a letter of nomination, explaining why you think they should receive the honor, to: Walt and Gwen Gobel, PO Box 127, Waitsburg, WA 99361, or email it to waltandgwen@charter.net. Waitsburg Celebration Days falls on the third weekend in May, and will take place May 19-21 this year. The family-friendly, fun-filled weekend will i...
Waitsburg’s Knowledge BowlTeam One placed highest in WHS history at the State Meet in Arlington last Saturday and brought home a third place trophy. See story on Page 5....
WAITSBURG – Anyone who considered running for Waitsburg City Council, but missed the original filing deadline, will have another chance to file. At their March 15 regular meeting, the council voted to reopen the filing period for three days, from March 27 through March 29. The filing extension was approved in hopes that at least one more person will run for city council. After the original March 10 filing deadline, four incumbents, including KC Kuykendall, Kevin House, Karen Gregutt, and Kate Hockersmith, had filed Declarations of Candidacy. I...
DAYTON—Last week, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed Senate Bill 5023, the “levy cliff” measure, into law. The bill extends the safety net for local levy collections an additional year. According to local school officials, this was needed because the State Legislature has reduced the amount of money local school districts can collect from voter-approved M&O levies, in anticipation of full funding for basic education, as ordered by the State Supreme Court, in the McCleary ruling. “The bill is a plus,” said Dayton School Superintendent Doug Jo...
WAITSBURG – Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office calls for service in 2016 were up over the previous four years in Waitsburg. But Sheriff John Turner told Waitsburg's city council that is a good thing, during his quarterly update at the March 15 city council meeting. The WWCSO received 532 calls for service in Waitsburg in 2016, more than double the 247 calls received in 2015, and more than any of the three years prior to that. The number of Suspicious Circumstances calls jumped from 22 in 2015 t...
