Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 3388 - 3412 of 5684
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...
Arraignments: -Raymond Joe Cate, 55, Walla Walla; charged with one count of delivery, manufacture, or possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and one count of use of drug paraphernalia not used for marijuana. Cate was taken to the Col. Co. Sheriff’s Office on a failure to appear warrant. When he was unable to obtain the $600 bail he was booked into jail. While being booked, police reports allege that methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia was found in his possession. Cate entered a plea of not guilty and was released on a $5,000 u...
ARLINGTON, Wash. – The Waitsburg Knowledge Bowl team brought home a third-place trophy at the state 1B level and Dayton placed seventh out of 18 2B schools at the State Knowledge Bowl competition at Arlington High School on Saturday. "The first and second-place schools were high-priced private schools from the west side, so WHS was actually the first place public school. It was the best finish in WHS Knowledge Bowl history," said Waitsburg KB coach Brad Green. "You would have been proud to s...
The Dayton Chamber of Commerce's annual Brix & Brew Festival was held Friday evening at the Columbia County Fairgrounds Pavillion. The event, which included dinner, and live and silent auctions, is the main fundraiser for the chamber, and was a big success again this year, according Chamber Manager Andrew Holt. Holt said that approximately 180 people attended the event, and "everyone had a great time."...
About 60 Dayton and Waitsburg high school students turned out for the March 15 All-Area Younglife meeting in Waitsburg. YoungLife and Wyldlife members held an Italian Delights fundraiser on Sun., March 19 to raise funds for summer camps....
DAYTON-Since September, a group of stakeholders has been meeting to develop a plan for improving the facilities at the Columbia County fairgrounds. Last week, a draft of the plan was presented to the committee for comment by Meagan Bailey, Columbia County Planning Assistant, who has been coordinating the effort. Her department has been tasked with the job by the Columbia County Commisioners. The purpose of the project, which is broken down into three phases, is: To provide a safe, healthy,...
DAYTON—The Dayton School Board met last week and received updates on a wide range of topics. Kristine Warren, who is the graduation counselor for Dayton High School, talked to the board about the work she is doing to prepare students for graduation. She said student graduation requirements are being met, and that she has been busy helping with scholarship applications, test applications, career counseling, and keeping track of community services reporting. “The kids are on track for gra...
DAYTON—The General Manager of Columbia County Public Transportation, Stephanie Guettinger, is on paid leave, pending an investigation of issues relating to performance of her duties and responsibilities. “We’re looking into the internal management of the organization,” said City of Dayton Mayor Craig George, who is the president of the CCPT board. George said that an end-of-year report from Diversified HR of Wenatchee, and some “whistleblower” complaints, lead to the decision by the CCPT board...
DAYTON—Accused murderer Benjamin Orozco waived his right to a speedy trial when he appeared before Judge Scott Gallina in Columbia County Superior Court last week. Two weeks have been set aside for Orozco’s trial, which is scheduled to begin on Oct. 23. Orozco has been charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of Dayton resident Lance Terry, and with first degree assault in the wounding of Dayton resident David Eaton, in July, 1996. He has entered a plea of “not guilty” to the charges....
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg school board members enjoyed playing with Chromebooks and checking out online accelerated readers at the district's March board meeting. First-grade teacher Dinah Lindsey handed out the laptops as part of a demonstration on how the district is using Chromebooks in the classroom. The elementary school applied for and received a grant for $30,000 in Title 1 Priority School funds last year, the bulk of which was used for professional development. Lindsey said the elementary st...
