Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG-The eighth-grade Intro to Ag class organized a fundraiser to benefit the building of a community swimming pool. For ten dollars, a student could "pie a staff member." The event was held on Thursday, April 27, with eight staff members ending their day with a smile and pie on their faces. The event raised $210!...
WAITSBURG-"Through the Looking Glass," inspired by Alice in Wonderland, was the theme for the 2023 Prom held in the Waitsburg High School Cage on Saturday, April 29. This will be the last Prom the Dayton and Waitsburg High Schools will share as the athletic combine will end this school year. Waitsburg crowned Garrett Palmer as King and Natalie Teal as Queen. Vaughn Walter and Milena Gemmell were crowned King and Queen for Dayton. Teal said that everyone had a blast hanging out with friends and...
DAYTON-On April 28th, Christian Gonzalez and 11 other students from middle schools around the region competed in the GEAR UP 8th Grade Career Showcase Competition in Tri-Cities, Wash. He and the other participants from Walla Walla and Tri-Cities schools presented their career plans to a panel of three judges. The students were judged on content and delivery. Gonzalez impressed the judges with his determination, knowledge of his chosen career in neurosurgery, and his ability to connect with his...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council accepted an offer on Waitsburg’s former city hall at 147 Main Street. The offer made by Mark and Miriam Grant is for the listing price of $210,000. The council approved accepting the offer, adding a provision requiring occupancy of the ground floor commercial space within one year, with a possible one-year extension. There is no occupancy timeline requirement for the upstairs portion of the building. In October 2021, the city council first adopted Resolution 2021-735 to surplus the property after the cos...
WAITSBURG-On Wednesday, April 19, Waitsburg FFA competed at a local district contest in Dayton. Jessika Lambert, William Daves, Marion Duncan, Alyssa Hollingsworth, Cedar Stegall, and Sarah Daves placed first in Vet Science. Individually, Hollingsworth placed ninth overall, W. Daves placed eighth, Duncan placed fourth, and Stegall placed third. They will compete at the State FFA Convention in May. First-year members participated in a Career Development Event (CDE), taking a comprehensive exam...
WAITSBURG-This Saturday, businesses in Waitsburg are extending hours, offering pop-up retail, live music, food and drink specials, and art for the first of three Waitsburg Happenings. Here are only a few treats in store for visitors and guests. Visit the Grand Opening of the Touchet Valley Accoustic Music Project (TVAMP) studio at 141 Main St. Project founder and leader Kate Hockersmith has taught and arranged international travel for youth bluegrass bands through her program under RYES. Be...
DAYTON—A group of Columbia County residents is circulating a petition to dissolve the Dayton Rural Library District. Jessica Rufficorn posted a photo of the petition on Facebook in March. She and other community members who wish to dissolve the library district have posted their dissatisfaction with the library’s collection, the Library Board of Trustees, and Library Director Todd Vandenbark on the Facebook pages, including Dayton Speak freely(sic). The dissolution efforts follow the group’s dispute over 11 books on gender identity, sexual iden...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board held a regular meeting at 6 p.m., on April 15, 2023, in the high school library. School board chair Jeffrey McCowen, board members Korinda Wallace, Grant Griffen, Aneesha Dieu, Zac Fabian, and Superintendent Rich Stewart was also present. The board approved the consent agenda. Seven students in Angela Kenney’s fourth-grade class gave a presentation on raising salmon, which they will release in the Touchet River in May. The students spoke about the entire salmon life cycle. Middle school teacher Jeff McCann int...
WAITSBURG-Beekeepers Mark and Eleanora Montgomery held the beekeeping club's first field class on Tuesday, April 18. Three school club members were available to witness the release of the queen bee. Students Reagan Milliman, Dexter Collins, and Verbena McLaughlin donned new bee suits while Mark started the smoker. He said using the smoke makes the bees gorge with honey and masks alarm pheromones. Montgomery discussed smoke temperature; you do not want to shoot flames from the end of the smoker....
WAITSURG-About 120 people came to Waitsburg's Town hall making the Waitsburg Celebration Days spaghetti feed fundraiser a success. Lanny Adams was the emcee for the April 15 event, including a spaghetti dinner, silent auction, and lively dessert auction. Mark Holtz provided live music. The spaghetti dinner, silent auction, and live auction for desserts raised money to support the Waitsburg Celebration Days Queen. Queen Hannah Peralez and her advisor Cheyenne Reed thanked Table Rock Meat Company...
WAITSBURG-This year's Business of the Year is Nancy's Dream Garden, owned by Janet Biolo Lawrence and her brother Doug Biolo. The business was nominated by Waitsburg City Council member Jillian Henze who presented the award. From providing beautiful plants and trees to hosting the Waitsburg Friday Market, Henze noted how the business had contributed to the town. After moving to the current location, the garden center has worked towards expanding its operations. It is a work in progress that...
WAITSBURG—At the April 18 meeting, the Community Health and Protection Committee (CHPC) discussed drug use, overdoses, and the use of naloxone to prevent deaths from opioid deaths. The CHPC was concerned about the increase in fentanyl use in the community. According to data from the Washington State Department of Health (DOH), fentanyl replaced methamphetamines as the drug most involved in overdoses in Washington state in 2020. A big concern for local healthcare and law enforcement organizations is that people unknowingly purchase and use fake...
DAYTON – The Port of Columbia Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5 p.m. on April 12, 2023, in the port’s conference room and on Zoom. Commissioners Genie Crowe, Johnny Watts, Seth Bryan, and the Executive Director, Jennie Dickinson, were present. The commissioners discussed the Procurement and Public Works Policy to refine it before approval. Eventually, the commissioners decided to table the matter until the next meeting to have more time to study the issue. Reporting on port facilities, Dickinson said Columbia County Public Tra...
DAYTON- The Dayton City Council meeting was held at 6 p.m., April 11, 2023. Mayor Zac Weatherford and council members Teeny McMunn, James Su’euga, Laura Aukerman, Kyle Anderson, Dain Nysoe, Shannon McMillen, and Tiger Dieu were present at Dayton City Hall. Sheriff Joe Helm attended on Zoom and said the department’s two deputies are set to graduate from the state-required Basic Law Enforcement Academy on April 24, 2023. The sheriff’s office and the Coalition for Youth and Families are conducting a “drug take-back” event in the Bank of Idaho par...
OLYMPIA-Fifteen-year-old Waitsburg High School sophomore Cedar Stegall was a little nervous but mostly excited before traveling to Olympia as a Senate page the week of March 26. Stegall said she knew little before the trip but learned about the parliamentary procedure while she was there. She hadn't been particularly interested in politics but thought it would be a fun experience when it was announced at school. Waitsburg teacher Gabe Kiefel shared his experience serving as a page in his youth,...
WAITSBURG-Waitsburg District students were the first to receive new electronic library patron cards donated by anonymous donors. The donation of $1,000 allowed the library to purchase 1,500 cards, more than enough for every Waitsbrug resident to have one. Library staff member Sarah Roberts visited K-5 classes between April 10-12 to present students with the new colorful plastic cards. Roberts also shared a Burke Box, the visiting exhibit on whales provided by the University of Washington's...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board held a work session meeting at 6 p.m., on April 5, 2023, in the high school library. School board members Grant Griffen, Zac Fabin, Superintendent Rich Stewart, and Business Manager Jana Eaton attended in person. Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Aneesha Dieu, and Korinda Wallace attended using Zoom. The Board approved the recommendation to hire Ajay McNarland as the middle school (MS) Assistant Baseball Coach, approved Jeremy Trump as a volunteer MS Softball Coach, and accepted the resignation of a bus driver. The s...
WALLA WALLA-A documentary about the remarkable artist Ginny Ruffner will be presented at The Foundry Vineyards in Walla Walla on Friday, April 15. "A Not So Still Life: the Ginny Ruffner Story" will be followed by a Q & A session with the film's director, Karen Stanton-Gregutt. The movie, produced in 2010 by ShadowCatcher Entertainment, took 12 months to film and another six to edit. After the film debuted at the Seattle International Film Festival, Gregutt arranged a showing for her Waitsburg...
WAITSBURG-Hannah Peralez, an eighth grader in Waitsburg, is the 2023 Queen of Waitsburg Celebration Days. Peralez will ride Stubs, her 15-year-old chestnut quarter horse, to parades and fairs this year. Working with Paralez, Cheyenne (Shoun) Reed is in her first year as a fair court advisor. Reed grew up in Dayton and competed in barrels and roping competitions from 2013 through 2019. Her first horse was a small wild Mustang named Penny. At age 13, she had a great horse, a paint named Forrest...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg annual Easter egg hunt has been a tradition for the Rick and Terry Ferguson family for over 40 years. The Fergusons, with the Penny Hazelbaker family and fellow Waitsburg Grange members, prepare and dye all the eggs before the event. On the day of the event, they arrive early to rope off the areas for each age group, scatter the dyed and chocolate eggs, and award prizes to the lucky ones who find golden eggs. The Ferguson's daughter, Angela, has been a Grange member and...
WAITSBURG-Roseann Groom's high school leadership class has organized special events and projects for students and staff during the school year. This year, junior Blake French suggested an art show as a leadership class project. The work was exhibited at the school on March 29 and 30. Fifteen students entered creative pieces in categories including poetry, woodcraft, drawings, and home décor. Before the show, Susan DeRuwe, a retired Prescott School District art teacher, spent two days with...
WAITSBURG-Last fall, Waitsburg School's Superintendent Mark Pickel read an article about getting kids active in programs after the pandemic. The article encouraged schools to utilize faculty and staff members' talents, interests, and expertise to develop new student programs. Pickel contacted preschool teacher Eleanora Montgomery and her husband, Mark, who are skilled beekeepers. Mark Montgomery grew up in Western Washington, where his father raised bees as a hobby. After graduating from WSU in...
DAYTON – Local residents active in their community have been meeting with Blue Mountain Community Foundation (BMCF) and Innovia Foundation to plan the Raise the Blues Endowment Campaign, which will contribute to a brighter future for Columbia County. The campaign invites residents of Columbia County to join with their neighbors to give back to the place they call home. Donors will have an opportunity to make an impact that lasts. BMCF has set two goals for The Raise the Blues Campaign; both will improve the future of our county. One goal is t...
WAITSBURG-Allison Bond is the founder and project leader for Rural Youth Enrichment Services' (RYES) Waitsburg Urban Forestry project. This mentoring project provided evergreen seedlings to Waitsburg Elementary School students on past Arbor Days. Bond arranged for a row of trees to be planted in front of the elementary school to celebrate International Day of Forests this month. Volunteers included Andrew Knee, Doug Biolo, Kate Hockersmith, Eric Umphrey, and Bruce Donohue, who joined Bond in...
DAYTON—Mayor Zac Weatherford called the Dayton City Council regular meeting to order at 6 p.m. on March 14, 2023. Council members Teeny McMunn, James Su’euga, Laura Aukerman, Kyle Anderson, Dain Nysoe, Shannon McMillen, and Tiger Dieu were present. Sheriff Joe Helm attended via Zoom and reported the number of traffic and other incidents from last month. He said two new deputies are doing well at the academy and are set to graduate on April 24, 2023, and will return to Columbia County to complete a fourteen-week Field Training Officer (FTO) pro...
