Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 3712 - 3736 of 5665
DAYTON – Rev. William B. Graham wore many hats throughout the three decades he spent living in Dayton, where he served as pastor, mayor, council member, and concerned citizen. Graham passed away peacefully, at age 85, at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane on Aug. 24 and those who knew him and worked alongside him say the impact he had on his community is a legacy he can be proud to leave behind. Graham moved to Dayton in 1982 and served as pastor of the Dayton First Congregational C...
PRESCOTT – Local author, poet, and musician Susan Matley, known best locally as western singer Cimarron Sue, is celebrating the publication of her second novel. Matley released her first sci-fantasy novella, Small-g City, through Colorado micro-press Wolfsinger Publications in 2015. The second book in the series, Big-G City, provides a behind-the-scenes look at the City of Mount Olympus, the setting for her new novel. Matley has always loved creative writing, but began writing with the intent to publish in 1996. She began writing love s...
The Waitsburg School District staff was all smiles as they gathered in the elementary school library for an all-staff inservice on Tuesday morning. Prescott and Dayton schools started last week and Waitsburg will start their year on Tues., Sept. 6....
WAITSBURG – Back-to-school time can be both hectic and expensive, but the Waitsburg Home and School Association (HASA) is doing what it can to ease the burden for local parents. This year Waitsburg students can forget about trying to find all the items on the traditional back-to-school supply list. Instead, they are told to arrive with only a "backpack and a smile." For the second year in a row, Waitsburg's HASA has purchased all the school supplies needed for Waitsburg students. Last year, HASA...
Council members: KC Kuykendall, Kevin House, Karl Newell, Kate Hockersmith, and Mayor Pro-tem Marty Dunn were in attendance. Agenda Approval: - KC Kuykendall motioned for the addition of an executive session pertaining to staff performance. Dunn asked if the issue could wait until the issue could be addressed by the personnel committee. Kuykendall said the issue needed addressed right away by the council but would be “highly inappropriate” for public discussion. Hockersmith seconded the mot...
Preparations for livestock showing at Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days begins well in advance of the actual event. Waitsburg FFA and 4-H members spent Sunday afternoon washing lattice, decorating stalls, and hauling sawdust....
Members of the Society for Creative Anachronism camped overnight in Preston Park last weekend during their annual Newcomers event. The local SCA chapter, Barony of Wastekeep, hosts the campout to introduce beginners and interested individuals to the organization. SCA participants adopt a persona, dress in period costume, and practice arts and skills popular in the Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Kathy Carpenter of Waitsburg reigns as Baroness, Katherine of Akornebir. Carpenter became...
WAITSBURG – Following weeks of contention, protests, and the resulting resignation of the town's mayor, Waitsburg's City Council decided to cut short any involvement with Nestlé Waters North America at their Aug. 17 council meeting. Nestlé representative Bruce Lauerman said the company, which had hoped to evaluate Waitsburg as a potential site for a $50 million water bottling plant, said the company will leave quickly and quietly. Mayor Pro-tem Marty Dunn ran the meeting and immediately add...
DAYTON—Keeping junior high school students engaged was a hot topic for participants at the Aug. 17 Dayton School District board meeting. Dayton High School/Middle School teachers Jeff McCann and Kristen Frankie were on hand to provide the board and administrators their perspectives on keeping junior high school students engaged. Superintendent Doug Johnson said that informal data suggests that student failure to progress academically begins in the junior high school years, and the a...
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DAYTON-Vickie Hodgson will be in the office at the Columbia County Health Department only four days in September: the 12th through the 15th. She will then move out of the health department, where she has worked for the last 38 years, and into retirement. Hodgson has worn many hats at the health department: as the Women Infant and Children's coordinator, health educator, and tobacco coordinator for the Department of Health. She also sits on the board for the Coalition for Youth and Families....
DAYTON-The Columbia County Commissioners and the County Planning Department are in the process of developing a Facilities Plan for the Columbia County Fairgrounds and the Touchet Valley Golf Course. County Planner Meagan Bailey has been tasked with coordinating that effort. Special events might be held in the area where the East Grandstand is currently located. The grandstand is to be demolished sometime during the winter months, according to the commissioners. That area, along with the...
DAYTON—A program coordinator is still being sought for Dayton’s 2016-17 After School Program, which will start on September 20, according to Peggy Guiterrez, Drug Free Grant Coordinator for the Coalition for Youth and Families. Gutierrez said funding is in the budget for the position, which will require four hours a day on the three days the program is offered. An additional amount has been budgeted for planning time. The foundation for the program has already been laid by the temporary pro...
In last week’s Times story about a new building planned for Blue Mountain Station in Dayton, we reported that 4-Point Construction of Walla Walla had been issued a building permit for the new building. In fact, 4-Point Construction has submitted a building permit application that has not been completely reviewed. We also reported that the new building was being placed to take advantage of a railroad siding, but in fact, the siding is not part of placement plan. Also, there are three parties possibly interested in leasing space in the new b...
WAITSBURG - The first item under "new business" on the Waitsburg City Council Agenda last week was how to fill the vacant council position left following the resignation of Mayor Walt Gobel earlier this month. A lack of clarity in the city's charter, which dictates such decisions, left the council trying to determine the best way to move forward. After council discussion and public comment, it was decided that Mayor Pro-tem Marty Dunn will fulfill the rest of Gobel's term as mayor, and...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg Elementary School sixth-grade students will be welcomed to the classroom by a new face this year. First-time teacher Garrett Leahy will replace Sarah Reser, who resigned earlier this summer to accept a position as literacy coordinator for ESD 123. Twenty-two-year-old Leahy is a recent graduate of the University of Idaho. He holds a bachelor of science degree in elementary education with endorsements in math and science. Leahy is a Walla Walla Valley native and grew up on t...
WAITSBURG – The people, small town lifestyle, and natural resources were listed repeatedly as community treasures by Waitsburg and area residents at a Community Conversations meeting hosted by the Community Council at Waitsburg Town Hall last week. The responses were gleaned through a brainstorming workshop designed to pinpoint what area residents value and care about and to identify regional needs. The Community Council facilitates the citizen-driven, interactive workshops throughout the B...
FFA Officers traveled to Spokane, then camped overnight on Wolf Fork Creek while engaging in team-building activities and planning for the coming FFA year....
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg coach and physical education teacher Jeff Bartlow described his recent resignation as "the end of an era," after investing 17 years of his career in Waitsburg. Bartlow recently accepted a position as a counselor at Pioneer Middle School – the same position he held before coming to Waitsburg in 1999, where he was WHS head football coach for 16 years. Bartlow said he had been considering a career change for some time, but that the job opening at Pi Hi came at the last min...
DAYTON—Allen Litzenberger, owner of 4-Point Construction in Walla Walla, is building a second building at the Blue Mountain Station, according to Port of Columbia manager Jennie Dickinson, at the port commissioner meeting, last week. “It looks like it will be done quickly,” she told the board. Dickinson said a traffic study and SEPA study are not required, and that the building permit has already been approved. Design meetings with the port planner, engineers from Anderson Perry, and an archi...
DAYTON – The Columbia County Fair is less than a month away, and this year's Fair Board has been hard at work all year planning the many activities for this year's fair: Some traditional and some brand new. The Columbia County Fair runs from Sept. 9 – 11 this year, will feature a new headliner Friday night – a performance by the Wenatchee Youth Circus. The circus starts at 7 p.m. and is sponsored by Columbia REA. The Rascal Rodeo, always a crowd favorite, takes place Saturday morning from 9:30...
Swimmers and paddlers hit the water at the Lyons Ferry State Park on Saturday morning to participate in the Fourth Annual Swim the Snake fundraiser. The annual event is a fundraiser for the Blue Mountain Resource Conservation and Development Council and the Dayton and Pomeroy swim teams. This is the first year that paddlers were included in the event. Participants leave shore from the park and swim or paddle to the Lyons Ferry Marina....
Trials Set: -Steven Ray Long, 29, Dayton; charged with 17 counts including theft, drug charges, malicious mischief and burglary stemming from incidents that took place in Feb. and May, 2013. Trial set for Oct. 20-21. - Curtis A. Jones, 32, Hermiston; charged with illegal possession of a firearm and criminal trespass. Charges stem from an incident with WDFW that occurred in Oct. 2014. Jones is being held in custody on a bench warrant. Trial is set for Aug. 17. -Joseph John Richter, 31, homeless; charged with violation of uniform controlled...
WHS alumnus Nicholas Pearson was named to the Whitworth University Provost’s Honor Roll for spring semester 2016. Pearson qualified by maintaining a GPS of at least 3.75. Waitsburg FFA member and WHS grad Mikala Deruwe has been named as a recipient of the 2016 American FFA Degree. The degree is awarded to FFA members who have demonstrated the highest level of commitment to FFA. She will be recognized in Indianapolis at the 89th National FFA Convention & Expo. on Oct. 22....
