Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG – When The Times arrived to interview Waitsburg's new social studies teacher, Matt Elder, he was seated at his classroom desk, flanked by presidential candidate buttons and political comics, drinking coffee from a Roswell, New Mexico mug, and preparing to download text- to- speech software to his computer; all examples of his teaching philosophy. Elder is confident his love of 20th century history, appreciation for travel and heavy utilization of technology will make history classes f...
This year's rotating display in the Wilson-Phillips house pays tribute to the Native American, showcasing Indian blankets, beaded items, tools, arrowheads, and more. Glass display cases are filled with beautifully beaded Indian artifacts, handmade by members of the Cayuse tribe. The items were gifted to the Lloyd family of Waitsburg over their 80 years of friendship with the Indians. The late Bettie (Lloyd) Chase recalled that the Indians would often show up at their home at dinnertime, causing...
[Editor’s Note: Following is the U.S. Forest Service update on the Grizzly Bear Complex Fire for Tuesday morning.] Elgin, Ore. – A second contingent of 155 National Guard Members arrived in Elgin yesterday bringing the number of personnel fighting the 74,471 acre Grizzly Bear Complex to 1,056. With a formidable show of efficiency, the Guards swapped uniforms for green pants and yellow shirts, packed their line gear and climbed into the back of personnel carriers for deployment to the southern flank of the fire by 6 a.m. this morning. Their add...
DAYTON – The U.S. Forest Service has set up a branch fire management office at the Columbia County Fire District 3 station east of Dayton to oversee firefighting efforts in the northern part of the Grizzly Bear Complex Fire, known as Branch I. The Grizzly Bear fire covers nearly 75,000 acres (more than 115 square miles) in Washington and Oregon. Fire management sites have also been setup in Troy, Ore. and Fry Meadows, Ore., for Branches II and III respectively. The main incident command post overseeing the entire fire operation for the F...
Dayton Elementary School kids and their parents were welcomed back to school......
Money raised from last year's Waitsburg Home and School fundraisers was used . . ....
A family gathered in front of the Columbia County Courthouse Tuesday morning to look over the latest updates on the Grizzly Bear Complex Fire . . ....
WAITSBURG – At their Aug. 19 meeting, Waitsburg's City Council approved a pre-annexation agreement, subject to minor revisions, with Walla Walla County Fire Protection District No. 2 and passed a resolution to surplus the Waitsburg fire station and equipment, allowing for its eventual transfer to the District. Both the agreement and resolution are contingent on city and county voters passing the proposed annexation which will appear on November's special election ballot. A top concern of council...
DAYTON – During a special meeting on Monday, the Columbia County Board of Commissioners rejected a motion to ban growing, processing and sales of marijuana in the unincorporated parts of the county. The motion to ban, which was made by Commissioner Merle Jackson, failed on a 2-1 vote, with Commissioners Dwight Robanske and Mike Talbott voting against. After the vote, the commissioners asked Columbia County Planning Director Kim Lyonnais and County Prosecutor Rea Culwell, who were both in a...
WALLA WALLA – Eleven students from Dayton, Prescott, and Waitsburg began school a a bit earlier than their counterparts, starting classes at SEA-TECH, which follows the Walla Walla School District schedule, on Wed. Aug. 26. The skills center, which is located on the Walla Walla Community College campus, opened last year and offers courses in Health Science Careers, Digital Media, Manufacturing and Welding Technology and Electrical Systems Technology. This year, Waitsburg has a total of six s...
DAYTON – Columbia County Superior Court Judge Scott Gallina has postponed the trial of Levi Helgerson, of Dayton, who is charged with first degree assault of a child. The trial was originally scheduled to begin this week, but was reset for November 2, and may last as many as eight days. According to Columbia County Prosecutor Rea Culwell, problems with Columbia County’s jury notice system left the court with too few potential jurors for the trial. The judge agreed to delay the trial to allow recruitment of a full pool of potential jurors. Hel...
DAYTON – They say that 'absence makes the heart grow fonder,' and that truism turned out to be a career-changer for Dayton's new library director, Dusty Waltner. While pursuing a doctorate degree in geography, Waltner found herself, for first time since her teens, not employed by a library. The realization of how much she missed that work eventually resulted in Waltner earning a library degree and landing her role as the current director of the Columbia County Rural Library District (CCRLD). W...
County has purchased former PGE office on E. Clay for Prosecutor DAYTON – The Columbia County Prosecutor's Office will move to a new location on South Clay Street in Dayton next month. According to Prosecutor Rea Culwell, the Columbia County Commissioners have agreed to purchase the building at 215 East Clay Street, next door to the County Planning office. The sale was expected to close this week. The building formerly housed the Portland General Electric Dayton office during the construction o...
WAITSBURG – Due to the dwindling number of middle school players at both schools, Waitsburg and Dayton school boards have agreed to form an athletic combine for middle school football for the 2015-16 school year. "This will benefit our kids big time," said Waitsburg middle school football coach Jeff Bartlow, who spearheaded the idea. "We want to continue playing 11-man football at the high school and it allows us not to slip down to 8-man. Dayton is playing 8-man right now, but over time, w...
WAITSBURG – About a half dozen people turned out for the organizational meeting of Friends of the Waitsburg Pool, which they hope will become part of the Rural Youth Enrichment Services 501c3, earlier this month. The group nailed down their priorities and immediately began work on their first fundraiser, a pie baking contest, to be judged at Waitsburg's Fall Festival on Sun., Sept. 20. The Friends agreed that their first priority is meeting the needs of children, followed by providing funding a...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg city administrator Randy Hinchliffe has been awarded the Professional Finance Officer Award from the Washington Finance Officers Association for the eighth year running. The Professional Finance Officer Recognition Program provides an opportunity for members to be recognized for their continued personal development and achievements in the governmental finance arenas. Mayor Walt Gobel recognized Hinchliffe, reading a letter from the Finance Officers Association, at Waitsburg’s Aug. 19 City Council meeting. A portion fro...
Weller Public Library 212 Main Street, Waitsburg Hours: Mon. and Thurs. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Storytime: Mon., 10:30 a. m. Circling the Sun by Paula McLain (Adult Fiction): Historical fiction writer McLain transports readers to colonial Kenya in the 1920's where the fearless and captivating Beryl, Markham, a record-setting female aviator is caught up in a passionate love triangle. The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes (Adult Fiction): A masterful twist on the serial killer tale featuring a memorable and...
[Editor's Note: the following information was released Tuesday morning by the Umatilla National Forest Fire Information Office.] ELGIN, Ore. – Firefighters continue to make overall progress containing the Grizzly Bear Complex fire. Direct and indirect firelines were improved and 5% containment was achieved. A new fire started yesterday afternoon near the north edge of the Grizzly Bear Complex. Named Green Ridge, it is burning in mixed fuel (grass, timber, slash). Although 60% contained y...
WAITSBURG – Jim German and Claire Johnston plan to continue living in Waitsburg while striking out on new, not yet fully determined, adventures. But the owners of Waitsburg's jimgermanbar will close that establishment at the end of August. German is in the process of having a "monolithic" pizza oven built on the patio behind jimgermanbar but is not sure that he'll be the one operating it. He is also actively involved with an exciting restaurant transformation in Walla Walla. While he's not f...
Forty-five children, between the ages of five and 18, from Dayton, Waitsburg and surrounding communities entertained the crowds in two performances of the Missoula Children's Theatre production of Aladdin at Dayton's Liberty Theater on Friday and Saturday nights....
DAYTON – Earlier this month, HomeStreet, Inc. announced its plans to acquire the AmericanWest Bank branch here. The transaction is subject to several conditions, one of which is the closing of a previously announced merger between AmericanWest Bank and Banner Bank. Waitsburg's AmericanWest Bank branch will still merge with Banner Bank, as previously announced. Dayton's branch is the only AmericanWest Bank branch not merging with Banner Bank. A press release from HomeStreet said the company's a...
DAYTON – In June, planning and building employees began the process of updating Columbia County’s ordinances regarding the violation of building codes and the regulation and abatement of public nuisances. County commissioners had asked Planning Director Kim Lyonnais and his team to add “teeth” to the current rules. After a brief look around the county, Lyonnais and his department located more than 40 violations of building codes. Problems include everything from residents running unlicen...
An area of more than 2,250 acres is burning this week in the Grizzly Bear Complex Fire in Columbia County. The fire is burning in the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness, about 20 miles southeast of Dayton. Multiple fires in the area were started by lightning strikes on Thursday. As of Monday, about 50 firefighters were battling the fires, which are 0% contained. Numerous forest roads in the area are closed. Dayton resident David Frame took this photo Friday about a mile west of Godman Springs, looking...
DAYTON – Art has been a part of Monica Stobie's life since early childhood, when she was influenced by her grandmother, a watercolorist. Saturday, Aug. 22, Stobie will showcase her art – primitive rock paintings, prints and sculpture – at an Artist's Reception at Dayton's Wenaha Gallery. Stobie followed her childhood passion and earned an art degree from Eastern Washington University, which she put to use for 15 years teaching junior and senior high art in Walla Walla and Milto...
SEASIDE, Ore. – The kids and I spent much of last week lapping up the sunshine (yes, there was sunshine!) and playing on the beach during a much-needed getaway to Seaside, Ore. Since I was on vacation, I wasn't required to submit much writing for this week's issue of The Times, but I did promise to return with a travel piece. Let me start out by being honest – I have avoided Seaside for years. In fact, the last time I visited, my son, who turned 16 during this trip, was in utero. I enjoy the...
