Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 4437 - 4461 of 5667
DAYTON – Fires are on just about everyone's mind right now. In Columbia County, investigators are struggling to reach conclusions regarding five fires in the last four weeks. "We're just swamped with this," County Fire Marshal Kim Lyonnais said. Many of these officials also have their hands full giving aid to firefighters battling the Blue Creek Fire, which has consumed over 6,000 acres of land and one home in Walla Walla County (see story on Page 10). The series of local fires began on the l...
WAITSBURG – At their July 27 meeting, Walla Walla County Commisisoners agreed to let voters decide whether or not the City of Waitsburg Fire Department will be annexed into Walla Walla County Fire Protection District No. 2 (WW Fire 2). Commissioners Jim Duncan, Jim Johnson and Perry Dozier voted unanimously to pass a resolution calling for the special election proposal that will go before voters in November. Both the City of Waitsburg and WW Fire 2 are in agreement that the annexation, as well as the annexation of the Waitsburg Ambulance Servic...
DAYTON - Clara Dickinson-McQuary graduated from Dayton High School in 2004. She left the Touchet Valley at age 18 and traveled the world. A year ago, she returned to Dayton. "I thought I was just passing through," she said. But that wasn't the case at all. For the first time in her life, she fell in love with her birth place. "It's taken me a long time to appreciate this area," she said. Now she is employed full time by Washington State Parks to share that love with the world and bring visitors...
*A press release Monday stated that the cause of fire on the night of June 29, that destroyed homes at 203 and 205 E. Washington Ave., is unknown and suspicious in nature. *The fire that seriously damaged a home at 119 E. Commercial St. on July 15, at 1 a.m., does not appear, upon initial investigation, to be an act of intentional arson and “possible causes are known.” *A brush fire on the Touchet River dike west of the city of Dayton, behind the wastewater treatment plant, later in the afternoon on July 15, doesn’t appear to be arson. The c...
WAITSBURG – There's no need to worry about what's for dinner on Tuesday. Just head out to the Waitsburg athletic field and enjoy the free goodies provided as part of the country's National Night Out Celebration. Waitsburg will join in the festivities for the first time this year, and the athletic field will be alive with food and fun from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., that evening. Kids can learn how to make a proper 911 call and the Walla Walla County Sheriff's Department will be on hand with a patrol b...
DAYTON – It's that time of year again. National Night Out, the annual anti-crime and anti-drug family event that takes place across the country, is next Tuesday. The Dayton City Park will be filled with exhibits, activities and free food from 5-8 p.m. Last year nearly 1,000 people attended this annual event here, sponsored by the Columbia County Sheriff's Office and many local partners. The event is designed to: (1) Heighten crime- and drug-prevention awareness; (2) generate support for, and par...
First Appearance/Arraignment: Christina L. Johnson, 45, Starbuck; entered not-guilty plea on all charges for behavior reportedly taking place on July 8 including: second-degree assault for the alleged strangulation of her husband, a class B felony; driving under the influence (DUI), a gross misdemeanor; disorderly conduct for abusive language; and contempt of court for disobeying the judge’s orders of release after leaving the county jail. Trials Set: *Marshall Hernandez, 54, Dayton; charged in January with arson, reckless burning, and p...
DAYTON – Three out-of-state, professional archeologists were charged last week in Columbia County Superior Court with theft of prehistoric artifacts from the Umatilla National Forest and Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness in 2013. Richard Lee Lyman, 64, is a professor and chair of the department of anthropology at the University of Missouri and holds a doctorate of anthropology from the University of Washington. Lyman was arraigned on Wednesday, July 22, on charges of second-degree theft and s...
WAITSBURG – Whiskey Creek Sports Bar & Grill was thrown a curve ball when their general manager was benched due to health problems just as the restaurant opened. But the restaurant's owners think they've hit a home run with new general manager, Sara Cunnington. Cunnington lives in Walla Walla and was formerly employed at Applebee's where she says she began as a server, moved to the bar and then into management. "When I heard about this position, I went for it. I'm really excited about it," s...
PRESCOTT – Prescott school board members wrapped up their July 23 board meeting with a walk outside to inspect some of the many improvements that have been made to the school grounds and facilities over the summer, including the renovation of what will soon become the new ag building. The district is looking forward to a year of growth, with the addition of a new agriculture economics program, the school's first FFA chapter, and an ECEAP preschool program. Superintendent Brett Cox said that h...
Board members: Karen Tonne (chair), Sara Fletcher, Mark Hauck, Eva Madrigal, and Erik Young with Hauck absent. Also present: Superintendent Brett Cox, Principal Jodi Thew and Business Manager Patti Johnson. Informational: *Thirteen students completed elementary summer school and 34 completed the jr. high program. *Nine girls participated in volleyball camp. *District is working on a career and technical education competitive grant which would be used to purchase tools and equipment for the new agricultural economics program. *New sidewalk and...
WALLA WALLA – Residents of the back country in Columbia County and elsewhere in the Touchet Valley watched the spread of the Blue Creek Fire east of here with unease over the last week. It has been several years since a fire of this magnitude threatened the valley. At press time on Tuesday, the wildland fire on Blue Mountain Road and Klicker Mountain Road east of Walla Walla was 73-percent contained. At its largest, the fire was reported to have burned 6,225 acres. The blaze, which ignited on J...
DAYTON – Columbia County Commissioners are considering a request by the Starbuck Town Council to assist with renovations to Starbuck City Hall, following a letter received earlier this month requesting aid. Candice Harrison, Starbuck’s city clerk and treasurer, wrote the letter dated June 30 to county commissioners. The letter was brief and to the point: “This letter is to inquire if there is any funding available for our city hall renovation. At this time, we are restoring our city hall windo...
The Dayton High School class of 1980 made sure the crowd at this year's annual Alumni Parade in downtown Dayton knew who they were. . ....
WAITSBURG – In response to a delayed pool opening, followed by a quick closure and re-opening, Waitsburg's city council agreed to allow free swimming for the remainder of the summer, at their July 16 meeting. City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said that, typically, the first month of the pool being open is busiest and that's also when family passes are sold. With the late opening, missed rentals, and pass refunds, Hinchliffe said the city has probably already missed out on well over half the t...
DAYTON – Columbia County Commissioners declared an emergency Friday afternoon following an early morning fire at the county transfer station on South Cottonwood Street that destroyed most of the necessary operational equipment and seriously damaged the integrity of the main building. "Basically we [declared the emergency] because otherwise we'd have to go through the official bidding process to get the cleanup and repairs done," Commissioner Dwight Robanske said. "We're dealing with the h...
DAYTON – Investigators from Walla Walla were on scene last week trying to determine the cause of a fire that seriously damaged a home here early last Wednesday. The house at 119 E. Commercial Ave., owned by longtime Dayton resident George "Bill" Waltermire, was reported ablaze by passers-by just after 1 a.m. on July 15, according to local officials. Waltermire has said he was out at a convenience store when he heard the news, Columbia County Sheriff Rocky Miller said. The fire, though p...
WAITSBURG – The proposed annexation of the City of Waitsburg Fire Department into Walla Walla County Fire Protection District No. 2 is just one step away from making it to the voters. Walla Walla County Commissioners are slated to take action on the proposal Monday morning and will determine whether or not it makes the ballot. The City of Waitsburg initiated the official annexation process when the council approved Ordinance 2015-1031, on June 17, which stated the city’s intent to annex. The ord...
DAYTON – County residents Julia and Skip Mead implored Columbia County Commissioners at last week’s public hearing to turn down an offer by Portland General Electric to pave a portion of Mead Road north of Dayton. “We are passionate about our freedom and privacy,” Julia Mead told all three commissioners and the boardroom full of listeners last Wednesday. “We don’t have to let PGE impose their liberal ways on us... Please, please, please do not pave Mead Road!” Commissioners Merle Jackson and D...
New service will specialize in providing care to clients in Waitsburg and Dayton WAITSBURG – Elizabeth Gonzalez hopes to put her 21 years experience as a Certified Nurse's Assistant (CNA) to work by pairing reliable home health care providers with patients in the Touchet Valley. Her new agency, Ameri, will provide in-home care services not only in Walla Walla, but also in Waitsburg and Dayton, where it can be more difficult to find reliable care. Business owners Elizabeth and Fred Gonzalez moved...
SEATTLE/PORTLAND – Lael Loyd, manager of Dayton's Wenaha Gallery, may have not known anyone else who took part in the Cascade Bicycle Club's 2015 Seattle-to-Portland ride, but she says she was far from alone. Loyd said she felt and experienced the presence of friends and family with every push of the pedal during the 206.2 mile ride earlier this month. "It was literally the best experience of my life," Loyd said of the ride. "I've finally found my thing. It took me 30-plus years to realize I h...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg’s school board continues to seek clarification and possible alternatives to the Conceptual Opinion of Probable Cost – which includes a $1.5 million line item just to provide air conditioning for the elementary school – submitted by Design West Architects in June. The board will use the analysis to determine what amount to bring before voters in an upcoming capital bonds request. Building bonds, used for the modernization of the elementary, middle and high school, will re...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg resident, Tysen R. Beckner, now faces additional charges for possession of child pornography, according to Walla Walla County Sheriff John Turner, who spoke at Waitsburg’s July 16 city council meeting. Beckner previously faced charges for severely beating his girlfriend’s child, who was left in his care on the night of June 17. According to a Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office report, medics were called to Beckner’s apartment on the morning of June 18, after a family membe...
WAITSBURG – Walla Walla County Sheriff John Turner presented his quarterly report at the July 16 Waitsburg City Council Meeting, reporting that crime stats were “on par” to date as compared to last year, and that the WWCSO had worked 306.80 hours above the contracted hours in Waitsburg. Turner said that crime stats can be deceptive in that they don’t reflect things like the increase in illicit and prescription drug use and gang activity. Turner said crime stats were up in the cities of both Wa...
Dayton resident Alicia Walker helps her 5-year-old daughter, Audrey Walker, tie dye a t-shirt at their booth during Saturday's Foodstock 2015 festival at the Blue Mountain Station just west of Dayton on Highway 12. . ....
