Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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DAYTON – The school year will begin on Tuesday, Sept. 1, for all students in the Dayton School District. New students as well as returning students are encouraged to attend registration on Wednesday, Aug. 19, in the elementary multi-purpose room from noon until 6 p.m. Kindergarten students who have already registered do not need to attend, unless other children in the family haven’t yet registered. Sports physicals will be available from 2-5 p.m. on Aug. 18 in the district office for just $5....
The Prescott Joint Parks and Recreation Department hosted its fourth annual car and truck show at Field View Park on Saturday. Turnout was light, with seven vehicles and two motorcycles entered, but spectators and participants enjoyed an afternoon visiting in the shade with free hot dogs, chips and soft drinks. Entries included: #1 Rat Rod – Bill Hayes #2 Cream Chrysler – Butch Hayes #3 '53 Blue Chevy Pickup – Bob Hillweg #4 Honda Motorcycle – Bob Hillweg #5 Harley Davidson – Bill Hayes #6...
It's not every day you get to drive a real, live sheriff's patrol boat. Cody Coulston, cheered on by big brother Tyler, took obvious pleasure in the opportunity to play deputy at Waitsburg's very first National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 4. See the Last Page for more photos of Dayton's and Waitsburg's 2015 NNO events....
DAYTON – Arson has been ruled out in four of the five suspicious fires here between June 28 and July 22, according to incident reports released by Columbia County Fire Marshal Kim Lyonnais on Monday. "But all of the cases are going to remain open," Lyonnais said. "We hope that eventually a witness hears some kids bragging or overhears something else that gives us a lead." Each report that discounts arson includes the language "at this time." The marshal's office was not called to investigate o...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg School District's July 29 budget hearing was followed by a brief public discussion "entertaining the idea" of combining Waitsburg and Dayton for middle school football. Those in attendance responded in favor of the suggestion. Superintendent Carol Clarke stated the concerns of Waitsburg middle school football coach Jeff Bartlow, who was unable to be present at the meeting. With only 44 seventh- and eighth-grade students (about 52 percent boys), Bartlow is worried about t...
DAYTON – Leadership changes are in the works for the Columbia County Health System. Board Chair Ted Paterson and interim CEO Jon Smiley will both leave the organization at the end of September. The resignations were announced at the July CCHS board meeting last Thursday after a lengthy meeting discussing the future of the hospital district and planned remodel of Dayton General Hospital. "Jon has done a great job, but it's time to get someone else in here," Paterson told the board. Both s...
DAYTON – Three wanted subjects were arrested in Dayton last Friday after attempting to flee from a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office Deputy. The deputy had planned to pull over the gray Chevrolet Lumina in the 100 block of North Front Street, but the driver failed to yield and stopped instead at 101 Klingenstein Drive. The driver then fled on foot. Deputies searched the area and located the driver, 25-year-old Milton-Freewater man Salvador Saucedo, Jr. Saucedo was already wanted on a warrant out of Walla Walla for failure to appear on charges in...
Greg Butler nabbed this shot of recent visitors to his home at Shilo Farm, just west of Lewis & Clark Trail State Park, last month. . ....
Jacob Dunn, an incoming junior at Waitsburg High School, pitched a complete game Thursday to lead the Walla Walla Bruins American Legion baseball team to the Washington State Junior AA state championship in Olympia. The Bruins trailed 3-2 going into the bottom of the seventh and final inning against Kennewick, but rallied for the 4-3 win on a walk-off RBI single by Carter Davis. Dunn gave up all three Kennewick runs in the sixth inning, but was otherwise almost flawless, giving up only six hits...
Temperatures topping 100 degrees did nothing to melt the enthusiasm of fans of Elsa from the movie "Frozen." Youngsters flocked to Whiskey Creek Sports Bar & Grill on Sunday afternoon to join Elsa for ice cream sundaes on the patio. Many of the young ladies arrived wearing blue dresses and braids, just like Elsa. The children enjoyed ice cream and karoake while Elsa signed autographs and served up hugs and smiles....
DAYTON – Columbia County Health System leaders have selected an architect team for the planned $5.5 million Dayton General Hospital upgrade, they announced last week. Two architects responded to the hospital district’s request for letters of interest last month, according to Chief Operations Officer Shane McGuire. Both were invited to the bidding process with RFQ (request for quotation). Rather than respond individually, the two architects decided on their own to come back to the table as par...
DAYTON – When teachers at Dayton High School ask their students to write an essay on what they did over their summer vacation, more than two dozen will have a ready answer: Teen Scene. Teen Scene is managed by leaders and volunteers with Blue Mountain Counseling, who also run the Summer Youth Program for younger children in the community. Both programs this year took place from the last part of June through July 31. This isn't the first year of this summer recreation program for older youth, b...
WAITSBURG – During the months of July and August, the Touchet Valley is buzzing with activity as farmers harvest their crops, reaping the rewards of the year's labor. Even those not actively involved in the process take part as witnesses. Drivers respectfully give heed as combines crawl along highways, making their way between fields, and children pump their arms in the air, begging truck drivers to blow the horn on their way through Main Street. And while it doesn't require grain elevators or b...
Board members: Ross Hamann, Greg Zuger, Marilyn Johnson, Randy Pearson and Christy House with Zuger absent. *Superintendent Carol Clarke read a letter from OSPI congratulating the district’s transportation department for receiving “exceptional results” in the Washington State Patrol bus inspections, for the second year in a row. *Late legislative action dropped the end-of-course proficiency exam requirement in biology for the Class of 2016.The class of 2017 will be held to meeting that standard. *Thirty new computers will be ordered for the hig...
WAITSBURG – During the July 29 public budget hearing, the Waitsburg School Board unanimously approved the proposed $4.1 million budget for the 2015-16 school year. The 2015-16 budget is based on a total K-12 projected enrollment of 281.75 full-time-equivalent (FTE) students. For the 2014-15 school year, the district budgeted for 269.4 FTE and ended the year at 292.48. Total expected revenues for 2015-16, based on projected enrollment and anticipated grant funds, is $3.9 million. Total p...
When Arrah Lee Wilson and Benjamin Moser arrived to clean the Waitsburg Presbyterian Church on the morning of Thursday, July 30, they entered to find the sanctuary "covered with hundreds of tiny shards of glass," according to pastor Bret Moser. Vandals threw rocks and broke three of the antique glass panels in the sanctuary window that faces Main Street. Church members were hopeful that they had enough glass to replace the broken panels. The antique glass is filled with tiny bubbles and tinted...
More than 1,000 people attend Dayton's National Night Out, which celebrated its eighth year on Tuesday night, to learn more about health and safety in the community, play games and enjoy free hotdogs and soda....
Waitsburg's first-ever National Night Out, held at the school district's athletic complex, was a well-attended success....
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...
