Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG-Hundreds of people visited the Waitsburg Pioneer Fall Festival on Sunday, 18 September, following a two-year hiatus due to COVID protocols. Early morning rain showers caused some concerns, stopped just before noon and the afternoon was ideal for the event. Local artisans sold hand-forged bottle openers and coatracks, handspun woolen products, hand-dipped candles, quilting products, and handmade jewelry. Food vendors served the favorite fare of bison burgers, brats, baked goods, ice...
DAYTON – The Columbia Port Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5 p.m. on September 14, 2022, at the Port of Columbia and on Zoom. Commissioners present were Genie Crowe, Seth Bryan, and the Executive Director, Jennie Dickinson. Members of the public attended using Zoom and in person. Johnny Watts did not attend. Dayton Resident Teresa Eier addressed her comments during public comment to Commissioner Bryan. She said Columbia County Commissioner Chuck Amerein told her to investigate issues for herself, which she said she had. The c...
DAYTON- The Dayton City Council held its regular meeting at 6 p.m. on September 13, 2022. Mayor Zac Weatherford and council members Shannon McMillen, Teeny McMunn, James Su’euga, Kyle Anderson, Laura Aukerman, and Tiger Dieu were present at City Hall; Dain Nysoe was absent. The Interim 911 Director and Dispatch Supervisor, Desirae Lockard, gave a brief report, including an update on the 911 phone system, which will have an upgrade on September 20, 2022. She said 911 calls might be redirected to Walla Walla for up to six hours that day. With t...
WAITSBURG-Since Ed and Cathy Lambert started visiting Bob, Waitsburg's beloved donkey on E. 8th, they have developed a love for the breed. Lambert said that for many years the couple would visit and bring him treats. It wasn't until their daughter Kelly connected them to Peace Valley Donkey Rescue (PVDR) that they had a chance to adopt their own. The PVDR application process was very thorough and detailed, explained the Lamberts. They began the process in early June of this year. After...
COLUMBIA COUNTY-Virginia Schmidt is the ever-capable Clerk of the Board for the Board of Columbia County Commissioners (BOCC), in that position for a year and a half. Here is what this reporter learned by picking her brain last week and by following up with various department heads. Chris Mills, Columbia County's Assessor, has announced her last day with the County on Sept. 30. She has been with the County for over thirty years, first as the Chief Deputy Clerk in the Assessor's Office and the...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met for its regular meeting on September 7, 2022. Present in the high school auditorium were board members Zac Fabian, Jeffrey McCowen, Korinda Wallace, and Superintendent Rich Stewart. Grant Griffen did not attend, and Aneesha Dieu arrived during the “Character Strong” presentation. Participation was also available on Zoom. The Board approved the Consent Agenda, hiring Cole Kenney and Elizabeth Sutton as Elementary Paraprofessionals and Jeremy Trump as a volunteer Middle School Football coach. There were no pu...
WAITSBURG-This year, the Waitsburg Historical Society has selected the Albert Land Family as the 2022 Pioneers of the Year. Albert Land's three surviving children, Elaine Reese, Joan Miller, and Tom Land will be at the Waitsburg Pioneer Fall Festival on Sunday, Sept. 18 to receive the honors. Albert's grandfather, Edmund Land was born in England in 1823, and went on to travel the world. As his obituary noted, he "crossed the Atlantic Ocean four times and the Pacific Ocean twice." Living in New Z...
WALLA WALLA-At the Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days this past weekend, the region's students competed to show the four-legged friends they raised over the summer. In each livestock class (steer, sheep, goat, and swine), students from Waitsburg, Dayton, and Prescott had noteworthy achievements. Starting with the steers, Elsie Mann of Waitsburg FFA won FFA Grand Champion Market Steer and Overall Reserve Champion Market Steer. Mann has been showing since she was nine and understands the importanc...
WAITSBURG-Richard Harbuz is an overlander explorer making his way on an electric scooter. He has ridden the well-outfitted scooter from his home in Colorado across Canada to Alaska. And back again, finding his way to Ten Ton Coffee in Waitsburg. As a self-described overlander, Harbuz enjoyed taking his bike and riding long distances from his home. After suffering a back injury while working in his daughter's home, he found it difficult to ride his bike. He missed being able to take off on his...
WAITSBURG-The newest members of the Weller Public Library in Waitsburg, started work this past Saturday. Sarah Roberts and Amanda Withers join Librarian Twila Tate in opening the doors with new books, computers, and programs for patrons to enjoy. As a rural library, funding is always a challenge and the open hours for the public are still limited to 16 hours per week. The new staff seem determined to create programs and offer services to make each open hour inviting and educational. The new...
DIXIE-When Stacy Startin, his wife Maria, and their five-year-old daughter Arla moved to Dayton from Moses Lake, they had no plans to buy a store. Startin explained that it was a "spur of the moment" decision when he made an offer on the little corner store that sits along Hwy 12. Before Startin's interest in the grocery store, the building had been empty for nearly two years. After the purchase of the building, the new owners made several upgrades, including new septic and wash sinks. After...
DAYTON--Last week, Columbia County Health System CEO Shane McGuire provided updates on different initiatives at the monthly meeting of the hospital board of commissioners. He spoke about the partnership with Walla Walla University in College Place for CCHS to operate its on-campus health care clinic. CCHS had been working on the partnership for over a year. The University clinic is located near campus and had been without an operator since COVID-19. Many of the current CCHS providers and...
WAITSBURG-Weller Public Library (WPL), located at 22 Main Street in Waitsburg, Washington, has been operating as a public library since the 1940s in the historic building that had been the Exchange Bank in 1905. Weller Library like other libraries in small, rural communities, serves as a community hub connecting patrons to information and people, and a haven for children and youth. It provides access to updated public computers, wireless printing, and library materials. New technology brought...
The Times reached out to Todd Vandenbark, MLS, Director of Library Services for Columbia County Rural Library District to respond to the recent requests to remove content from the collection during public comment at the last Library Board meeting, The following is a statement “The Columbia County Rural Library District welcomes feedback from patrons, community members, and others regarding its collections and services. The presence of visitors at this and other Board meetings demonstrates that the library is an important institution in the life...
Meet Touchet Valley Golf Course's new pro on Saturday, August 27 DAYTON-The Dayton Valley Golf course has a new golf pro. Tyler Huff brings his experience working with novices to experts, golf pros, and college players to Dayton. Over the past five years, Huff has been a teaching professional and a nationally recognized club fitter at the Reserve Golf & Vineyards in Hillsboro, Oregon. He has taught top Pacific Northwest players, including Spencer Tibets and most of the former division-one...
Board discuss special education contract WAITSBURG–The Waitsburg School Board met Thursday, August 18, for a regularly scheduled meeting. After serving the district for 25 years, board members and attendees said ‘thank you’ one last time to Human Resources and Assistant Business Manager Linda Henze, who retired the following day. The district presented Henze with a plaque, and later she went out for a celebratory dinner with district employees and friends at Whiskey C’s. Teachers and staff a...
DAYTON—The Friends of the Pool (FotP) and the Focus Advisory Group seek volunteers to serve on the proposed Columbia County Metropolitan Park District. The proposed district would be a new, unfunded taxing district to support the construction, maintenance, and operation of a new aquatic facility and other recreational facilities in Dayton and Columbia County. Five volunteers from the community are needed to make up the Park District Board of Commissioners. The Board will initially guide the management of the new district, complete contracts f...
DAYTON— Comments made at the August Columbia County Rural Library Board of Trustees meeting has left many in the community unsettled. During the public comment period elected officials County Commissioner Chuck Amerien and Dayton City Councilmember Laura Aukerman joined others to challenge the board and ask for certain books to be removed from the library’s collection. Since the meeting, comments on social media, including the Facebook page “Dayton (WA) Uncesnsored”, have been critical and often generating anger directed at the library board a...
WAITSBURG-Waitsburg's business community has been growing. Empty buildings have found new owners, and the town has a hotel again. New ventures are joining established businesses to bring food, drink, hospitality, art, and unique products to town. On Thursday, September 1, new and old businesses will participate in a city-wide open house with special events, treats, and glimpses into what is available to residents and visitors. From 4 pm to 6:30 pm, The Royal Block Wine Bar and Hotel will...
DAYTON—Columbia County Sheriff Joe Helm spoke at length in his report to the Dayton City Council last week. Most notably, he reported about traffic stops and criticism he has received from some who say there have been way too many. Since January 1, the road deputies have made 748 traffic stops. Helm said the stops are not only for safety reasons but also to prevent crime and drugs from entering the community. According to the sheriff, Columbia County is a major drug route from the west coast t...
WAITSBURG—On September 21, 2022, Waitsburg City Council will consider bids for 147 Main Street, which until recently housed City Hall. The city decided to surplus the building last year and accepted a bid for the assessed value of $205,000. The accepted bidder planned to build apartments upstairs and create retail space on the ground floor. Unfortunately, the sale fell through in June. The city reopened the bidding process on July 5, 2022, requesting proposals (RFP) for the historic building. Bidders must submit proposals by 2:00 p.m. on S...
DAYTON – The Columbia Port Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5 p.m., July 13, 2022, at the Port of Columbia and on Zoom. All Commissioners were present in person, Genie Crowe, Seth Bryan, and Johnny Watts, along with the Executive Director, Jennie Dickinson. Members of the public attended using Zoom and in person. Dickinson reported that Dayton Electric will vacate its lease at the Port to move into a duplex the company purchased. Red Band Cellars has agreed to expand its operation into the unit vacated by Dayton Electric. D...
DAYTON-On Monday, Columbia County Health System CEO Shane McGuire led The Times on a tour of one of the four cottages at Rivers Walk Assisted Living. The nearly completed cottage we toured was the "Palouse," which will soon house the memory care residents currently living at the Booker Rest Home. The new buildings provide all the same safety requirements but are quieter, brighter, and feels more homelike. "Palouse" has ten spacious and airy apartments. There are nine single occupancy rooms, and...
WASHINGTON—The small town of Lind, located approximately 75 miles from Spokane, was temporarily evacuated on August 4 as a fast-moving wildfire swept through the town of roughly 500 residents. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office warned residents to evacuate the town because of the ‘ongoing threat from the flames.’ The fire destroyed six homes and eight other structures before being contained. Nearly 2,500 acres were destroyed by the fire, according to Adams County Sheriff Dale J. Wagner in a Fa...
WALLA WALLA COUNTY—A fire broke out in a standing wheat field just north of Walla Walla on Friday, July 29. The fire was contained around 8 p.m. that night. The flames consumed more than 1,000 acres in a matter of hours, drawing responses from nearly all Walla Walla County fire districts, with aid coming from Walla Walla and College Place rural units. This fire has been dubbed the “Van Ausdle Fire” due to its starting point near Van Ausdle Lane. The cause of the fire is under investigation, and fire district officials said no injuries were repo...
