Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 4662 - 4686 of 5670
DAYTON – More than 26 residents sat – or stood when they ran out of chairs – in the small space for audience members at Dayton City Council Chambers March 25, at a Dayton Historic Preservation Commission meeting that lasted late into the evening. For more than three hours, members of the commission, along with city planning director Karen Scharer, listened and responded to a stream of negative public comments regarding Dayton’s two locally registered residential historic districts – Washingto...
Waitsburg High School 2015 Prom Court ......
Dayton High School 2015 Prom Court......
DAYTON – Installation has already begun on eight solar panel systems that will adorn the roof of the Port of Columbia's Blue Mountain Station just west of Dayton city limits. The panels should be in place and operational by the end of this month. The Port of Columbia, which owns the 6,912-square-foot building, has partnered with Walla Walla Flat Roof Educational Energy (WW-FREE) to install the panels. The solar array should generate 35.4 kilowatts of energy and provide Blue Mountain Station w...
Dave Finney, Columbia County Courthouse maintenance supervisor, planted all new roses on the courthouse grounds on March 16. Seven-year-old Dayton resident Moriah Hagg and her family helped Finney install the 20 plants where roses have been tended on the grounds for many years......
DAYTON – Columbia County has not yet moved forward in its plan to switch power providers for the courthouse and county public works office from Pacific Power & Light to Columbia Rural Electric Association. The county commissioners, on former Commissioner Chuck Reeves’s last day on the board, voted unanimously Dec. 31 to “begin the process” of changing power providers for these two county buildings for reasons of reliability, better quality of power, and the potential for lower utility rates....
WAITSBURG – Substitute teacher Gene Wilkes completed his student teaching at Waitsburg High School and jumped at the chance to cover for Ag Teacher Nicole Abel while she was on maternity leave. Wilkes, who covered for Abel from the first of the year until last Friday, March 27, made the most of his time working with students in the shop. Wilkes designed several projects that will continue to be used and appreciated by the students of WHS in the years to come. Wilkes is trained as a social s...
PRESCOTT – A $5,000 donation from the Yancey P. Winans Testamentary Trust to the Prescott Joint Parks and Recreation District (PJPRD) will help provide much-needed playground equipment in the Prescott Park. PJPRD co-manager and administrative assistant Yvonne Jackson said the district applied for the grant last year and received $1,000 to upgrade its park and play equipment. She said those funds were used to purchase pool noodles, water pogo sticks and to put a new water basketball backstop a...
WAITSBURG – After more than a year spent researching the best and most affordable solution, the leaking liner on the Waitsburg City Pool will finally be replaced. At its March 26 meeting, Waitsburg's City Council voted to replace the current liner with a special, high-build epoxy pool paint that will save tens of thousands over installing a new vinyl liner. City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said that there has been a slow leak in the shallow end of the pool for about two years. He said the l...
WAITSBURG – At their regular meeting last week, the Waitsburg School District approved an agreement to combine high school baseball and softball programs with Prescott High School for the 2016 spring season. Both Waitsburg and Prescott school districts are nailing down their plans for sports offerings, now that the WP sports combine has been dissolved for the 2015-16 school year. Waitsburg Superintendent Carol Clarke, filling in for Athletic Advisor Stephanie Wooderchak, provided the board w...
PRESCOTT – The Walla Walla Rural Library District (WWRLD), the Prescott Joint Park and Recreation District (PJPRD) and the Prescott Lions Club recently signed agreements detailing responsibilities for the maintenance of the Prescott Plaza. The three groups joined together in building the Plaza last June and will now ensure that it is well maintained for the public's enjoyment. The Prescott Plaza was built during a four-day community build through what was formerly referred to as the Vacant L...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board last week approved the hiring of Paul Shaber as middle school/high school principal beginning in the 2015-2016 school year. The vote was unanimous, with board member Joe Heuther not in attendance. The vote was taken during the board's regular meeting, last Wednesday evening, after an executive session lasting approximately 90 minutes. Shaber, an Idaho math and science teacher, was one of four finalists for the position, all of whom met with the community, t...
Dayton photographer Nick Page admires the heavens as he stands on a hilltop outside of Dayton . . ....
DAYTON – Robert E. Bridwell, 65, of Dayton, was sentenced to 41 months in prison last week in Columbia County Superior Court after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor, a Class B felony. Bridwell was arrested on Sept. 16, 2013, at his home in Country Village Courts after a lengthy investigation led the Columbia County Sheriff's Office to suspect he was guilty of misconduct with at least one underage female. He was charged with 35 felonies upon his arrest, including sexual e...
DAYTON – Sixty-eight-year-old Robert G. Klingenstein, of Dayton, will serve six months in the Columbia County Jail after pleading guilty in January to possession of marijuana with intent to manufacture or deliver, a Class C felony. His sentence, which was within the standard range of zero to six months for this type offense, was handed down by Columbia County Superior Court Judge Scott Gallina last week. Sentencing was delayed for several weeks while Klingenstein attempted to find inpatient t...
DAYTON – John Garrett Waltermire, 24, pleaded not guilty last week to all charges associated with the March 2 break-in at Inland Cellular in downtown Dayton. He was arrested March 7 after a short foot pursuit by Columbia County Sheriff's deputies and Washington State Patrol troopers. The Dayton man was arraigned last Wednesday in Columbia County Superior Court on the charges of second-degree burglary, a Class B felony; second-degree theft, a Class C felony; malicious mischief, a gross m...
First Appearance: Desiree D. Klein, 36; entered not guilty plea on charges of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) and three counts of endangerment with a controlled substance. Klein was living with Monty N. Dunn at 721 S. 3rd Street in February where deputies served a search warrant and allegedly recovered drugs. Klein’s three children were also living in the home. Sentencing: Michael A. Cameron, 30; sentenced to 90 days following guilty plea on charge of possession of a controlled substance (meth). Trials Set: William H. R...
DAYTON – Rachel Cortez may be new to Columbia County and her profession in public defense, but she's determined, she loves her new home, and she's known for nearly 20 years that she wants to dedicate her life to just such a job. Effective April 1, former public defender Dale Slack will join the Columbia County Prosecutor's office as deputy prosecutor. And although Cortez, who is 29, just arrived in Dayton as Slack's associate in January of last year – she will take Slack's place as the cou...
DAYTON – The March-December museum season is underway for Dayton's Smith Hollow School and the Palus Museum, but both are suffering the loss of local advocate Elizabeth Thorn, who passed away in February. Thorn helped make both local museums possible. "Elizabeth is missed, but we carry on," said friend and fellow history lover Diane Longanecker. However, with Thorn gone the museums now lack a cadre of docents to fill all the shifts. Longanecker said the Blue Mountain Heritage Society is h...
DAYTON – Dayton School District and the Columbia County Health District each received $77,000 this month from the William W. and Jessie B. Day Charitable Trust. Representatives from the U.S. Trust Bank of America presented the checks, along with an update on the status of the Day Estate farming operation and the trust’s investment portfolio, to school and hospital directors at an annual luncheon on March 10. “It’s a little higher than we budgeted for,” Dayton Superintendent Doug Johnson s...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg's Home and School Association (HASA) has increased its efforts to support Waitsburg's schools and build community this school year. Last week's annual school carnival is just one example of how HASA is working to ease parents' burdens. Proceeds from the event will be used to purchase school supplies for students for the 2015-16 school year. HASA secretary and second-grade teacher Deanna Coulston is pleased with the changes HASA has made this year. She said the group has a...
WAITSBURG – Former Waitsburg resident Matthew Wyatt shared his heartfelt testimony before a full house of friends and family at the Christian Church in Waitsburg on March 22. Wyatt, joined by wife Krystal and daughter Mikaila, traveled from Lincoln, Calif. where he now pastors part-time at The Ridge Church, specifically to share his story of struggle and redemption. Wyatt, a '98 Waitsburg High School graduate, grew up in a devoted Mormon family and said his childhood was "the best anyone c...
WAITSBURG – A half-dozen community members showed up to ask questions and hear updates from Walla Walla County Sheriff John Turner and Deputy Gerrod Martin at the March 19 Sheriff’s Round Table, in the Waitsburg Elementary School library. Turner presented updates on contract hours and crime rates and touched on the topics of drugs, gangs, burglary tips and traffic safety. Turner said the city of Waitsburg has contracted with the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Department for a minimum of 4.2 hours...
Columbia County Commissioner Dwight Robanske (l) presents longtime Dayton resident Ron Groom with a plaque on March 18 commemorating 25 years . . ....
WAITSBURG – "Even though I knew it wasn't real, my heart sank to my stomach when I heard the knock at my door," said Susan Wildey as she addressed an auditorium full of Waitsburg High School students and parents. The knock Wildey described was that of the Walla Walla County coroner arriving to let her know that her daughter, WHS senior Analise Salazar, had been "killed" in a drunk driving accident. The mock death notification was part of "Every 15 Minutes," an emotional and moving two-day a...
