Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 4176 - 4200 of 5699
DAYTON – Columbia County is the new owner of the home at 721 S. Third St. in Dayton after a criminal forfeiture process was completed last week. The home, which is located across the street from Dayton High School, was formerly owned by Monty N. Dunn, who pleaded guilty last May to delivery of methamphetamine. Dunn is currently serving a four year, nine-month sentence in a DOC facility. According to Columbia County Prosecutor Rea Culwell, the forfeiture process took about six months. She said t...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg Historical Society member Mary Phillips gives Bill Zuger credit for the musical traditions display that will debut at the Wilson-Phillips House Museum during Waitsburg Celebration Days in May. Zuger suggested the idea for a musical display and kicked it off by donating one of three violins made by his grandfather, Edgar Buroker (1876-1950). Buroker is said to have lived on Coppei Avenue, was a building contractor in Waitsburg, and built some of the area's wooden grain e...
DAYTON – The Times has learned that buyers have entered into an agreement to purchase Dayton’s Country Cupboard restaurant and bakery. According to good sources, paperwork was signed on Saturday for the purchase of the building and business from owners Rayleen and Chuck Sursley. The transaction is expected to be completed and closed around the end of January. Information was not disclosed regarding the identity of the buyers, since the transaction is still pending. When the new owners take over, they are expected to continue running a res...
DAYTON – The Dayton School District is offering tours to help voters understand more about the facilities improvements and technology upgrades the district hopes to make, should the two tax levies on the February special elections ballot pass. Superintendent Doug Johnson lead an informal tour last weekend and will lead another on Wed., Jan. 20 at 11 a.m. The tour will begin at the district office located at 609 E. Second Street. Voters are asked to support a four-year $1.46 million M&O levy which will replace the current $1.3 million levy. T...
WAITSBURG – As of midnight, Dec. 31, the Waitsburg City Fire Department and the Waitsburg Ambulance Service ceased to exist. The services those entities provided are now covered by Columbia-Walla Walla Fire District No. 2. On New Year's Day, The Times sat down with Chief Jim Callahan and his son, Assistant Chief Brian Callahan, to talk about the changes – or lack thereof – to expect in 2016. Background Jim, who has been either assistant fire chief or fire chief for all three fire entities for o...
DAYTON-Waitsburg natives Gwynneth Neace, DO and her husband, Lewis Neace, DO, are the newest physicians to join the Columbia County Health System. The Neaces say they are happy to be home, and are looking forward to working in the community. Dr. Gwynn Neace received her Doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine from the University of Health Sciences in Kansas City, Mo., in 1977. She has been Board Certified in Pediatrics since 1989, and has practiced most recently at Metropolitan Pediatrics, in...
WALLA WALLA – State Senator Mike Hewitt announced this week that he will not seek re-election this year. The Walla Walla Republican, representing the 16th legislative district, is finishing his fourth four-year term. "I've had 15 good years protecting the interests of my neighbors," Hewitt said in a press release. "It's time to step aside and give someone else a chance to do the same." Hewitt, who has lived his entire life in the Walla Walla Valley was first elected to the state Senate in 2...
DAYTON – The Wenaha Gallery, located on Dayton's Main Street, devotes every January to a food drive supporting Dayton's community food bank. Each year, people from within and outside the community donate hundreds of pounds of food to the effort. The food bank is just one of the projects supported by Project Timothy, an ecumenical ministry spearheaded by St. Joseph Parish in Dayton and St. Mark Parish in Waitsburg, and aided by a number of other area churches. The volunteer-based ministry operate...
DAYTON – Three years ago, director Bev Startin successfully took on the ambitious task of bringing the wildly popular musical comedy Nunsense to the Liberty Theater. The hilarious tale of a group of unfortunate nuns trying to raise money following a disaster was a hit, with sold out shows throughout its run. That classic musical comedy by playwright Dan Goggin has entertained audiences far and wide; so much so that Goggin has had a very successful career writing eagerly sought sequels. The lates...
WAITSBURG – A nippy nineteen degrees didn't deter a group of Waitsburg residents from welcoming in the new year with a bit of fun and fitness. On the evening of Dec. 29, Dan Nechodom put out a Facebook invite for anyone interested to join him for an informal 5K run/walk/crawl on the morning of Jan. 1. Nechodom dubbed it the FFFF, or Freeze yer Fannie on the First for Five K. And true to the math teacher that he is, quickly nicknamed it the F^4 (four to the fourth) 5K. Nine hardy r...
PRESCOTT – Inmates at Coyote Ridge Correctional Facility know firsthand the importance of positive adult support for at-risk teens. That understanding led them to raise and donate $3,700 to Jubilee Leadership Academy, a program that helps teens in need. Jubilee is in its 20th year of operation and survives solely on community financial support. The academy, located on land donated by Broetje Orchards outside Prescott, provides a safe haven for up to 65 at-risk youth who could not afford its $...
PRESCOTT – The Prescott School District will ask voters to approve a replacement maintenance and operations levy in the amount of $650,000 for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 school years. If passed on the Feb. 9 special elections ballot, the levy will replace the current $615,000 levy. While the total dollar amount is higher than the previous levy, the cost per $1,000 to residents is lower due to a rise in district property values. The proposed levy is estimated at $1.92 per $1,000 of assessed value. The 2014 maintenance levy was $2.33 per $1,000 a...
Columbia County Superior Court December 16, 2015 Sentencing: Terry Elmo Riner, 47, Dayton. Sentenced to 18 months confinement following a Revocation of Residential DOSA (drug offender sentencing alternative). He was charged in Oct. 2014 with possession of controlled substance other than marijuana, a Class C, felony but failed to comply with treatment and custody requirements and refused to submit a urine sample. Trials/Pre-trials Set: Joel O. Ballard, 23, Charged with assaulting a fellow resident at Patit Creek ARC on Nov. 29. Ballard was...
DAYTON—At their meeting on Dec. 21, CCHS hospital commissioners adopted a resolution finalizing the selection of Shane McGuire as CEO of the hospital district. They also approved the 2016 budget, and discussed the hospital remodel/redesign. The budget for 2016 shows projected net revenue of $12,537,174, expected expenses totaling $13,508,178, and an operating loss of $971,004. Non-operating sources of revenue, money from donations and grants, interest income, and tax revenue, adds back $...
DAYTON - In November, the Coalition for Youth and Families hosted the movie Paper Tigers at the Liberty Theater. Many community members have since responded, asking what is next. Coalition members say they hope to use the information and momentum from that event to help redefine their work. And they’re asking for the community’s help. Community members will soon be invited to a partial-day or day-long Strategic/Action Planning session that would take a look at the needs and resources of the community through the eyes of different groups, inc...
Twenty-fifteen in Waitsburg has been a year of celebrations and new beginnings. Local dignitaries visited the city during May's Waitsburg Celebration Days to recognize the city's 150th birthday and to dedicate the historic bronze statues that now reside on Main Street. Several new businesses – Whiskey Creek Sports Bar and Grill, Gleason's Galley, Tricho Cuts, and Ameri – hung their shingles; and Kindergarten teacher Pam Nolan-Beasley received national recognition (again!) for her teaching ski...
DAYTON – The news in Dayton and Columbia County in 2015 was highlighted by fires and marijuana legalization and updates from the Columbia County Health System and Columbia Pulp. Here's a brief review: January Keep Kate: A group of Dayton area residents formed a group whose purpose was to encourage the Dayton School Board to retain interim middle and high school principal Kate Wenzel permanently in that position. Wenzel was hired for the 2014-15 school year only, to replace outgoing principal A...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg residents probably noticed that their utility bills looked a bit different this month. That’s because the city recently upgraded its antiquated software to a more modern program, and is in the process of completing the conversion from old to new. The change will affect residents in a couple of ways. First, the new system assigned all new account numbers. This change only affects residents who use online bill pay, through their banks, to pay their utility bills. “It’s very important that people go into their bank’s...
History lessons are wasted on the young. In high school, I always earned an A grade in history, but I don’t remember actually learning much. You see, I didn’t really understand history, but I was very good at memorizing information. Historical figures and dates, as well as lectures and textbooks full of facts were “caught” then pitched back to my teachers with very little effort or understanding on my part. I found the stories interesting but I didn’t have enough life experience to comprehend the significance of those stories. Taxation...
Weller Public Library 212 Main Street, Waitsburg Hours: Mon. and Thurs. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Storytime: Mon., 10:30 a.m. “Half Wild,” by Sally Green (Science Fiction): This second book in the Half Bad Trilogy will be enjoyed by fans of dark fantasy. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, seventeen-year-old Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world’s most powerful and violent witch. Nathan is hunted from all sides: nowhere is safe and no one can be trusted. Now, Nathan has come into hi...
WAITSBURG – Waitburg's city council expressed support of the proposed Waitsburg Raceway, with Mayor Walt Gobel saying, "It's obvious the council is for you," at the Dec. 17 City Council Meeting. However, official approval was put on hold to allow citizens the opportunity for input at a Jan. 6 public workshop. Walla Walla resident Brandon Kelly was stopped partway through his initial presentation on the proposed raceway at November's city council meeting and asked to return with specific plans r...
DAYTON – When you're browsing in Snapdragon Floral and Gifts shortly before Christmas, you might think you've traveled to the North Pole. Santa's workshop must look something like this. "We love Christmas," says Cara Watts, who, with her mother, Vicky Beckmeyer, operates the recently renamed Snapdragon. It shows. Their store on Dayton's Main Street sells Christmas decorations year-round. But as the holiday season approaches, the Christmas spirit takes over, with beautiful decorations and w...
