Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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DAYTON – The city of Dayton will ask for voter approval of a sales and use tax increase this February to help maintain city streets. The increase would raise sales tax by two-tenths of 1 percent, or 20 cents for every $100 spent on taxable items in Dayton. The special election ballots will go out to voters on Jan. 23, and voting will be completed on Feb. 10. A simple majority, or at least 50 percent, voter approval is required for the measure to pass. This will be the only item on ballots. What...
DAYTON – Dayton resident Joshua A. Roska, 33, was arrested on Monday, Dec. 29, as part of an ongoing investigation into a 2011 gun theft. The firearm, a Walther P22 pistol, was taken in October 2011 from a tent at the Shangri-La RV Park on Rose Gulch Road, west of Dayton on Highway 12. Columbia County Sheriff’s Office deputies, with the help of officers from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, executed a search warrant at 125 W. Patit Avenue, in Dayton, last Monday afternoon aft...
DAYTON – Walla Walla Community College offers community education courses in all sorts of subjects, but did you know you can now take courses in Dayton? Beginning this winter, the Dayton Historic Depot and Blue Mountain Station are hosting four WWCC community education courses including quilting, memoir writing, soup making, and coffee appreciation – each course taught by talented locals: Aileen Warren, Tamara Fritze, Tami Miller, and Rey Weldert. Community education allows local residents to take up a new hobby, study another language, set...
DAYTON – Patience paid off for local skiers, who enjoyed an awesome opening day at Ski Bluewood on December 26. A pre-Christmas storm dumped nearly two feet of snow at the ski area 20 miles south of here, with more falling as The Times went to press Monday. At 5 a.m. Monday, Bluewood was reporting light powder, with 29 inches of snow at the base and 40 inches at the summit. Temperatures have been in the low 20s, and are expected to fall this week. Bluewood will be open daily through January 4...
WAITSBURG – A Waitsburg man was arrested Sunday afternoon and is being held in Walla Walla on suspicion of committing a string of recent, local burglaries. Mason James Bates, 31, was charged in a preliminary hearing Monday with two counts of residential burglary, theft in the third degree, malicious mischief in the third degree, and possession of burglary tools. A resident of Waitsburg's W. 6th Street contacted Walla Walla County deputies Sunday after he discovered his home had been b...
WAITSBURG – Losing a public works director with 40 years on-the-job experience is bound to be a big blow to a city, but that hit is softened significantly when the incoming director has 20 years experience of his own. At the Dec. 17 city council meeting, the council approved a recommendation from the personnel committee, consisting of Walt Gobel, Randy Hinchliffe and Marty Dunn, to promote city crew staffer Jim Lynch to public works director. Lynch, who replaces longtime director Dan Katsel, b...
DAYTON - As 2014 winds to a close, we look back on a year that brought increased economic strength to the Touchet Valley, and some momentous voting results at the ballot box. Dayton and Columbia County again put on a great string of community events. Here we go with a look back at some major stories out of Columbia County: Columbia Pulp Moves Ahead In our Dec. 19, 2013 issue, we broke the news that a new straw pulp plant was in the works for Columbia County. It was to be built near Lyons Ferry,...
WAITSBURG - Council members include: K.C. Kuykendall, Marty Dunn, Kevin House, Debra Callahan, Mayor Walt Gobel. Karl Newell was absent. Delores Nettles expressed concern about the tipping Christmas trees along Main Street during public comment. Council briefly discussed the recent planning commission gathering and asked why there weren’t enough commission members present to establish a quorum for the meeting. Approved the early payoff of playground equipment which will save the city approximately $1,200 in interest. Approved the promotion o...
WAITSBURG/PRESCOTT – Twenty-fourteen has been a year of change, from the transfer in ownership of The Times at the beginning of the year, to the pending dissolution of the WP sports combine agreement reported just last week. With a new sports bar and restaurant taking shape on the east side of town, a trio of bronze sculptures being readied to adorn Main Street in time for the City's 150th anniversary celebration and the potential to break ground on a new subdivision, it appears that 2015 w...
WAITSBURG - They say you're never too old for Santa, and I must say I believe that's true. The holidays can be a tough season for many, and this year I've found myself part of that crowd. Perhaps that's why I was hit with the sudden urge for a visit with Santa. (Donning the journalism hat comes in handy at times - though I'm pretty sure he'd have been happy to see me without my excuse of an interview.) Since this is Santa's first Christmas season to remain at his Waitsburg home in many years, I...
DAYTON - Columbia County Commissioner Charles "Chuck" Reeves will attend his last meeting as one of the top elected officials in the county on Dec. 31. After 20 years of attending meetings and making decisions, Reeves is looking forward to "just a regular full-time work week." "You just get tired," he said. "I have things I want to do, and I just don't have time to do them." Reeves, who owns and operates the Dayton Veterinary Clinic with his wife, Kennie, began his Columbia County political care...
DAYTON - How many of us recall fondly the hot lunches of our early school days? Movies and television shows depicting lukewarm mystery meat and grayish slop dashed onto plastic trays might be a touch melodramatic, but the image is grounded in somebody's reality. Right? Well, Dayton School District has hired a new chef who appears to be dispelling those lunchroom myths, and Superintendent Doug Johnson says the numbers prove it. "Just today we served our highest lunch count of the year - 253 stude...
WAITSBURG - If you're in Waitsburg and in the mood for a great cup of coffee, a tri-tip steak breakfast burrito, a bowl of gourmet soup or a freshly-baked treat, there's just one place to look: The Q Wood Fired Grill. Owners Emry and Sandy Kleck, accomplished chef Jeff Davis and barista Nichole Wood combine their passion for food and drink with an appreciation for community and the individuals they serve. From the beginning, the Klecks's had a vision for the type of atmosphere they wanted to...
DAYTON - The public is invited to an open house on December 17 to honor County Commissioner Chuck Reeves, who is retiring after serving for 20 years. The reception will be held in the Columbia County Commissioners' office, in the courthouse, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., at the conclusion of the regular commissioners' meeting. Reeves is co-owner of Dayton Veterinary Clinic in Dayton with his wife Kenny. The Reeves' moved to Columbia County in 1982. Reeves has been active in local theater, including performing an all 14 fall musical productions at...
DAYTON - Children are invited to enjoy breakfast with Santa on Saturday, December 13, from 8-11 a.m. at the Dayton First Congregational Church (214 S. 3rd, Dayton). A free breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, juice and coffee will be served to kids and their families. Santa will hear wish lists and there will be crafts for the kids to work on. The church bazaar will also be taking place at the same time, with unique hand-crafter items for sale. Donations of non-perishable food items will be collected for the Dayton Food...
WAITSBURG -- Waitsburg Commercial Club will meet on Tuesday, December 16 at 6:30 p.m. at Waitsburg Town Hall. Skip Winchester will speak about his experience as "Santa Claus". The meeting and meal are $12 per person, inclusive. There is no charge for program only. Please RSVP your dinner reservations to ikbakeve@charter.netikbakeve@charter.net or call (509) 337-6546....
WAITSBURG - Walla Walla Emergency Medical Services recently re-evaluated their coverage to outlying areas and made changes in how they respond to calls in Waitsburg. Previously, when a call went to dispatch, crews were sent from both Waitsburg and Walla Walla. "Waitsburg covers their own calls, so financially, it doesn't make sense that they send a crew out, transfer the call to Dayton who sends us (Waitsburg Ambulance Service) out - then we get there and realize we don't need paramedics and...
WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg Ambulance service is looking for a few good men (or women!) to help with shift coverage. Deputy Chief EMS responder Sharon Brooks said she'd love to see five to ten volunteers join the service and commit one day a week to being on call. The Waitsburg Ambulance Service (WAS) will be 45 years old this March. It began in 1970 as an all-volunteer service. Today the service is run by EMS Chief Richard Naumann and EMS Deputy Chiefs Sharon Brooks and William Potolichio, who...
WAITSBURG - Weller Public Library manager Rosie Warehime waited until she had the library all decked out for Christmas before letting her youngest patrons open an extra-special present. At Monday morning's Story Time, Warehime shared a box of 83 brand new children's books - purchased through a grant from the Libri Foundation and Friends of the Library donation -- with a group of excited young readers. The youngsters excitedly unpacked two large boxes of books, stopping to examine new favorites...
DAYTON - In 2001, when TVAC Productions prepared to put on its first fall musical production at the newly reconstructed Liberty Theater, it chose to present "The Music Man," the popular musical written by Meredith Willson. The musical was directed by the late Steve Edwards and was such a success that it started a tradition that is still going strong. One of the prominent features of The Music Man is its barbershop quartet. The obvious choice for the local production was the Waitsburg Quartet, a...
WAITSBURG - Artist Squire Broel's monument, to be placed in downtown Waitsburg in May, was chosen by the Waitsburg Art Commission to honor the three founding fathers of the Waitsburg community: William Bruce, William Preston and Sylvester Wait. It is Broel's desire that the piece will also recognize the efforts of the countless other individuals who quietly labored to make Waitsburg the town it is today. "Each individual - regardless of level of recognition - makes an impact on their...
WAITSBURG - It's widely known that words are among the mightiest of weapons - but only if you know how to use them. To that end, the Waitsburg school district staff has devoted a great deal of effort and creativity this year to arming its students to fight well. They won't be using words to slay any dragons, but teachers and administrators are hoping a concentrated focus on vocabulary will give students an edge when taking on the state assessments. Last year, Waitsburg teachers decided it would...
DAYTON – An advocate is someone who offers public support for someone else, and victims often need this support more than most people. Victims of domestic violence and sexual assault (both male and female) face the additional burdens of sometimes humiliating medical procedures, bewildering and painful court proceedings, and an uncertain future. So in 2003, the Walla Walla YWCA, an organization founded on advocacy, opened an office in Columbia County and brought to Dayton a local victims’ advocat...
