Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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DAYTON- The Dayton School Board convened a special board meeting at 7 p.m., May 9, 2022. The meeting was held in the Dayton High School auditorium and on Zoom. All school board members were present in person, Aneesha Dieu, Zac Fabian, Grant Griffen, Jeffrey McCowen, and Korinda Wallace. The superintendent, Guy Strot, was also present. The first agenda item was the superintendent/principal search. Strot said two paths were open to the board, either hire a permanent Superintendent/Principal or hire an interim one-year Superintendent/Principal. Th...
DAYTON—The Columbia County Commissioners met on Monday, May 9, for a short work session. The only item on the agenda was ‘general discussion.’ Commissioner Marty Hall shared that he was heading to Pomeroy to meet with a representative concerning the Turkey Trail Restoration Project funding redirection. Initially, the project was supposed to take place in 2021 but was canceled by the Turkey Trail/Green Ridge Fire that burned last summer. Hall did not specify where project funds would be redirected, but he did note that they would still benef...
Well, there are laws, but they never had many teeth, and for quite some time, they have had no teeth whatsoever. Court rulings have consistently determined that a show of disrespect towards the flag or the National Anthem is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. But the laws are still on the books, and they describe clearly what is considered respectful behavior and what counts as Flag desecration. Presumably, most people who openly display a flag that has been desecrated do so out of ignorance and not out of an attempt to show...
Vicki Sternfeld-Rossi The 2022 Lions Club Rib Feed was a wild success, with sold out tickets, pans full of tender ribs, scrumptious side dishes, and the Don Thomas building full of friends and neighbors grateful for their community....
DAYTON – The Dayton City Council held a work session meeting at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, in person and on Zoom. All councilmembers were present; Laura Aukerman, Misty Yost, Teeny McMunn, Dain Nysoe, Kyle Anderson, and Tyler (Tiger) Dieu were present in-person, as was Mayor Zac Weatherford. The purpose of the meeting was for the council and City to work on a strategy to move forward on the City’s sewage treatment plant. Weatherford wanted to emphasize that the project was not dead after the council’s vote not to purchase the recommen...
The Columbia County Commissioners held a regular meeting on May 2, 2022. All commissioners were present for the meeting. The current Public Works Director, Amber Phinney reported that the county received its first $6,000 allotment from FEMA after waiting for more than two years. Phinney added the next allotment should be awarded next month for $93,000. Phinney commended Kellie Steinhoff for her work filing for the allotments and added that Steinhoff is working on paperwork for a third allotment. County Engineer Jeremy Weiland gave a brief updat...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met on Wednesday, April 20, for a regularly scheduled meeting. April was the first month that the council offered a Zoom option. The option will be available for future meetings, and log-in information is provided at www.cityofwaitsburg.com with upcoming meeting agendas. Those using Zoom said it was difficult to hear. The city is exploring options to improve the online sound quality for future meetings. Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office (WWCSO) pro...
Hidden in Plain Sight program scheduled for May. DAYTON – The Dayton School Board held their regular meeting at 6 PM, April 20, 2022, in the High School Auditorium and on Zoom. All members of the board were present in the auditorium, Aneesha Dieu, Zac Fabian, Grant Griffen, Korinda Wallace, and Chair Jeffrey McCowen. Madison Richardson, the student representative, and Superintendent Guy Strot were also present in the auditorium. Only a few members of the public were present in the auditorium, and fewer than ten were listening in on Zoom. The b...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg School Board met on April 21, 2022, for a regularly scheduled meeting. The middle school robotic class presented an overview of some of the projects they have been working on. The robotics class taught by Colby Starring has been learning everything from inventorying supplies, designing robots, implementing a design plan, and coding. Board member Carol Clarke asked if the students were able to work at home. Students said they could not work at home because they didn’t have access to the field-specific supplies from cla...
DAYTON – A caboose on an active railroad track is not something most of us have seen in a very long time. Likely, most people under forty have never seen one. Few people have probably seen a caboose emblazoned with large block letters, "WARNING! REMOTE CONTROL." At Dayton's Caboose Park, visitors can see a yellow Union Pacific caboose up close. With its distinctive cupola, it is a great example of the cars once widely used. From the 1830s, cabooses were used to provide shelter for the crews o...
The Dayton Chamber of Commerce held its annual Community Choice Awards Banquet on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Each year, the public submits nominations for exceptional citizen, employee, business, and youth. This year, the Chamber added two categories to recognize, Start-up Business and Non-Profit of the year. A selection committee, made up of the Chamber Board and community members, selected the winners. Though this year's banquet remained small, the Chamber didn't want to miss an opportunity...
Dayton School District Superintendent Guy Strot has submitted his resignation to the board. A special School Board meeting was held April 27 to accept the resignation effective June 30, 2022. Strot joined the Dayton School District following the retirement of Superintendent Doug Johnson in 2020. During his tenure he created a restructuring plan and a retention plan for the district. The district has faced many challenges in the last few years, including a large number of students choosing to...
DAYTON – The Dayton City Council met at 6 p.m., April 12, 2022. All Council members were present, Misty Yost, Tiger Dieu, Marchand Hovrud, Dain Nysoe, Laura Aukerman, Teeny McMunn, Kyle Anderson, and Mayor Zac Weatherford. The Chamber of Commerce Director, Belinda Larsen, announced their awards presentations would be held on April 20, 2022, and they are working on the Dayton Days and All Wheels Weekend events. The Chamber is discussing parade routes with the County. The City Council handled s...
DAYTON – Actions taken by the Port Commisioners at the April 13, meeting may have ended years of work on the Touchet Valley Trail Project. The meeting at the Columbia County Fairgrounds Youth Building was standing room only and well attended on Zoom. Director Jennie Dickinson, Chair Gene Crowe, and Council Members Seth Bryan and Johnny Watts were present. The meeting began with public comments focused on the Touchet Valley Trail Project (TVTP). Concerns from those against the project included f...
PRESCOTT-Kimberly Smith grew up working with horses and cattle in Prescott, Wash. She spent ten years participating in 4-H showing animals, arts and crafts, and photography. Many will remember her days in the Days of Real Sport royalty in 2006, 2007, and 2008. Recently, Smith has become involved with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wild horse and burro program. BLM manages and protects wild horses and burros on close to 27 million acres of public lands across western states in the U.S. The g...
DAYTON—Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” Since 1995, the Columbia County Community Network, ComNet, has provided “umbrella” agreements under its 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status to local organizations that cannot afford or maintain non-profit status or waiting to file for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt determination. ComNet Board President Vicki Zoller explained that under the ComNet umbrella, smaller entities can apply for grants as a 501(c)(...
Waitsburg Commercial Club is holding its Annual Awards Dinner at the new restaurant on April 12. WAITSBURG-A pizza maker and a Bloody Mary mix master walk into a bar. No joke, the bar was the empty Anchor Bar located in the American Legion, post 35, building on Main Street in Waitsburg. Tom and Judy Bennett have embraced the building's history and want to incorporate the essence of the American Legion post and what it once was; good company and good food to their new business American 35. The co...
Bill and Teresa Ayotte have brought the beloved cafe back to Dayton DAYTON-After more than a year, Dayton-area golfers and foodies alike can finally enjoy their favorite Chicken Bill burger, breakfast, or chicken fried steak once again. Returning to the Touchet Valley Golf Course after taking a pandemic-year off, Chicken Bill's Cafe had its soft opening on March 31, and owners Bill and Teresa Ayotte have been busy ever since. "It's been so busy!" Ayotte said. "So many familiar faces are back."...
WAITSBURG—Next week is the Waitsburg Commercial Club Awards Dinner on April 12, at American 35. Since the club could not hold its annual event during the pandemic, it will be three times the fun this year. The club will be presenting awards for outstanding service from community members and businesses for the past three years. The last winners were awarded the 2019 Service Awards for their work in 2018. This year the honorees will receive 2020, 2021, and 2022 awards. The 2022 dinner is dedicate...
DAYTON—Columbia County is just one of many Washington government entities that received a Public Record Request from self-proclaimed ‘government transparency advocate’ Eric Hood. The state Public Records Act requires that state and local agencies disclose all records to the public unless the law specifically exempts them. Agencies must reply to requests within five business days to give an estimate of when records will be available and later provide a log to explain any redactions or exemp...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg City Council met for its regular meeting on March 23, 2022. Councilmembers Jim Romine and Jillian Henze were unable to attend the meeting. Mayor Marty Dunn, Councilmembers Kevin House, Court Ruppenthal, and Randy Charles were present. Twelve community members attended the meeting. After holding a brief public hearing, the council voted to vacate a defunct alleyway and give ownership to Paul and Karen Gregutt, who own the adjacent property. The alley has no utilities...
When Kate Hockersmith convinced me to join her music group after school in 2010, I never thought I'd be writing about it in The Times more than a decade later. I spent much of my childhood inspired by the Blue Mountain Troublemakers, a bluegrass band led by Hockersmith, who traveled as far as Sasayama, Japan (Walla Walla's sister city), to perform. Walking into the Hockersmith home as a peewee 4-H'er, I was awestruck by the music flowing out of the basement. The Troublemakers formed in 2003,...
DAYTON-The Port of Columbia Commissioners met Monday, March 21, for a workshop to discuss Touchet Valley Trail. As many as 39 people attended via Zoom, in addition to a packed conference room at the port. Public comment was not allowed at the workshop meeting. Executive Director Jennie Dickinson was joined by Ken Van Voorhis from SPVV Landscape Architects, Brain Hansen, and Adam Schmidtgall, from Anderson Perry (A.P.). Dickinson began the meeting going over a brief history of the trail,...
DAYTON—The Dayton School Board held its regular board meeting at 6 p.m. on March 16, 2022. All members were present, Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Aneesha Dieu, Zac Fabian, Grant Griffin, and Korinda Wallace. Superintendent Guy Strot was also present in person, as was student representative Madison Richardson. The board approved the Consent Agenda without debate. During public comment, Pearl Dennis suggested the board consider hiring a non-certified superintendent as it appears to be allowed by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (...
DAYTON—The Northstar Digital Literacy Assessment, offered through Columbia County Library, is aimed at helping adults acquire the skills they need in today’s workplace. “People without basic computer know-how are at a disadvantage when it comes to finding a job because employers expect basic computer skills for most jobs, including many entry-level positions,” said Todd Vandenbark, Library Director. “We joined Northstar because it will help our patrons have a better chance at getting jobs and getting ahead.” The free set of assessments includes...
