Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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DAYTON-The Dayton School Board held their regular meeting on November 17, 2021, at 6 p.m. This week's board meeting began by conducting interviews with the candidates for the vacant board position. James William Wyant, Jr. removed himself from consideration, so only two interviews were conducted. The board interviewed Bryan Martin for about forty minutes, and Zac Fabian's interview lasted less than 15 minutes. After the interviews were concluded, the board moved on to approval of the consent...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg School Board met Wednesday, November 17, for its regular meeting. The meeting was led by vice-chairman Ross Hamann, following the resignation of former chairman Pam Chapman earlier this year. Secondary Principal Stephanie Wooderchak reported that grades 6-12 had completed the year’s SBAC (SmarterBalanced) testing. She said that the fall testing was a shortened version and that students will return to regular testing schedules in March. Students in grades 3-12 will tak...
WAITSBURG-At the Nov. 17 Waitsburg City Council meeting, City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe reported he had purchased the components needed for a splash pad. The pad is being constructed at Waitsburg's Preston Park, so area youngsters have a place to cool off this summer. A splash pad at Washington Park in Walla Walla has become very popular with parents of young children in recent years. Splash pads consist of a concrete pad embedded with various sprinklers, jets, and other water features....
DAYTON-Listening to a veteran's story was the perfect topic at the November 11 Dayton Kiwanis Club Meeting. Kiwanis members invited Eric Thorn, a local veteran who served in Vietnam, to share his experiences as a Chinook pilot during the war. "It's coming up on almost exactly fifty years since I got back from Vietnam," Thorn began. "I think it's in another month." The United States became involved in Vietnam when President Eisenhower declared support for South Vietnam in 1955. President Kennedy...
DAYTON-Sleep off all of the Thanksgiving turkey, and head to Downtown Dayon on Friday, November 26, and Saturday, November 27 for the annual Christmas Kickoff festivities. Belinda Larsen, Executive Director of the Dayton Chamber of Commerce, said she started getting inquiries as early as June, from vendors and other interested parties, as to whether they would be hosting a full weekend. Last year, the event went virtual amidst COVID-19 closures and restrictions, and was significantly smaller....
WAITSBURG-Tucked away just before the intersection of Preston and Main, the volunteer-run Waitsburg Resource Center has been quietly and compassionately helping families in need. While her mother and grandmother have been volunteering for a while now, Jesse May Brown decided to offer her assistance about one month ago, when she recognized the need for social media pages. "My mom was talking about some of the events coming up, and I was like, 'you guys really need a Facebook page," Brown said....
Port of Columbia Commissioners met at 3:30 p.m. on November 10, 2021, for their monthly meeting on Zoom. All the current commissioners were in attendance, Shawn Brown, Genie Crowe, Sean Milligan, and the executive director, Jennie Dickinson. At various times, about eight members of the public were in attendance. The commissioners accepted the minutes of the last meeting without comment. During the budget report, Dickinson said tenants of the Port's properties are up to date on rent. The Port has received its tax revenue for October and...
DAYTON—American Rescue Plan Act funds, and how to spend them, have been on the Columbia County Commissioners’ minds for months. Earlier this year, the Port of Columbia approached the commissioners about the funds, requesting a financial contribution for the ongoing broadband infrastructure project, which would provide reliable, high-speed internet for Columbia County businesses and residents who fall within the project’s service area. The perimeter was recently extended to areas surrounding Dayton, including Huntsville. Commissioners Rundell an...
Washington State Parks held a public meeting on November 8, 2021, at 6 PM in Dayton Elementary School multipurpose room. Although the public sparsely attended the meeting, the topics covered will affect many in the Touchet Valley. The representatives from Washington State Parks presented preliminary recommendations from the Land Classification and Long-Term Boundary planning for Lyons Ferry State Park, Palouse Falls State Park, and Lewis and Clark Trail State Park. These recommendations are from...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met on November 3 for a special meeting to review the preliminary budget for 2022. Before discussing the budget, the council set a public hearing date for the surplus of City Hall, at 147 Main, for November 17. It will be held at the same time as the regular city council meeting at 7 pm at the Lions Club. City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said the appraisal for the building had not yet been completed. He said that the necessary city property from 147 M...
DAYTON- The Dayton School Board held its work session meeting on Zoom at 6 p.m. on November 3, 2021. The first agenda item addressed by the school board was to review the strategic plan. The first aspect of the strategic plan the board looked at was the Board Operating Protocol. Using the protocol adopted by the Reardan-Edwall School District, which Superintendent Strot provided, the board members began a preliminary discussion. The Times intends to cover the proposed strategic plan in greater depth at a later date. The second agenda topic was...
DAYTON-Superintendent Guy Strot has begun the implementation of a plan to improve the Dayton School District. The district has recently lost far too many students to surrounding school districts, particularly in the secondary school. He hopes to stem or even reverse this exodus from the Dayton District. The first step is to determine why students are leaving. This process has begun and continues through exit interviews with students and teachers who have already left. The Center for Excellence...
DAYTON—The Economic Development Steering Committee met via Zoom on November 2. Jennie Dickinson kicked the meeting off with an update regarding a grant from the Innovia Foundation for startup businesses. Two businesses in downtown Dayton, Table Rock Meat and Main Street Marketplace, have benefitted from the grant in the past. This year $5,000 has been awarded to Annie’s Attic, a new cafe and a vintage furniture business coming to Dayton, both owned by Laura and Tony Auckerman. A second sta...
DAYTON—The Columbia County Commissioners met on Monday, November 1. They discussed multiple resolutions, set a date for a public hearing regarding levy certifications, and discussed a behavioral services contract. The commissioners discussed Resolution 2021-48, Award 2017 Bridge Rail Update. This is a federally funded resolution aimed at fixing bridges, including the Turner Road Bridge. They were unsure of when the work would happen. The commissioners awarded the contract to Frank Gurney, Inc. The commissioners then discussed Resolution 2...
DAYTON-The sprawling Blue Mountain Station has become a key player in Dayton and Columbia County's economy. It provides production space for fine candy makers, craft spirit distillers, soap crafters, and growers of organic produce. The road to success has been long and, at times, rather difficult. The idea for the Station first came to light in 2007, when Jennie Dickinson was hired as Executive Director of the Port of Columbia. "When I moved from the Chamber to the Port, it was June of 2007,...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met on October 13 for a regularly scheduled meeting. Before the approval of the agenda, Mayor Marty Dunn added an item regarding the Touchet River Levee Repair project, which was accepted by the council. During public comment, former council member Terry Jacoy said that in the past, the City of Waitsburg published the status of the municipality around election time. “The elector was able to see the financial status of the municipality,” Jacoy said. “I do...
DAYTON- The Dayton School board held its regular School Director’s meeting at 6 p.m. on October 20, 2021. The board approved the consent agenda, which consisted of the minutes for the September 15, 2021 Board Meeting, a donation from Walla Walla Toyota of $2000 to the Associated Student Body (ASB), hiring both Owen Lanning as Middle School Boys Basketball Coach and Jeannie Walter as Freshman Class Advisor. Also in the consent agenda was the recommendation to hire Melanie Morgan as Senior Class Advisor and finally, a recommendation to accept D...
WAITSBURG-It's the season of change and improvement on Waitsburg's Main Street, and the city's library will not be left out. The Friends of the Weller Public Library was recently awarded $7,000 from Columbia REA's More Powerful Together community grant program. Earlier this year, the City of Waitsburg considered surplusing the building which houses the Weller Public Library, citing lack of ADA accessibility as one of the main reasons. After hearing community feedback, the city opted to keep the...
DAYTON—The Columbia County Commissioners held a public comment session on October 18. The first speaker, Cindi John, questioned why the contract for Blazin’ Burgers, the restaurant vendor at the Touchet Valley Golf Course, had not been renewed. John was concerned the contract was not renewed because the owner and staff were not enforcing masking or vaccine mandates. John said mandates were ‘getting out of hand’ when they close businesses that opt not to require proof of vaccines. “I got to tell you, the first thing my doctor asked me was ‘did...
WAITSBURG—The Columbia-Walla Walla Fire District 2 Commissioners met on October 13 for a regular meeting at the Waitsburg Fire Station. Interim fire chief Colter Mohney asked that a vote regarding a policy update to reflect the statewide vaccination mandates be held either at the meeting or within the next couple of days following the meeting. The mandate, Proclamation 21-14.1, announced on August 20, requires all health care providers, including licensed health care providers and all e...
DAYTON – A regular meeting of the Port of Columbia was held using Zoom at 3:30 pm, October 13, 2021, with Commissioner Brown moderating. The Commissioners discussed several administrative issues, including a line-by-line discussion of the draft budget for 2022. The meeting then went into a 45-minute executive session to discuss an employment contract. Port Director, Jennie Dickinson, announced that The Blues Crew, a volunteer group associated with the Blue Mountain Land Trust, would start work to improve and widen the Rock Hill trail. The B...
OLYMPIA—Monday, October 18, was the deadline for workers in specific sectors, including private and public healthcare, state employees, and education, to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk losing their jobs. As the deadline neared, concerns about the mandate’s impact on healthcare staffing and services have raised throughout the state. A spokesperson for Providence St. Mary Medical Center and the Providence Medical Group in Walla Walla said their hospital has a high compliance rate that would not significantly impact its ope...
DAYTON - A regular meeting of the City Council was held using Zoom at 6 PM, October 13, 2021. During public comment, Sheriff Joe Helm announced that he had appointed Deputy Cesar Rivera as Chief Deputy. The Sheriff also stated that the department was preparing for the opening of deer hunting season and the influx of visitors which that entails. He also mentioned that the increased patrolling of Main Street for traffic violations would continue. The City Council approved the minutes from the...
PENDLETON, Ore—Recent precipitation and cooler weather conditions across the Umatilla National Forest has decreased fire danger, prompting fire managers to lift all public use restrictions pertaining to recreational chainsaw use, smoking, and off-road travel, effective 12 a.m. on Oct. 15, 2021. • The public is encouraged to practice safe campfire principles when recreating in dispersed and developed campsites. Forest officials recommend the following campfire safety precautions: • Campfires should be in fire pits surrounded by dirt, rock,...
WAITSBURG-Whether you're a soup-season person or a spooky-season person, there's no arguing that autumn is here! If you're a spooky-season person, it is time to head down to Mr. C's Smoking Co. or Nancy's Dream Garden Center. Each business received plenty of Schulke Pumpkins to go around. The Schulke Pumpkin Fundraiser is in its fourteenth year of fundraising for the Ronald McDonald House in memory of Cooper Schulke, who passed away in 2002 after a long battle against a brain tumor. In 2007,...
