Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 726 - 750 of 5646
WAITSBURG—The Friends of the Weller Library are hosting a meeting on Wednesday, June 9th, 2021, at the Weller Public Library, 212 Main, Waitsburg. Those interested in learning about the group and interested in supporting the library are encouraged to attend the meeting which begins at 7 p.m....
WAITSBURG-The Clinton Kitchen made its grand debut on Friday, May 21, at the Waitsburg Town Hall, during one of the first public events in over a year. The open house event drew consistent crowds over its two-hour span, as community members popped in to check out the highly anticipated commercial kitchen remodel. What was once a poorly lit, hard-to-use space has been transformed into a high-quality, highly functional space available to the community. Kitchen updates included new, custom...
WAITSBURG—The May 19 City Council meeting was scheduled to include a public hearing concerning the possible sale of 212 Main St, which houses the Weller Public Library. A much larger than usual crowd attended the Waitsburg City Council meeting. Over 40 people were there specifically to attend the public hearing. Many people were concerned that the proposal was about closing the library altogether. Comments supported the library, and many wanted to keep the library in the historic building on Main Street. Mayor Marty Dunn opened the regular coun...
DAYTON—Columbia County Health System officials announced on Thursday, May 20, that two residents at the Booker Rest Home had tested positive for COVID-19. One resident was vaccinated against the virus and was asymptomatic. The other resident was not vaccinated and was stable at the time of the release. “Between March 2020 and March 2021, all visitation at Booker Rest Home was suspended to protect residents from COVID-19. The sacrifices made by our residents, staff, their friends, and families during the year of lockdown, were without que...
WALLA WALLA COUNTY—The Walla Walla County Elections Filing Week closed May 21. Candidates filing for positions within the City of Waitsburg filed through the County for the first time, after council members voted to move away from a city-ran election system in 2020. The vote to move away from the city-ran election sets the city up to have all future elections run by the State of Washington, in accordance with RCW 35.30.080. After this year, city elections will be run like all other cities in the state. Unlike city-ran elections in the past, c...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg School Board met on May 20 for a regularly scheduled meeting. The board now meets in person at the elementary library but will continue to offer Zoom access. Secondary principal Stephanie Wooderchak shared that the 2021-22 ASB Student Officers had been elected. The new officers are President Brayden Mohney, Vice-President Monte Pettichord, Secretary Chloe Gleason, and Treasurer Makenna Barron. Letters have been sent home to parents regarding multiple year-end a...
WAITSBURG—Waitsburg Elementary Friday announced that the school would be closed to in-person instruction, effective June 1. All students in grade pre-k through fifth-Grade will participate in remote instruction until the end of the school year. The last day of school is June 15. The closure came after a drastic increase in COVID-19 cases in the district’s elementary population, resulting in multiple exposures and close contacts. On May 25, the school was informed that the entire second-grade class must be quarantined, along with their fam...
WAITSBURG-The Columbia-Walla Walla Fire District 2 met Wednesday, May 12, for a regularly scheduled meeting. Fire commissioners discussed the upcoming elections in each county and a new vehicle that Commissioner Jake Long was able to secure. District Clerk Anne Higgins provided a financial report following the approval of minutes. She noted that the report was missing several Columbia County expenditures because the county had not yet processed them. Commissioner Deb Fortner reported that...
DAYTON-Chair of the Board of Commissioners, Earle Marvin, opened the May 12 meeting with public comment. Betty Longren spoke, urging the commissioners to respect all community members and get behind local businesses. She wanted the Port to listen to businesses and those in the community who are against the trail project. Dayton Chronicle reporter, Melissa Gemmell, asked if the commissioners had any comments they would like to make to those protesting the trail. Commissioner Sean Milligan...
DAYTON-More than a dozen Touchet Valley residents hit the streets of Dayton with "YES Touchet Valley Trail" signs on Wednesday, May 12, to show their support for the project and the Port of Columbia. "The mission is a positive opportunity for the community and expanding the valley for everybody," said Joanne Goldsmith of Dayton. Goldsmith was one of the organizers of the event. One Dayton resident and avid cyclist, Genie Crowe, said she has two friends who have been struck by vehicles while...
DAYTON—The Board of Columbia County Commissioners met Monday, May 17, via Zoom. The commissioners were joined by WSU Extension Whitman County Director Janet Schmidt to discuss a long-standing memorandum of understanding. Commissioner Chuck Amerein said that the County Commissioners have concerns with the push towards a regionalized extension agent, explaining that the agreement between the county and the university, initially signed in 1986, was not designed for a regionalized agent. “The con...
If you are feeling a bit uneasy about our intense sunshine and high temperatures, you are not alone. Plant communities are struggling as well. And while we can water lawns, gardens and orchards with hoses and sprinklers, dry land soft white wheat growers in our region rely on rain. With less than normal rainfall, the local soil is dry from low levels of precipitation last year and this past winter. The roots of wheat on the surrounding hills are getting stressed That stress goes straight up...
DAYTON—New and enhanced lifts, a snowmaking system at the base, and a more robust power generation system are among improvements happening at Bluewood in a $4.5 million development and expansion plan slated for the next three years. “This is the most exciting set of upgrades at Bluewood since we opened more than 40 years ago,” says Kim Clark, Bluewood’s General Manager. “The development plan, which is already underway, will keep our familiar hometown vibe on the mountain while providing even more features and fun for everyone. For months no...
WAITSBURG—Librarian Rosie Warehime has waited a long time to welcome patrons back into the Weller Public Library. She has waited over a year since being closed down by restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Warehime was excited to share that the little library is open 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, with a max capacity of five visitors at a time, with a time limit of 15 minutes. The online library is still available as long as you have an internet connection, and Warehime said s...
DAYTON—The Columbia County Commissioners met Monday, May 10, to discuss the WSU Columbia County Extension Agent position and the use of cameras in a county office. The Commissioners heard from Dave McKinley and Jim Moyer, who are exploring options to fill the local extension agent position. The former extension agent, Paul Carter, retired in January after more than 15 years on the job. McKinley, a local farmer, said that Columbia County has had an extension agent available for 100 years. He i...
5 Candidate filing begins at 9:00 a.m. on Monday, May 17th and closes at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, May 21st. Candidates may electronically submit declarations of candidacy through the county website at: https://voter.votewa.gov/candidatefiling/candidatelogin.aspx In addition, candidates may file in-person at the Walla Walla County Elections Office, 315 W. Main St., Room 203, or by mail. Office hours are Monday - Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The submitted information must be legible, timely and...
DAYTON-Unique jewelry, beautifully crocheted afghans, and specialty chocolates are just a few of the items that the vendors at Main Street Marketplace have to offer. Now nestled in the former Bluewood Office building, 262 E Main Street in Dayton, the business opened briefly before the holiday season at the former Village Shoppes, just across the street at 245 E Main in Dayton. Main Street Marketplace closed after for moving and remodel purposes in early January. Owner Shane Laib said that the...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg City Council set a May 19 public hearing date to discuss the future of 212 Main Street, the 1905 Exchange Bank building, which currently houses the Weller Public Library. At the April City Council meeting, council members discussed the potential of selling the historic property in a city surplus sale. Discussions with the city council have included updating the building, which houses the Weller Library, for American Disability Act (ADA) compliance and the need for extensi...
When I took over The Times in 2019, I was an avid newspaper reader, not a newspaper journalist. Just because you've eaten in a restaurant doesn't mean you can run one. Michele was one of the constants as I began my new endeavor. She covered Dayton and Columbia county in a comprehensive way, as a citizen, friend, and civic member who cared about her community and journalism. You couldn't read her articles and say you weren't well informed about the issues. Michele joined the paper in October...
DAYTON—The Hospital District’s board of commissioners have authorized a request from Columbia County Health System (CCHS) CEO Shane McGuire to spend $250,000 from CARES Act funds allocated to the District. The requested funds are for the Construction Review Services application, electrical service relocation, and construction-ready documents for the proposed hallway construction project. The hallway to be constructed will join the Acute Care wing of the hospital with Hall One at the Booker Res...
WAITSBURG—The Walla Walla County General Election is slated for November this year, with a May 17-21 filing period. This election will include the Waitsburg City Council and Mayor positions. Historically, the city’s elections were held annually according to the city’s Territorial Charter. In February of 2020, the Waitsburg City Council voted to change the election process following a public hearing, transferring the process to the County Auditor’s office. Under the new process, electio...
OLYMPIA-Governor Jay Inslee Tuesday announced a two-week pause on movement in the Healthy Washington: Roadmap to Recovery reopening plan. Under the pause, every Washington State county will remain in its current phase, and will be reevaluated at the end of the two-week pause. The decision was made in consultation with the Department of Health, and reflects current data suggesting that the state's fourth COVID-19 wave has hit a plateau. "We are at the intersection of progress and failure, and we...
DAYTON-The Dayton Kiwanis Club heard from yet another successful Dayton High School (DHS) alumna at their April 22 meeting. Attendees enjoyed a presentation from Karen Doherty, a Senior Vice President at WSP USA. Doherty graduated from DHS in 1990, before attending Gonzaga University, graduating magna cum laude in Engineering. Doherty went on to start Doherty & Associates, which she operated for ten years. The business was purchased by HDR, an employee-owned design firm specializing in...
DAYTON-Perhaps you have noticed the Free Little Libraries located at Steve's Grocery and the Dayton Historic Depot. There is another one in Starbuck, which is soon to be relocated to the Starbuck Post Office. And two more are being planned for other locations in Dayton. You may have wondered how to use them and who is behind them. The concept is for people to borrow, or take, a book and replace it with one they have already read or are willing to share. According to Pam Russel, the idea for the...
P.E.O. Chapter BJ proudly nominated and now introduces SADIE SENEY, a recipient of this year’s STAR Scholarship. Sadie graduates from Dayton High School this year. She will be attending Washington State University to study Agricultural and Food Business Economics, with a long-term goal of returning to Dayton to co-manage her family’s farm, Seney Land & Livestock J.V. She is fascinated with how government works at all levels becoming an officer in the Associated Student Body in elementary, mid...
