Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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DAYTON-When offered a chance to work remotely, more and more people are moving where they choose. If the City of Dayton and the Port of Columbia play their cards right, Dayton, with its beautiful blue skies, friendly people, and green vistas, could become the next little boom, or "Zoom" town. When the question of whether people should consider moving to Dayton was posed to Port of Columbia Executive Director Jennie Dickinson and City of Dayton Planning Director Meagan Hayes last week, the answer...
WAITSBURG—In July of 2020, the Waitsburg City Council voted to implement a $10 utility tax to help fund flood recovery efforts with the increase to be implemented in two phases. The first increase of $5 went into effect immediately after the vote. The second $5 increase went into effect on January 1, 2021, and some Waitsburg residents have voiced questions over slightly higher utility bills this month. At the time of the July meeting, the city estimated it would be responsible for $450,000.00 i...
WAITSBURG-Registered Nurse Heidi Ely, of Waitsburg, has recently completed both rounds of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. She said that it had given her a renewed sense of hope, and she hopes that her story as a nurse, and a mother, will ease minds. Over the past year, Ely, who works in Providence St. Mary's Same Day Surgery department, has seen the effects of the COVID-19 virus firsthand. She watched as the medical facility needed to change protocols, often by the hour, and how the staff adapted...
This past week we have received more information about the subject of last week’s column: Maude (Baim) Brown. Her little autograph book, discovered in Dayton in 2019, holds a series of handwritten messages dated 1912-1923. We received a call from Marilyn Groom, of Waitsburg. Marilyn’s parents, Harold and Marianne White were close friends with Rodney and Donna Belle Brown. Rodney is the late son of Maude and Homer Brown. Maude’s autograph book contains an early message from her future husba...
WAITSBURG-Jen Galicia, an owner of Mae B's Custom Designs, is ready to add a little bit of sparkle and a whole lot of creativity to Waitsburg's Main Street. Nestled in at 101 Main Street, Mae B's Custom Designs uses dye-sublimation printing and vinyl transfers to create custom, well, just about anything! T-shirts or sweatshirts for sporting events? Mae B's can handle it. A custom travel mug or tumbler? Just have to say if you want sparkles or not. Face masks, hats, and baby bottles are just the...
WAITSBURG-United States Army First Sergeant Mitch Kriebel walked 150 miles last week, with a weighted rucksack on his back. Kriebel is the founder of Ruck for the Fallen, a non-profit organization that raises money to support families of fallen first responders and military personnel. The organization also helps veterans face mental, physical, and emotional health challenges by inviting them to participate in 'ruck challenges and races' sponsored by military units and donations. For the...
COLUMBIA COUNTY—The Board of Columbia County Commissioners has gone on record to let Washington State Governor Jay Inslee know they are displeased with the COVID-19 Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery plan. The Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery plan is using a regional approach for a phased recovery. The state has designated eight regions, with Columbia County part of the South-Central Region, Kittitas, Yakima, Walla Walla, Benton, and Franklin counties. All eight regions start...
PRESCOTT—The Prescott School Board met on January 21 for a regularly scheduled meeting. Superintendent Justin Bradford shared COVID-19 vaccination updates, including information on a clinic held at the Walla Walla Fairgrounds over the weekend. He is encouraging school staff to get vaccinated, and he hopes to host a clinic at the school if the Health Department would be willing to allow it. The school’s nurse has agreed to participate, according to Bradford. He said that they are three weeks int...
DAYTON—2020 was a busy year for staff inside the Columbia County Planning and Building Department, primarily due to the Feb. flood. Work has continued apace, despite the COVID-19 slowdown. Planning Manager Dena Martin provided a synopsis for the county commissioners at their meeting last week. The Planning and Building department oversees county land use, zoning, comprehensive plan updates, and environmental uses. The department also provides building services for Columbia County, the City of Da...
DAYTON-The Dayton School District kicked off the second semester of the school year on Jan. 21. Report cards will be mailed home for middle and high school students on Jan. 27 and for elementary school students on Jan. 26. Dayton School District Superintendent Guy Strot provided an update about the elementary school at the school board meeting last week. He reported challenges were keeping some elementary classrooms open during the two weeks after Christmas break because some of the staff were...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met January 20, 2020, for its regular meeting via conference call. All council members were in attendance. Before public comment, Mayor Marty Dunn offered some clarification on projects under consideration under the 2021 City Budget, which was passed in December. One project listed in the budget is the widening of West Fifth Street from Main Street to Arnold Lane. On Fifth Street, homeowners circulated a petition against the project, voicing a strong s...
WAITSBURG—The Columbia-Walla Walla County Fire District 2 (CWWCFD2) Board of Commissioners met on January 13, 2021, via Zoom call. More than 20 community members, commissioners, and volunteers logged in to attend the meeting on Zoom. Columbia-Walla Walla County Fire District 2 commissioners are Chairman Jake Long, Randy Farley, Randy Charles, Deb Fortner, and Bruce Abbey. Anne Higgins serves as the District Secretary. All commissioners were present, with the exception of Commissioner Deb F...
DAYTON—When it comes to COVID-19, the Times tries its best to deliver up to date, factual information, but it is hard to keep up when the data changes so quickly. Take the information released to the public, over the last couple of weeks, from the Columbia County Public Health Department and officials in charge of the vaccination process here in Columbia County. On Thursday, Jan. 7, the Times reported that COVID-19 vaccinations would be administered through a phased approach from the Centers for...
WALLA WALLA—The housing crisis in the Walla Walla region has reached a tipping point. Thankfully, this problem is not unique to the region. With a decrease in affordable housing across the nation, community-based groups have been experimenting with creative solutions to alleviate the problem. These efforts to provide access to safe, comfortable housing to low and middle-income families have led the charge for communities like ours. In 2018, the Walla Walla Community Council (WWCC) recognized t...
DAYTON—Mayor Zac Weatherford talked about mitigating damages to the Dayton portion of the levee caused by the 2020 February flood in his report to the Dayton City Council last week. There are three projects which will be done in the spring and summer months, he said. The projects include; the Front Street Bridge Rip Rap Replacement Project and removal of less than 50 cubic yards of sediment from the Touchet River, the North First Street Rip Rap Replacement Project, and repairs to the damaged s...
This past week, it has been noticed that the newly hired fire chief for Columbia-Walla Walla (CCWW) County Fire District 2 has been missing. Waitsburg residents have noticed an increase in activity at the local fire station on Main St. since Michael Moynihan joined Fire District 2. The new Chief made a good first impression on local building owners who are aware of the fire-fighting vulnerabilities of 120-year-old commercial buildings that share walls. The sight of new volunteers and multiple...
DAYTON-Elizabeth Jagelski is known for being a vivacious, musically gifted person with a kind heart. She has contributed her directorial expertise to six of the Touchet Valley Art Council (TVAC) theater productions and her acting skills 13 times. She is also a devoted music teacher at Berney Elementary in Walla Walla. To say she has not been herself lately would be putting it mildly. She, her 72-year-old husband, Tom, and her 89-year-old father, Juan Arebalos, have all been infected with,...
DAYTON-Columbia County Sheriff Joe Helm's overarching goal is to get back to the fundamental basics of law enforcement; through proper staffing, handling calls appropriately, providing deputies with the proper equipment, and establishing a good relationship between his office and members of the community. When Helm took office on Jan. 1, 2019, he began to implement his goals and ideas and was well into it, early in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and social distancing guidelines began...
Republican Mark Klicker was officially sworn into office as a member of the Washington State House of Representatives to serve the 16th Legislative District on Friday, January 8, 2021. "I am very humbled and honored to serve the people of the 16th District," said Klicker, in a release. "These are challenging and unique times in the state. We need to come together on both sides of the aisle to find solutions that help everyone, and get Washington moving forward again." As he begins his term in...
WASHINGTON —The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), in consultation with the Treasury Department, announced today that the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) would re-open the week of January 11 for new borrowers and certain existing PPP borrowers. To promote access to capital, initially, only community financial institutions will be able to make First Draw PPP Loans on Monday, January 11, and Second Draw PPP Loans on Wednesday, January 13. The PPP will open to all participating lenders shortly after that. Updated PPP guidance outlining P...
As he enters into his third year of racing, Koby Harris will represent three racing companies WAITSBURG-Waitsburg's favorite remote-control car racer has signed yet another racing contract as he heads into his third year on the track. Koby Harris, a senior at Waitsburg High School, signed a progressive deal with Tekno RC, an RC car parts company known throughout the industry for its proven car body styles and parts. A progressive deal means that as Harris' racing career continues to excel, he...
WAITSBURG-Many students are eagerly anticipating the start of the new sports seasons after traditional fall and winter sport schedules were cleared to keep athletes safe. At this time, Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association (WIAA) has labeled sports as 'high,' 'moderate' or 'low' transmission sports, based on contact players have during training and game play. For example, Golf is a 'low' risk sport, while basketball is considered a 'high' risk sport. WIAA uses individual county COVID-...
WALLA WALLA—As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to impact Washington State Penitentiary (WSP) employees and incarcerated population, the Department of Corrections (DOC) has updated policies and procedures to better combat the virus at facilities throughout Washington State. Starting April 10, 2020, DOC mandated the use of facial coverings for staff at all DOC locations, and on April 17, the DOC expanded the mandate to include facial coverings for the incarcerated population. On November 6, DO...
DAYTON—On Dec. 16, Columbia County Health System CEO Shane McGuire provided the hospital board of commissioners with an update on projects designed to improve the hospital’s ability to treat COVID-19 patients, as previously reported in The Times on Dec. 10. McGuire presented the commissioners with “firm” cost estimates for four of the five projects. The Medical Vacuum project, Medical Air project, and the Medical Gas projects came in close to, or below, budget. The new hospital generat...
DAYTON-On Dec. 29, Dayton General Hospital Pharmacy Manager Cheryl Pell administered the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to DGH employee Mike Paris, kicking off vaccinations for essential health care workers and first responders, according to Phase 1A guidelines from the Washington State Department of Health. Pell said 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine were received at the hospital pharmacy on Dec. 23, followed by another 100 doses on Dec. 28. She said each vial of the vaccine contains ten...
