Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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OLYMPIA—Washington State Parks will offer free, live-streamed weekly virtual programs from Goldendale Observatory State Park Heritage Site. Troy Carpenter, State Parks interpretive specialist, will present the one-hour Goldendale Observations programs at 7 p.m. on Sunday evenings, starting Nov. 15, via Washington State Parks' YouTube channel. The upcoming schedule of programs: Sunday, November 15 Surrounded by Robots: More than 60 years of satellites State Parks' first YouTube live show will b...
DAYTON-Coldwell Banker Walla Walla has donated $800 to The Club for operating costs. A check was presented by local realtors Benedicte and Loic Carbonnier. "On behalf of The Club, I wish to extend our sincerest thanks to Coldwell Banker Walla Walla for their generous financial support. Community partners like Coldwell Banker are critical to our ability to provide important programs to the youth of the Touchet Valley." said Jim Pearson, The Club's Director....
WAITSBURG-Not everyone is as excited to wake up in Hawaii and go to bed in Washington as Lark, the dog. On October 28, a Hercules C-130 flew more than 600 dogs and cats from the Kauai Humane Society to Seattle's SeaTac Airport, in what is being called the 'largest animal rescue flight in history' by Hawaii's Emergency Management. The Kauai Humane Society is an open-admissions shelter that takes in more than 3,000 animals each year; however, there are limited adoptive homes since it is an island...
WALLA WALLA—Walla Walla County has signed a contract with Providence St. Mary Medical Center to provide COVID-19 quarantine housing at the Providence Southgate Medical Park’s main building (the former Walla Walla General Hospital) in the 400 unit. The unit would provide voluntary housing for COVID-19 positive individuals who cannot successfully quarantine in their current living situation and are not ill enough to require professional care or hospitalization. The unit will serve as a small motel. Walla Walla County previously provided qua...
DAYTON—There are six new cases of COVID-19 since Tuesday, October 29, as reported by Public Health Administrator Martha Lanman to the County Board of Health on Monday. She said the six cases in Columbia County are from two different sources and are unrelated. There were 13 tests performed over the weekend. Lanman said she and Dayton School District Superintendent Guy Strot have agreed to allow in-person instruction at school to proceed. “We feel like the kids are safer in school,” she said....
Statewide measures Referendum Measure No. 90 Approved 59.65% Advisory vote No. 32 Repealed 59.6% Advisory vote No. 33 Repealed 57.55% Advisory vote No. 34 Repealed 60.19% Advisory vote No. 35 Repealed 52.74% Senate Joint Resolution No. 8212 Rejected 52.61% Federal Candidates Congressional District 5 Cathy McMorris Rodgers 59.38% Dave Wilson 40.44% Statewide Candidates Governor Jay Inslee 59.37% Loren Culp 40.33% Lt Governor Denny Heck 47.21% Marko Liias 33.73% Secretary of State Kim Wyman 51.75% Gael Tarleton 48.14% State Treasurer Mike...
WAITSBURG-The future is sunny and bright for the Prescott School District. The school board plans to make a final decision on a solar array project that can save the district thousands of dollars in energy costs. Apollo Solutions Group (ASG) approached former Prescott School District Superintendent Brett Cox before Justin Bradford took over the position this year. An Energy-Savings Company (ESCO), ASG works with clients, including school districts, universities, colleges, and city and county...
OLYMPIA—The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) continues progress on COVID-19 vaccine distribution planning efforts. DOH is encouraging healthcare providers to prepare to enroll as approved COVID-19 vaccine providers, sending an official letter with enrollment information. Provider enrollment is the first step in setting up approved COVID-19 vaccine provider locations. Long-term care facilities can also enroll in a program that will provide a COVID-19 vaccine for their residents and staff. On October 16, the White House announced a f...
Olympia—Washington State’s Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program opens Sunday, November 1, for a new enrollment period, providing families a fresh opportunity to start saving for future college costs while their children are young. The 2020-2021 enrollment period runs through May 31, 2021, with a unit purchase price of $133. As a 529 prepaid tuition program, the State of Washington guarantees that a family’s GET savings will keep pace with in-state college tuition and state-mandated fees. While Washington tuition rates are the basis for G...
WALLA WALLA—Walla Walla County has seen a drastic uptick in COVID-19 cases, with more than 300 cases being reported over the past two weeks. On Sunday, November 1, sixty positive cases were reported, which has been the largest daily case count for the county since the beginning of the pandemic. Health officials say they are seeing evidence of increased transmission at social and religious gatherings, long term care facilities, and institutions. Smaller outbreaks are occurring at some businesses, with the larger outbreaks at institutions and l...
Free public presentations on history, politics, music, philosophy, and more WALLA WALLA-Through the Walla Walla Public Library, the Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau talks are free and available to the public. The program compiles a roster of presenters who are professors, artists, activists, historians, performers, journalists, and others-all chosen not only for their expertise but their ability to inspire discussion with people of all ages and backgrounds. Most recently, Washington State...
DAYTON-Columbia County Emergency Management Director Ashley Strickland usually devotes ninety percent of his working time to the E911 Dispatch Center and the remaining ten percent to emergency management. That went out the window during the first six months of the year. He found himself spending only ten percent of his time with the Dispatch center, and the other ninety percent in emergency management, all because of the February flood and the COVID-19 pandemic. "The county has a responsibility...
The Green Giant outside of Dayton, Washington gets a needed refresh with paint and weed maintenance....
OLYMPIA — With seven days to go until the Nov. 3 General Election, the Office of the Secretary of State is reminding voters to return their ballots as soon as possible. Voters are encouraged to return their ballots by placing them in any of the nearly 500 ballot drop boxes statewide. Drop-box locations can be found by logging in to VoteWA.gov, as well as on the Secretary of State’s Office website. Ballots may also be returned by U.S. mail—no postage required—but must be postmarked by Nov. 3...
DAYTON—Only the top seven applicants out of a field of thirty have been chosen to receive funding from the Washington State Public Works Board for their broadband projects. The Port of Columbia was not among them, having ranked in the middle of the field at number twelve by the board last Friday. “What this shows is there is a huge need for better broadband service and not enough funding to go around,” The Port’s Executive Director Jennie Dickinson said Dickinson said the Port’s applicati...
As many people know, Mike Ferrians recently resigned as manager of the theater. The Touchet Valley Arts Council (TVAC) thanks him for all he has done for the theater and hopes he will participate in future live productions. The TVAC and staff have been working for several months in efforts to reopen the Liberty Theater. Many changes have been implemented at the theater to meet state-mandated guidance to keep guests, staff, and volunteers as safe as possible and allow us to legally reopen and remain open as a business. Unfortunately, the process...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met Wednesday, October 21, for a regularly scheduled meeting. Due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the council is meeting via phone conference. Call-in information is available on the City’s website, www.cityofwaitsburg.com. City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe reviewed the second payment application for the Taggart Road Waterline/Extension project. The second payment included paving services on the new Hazelbaker Road and water line repair/replacement. Con...
PRESCOTT—The Prescott School Board met Thursday, October 22, via Zoom call for their regularly scheduled meeting. Prescott School Board members are Chairman Preston Brock, Vice-Chair Kevin Chabre, Director Eva Madrigal, Director Erik Young, and Director Jacob Stueckle. John Graham, Apollo Solutions Group representative, was accompanied by Mike Fuentes, Division Manager and mechanical engineer, to help answer technical questions for a solar array project that the school district has been e...
DAYTON—Dayton School District Superintendent Guy Strot talked about the effect the COVID-19 challenge was having on staff and students when he addressed the school board at last week’s meeting. He said he is very proud of the staff and students in the elementary school and in the middle and high schools for following the rules and following the District’s Reopening Plan. The teachers are doing an amazing job of “soldiering on” during this stressful time. There is a good working partnersh...
WAITSBURG—Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Gala are all names we recognize. How about Fall Jeneting, McAfee, and Nero? Thanks to the work of Dave Benscoter and the Lost Apple Project, you may become familiar with a couple of recently-rediscovered lost apple varieties. The Lost Apple Project came to be after Dave Benscoter was asked to help pick apples for a friend outside of Spokane. Benscoter grew up around apple trees and quickly determined that none of the fruit was usable, but he couldn’t quite kic...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg Celebration Days (WCD) board of directors met Monday, October 26 at 7 p.m via Zoom call. The board met to elect a new president, vice president, and an advertising director. Directors had to postpone the election until the November meeting, as they had not yet had any volunteers step up with interest. Waitsburg Celebration Days is a volunteer-led non-profit, formed in 2013 to continue community celebrations originally hosted for over 100 years by Days of Real Sport. WCD...
Well, that escalated quickly. Our weather has gone from a pleasant and mild fall to a midwinter's frozen tundra practically overnight. It took the better part of a day to get above freezing. And so it goes, another turning of the wheel-toes in socks, socks in boots. The parkas are out, and before you know it, we'll be back inside, once again relegated to the confines of the indoors, daydreaming about spring. All-season gardeners know better. Winter gardening using container pots keeps the...
In September, wildfires that tortured the Pacific Northwest did a number on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's (WDFW) Swanson Lakes Wildlife Area (Swanson Lakes), located about 10 miles south of the town of Creston. Swanson Lakes is a 21,000-acre tract of native grasslands nestled among the channeled scablands of the Columbia Plateau. Shrub-steppe and riparian/wetlands comprise the dominant habitats, and much of the area is rangeland, with some old Conservation Reserve Program...
Calling all goblins, ghouls, and ghosts! Halloween is still happening in the Touchet Valley, with some minor adjustments. Social distancing will be enforced at all events listed below for the safety of all the spooky participants. Per state guidelines, face masks will be required in addition to a costume mask. Halloween costume masks are not accepted forms of face coverings. Downtown Waitsburg plans on getting spooky on Saturday, starting at 4 p.m. with David Long, Walla Walla DJ, providing music at the Fire Station on Main. Does anyone know th...
WAITSBURG-The coronavirus has highlighted some unexpected heroes over the past ten months. The Waitsburg School District has had a handful of heroes step up and go far above and beyond their typical duties this school year. "Our para-eds and our kitchen staff... they have been working their tails off this year," Superintendent Mark Pickel. "Last week alone, they put together 1,700 meals to go." During a 'normal' school year, paraeducators can be found assisting in the classroom, often offering...
