Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 303 - 322 of 322
DAYTON-The Columbia County Health System's Executive Leadership team participated in a five-day leadership course led by its Semi Bird, Executive Director of Team Concepts Training Services, reported CCHS CEO Shane McGuire at the hospital district commissioners meeting in January. Team Concepts will continue providing training to CCHS staff throughout the year. The goal of the training is to transform workplace culture. Each department-level manager will receive the same training as the...
DAYTON-The Columbia County Public Health Department moves from 270 East Main Street to their new location at 112 North Second Street the week of Feb. 15, with plans for the department to be officially open on Feb. 22. County Public Health Administrator Martha Lanman said there are several benefits to making this move. There is adequate space for all the staff to occupy the new offices while complying with current social distancing guidelines. Lanman said two department staff members are...
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...
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...
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...
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-2020 has been a year like no other in Dayton's collective memory. In February, the county experienced severe flooding on the North and South Touchet rivers and Patit Creek. The flood, which caused $7.2 million in damage to county infrastructure, was followed close on its heels by the COVID-19 pandemic which sent health and safety personnel scrambling to prepare the county. People were told to wear masks and limit social contact with others. Some did, and some did not. Government offices w...
DAYTON—The Dayton Chamber of Commerce has announced the annual award banquet’s cancellation because of COVID-19 restrictions. However, the Chamber is accepting nominations for the Dayton Chamber of Commerce 2020 Community Choice Awards. “It is especially important that we still pay tribute to the exceptional businesses, organizations, and citizens in our community who have gone above and beyond in 2020.” To make a nomination, fill out the electronic form found on the Dayton Chamber website...
DAYTON-This year has been challenging for us all, especially many of the kids served by The Club. To help spread some joy, The Club's Board of Directors and staff hatched a plan to provide holiday gift bags to our members. What happened next is a shining example of the giving nature of our community. Kiwanis Club of Dayton, due in part to a shared board/club member, came up with an idea to provide a little something to The Club's kids while simultaneously supporting local business. The idea:...
DAYTON—At the Dayton City Council meeting on Dec. 16, 2020, Planning and Community Development Director Meagan Hayes discussed progress by the Affordable Housing Commission. The Commission is reviewing multi-family tax exemptions, which could stimulate the construction of new or existing multi-family housing. The commission is also in the process of developing a marketing campaign. The Dayton Planning Commission is working on docketing items and will be opening the Subdivision Code. Hayes s...
DAYTON—A former long-time Master Gardener for the Boldman House Museum has won the museum committee’s raffle quilt. Instead of keeping the quilt for herself, and without hesitation, Susie Rogers made a gift of it to Susan Richter. Rogers said Susan Richter spent countless hours working on the quilt, along with Diane McKinley, Katie Wamble, Mary Luce, Sylvia Beuhler, and Eulalie Schrek. “Her heart was sewn into that quilt.,” Rogers said. “She loved that quilt so much.” When raffle tickets wen...
DAYTON—The Dayton School District Board of Directors met Wednesday, December 2, for a regularly scheduled board workshop session. During the session, Superintendent Guy Strot gave a brief update on the Dayton-Waitsburg Athletic Combine mascot. After speaking with Superintendent Mark Pickel, Principal Kristina Brown, and Principal Stephanie Wooderchak, Superintendent Strot said that the schools would keep their individual mascots. Dayton School District will still be represented as the Dayton B...
DAYTON—Jennie Dickinson, the Executive Director for the Port of Columbia, is on the board for the Palouse Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO). She is asking the community to provide input to a Regionwide Active Transportation Plan being developed by the RTPO. Dickinson said the RPTO is developing a website for the Regional Active Transportation Plan. The site will include maps of city sidewalks, showing gaps to fill to connect walking routes. There will also be maps with r...
DAYTON—For the past few months, Columbia County Health System (CCHS) CEO Shane McGuire has been talking to the Hospital District Board of Commissioners about five small works roster1 projects that could improve the hospital’s ability to treat COVID-19 patients and help the Health System with its response to a potential surge of COVID-19 in the community. Cost for the five projects is estimated at 1.1 million and are listed below in order of priority: 1. Upgrade the currently undersized hospital...
DAYTON—Mason Finney, a senior at Dayton High School and the ASB public relations manager, spoke at the Dayton School District board meeting last week. Finney said the middle school and high school students have voted for their choice of DW Athletic Combine mascot, and the ASB counted the ballots last week. The ASB is organizing the process under the direction of HS/MS Principal Kristina Brown. The top two votes will be selected, with a final vote sometime in the New Year. Finney also d...
DAYTON-The Town That Still Believes still does, but because of the COVID-19 situation, things will look a little different this year. Instead of the usual Christmas Kickoff over Thanksgiving weekend, Dayton Chamber Manager Molly Weatherill-Tate and her assistant Lauren Parsons have been working on plans for Believe! A Small-Town Celebration. This year, the Dayton Chamber will not be able to hold the indoor Festival of Trees; however, they are offering local businesses the loan of one of the...
DAYTON-Mandi Wendt has announced the closure of the Weinhard Café and Bakery. Wendt said in a Facebook post, there is more to running a small restaurant than just serving people. The time spent planning the menu, cleaning, maintaining the building and equipment, and doing the book work is enough to make a person question why anyone on earth would want to. "I can tell you why a person wants to do it, though. It is because they love doing it," she said. "After seven years of ownership, my love...
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...
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...
DAYTON-Trina Cole, Administrator for the City of Dayton, told attendees at the city council meeting last week about plans for city and county representatives to enter into mediation over the terms of the Interlocal Agreement for Law Enforcement, Dispatch Services, and Court Services, the County provides to the City. County Commissioner Ryan Rundell, who was at the meeting, said a location had been identified and the date is set for Nov. 5. During the council meeting concerning an application to...
