Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 1880
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met in the Dayton High School Library at 6:31 p.m. on July 17, 2024. School board Chair Jeffrey McCowen, board members Zac Fabian, Ryan Paulson, and Aneesha Dieu present. Grant Griffin was not present. The session was Superintendent Jeremy Wheatley's first board meeting. The board passed the consent agenda, which included the resignations of Danica Porter, H.S. science teacher, and Susan Richter, food service assistant. Wheatley also announced Tanya Patton's resi...
DAYTON – The Port of Columbia Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5 p.m. on July 12, 2024, at the port office. Commissioners Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, Mike Spring, and the Executive Director, Jennie Dickinson were present. The Commissioners first dealt with several administrative items, including a detailed examination of the monthly budget report and the 2023 annual report. There were no new leases to announce. Next, the meeting shifted to the public hearing on the Comprehensive Parks Master Plan. There was no public input, so the comm...
DAYTON - An innovative diabetes education program at Columbia County Health System shows promising results in managing diabetes for residents. Spearheaded by Ruth Yutzy, RN, a Diabetes Education Specialist, the program is part of the health system's broader effort to address chronic health conditions in the community. The diabetes education program offers comprehensive support and education for individuals diagnosed with diabetes. It aims to improve their quality of life through better blood...
DAYTON — Columbia County Health System (CCHS) is taking significant strides to enhance the health and well-being of the local community through its innovative Population Health Program. This initiative aligns with the national Healthy People 2030 campaign, which aims to improve health outcomes, eliminate disparities, and create environments that promote health for all individuals. Population Health is a national, comprehensive approach designed to improve the health of all individuals within a human population. The program focuses on three k...
DAYTON — The Port of Columbia Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5 p.m. on June 12, 2024, at the Lyon’s Ferry Marina. Commissioners Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, Mike Spring, and Executive Director Jennie Dickinson were present. Watts arrived near the end of the meeting, saying he stopped to assist at a vehicle accident scene. There was no public comment during the first opportunity to do so. In the budget report, Dickinson said it was a low-expense month. Nothing unusual, she commented on the progress of the lighting project. Dic...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met in the high school library at 6:30 p.m. on May 22, 2024. School board members Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Zac Fabian, Ryan Paulson, Aneesha Dieu, Grant Griffin, and Superintendent Rich Stewart were present. The board approved the Consent Agenda, which included administrative items and the approval of Polla Laib’s retirement at the end of this school year. Laib has been a teacher for 43 years, the last 38 years at Dayton Elementary. Much of the board meeting consisted of two insightful presentations. The fir...
DAYTON – The Port of Columbia Commissioners held their regular meeting at the port's office on May 7, 2024. Commissioners present were Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, Mike Spring, and the Executive Director, Jennie Dickinson. During the first public comment period, Teeny McMunn thanked the port for its assistance in the community-wide flea market held at the fairgrounds over the weekend. The commissioners handled several administrative items, including the budget report and vouchers. There were no n...
OLYMPIA - On Tuesday, March 26, Senate Bill 5824, sponsored by Sen. Sam Hunt (D-Olympia) and requested by Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, was signed into law in Olympia. The bill raised the required number of petitioners from 10% to 25% of eligible voters. In addition, eligible voters include all residents who pay taxes to fund the library district. "The Dayton library was on the verge of becoming the first library in the country to shut down because of a dispute over the books inside," Hunt sai...
DAYTON - The Columbia County Commissioners met for a special meeting on March 25, 2024. Chairman Jack Miller and commissioners Ryan Rundell and Marty Hall were present. The commissioners and County Prosecutor Dale Slack discussed changes to the county's coroner services required due to amendments to RCW 36.16.030. The coroner function must be separated from prosecutors starting in 2024. The commissioners decided not to turn the position into an elected office, choosing to appoint or contract...
DAYTON—Each year in December, the Port of Columbia holds its Community Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) meeting for stakeholders in the community to review and update an ongoing five and ten-year project list, cast ballots for the three projects each of them deem most important for the community, listen to guest speakers about progress on current projects, and learn about specific economic indicators for Columbia County. This year, stakeholders voted for their top three project priorities i...
DAYTON - Columbia County Health System announced the retirement of esteemed doctors Dr. Gwynneth Neace, a board-certified pediatrician, and Dr. Lewis Neace, a board-certified emergency medicine physician. The two talented physicians chose to come home in 2016 to lend their considerable skills to the communities they love. Giving back to the towns where they were raised has been the capstone of their accomplished medical careers. After eight years of devoted service, they have decided to retire.... Full story
DAYTON — The Dayton School Board met in the high school library at 6:36 p.m. on December 6, 2023. School Board members present were Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Zac Fabian, Aneesha Dieu, and Grant Griffin. Superintendent Rich Stewart was also present. Matthew Smith, who briefed the Dayton City Council on the Community Needs Assessment the previous evening, gave essentially the same briefing to the school board. The board turned its attention to EPO (Educational Programs and Operation) Proposition 1 and Capital Levy Proposition 2. The EPO would f...
DAYTON — People residing in rural communities live an average of three years fewer than their urban counterparts and have a 40% higher likelihood of developing heart disease. Columbia County Health System is committed to changing that. For efforts to optimize acute cardiac care and eliminate rural health care outcome disparities, Columbia County Health System received the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines® - Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) Rural Recognition Bronze award for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The Americ...
DAYTON – The Columbia Port Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5 PM, November 8, 2023, in the Port Office. Commissioners present were Genie Crowe, Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, and the Executive Director, Jennie Dickinson. During the first public comment period, four individuals supported Lyon’s Ferry Marina and the effort to maintain KOA membership by adding required pull-through sites. Bryan objected to approving the last meeting’s agenda because its summary incorrectly characterized one of his statements as saying the breakwater at Ly...
DAYTON – The Columbia Port Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5 p.m., October 11, 2023, in the Port Office. Commissioners present were Genie Crowe, Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, and the Executive Director, Jennie Dickinson. After dealing with some routine administrative items, the Commissioners began discussing the 2024 Budget, starting with the Executive Director’s salary. Crowe said Dickenson deserved a fifteen percent salary increase due to her role in committee meetings, numerous projects, and the management of the Blue Mountain Sta...
DAYTON-Mike Spring and Randy Schafer are running for Port of Columbia Commissioner representing District 2, the seat being vacated by Genie Crowe. "The Times" spoke with Spring and received a prepared statement from Shafer. Candidate Mike Spring Spring is excited about the future in Columbia County and believes with help from the community and through his gift of perseverance, much can be accomplished. He explained, "The primary goal of a port district is economic development for its...
DAYTON - Proposition 2 will not appear on Columbia County's general election ballot this November. Columbia Superior Court Commissioner Julie Karl ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, Neighbors United for Progress, Elise Sever, and Gerald Kaiser, in their lawsuit to block the measure from the November ballot. The hearing was held on Wednesday, Sept. 20, at the Columbia County Courtroom in Dayton, Wash. After entering the courtroom, Karl asked the filled courtroom to observe proper decorum. She... Full story
DAYTON - Neighbors United for Progress (NUP), a political action committee in Dayton, has produced a booklet in response to the effort by citizens sponsoring Proposition 2 to dissolve the Columbia County Rural Library District. Authored by Tanya Patton and Diane Longanecker, both of Dayton, the booklet provides information about the history of Dayton's Public Library and the creation of the Columbia County Rural Library District. It also includes the official wording of the proposition for the...
DAYTON-It takes an army of good-natured volunteers to put together the displays for the Columbia County Fair at the Pavilion. There are over thirty booths and displays in the Pavilion, featuring food preservation, garden and produce, baking, floral, fine arts, needle craft and sewing, photography, quilting as well as booths advertising businesses and fraternal organizations. For each, there are superintendents who are there to accept the entries and display them to be judged. Rose Englebrite... Full story
Dayton — Neighbors United for Progress (NUP), Columbia County’s bipartisan political action committee, has filed a lawsuit that may save the Columbia County Library. The group filed a suit on August 29, 2023, asking the Columbia County Superior Court to issue an injunction prohibiting the Columbia County Auditor’s Office from placing Proposition 2—a ballot measure to dissolve the Columbia County Rural Library District—on the November 2023 ballot. The suit also asks the court to recover a... Full story
DAYTON—The Washington State Library falls under the auspices of the Office of the Secretary of State, and due to concerns over recent attempts to ban books, staff in that office has begun drafting bills to provide librarians with more autonomy over collection development and to strengthen current nondiscrimination laws. Since a qualified petition has been submitted to the county, the state cannot intercede in the upcoming ballot measure (Proposition 2) asking voters to dissolve the Columbia C...
DAYTON-The group, represented by Dayton resident Jessica Ruffcorn, continues to garner attention from national print and televised media over efforts to dissolve the Columbia County Rural Library. The Seattle Times is the most recent newspaper outside of Columbia or Walla Walla Counties to publish an article about the potential of Dayton's public library becoming the first in the country to be closed due to collection content. The article is available at https://tinyurl.com/5nscwbck. Allen Leist... Full story
DAYTON – The Columbia Port Commissioners held their regular meeting in the port conference room on August 9, 2023. Commissioners present in person were Genie Crowe, Seth Bryan, joined by the Executive Director, Jennie Dickinson. Johnny Watts participated over Zoom. Dickinson began preliminary budget discussions by saying she anticipates an insurance rate increase of about $1,500 for additional coverage for the broadband project. An offset could come from revenue generated from broadband after it becomes operational. Dickinson said she would h...
Columbia CountY-Wynter McCauley, Kilee Henry, and Bailey Standring were selected to represent Dayton as Fair Royalty last October. The "job" is so much more than just waving in parades. The fair's royalty learn life-long lessons throughout the year. Starting early to prepare for the day, always ready to smile for a photo, learn about and work with livestock, and spend time as ambassadors for the Columbia County Fair. Their duties include assisting at various local events including Brix and...
Walla Walla, WA – Blue Mountain Action Council (BMAC) is pleased to announce the hire of Michelle McCleary as BMAC Services Coordinator for Columbia and Garfield Counties. McCleary will serve the region out of BMAC's office in Dayton, primarily providing housing support and connecting Columbia and Garfield County residents to other BMAC services. "We are delighted to have Michelle joining our Dayton office so we can improve our outreach and services in Columbia and Garfield Counties. With her k...
