Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1026 - 1050 of 1905
DAYTON--Norm Passmore is running unopposed for Commissioner Dwight Robanske's seat on the Board of Columbia County Commissioners, representing District 1. Robanske has chosen not to run for re-election. Passmore was born and raised in Walla Walla, and graduated from Whitman College in 1976. Following a year working as an adhesive chemist in Seattle, Passmore attended dental school at the Uniiversity of Washington, he said. After graduating from dental school in 1982, Passmore said that he return...
DAYTON--Mike Talbot is seeking reelection to the Columbia County Board of Commissioners in District 2. He is running unopposed. Talbot was born and raised in Columbia County, and he and his family have farmed on the Whetstone all of his life, he said. After graduating from Dayton High School in 1969, Talbot studied business administration at Walla Walla Community College. "My dad was going to retire from farming, and he said that if I wanted the farm I had to do it at that time," Talbot said....
DAYTON-Bob and Anita Hutchens and Dolores Hutchens Cole have established a new fund for the benefit of friends and neighbors living in Columbia County, Dayton and Waitsburg. The Dayton/Waitsburg Community Health Care Foundation Fund is a permanent endowment, and it is a component fund of the Blue Mountain Community Foundation. According to Bob Hutchens, the Fund was created in the memory of his parents, Dale and Dorothy Hutchens, and others who cared deeply about health and health care issues....
DAYTON—Port Manager Jennie Dickinson presented a 2017 budget draft proposal to the commissioners for discussion at last week’s Port meeting on Oct 11. An updated copy of the proposed budget will be available for the commissioners’ consideration at the Nov. 9 meeting, which will be a public hearing on the budget, Dickinson said. Dickinson highlighted several items on the revenue side of the proposal, showing a “very modest” one-percent tax levy increase, an additional increase for a new land lease at the Blue Mountain Station – an increase to be...
DAYTON-Faye Amor has been sewing fashionable dresses for girls and their dolls since her move to the Touchet Valley four months ago, she said. Amor, who is a member of the American Institute of Floral Designers, said she owned floral shops in Chinook, Mont., and Palm Desert, Calif., before retiring in 2012. Amor said she has children living in Washington, Hawaii, and Montana, but she moved here to be closer to all of them. "They have to get around," Amor said with a smile. Amor said she found...
Kudos for elementary school principal Pam Lindsley. Lindsley was nominated for the Scholastics Book Club's Principal of the Month award by the elementary school students, and will receive an e-card notification from them. October is National Principal's Month. Above: Elementary students Carli Martin and Jacob Sabin present a poster to Principal Lindsley....
DAYTON— On Oct. 13, Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney Rea Culwell came before the Board of County Commissioners to pitch a fifth proposal for uses of an Office of Crime Victims Advocacy grant. Following Culwell’s presentation, the BOCC conferred with their court-appointed attorney W. Dale Kamerrer, and in a letter to Culwell, dated Oct. 14, they reiterated, in part, their former stance allowing the use of OCVA grant monies to increase the deputy prosecuting attorney’s salary and hours. In th...
Demolition was well underway Monday at the former Seneca Activity Center, next to the county shop on the east end of Dayton. Columbia County took over ownership of the property earlier this yearand will demolish most of the aging buildings there....
DAYTON—Last week’s city council meeting agenda was so packed that the City Administrator Trina Cole, suggested holding council meetings twice a month, instead of just once a month. On the council’s agenda were five committee reports, various commission reports, nine ordinances and resolutions, public testimony about animal nuisance codes, a public right of way hearing, and a public hearing about prohibiting medical marijuana cooperatives in the city. At the meeting Briana Fulbright, Event...
DAYTON-Alicia Walker has accomplished everything she is required to do, and more, in order to open the doors to a new restaurant in Dayton by the end of October or the beginning of November. Walker is calling the restaurant The Noble Hunt, which is aptly named for all she hopes to accomplish in it. As if running a restaurant isn't enough, Walker said that she also plans to work as a job coach for developmentally disabled adults, with the goal of placement into gainful employment in Columbia...
DAYTON – Brad McMasters, Economic Development Coordinator for the Port of Columbia, said the rain ended just as he was putting the finishing touches on the children's bounce house at last Saturday's Oktoberfest celebration at the Blue Mountain Station in Dayton. The Dayton Kiwanis and the Dayton Lions increased their sales of Tucannon Meats' bratwurst and Chief Springs Fire and Irons' beer over last year, McMasters said. The Blue Mountain Station Co-op Market's German potato salad and German r...
DAYTON—The Dayton School Board discussed a possible sports combine with Waitsburg schools for high school baseball and for wrestling during their regular meeting last week. “Students, coaches and parents have been working well together to support both districts and communities,” Superintendent Doug Johnson said about the football combination program with Waitsburg. Johnson told the directors that there are ten or eleven high school students in Waitsburg who would like the opportunity to play...
Dayton artist Martha Mason (right) sketches a portrait in the Wenaha Gallery during Saturday's Dayton On Tour celebration. Mason was one of several artists showing their work in venues throughout downtown Dayton....
DAYTON--On Sept. 28, the City of Dayton asked Superior Court Judge Jackie Shea-Brown to accept the withdrawal of its request for a temporary restraining order against Columbia County, and its Prosecuting Attorney, Rea Culwell, requiring them to restore prosecutorial services to the city. Quinn Plant, attorney for the City of Dayton, said that Culwell has agreed to restore services to the city for a period of 90 days, if the court allows. Plant said that because the nature of the situation is no...
DAYTON-The Columbia County Health System Board of Commissioners formally adopted a new District Compliance Plan at their monthly meeting on Sept. 29. CCHS Chief Executive Officer Shane McGuire publically thanked Chief Compliance Officer Cheryl Skiffington for all the work that went into the plan. "This is a milestone moment. We are excited to get it out to our staff," McGuire told the commissioners. In a separate interview Skiffington said, "We had been operating with a previous plan that...
Art Crawl Partake in the Art Crawl through a variety of venues downtown. 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Artists will show their work in eight locations throughout downtown Dayton. Artist demonstrations will take place in Dingle's and the Wenaha Gallery. Kid's Fall Festival The Kid's Fall Festival will take place at 1st and Main. Activities include Face Painting, Bobbing for Apples, Pumpkin Art, and more. 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Horse-Drawn Wagon Rides will be provided by A.J. Carriages during those hours. Historic...
DAYTON – Main Street Salon stylists Melissa McCowen and Bridget House headed to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to attend Behind the Chair (BTC) Color, the largest single-stage hair show in the country, last weekend to showcase their EmBee Meche product line. In addition, House was nominated as a finalist in the Rainbow Haircolor category. House said that having the opportunity to attend the invite-only show is a huge honor. Nearly all of the booths are operated by "big" companies such as TIGI, L...
DAYTON-Dayton High School Youth and Government Club advisor Shayna Hutchens and her students, Colton Johnson, Cal Martin, Luis Ortiz and Alex Jenkins, were present for show and tell at the Dayton School Board meeting on Sept. 21. The students shared their experiences in Olympia in May, where they went to simulate the legislative process at the capitol building. Brent Gaither, the Washington State program director for Youth and Government Clubs was also at the meeting to give the directors a...
DAYTON--Jim Westergreen, the owner of Tucannon Meats in Dayton, is in the process of handing over day-to-day operations of the butcher shop on East Main Street to his son, and to his son's army buddy. "He's going to stick with us for awhile and make sure we're good to go," said Josh Westergreen, about his father's diminishing role. The younger Westergreen said the focus of the business will still be on custom slaughter, retail sales of cured meats, and processing of wild game. "We have already...
DAYTON—Port Manager Jennie Dickinson said a plan to write a five to 10-page strategy request, making the case to the Washington State legislature for funding for rehabilitation of the rail lines for the Columbia/Walla Walla short line railroad, is in the works. Chris Herman, Senior Director of Trade and Transportation for the Washington Public Ports Association, who also has background in the Rail Division at the WSDOT, is helping the port in that endeavor, said Dickinson. “I write, Chris rev...
DAYTON – On Sept. 14, Columbia County Superior Court Judge Jackie Shea-Brown ruled that the City of Dayton proved its burden in asking for an emergency temporary restraining order against Columbia County, requiring the county to continue providing municipal prosecution, and indigent defense services to the City. The judge cited real injury to health, welfare, and safety of citizens if prosecutorial cases are not handled in a timely manner. Columbia County Prosecutor Rea Culwell informed the city earlier this month that, because of a dispute w...
DAYTON-The Columbia County Sheriff's Department has a new deputy, and the Public Works Department has three new hirees. Robbie Patterson's first day with the Sheriff's department began on Sept. 12, and was filled with the usual orientation procedures, he said. Patterson said he knew when he was in high school he wanted a career in law enforcement. Patterson, who originally hails from Laurinburg, North Carolina, met his wife Crystal, there. He said they left Laurinburg in 2002 for Fort Lewis,...
DAYTON-The Dayton Memorial Library is offering some new activities, as well as some recurring activities, during the autumn months, according to the librarians. Banned Book week runs from September 24 through October 1. The Dayton Memorial Library is partnering with the Liberty Theater on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 6:30 p.m., to show the movie The Indian in the Cupboard, according to librarian Dusty Waltner. Banned Book Week began in 1982, and it is a call to celebrate the freedom to read, and of...
DAYTON—The 2016-17 After School Program has been moved forward to an Oct. 4 start date, and it will run for seven weeks during the fall quarter, according to Peggy Guiterrez, Drug Free Grant Coordinator for the Coalition for Youth and Families. The After School Program is being offered to third, fourth, fifth, and sixth graders in the Dayton School District, and will take place between from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesdays through Thursdays, she said. Potential activities are cooking, gardening, a...
DAYTON - At the close of their Sept. 7 meeting, Columbia County Commissioners and Columbia County Prosecutor Rea Culwell discussed the idea of seeking mediation to help overcome an impasse regarding how to utilize excess funds from a federally funded crime victim advocacy grant. The disagreement now threatens business as usual in Columbia County and Dayton. Last year the U.S. Department of Commerce tripled funding for crime-victim advocacy. In Washington, every county prosecutor's office receive...
