Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1503 - 1527 of 1905
DAYTON – The city of Dayton will ask for voter approval of a sales and use tax increase this February to help maintain city streets. The increase would raise sales tax by two-tenths of 1 percent, or 20 cents for every $100 spent on taxable items in Dayton. The special election ballots will go out to voters on Jan. 23, and voting will be completed on Feb. 10. A simple majority, or at least 50 percent, voter approval is required for the measure to pass. This will be the only item on ballots. What...
DAYTON – Dayton resident Joshua A. Roska, 33, was arrested on Monday, Dec. 29, as part of an ongoing investigation into a 2011 gun theft. The firearm, a Walther P22 pistol, was taken in October 2011 from a tent at the Shangri-La RV Park on Rose Gulch Road, west of Dayton on Highway 12. Columbia County Sheriff’s Office deputies, with the help of officers from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, executed a search warrant at 125 W. Patit Avenue, in Dayton, last Monday afternoon aft...
DAYTON – Walla Walla Community College offers community education courses in all sorts of subjects, but did you know you can now take courses in Dayton? Beginning this winter, the Dayton Historic Depot and Blue Mountain Station are hosting four WWCC community education courses including quilting, memoir writing, soup making, and coffee appreciation – each course taught by talented locals: Aileen Warren, Tamara Fritze, Tami Miller, and Rey Weldert. Community education allows local residents to take up a new hobby, study another language, set...
DAYTON – Patience paid off for local skiers, who enjoyed an awesome opening day at Ski Bluewood on December 26. A pre-Christmas storm dumped nearly two feet of snow at the ski area 20 miles south of here, with more falling as The Times went to press Monday. At 5 a.m. Monday, Bluewood was reporting light powder, with 29 inches of snow at the base and 40 inches at the summit. Temperatures have been in the low 20s, and are expected to fall this week. Bluewood will be open daily through January 4...
WAITSBURG – A Waitsburg man was arrested Sunday afternoon and is being held in Walla Walla on suspicion of committing a string of recent, local burglaries. Mason James Bates, 31, was charged in a preliminary hearing Monday with two counts of residential burglary, theft in the third degree, malicious mischief in the third degree, and possession of burglary tools. A resident of Waitsburg's W. 6th Street contacted Walla Walla County deputies Sunday after he discovered his home had been b...
WAITSBURG – Losing a public works director with 40 years on-the-job experience is bound to be a big blow to a city, but that hit is softened significantly when the incoming director has 20 years experience of his own. At the Dec. 17 city council meeting, the council approved a recommendation from the personnel committee, consisting of Walt Gobel, Randy Hinchliffe and Marty Dunn, to promote city crew staffer Jim Lynch to public works director. Lynch, who replaces longtime director Dan Katsel, b...
DAYTON - As 2014 winds to a close, we look back on a year that brought increased economic strength to the Touchet Valley, and some momentous voting results at the ballot box. Dayton and Columbia County again put on a great string of community events. Here we go with a look back at some major stories out of Columbia County: Columbia Pulp Moves Ahead In our Dec. 19, 2013 issue, we broke the news that a new straw pulp plant was in the works for Columbia County. It was to be built near Lyons Ferry,...
WAITSBURG - Council members include: K.C. Kuykendall, Marty Dunn, Kevin House, Debra Callahan, Mayor Walt Gobel. Karl Newell was absent. Delores Nettles expressed concern about the tipping Christmas trees along Main Street during public comment. Council briefly discussed the recent planning commission gathering and asked why there weren’t enough commission members present to establish a quorum for the meeting. Approved the early payoff of playground equipment which will save the city approximately $1,200 in interest. Approved the promotion o...
WAITSBURG/PRESCOTT – Twenty-fourteen has been a year of change, from the transfer in ownership of The Times at the beginning of the year, to the pending dissolution of the WP sports combine agreement reported just last week. With a new sports bar and restaurant taking shape on the east side of town, a trio of bronze sculptures being readied to adorn Main Street in time for the City's 150th anniversary celebration and the potential to break ground on a new subdivision, it appears that 2015 w...
DAYTON - Columbia County Commissioner Charles "Chuck" Reeves will attend his last meeting as one of the top elected officials in the county on Dec. 31. After 20 years of attending meetings and making decisions, Reeves is looking forward to "just a regular full-time work week." "You just get tired," he said. "I have things I want to do, and I just don't have time to do them." Reeves, who owns and operates the Dayton Veterinary Clinic with his wife, Kennie, began his Columbia County political care...
DAYTON - How many of us recall fondly the hot lunches of our early school days? Movies and television shows depicting lukewarm mystery meat and grayish slop dashed onto plastic trays might be a touch melodramatic, but the image is grounded in somebody's reality. Right? Well, Dayton School District has hired a new chef who appears to be dispelling those lunchroom myths, and Superintendent Doug Johnson says the numbers prove it. "Just today we served our highest lunch count of the year - 253 stude...
DAYTON - The public is invited to an open house on December 17 to honor County Commissioner Chuck Reeves, who is retiring after serving for 20 years. The reception will be held in the Columbia County Commissioners' office, in the courthouse, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., at the conclusion of the regular commissioners' meeting. Reeves is co-owner of Dayton Veterinary Clinic in Dayton with his wife Kenny. The Reeves' moved to Columbia County in 1982. Reeves has been active in local theater, including performing an all 14 fall musical productions at...
DAYTON - Children are invited to enjoy breakfast with Santa on Saturday, December 13, from 8-11 a.m. at the Dayton First Congregational Church (214 S. 3rd, Dayton). A free breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, juice and coffee will be served to kids and their families. Santa will hear wish lists and there will be crafts for the kids to work on. The church bazaar will also be taking place at the same time, with unique hand-crafter items for sale. Donations of non-perishable food items will be collected for the Dayton Food...
DAYTON - In 2001, when TVAC Productions prepared to put on its first fall musical production at the newly reconstructed Liberty Theater, it chose to present "The Music Man," the popular musical written by Meredith Willson. The musical was directed by the late Steve Edwards and was such a success that it started a tradition that is still going strong. One of the prominent features of The Music Man is its barbershop quartet. The obvious choice for the local production was the Waitsburg Quartet, a...
DAYTON – An advocate is someone who offers public support for someone else, and victims often need this support more than most people. Victims of domestic violence and sexual assault (both male and female) face the additional burdens of sometimes humiliating medical procedures, bewildering and painful court proceedings, and an uncertain future. So in 2003, the Walla Walla YWCA, an organization founded on advocacy, opened an office in Columbia County and brought to Dayton a local victims’ advocat...
Meetings with the public and school staff are planned to assist the district in determining the best choice for secondary principal. Below is the planned schedule for meeting and asking questions of interim Secondary Principal Kate Wenzl. Dec. 3, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Who: School Board | Where: Board Room Dec. 4, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Who: School Employees | Where: DHS Auditorium Dec. 8, 7 p.m. Who: Parents & Community Members | Where: DHS Auditorium Dec. 10, 2-3 p.m. Who: Student Leaders | Where: DHS Auditorium Dec. 12, 2 p.m. Who: Superintendent,...
DAYTON - Dayton School District Superintendant Doug Johnson has requested that the Dayton School Board consider hiring Kate Wenzl as permanent secondary principal. "Mrs. Wenzl has demonstrated the leadership skills required to be considered for the district's continuing position of Junior Senior High School Principal," Johnson said Thursday. During the regular school board meeting last Wednesday, Johnson proposed a series of meetings, or interviews, between Wenzl and members of the board, the...
To find out more about Lemonade Day, visit lemonadeday.org online. Mr. Mc- Cann is still looking for youth sponsors (investors and mentors) for the program. He can be reached at Dayton Elementary School or by email at jeffm@daytonsd.orgjeffm@daytonsd.org. Mentors can be a parent, a youth organization leader, an employee, or a high school or college student-just about anyone willing to inspire a child to build a stand and to spark a dream! Mentors are asked to commit to 10 hours over five months working with a small group of budding...
DAYTON - Every experience in life is an opportunity for learning, and that's the goal with Lemonade Day, said Dayton sixth-grade teacher Jeff McCann. Friday, in conjunction with Global Entrepreneurship Week and the launching of local entrepreneur-support program Start Up Columbia County, 26 Dayton sixth graders embarked on a journey of business-oriented learning that will conclude on May 2, 2015, with real lemonade stands constructed and operated in the community by the students. "I think it is...
DAYTON - It's budget season, and Dayton residents are invited to the second of three budget hearings for the city of Dayton scheduled for Monday, Nov. 24, at 7 p.m. During the first hearing, on Nov. 10, city council members approved the 1 percent property tax increase allowed annually in support of the city's budget. The third and final public hearing scheduled before the council votes to approve the 2015 budget will take place on Monday, Dec. 1. Also on the agenda for this Monday's meeting is...
DAYTON - Lael Loyd works with artists every day. As manager and custom framer at Dayton's Wenaha Gallery, on Main Street, Loyd is a professional art appreciator. "One question I'm asked often is, 'Do you have any work in here? Are you an artist?'" Loyd had always responded to this question with, "No, unfortunately not. I just work with framing the art." But one day a conversation with an artist helped her define her role in the art community. "She said, 'There are those who create and those who...
DAYTON - Two spots are open on Columbia County's Human Services Advisory Board (HSAB). The duties of the board include assisting the Walla Walla County Dept. of Community Health (DCH) with Mental Health, Chemical Dependency, Developmental Disabilities and Homeless Housing issues. The HSAB provides recommendations to the DCH as well as to Columbia County Commissioners. It is preferred that applicants have some background, personal experience and/or knowledge in Developmental Disability. Board members must be residents of Columbia County, be...
DAYTON - The Dayton schools were locked down on Nov. 5 for about 15 minutes after a man and woman were seen exiting the locker room at the Dayton High School gym. John P. Gant, 30, and Heather N. Dame, 26, were arrested and charged with second-degree burglary, second-degree theft, and possession of stolen property in the third degree. Gant was also charged with possession of a dangerous weapon on school property. Deputies confirmed that at the time of Gant's arrest, he wore several knives on his belt. He had not, according to the deputies,...
DAYTON - Most people contact their doctors when they are unwell, but what if it were the other way around? What if your doctor contacted you when she was concerned about your health? This type of proactive healthcare is the future of medicine, according to Dayton's Columbia Family Clinic Manager Cheryl Skiffington. Now patients and residents in the Columbia County Health System are on the leading edge of this movement thanks to a new program initiated by Skiffington along with the health...
