Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 658 - 682 of 1805
Lane Hill moved to town two years ago and renovated a building on Main Street, which will be used to offer shows, events, and art classes to the community, and to bring workshop tourism to Main Street. She is chair of the Friends of the Fairgrounds committee and is very interested in helping revitalize the Main Street corridor. Hill said she applauds the work of the council, mayor, and city manager and would love to work with them in the coming year. "This has been a tough year and they have...
Incumbent Kevin house has worked at The McGregor Company in Waitsburg for 21 years and has lived here for 14 years. He has been on the city council since elected in 2010. House is active in the Lions Club, the Waitsburg Livestock Show and St. Mark's Church. He has helped with many youth activities such as scouts, FFA, and 4-H as his boys have come up through school. "I'm running for re-election to council because I think my perspective representing citizens of Waitsburg is still pertinent in...
Terry Jacoy has been repeatedly recognized for his service over his 40 years living in Waitsburg. Jacoy farmed, worked for Brea Ag., and then was office manager for The McGregor Company until his 2010 retirement. He joined the Lions shortly after moving to Waitsburg in 1977 and received the prestigious Melvin Jones service award in 2014. He helped with the Days of Real sport for 30 years, was treasurer from 1985-2010, and was honored as the final DRS parade marshal. Jacoy served on the...
Incumbent KC Kuykendall moved to Waitsburg in 2010. He was asked to fill a vacant council seat in 2013 and has remained on the council since. He is on the county planning commission, and he and his family are active in school sports, 4-H, FFA, church, and annual events. Kuykendall believes that city government exists for the will of the people. He says he is committed to listening and studying each issue that comes before the council, as evidenced in the way he has handled recent topics like...
Council candidate Dave Paxton was born and raised in Benton City and has resided in Waitsburg for nearly three years. He moved here to be closer to the mountains and to spend more time hunting and fishing with his young boys. Dave and his wife, Rachel, have been married 21 years and have five children. He is 48 years old and holds an AA degree in auto body repair from Columbia Basin College. He has owned and operated Mr. Chips, LLC, doing paint chip repair on automobiles at local car...
Council candidate Matt Spring, his wife, and one-year-old daughter have lived in Waitsburg for three years, He grew up in the Walla Walla area and has worked at the Waitsburg McGregor Company plant since 2009. Since moving to Waitsburg, Spring has become a member of the Waitsburg Lions Club and is a volunteer firefighter for Columbia-Walla Walla Fire District No. 2. "I wanted to run for city council because it is my desire to see Waitsburg succeed," Spring said. "I think I am a good candidate...
Jim Romine has lived in northern Walla Walla County all his life, except for the six years he served in the U.S. Navy. He was raised in Prescott and is a PHS graduate. He and his wife moved to Waitsburg in 2013, where he serves on the Town Hall Board of Directors and is the Waitsburg Republican precinct committee officer. Romine said he chose to run for city council because several residents encouraged him to do so. "I love the people here and would welcome an opportunity to give back to this...
Waitsburg institution Jack McCaw celebrated his 90th birthday with a patriotic themed party completel with Navy decor....
WAITSBURG – The City of Waitsburg may be able to breathe a sigh of relief when it comes to keeping the timeline for replacement of the city’s Main Street Bridge on track for the summer of 2017, according to City Manager Randy Hinchliffe. He is hopeful that an anticipated nine-tenths of one percent sales tax grant of $100,000 from the Port of Walla Walla will bring the project back under budget. City officials received an ugly surprise when bids for the demolition and replacement of the bridge were opened on Feb. 23. The lowest of 12 bids came i...
WAITSBURG – After holding preliminary interviews with five candidates, the Waitsburg School Board invited a lone candidate, Dr. Jon Mishra, back for a final interview for the position of Waitsburg Schools District Superintendent. As The Times went to press on the evening of Tues., March 28, Mishra was scheduled to meet the public at the elementary school library, followed up with a second school board interview. Dr.Mishra is currently employed at the Hermiston School District as the Executive D...
Eleven WHS students were inducted into the National Honor Society at a ceremony at DeSales High School on Wed., March 22...
WAITSBURG – More than 100 friends and family members gathered at Waitsburg Town Hall on Saturday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Dr. Roger and Laura Jean Hevel. Attendees came from as far as Santa Cruz, San Jose, Oakland, and Los Altos, Calif., Portland and The Dalles, Ore, to honor the couple, who have been an integral part of the Waitsburg community for more than 60 years. The couple met in Pendleton, Ore., where they attended second grade together. By their junior year of high school, t...
WAITSBURG – Members of Waitsburg's favorite bluegrass band, Switchgrass Delta, are playing host to several Japanese students as part of the Sasayama-Walla Walla Sister City Exchange Program this month. In October, the band members themselves will be the ones making the long flight to Japan as part of the program's 45th anniversary cultural exchange. The family of Switchgrass Delta fiddler Kaleb Kuykendall is hosting 16-year-old Kenji Nakamura, and the family of standup bass player Robert W...
WAITSBURG - Waitsburg's annual elections were delayed two weeks when city council candidate filings fell one short of a full slate of five members. The filing period for council seats was reopened from March 27 - 29, with the voting deadline extended to April 17. Ballots are expected to be mailed at the end of the month. As The Times went to press on Tuesday, David Paxton, Matt Spring, and Jim Romine had added thier names to the slate of candidates that includes incumbents KC Kuykendall, Karen...
WAITSBURG – The Waitsburg Celebration Days parade committee is currently accepting nominations for 2017 parade marshal(s). To nominate an individual or family that has made significant contributions to Waitsburg, send a letter of nomination, explaining why you think they should receive the honor, to: Walt and Gwen Gobel, PO Box 127, Waitsburg, WA 99361, or email it to waltandgwen@charter.net. Waitsburg Celebration Days falls on the third weekend in May, and will take place May 19-21 this year. The family-friendly, fun-filled weekend will i...
WAITSBURG – Anyone who considered running for Waitsburg City Council, but missed the original filing deadline, will have another chance to file. At their March 15 regular meeting, the council voted to reopen the filing period for three days, from March 27 through March 29. The filing extension was approved in hopes that at least one more person will run for city council. After the original March 10 filing deadline, four incumbents, including KC Kuykendall, Kevin House, Karen Gregutt, and Kate Hockersmith, had filed Declarations of Candidacy. I...
WAITSBURG – Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office calls for service in 2016 were up over the previous four years in Waitsburg. But Sheriff John Turner told Waitsburg's city council that is a good thing, during his quarterly update at the March 15 city council meeting. The WWCSO received 532 calls for service in Waitsburg in 2016, more than double the 247 calls received in 2015, and more than any of the three years prior to that. The number of Suspicious Circumstances calls jumped from 22 in 2015 t...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg school board members enjoyed playing with Chromebooks and checking out online accelerated readers at the district's March board meeting. First-grade teacher Dinah Lindsey handed out the laptops as part of a demonstration on how the district is using Chromebooks in the classroom. The elementary school applied for and received a grant for $30,000 in Title 1 Priority School funds last year, the bulk of which was used for professional development. Lindsey said the elementary st...
Emily Adams placed second in Extemporaneous Public Speaking and Loren Negron placed second in Prepared Public Speaking at FFA sub-districts on March 14. They will advance to the District contest on March 28. "The freshman did great and placed in the top 10 in Creed. They presented well and grew from the process," said Waitsburg FFA Advisor Nicole Abel....
WAITSBURG – The Waitsburg City Council approved members for the newly-formed Tree Committee at their regular March 15 meeting. Three citizens applied for the two citizen representative positions, including Allison Bond, Ethan Carpenter and Paul Gregutt. Carpenter, and Gregutt were approved for the position following a short discussion by the council. Mayor Marty Dunn asked City Attorney Jared Hawkins if there is any conflict of interest with Gregutt being on the committee, since his wife, K...
New Business: -Walla Walla County Sheriff John Turner gave a 2016 year-end update on sheriff’s office activity in Waitsburg. -The council unanimously approved resolution 2017-670, which approved the use of city streets for the annual Tour of Walla Walla bicycle race on April 21 and April 23. -The council voted to re-open elections from March 22-24, to accept declarations of candidacy for city council positions, due to a lack of candidate applicants to fill the vacant seats. The voting deadline will be extended to April 17. See story on Page 1...
Transportation/Maint./Facilities: -Board approved the expenditure of approximately $2,500 to $3,000, after a Pacific Power incentive, to upgrade light fixtures in Preston Hall and the high school. The upgrade is expected to save the school approximately $3,000/year in energy savings. -Board approved bringing part-time custodian, Rick Suchodolski, on full-time during spring break to perform deep cleaning. Public Comment: Board approved the purchase of paint for Jacob Elder to paint the football field bleachers as part of an Eagle Scout project,...
WAITSBURG – Having a slate of candidates running unopposed is not unusual for Waitsburg’s annual elections. But having a shortage of candidates filing to fill the council seats is something new – at least in the recent history, according to city staff. The deadline for filing declarations of candidacy for Waitsburg mayor and five council seats was Friday afternoon. Incumbent Marty Dunn and former councilwoman Debra Callahan will run for mayor, but only four candidates filed to fill the five vaca...
Search consultant Dr. Bill Jordan stresses the importance of community feedback WAITSBURG – Following an executive session with members of the Waitsburg School Board, Dr. Bill Jordan, of Northwest Leadership Associates, addressed the public with an update on the timeline and process for Waitsburg School District's superintendent search. Jordan stressed the importance of community involvement in the later stages of the selection process. Jordan said he will meet with the board to review files a...
WAITSBURG – Thirty-seven kids from the Touchet Valley participated in the Top Chef Contest on Feb. 23-25 and Feb 27-28 held at the Walla Walla County Extension Office and St. Patrick's Church in Walla Walla. Four members of the Waitsburg Homegrown Go Wild 4-H club participated, and all walked away with awards. Timothy Daves received three first-place awards. The first was in "Table Setting" for his "Fourth of July"-themed spread. Next, he won "Food for All Occasions" by serving a marinated Londo...
