Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 308 - 332 of 1805
VIEWS FROM THE LIONS CLUB SALMON BAKE...
New owners will take over Waitsburg Grocery beginning next week. WAITSBURG-Main Street's staple the Waitsburg Grocery is under new management effective Oct. 1. Jamie Allen and Jessie Smitt have agreed to purchase the business from Dan and Trina Cole. Dan Cole won't be idling, however. "I've got three other businesses, so I'll have plenty to do," said Cole who also owns the local internet service provider Touchet Valley Communications; LC Applicators, a commercial and residential professional...
WAITSBURG—After an investigation by the Walla Walla City Fire Dept., officials have ruled that the fire that destroyed the former Hugs Gifts & Collectibles building at 109 Main St. in Waitsburg is undetermined. The building was destroyed in the Sept. 9 blaze. Walla Walla Fire Chief Bob Yancey said it may have been an electrical issue, but the damage was so extensive that little evidence was left to make a certain determination of a cause. Yancey and WW County Fire District 2 Chief Neil Henze did say that enough information was gleaned to d...
WAITSBURG—Present at last week’s meeting of the Waitsburg School Board were Chairman Ross Hamann and members Christy House and Lisa Morrow. Member Russ Knopp, while not onsite, attended remotely with help from a video-chat app. The Board heard presentations from two Waitsburg High School FFA officers who discussed their chapter’s success at the local fairs. Thirteen members earned a total of over $20,000 from their projects this year, as well as earning the highest showmanship accolades at bo...
Waitsburg's Pioneer Fall Festival was held Sunday, September 16th at the Bruce Museum Complex...
WAITSBURG-In August 2017, while many people were traveling elsewhere to see a solar eclipse, Barney Powell and his wife made a point to travel through Waitsburg. "We stopped because I was interested in my ancestor, E.L. Powell," Barney Powell said. "We got a copy of the July newspaper with an article in it about E.L. Powell." The article, "Fun with History," by Dena Martin, describes a colorful character who had many interests. He was the youngest man in the state to hold the position of Odd Fel...
WAITSBURG-In spring of 1948, The Waitsburg Times published a succinct article about a 24-year-old male who was killed in a motorcycle accident. Little did they know at the time, there was more to the story. Fast-forward to the contemporary Times. Our Waitsburg office recently received a phone call asking if our archives were available for the perusal regarding one of Waitsburg's lost sons. Our physical archives are bound and well-worn, as they are regularly referenced for our Pioneer Portraits...
WAITSBURG-Neighbors watched as first responders worked to extinguish a fire that broke out on Waitsburg's Main Street Sunday night. "All of a sudden there were flames and it went up like that," said Joy Smith as she snapped her fingers. "It was fully engulfed before the fire people even got there." The building, at 109 Main St., which formerly housed Smith's business, Hugs, Gifts and Collectibles, was destroyed. The building is owned by Waitsburg resident Skip Carpenter. "We were alerted to the...
WAITSBURG-This year's Waitsburg Pioneer Fall Festival Pioneer of the Year, Mary Grant Tompkins, doesn't think of herself as a pioneer. But she certainly comes from a long tradition of pioneering spirit. Mary's family, the Grants, settled in the Prescott area in 1850s, and the rest is history. "My great grandfather came here in 1858 and we've been here ever since," Mary said. The Grant Farm has been up and running, harvesting wheat and very occasionally barley, continuously since its inception. T...
Members of the Penpals FFA group from Waitsbrg (dressed in white shirts) showed pigs at the Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days over the weekend....
WAITSBURG—The 46th annual Pioneer Fall Festival is coming to Waitsburg Sept. 16. Hosted at the Bruce Mansion Museum Complex located at 314 Main St., this all-day event features an activity for every sensibility. The festival begins at 11 a.m. with a non-denominational Cowboy Church service officiated by First Presbyterian Church of Waitsburg Pastor Brett Moser. This year’s Pioneer of the Year, Mary Grant Thompkins, whose family farmed a large spread near Prescott, will be honored following the service at noon by Waitsburg Historical Society pre...
WALLA WALLA-Waitsburg's own Grace Coulston won grand champion at the Walla Walla Fair & Frontier Days held Aug 29-Sept 2. The winning goat, Grace's Red Princess is an example of a Boer Goat's stout frame. Coulston says working with the goats is fun, but her favorite part of showing livestock at the Fair is "all the people I get to meet and how much everyone's supported me in my passion. And how nice everyone has been." Coulston discovered raising livestock with the encouragement of a family...
Waitsburg-A blessing box has been installed in front of the Waitsburg Christian Church. In it, individuals in need will find food and hygiene products. This community resource is "open to all with no judgment or questions asked," said the church's Senior Pastor, Matthew Wyatt. For its inaugural run, the three-shelved pantry is stocked with dish soap, ramen soup, toilet paper and peanut butter. But in the future, contents will vary. Citizens are invited to donate items to the box as well. "If you...
Waitsburg High school faculty don sunglasses for a portrait....
WAITSBURG-During their August 15 meeting, the Waitsburg City Council agreed to delay a decision on what to do with the grandstand structure at the Waitsburg Fairgrounds. Council members said they want to wait until the city's Parks and Recreation District is up and running. The council made the decision to resurrect the district at its June 20 meeting. One of the main purposes of the new district will be to sort out issues at the fairgrounds, including the fate of the grandstands, booking events...
WALLA WALLA-"We are decorating Sunday," said the post on the Waitsburg FFA's Facebook page. "Please meet [at] 10 a.m. Bring extra supplies such as zip ties, wire, or side cutters if you have them." The accompanying picture showed pink letters on a black background: "I CAN'T KEEP CALM IT'S FAIR WEEK." The reference was to the upcoming 152nd Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days. On paper, the event lasts a bit less than a week, kicking off this Wednesday and ending on Sunday. But as far as...
WAITSBURG-During their Aug. 15 meeting, the Waitsburg City Council discussed potential solutions to ongoing issues with the city's wastewater treatment facility. According to City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe, the system's two digesters are nearing capacity. Hinchliffe presented possible options to alleviate the immediate need, which included trying to find a temporary press or finding an organization to accept and transport the excess waste. The Council received packets that included a quote...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg School Board has decided to postpone its decision on whether to keep a life-skills class as a graduation requirement until the community has had more time to offer input. Nancy Bickelhaupt, who has taught the Life Management Skills course at Waitsburg High School since its inception, was in attendance at last Thursday’s board meeting. She spoke passionately in favor of keeping the requirement. She noted that the course was made mandatory after it had been offered for only a year, and that the decision had been sup...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg Christian Church, located at 6th and Main, sponsored Vacation Bible School for youths ages 4 to 6th grade on August 13-25. This summer's theme was The Moose on the Loose which was attended by a total of 70 children. The Raccoons took first place and along with the help of many community volunteers, were able to collect 480 pounds of goods for the Waitsburg Resource Center. "Pastor Matthew Wyatt and Lash Leroue were the ones who received the pie in the face by the team...
WAITSBURG-After serving for nine years, Waitsburg School Board member Marilyn Johnson has handed in her resignation. While Johnson and new board member Lisa Morrow exchanged a few jokes about Johnson resigning as soon as Morrow was hired, correlation doesn't equal causation in this case, as Johnson had been planning to retire for some time. "I'd like to thank you for your service to the district for the past nine years," said chairman Ross Hamann. "It's been a real pleasure having you on the...
Aug. 16, 2018 WAITSBURG—Present at last week’s meeting of the Waitsburg School Board were board chair Ross Hamann, vice-chair Marilyn Johnson, members Christy House and Russ Knopp, and newly-appointed member Lisa Morrow. The meeting opened with a presentation by the Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Department on the possibility of the district hiring a school resource officer – a deputy who would spend most of his or her time in the district’s three classroom buildings. “Just being there for t...
WAITSBURG—Most Waitsburg High School alumni over the past couple of decades were required to take a class called “Life Management Skills” their junior year. The class met in the Home Ec lab, a long room in the middle of the building with a row of kitchen stations against the far wall. Students balanced mock checkbooks, put together hypothetical budgets, learned how to comparison-shop for groceries, and went over the ups and downs of using a credit card. Come test day, they were expected to be experts on everything from car insurance to IRAs,...
WAITSBURG – After two days missing, Kate Hockersmith, of Waitsburg, began to worry about her cat, Finn MacCool. "He's an indoor cat during the day, then he goes out at night," Hockersmith explained. Hardly one to pass up an opportunity for food or affection, Finn made his way to their Seventh Street home eventually. Along with him he dragged a foot-long, steel claw trap which had caught and broken two of his toes. Hockersmith did not see which direction Finn came in from, only that "he came up s...
