Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 945 - 969 of 1805
WAITSBURG – The ballots are out for Waitsburg’s annual city government elections, which take place Monday, Apr. 4. As the only city in Washington still operating under its territorial charter, Waitsburg has the honor of bringing its mayor and city council members before the voters each April. This year, all of the incumbents are running, along with several new challengers. Current council member Debra Callahan is hoping to trade her council seat for that of mayor. Delores Nettles has also put...
The first of four brand-new Little League fields was finished just in time for the Majors' first practice of the season on Monday afternoon. The other fields are nearing completion as well. The new complex will allow for all Little League games to be held in one spot, and can accommodate multiple games at one time. The city hopes the new sports complex will be used to host Little League tournaments in the near future....
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg’s City Council weighed in on the replacement Main Street Bridge design, watershed hunting, and gave a brief update on the fairgrounds grandstands at a well attended March 17 council meeting. Public Comment Days of Real Sport Treasurer Terry Jacoy requested that the council reconsider the removal of the metal rail that runs along the existing horse race track. Plans had previously been made to remove the rail and grass in the track to provide an open area for a new spo...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg High School Leo's Club President Timber Frohreich and Vice President Jacob Dunn, along with fellow club members, are spearheading a "Cash for Cody" Drive to help their friend Cody Washburn, an Athena/Weston High School junior. Cody attended Waitsburg High School in the past and this is where his family calls home. Months ago, Cody was in a tragic car accident where he was life flighted to Seattle with broken bones and had to have pins placed into his hips. He was in the h...
Incumbent Mayor Walt Gobel is vying for his sixth term since taking office in 2010. "I'm concerned about the community. I think everybody has a responsibility to support the community as much as they can. Serving as mayor is my way of doing that," Gobel said. Gobel has worked as Supervisor of Transportation for Pasco School District, Loss Control/Safety Specialist for ESD #123, and served 26 years as a Washington State Patrol officer, where he retired as a detachment sergeant. "My whole career...
Three-term city council member, Debra Callahan is running for mayor and says she hopes to have the opportunity to take Waitsburg's many great resources and make them even better. The 36-year Waitsburg resident raised her children, grandchildren, and foster children here while working actively in the community. Callahan belongs to Commercial Club and the Historical Society, served on the Waitsburg School Board and the Touchet Valley Arts Council, and is a volunteer administrative assistant for...
Lifelong Waitsburg resident Delores Nettles says her history here, along with a strong concern to make sure the voices of Waitsburg citizens are heard, caused her to throw her hat into the ring for mayor. Nettles said her parents moved here when she was one and, aside from time away while attending college, she has lived here ever since. She taught school in Dayton and has run a successful hair salon in Dayton for 45 years. “I’m very concerned about the city. I’ve been on the council befor...
Incumbent council member Marty Dunn is no stranger to city politics. Dunn has served two terms as mayor and has been on the city council since the early 2000s. "I left the council for a couple of years but returned due to my desire to ensure the City of Waitsburg is able to respond to the increasing economic and organizational challenges which it faces. I will bring a fiscally conservative and responsive perspective to the operations of the city," he said. Dunn moved to Waitsburg in 1995 and...
Karen Gregutt is vying for a first-time seat on the council, eager to contribute her professional expertise and fresh ideas to promote and enhance Waitsburg. Gregutt's career includes 30 years as managing partner at Kaye-Smith Productions in Seattle, producing and directing commercials and documentaries for national companies and brands. Gregutt and her husband, Paul, purchased their first home in Waitsburg in 2005. After extensive renovations, they moved here full time in 2011. The couple has...
Longtime Waitsburg resident and current Community Service Award (formerly called Citizen of the Year) recipient Kate Hockersmith, will make her first-time bid for a council seat this year. Hockersmith moved to Waitsburg with her husband, Eric, in 1992, and the couple raised their two sons here. "I have fundraising, marketing, organizational skills, and work well with others, seeking collaboration rather than confrontation," Hockersmith said, when asked what she brings to the council table. Hocke...
If there was a "People's Choice" award it would go to incumbent Kevin House who has consistently garnered the highest community vote since he was first elected to council in 2010 under the "Truth & Trust" slate. House moved to Walla Walla and began working for The McGregor Company in Waitsburg in 1996. By 2003 he and wife, Christy House, decided that Waitsburg was where they wanted to live long term and raise their two sons. "Some of my background that has been helpful as a council member is my...
Incumbent Karl Newell was elected to the city council under the 2010 Truth & Trust slate and is running for his seventh term. Newell moved to Waitsburg from Boardman, Ore. in 2005. He began his career working as a journeyman electrician in 1962 and spent 1966-68 in the army doing “a little bit of everything.” He said his extensive work experience provides him with an understanding of zoning, covenants, layout, and building and housing requirements, which has come in helpful at council mee...
Incumbent council member KC Kuykendall moved to Waitsburg from Colorado in 2010 and quickly became active in the community. He first ran and was elected to council in 2013. "I come from a blue-collar family of loggers, truck drivers, and construction workers, while my wife's family has been farming and ranching around Pendleton and Athena for many generations. We love this land and the rural communities of Eastern Washington," Kuykendall said. "My career in engineering and business management...
WAITSBURG – Anderson Perry & Associates engineer Eric Zitterkopf was on hand at a March 10 community meeting in Waitsburg to answer questions surrounding design plans for the Main Street Bridge that is scheduled to be replaced in the summer of 2017. The meeting was initiated after the city council was asked to choose railing designs at their February meeting. Council members wanted to know why detailed design decisions are required so early in the process, and requested more time to seek p...
Dog walkers crossed Waitsburg's Main Street under a stormy sky on Tuesday afternoon....
Preston Hall Student Spotlight Students of the Month for February were (l to r): Violet Beckman, 6th grade; Riley Hubbard, 7th grade; McKellyn Bradham, 8th grade....
WAITSBURG – School Board Chair Ross Hamann urged fellow board members to keep discussions on the recently failed capital projects bond a priority at last week's board meeting. Topping his concerns is the potential loss of funds donated to help replace the district field house – one of the items included in the failed bond levy. In a prior interview with The Times, Hamann explained that, in 2011, an anonymous donor gave $40,000, administered through the Blue Mountain Community Foundation, to the...
WSU's Global Services Director, Cheryl Hansen, reflects on her journey from Waitsburg to the world The following is adapted from a speech recently given by former Waitsburg resident Cheryl Hansen, who is the Director of Global Services at Washington State University. Cheryl, daughter of Geraine and the late Jim Hansen, addressed college students at a recent professional sharing night, describing how she, a small-town girl from eastern Washington became interested in the world and ended up...
Waitsburg first graders posed with teacher Dinah Lindsey and parapro Carol White during Wacky Wednesday at Waitsburg Elementary School last week. Students went from classroom to classroom, listening to Dr. Suess stories and participating in different activities in each room, in honor of Dr. Suess. The pledge below was read by Supt. Carol Clarke during an end of the day assembly. The Readers’ Pledge I promise to read Each day and each night. I know it’s the key To growing up right. I’ll read...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg Mayor Walt Gobel was quick to let the public take over discussions about the Waitsburg Fairgounds at a March 3 public forum on the topic. After saying how "awesome" it was to see the more than 30 community members in attendance, Gobel said the first step in promoting use of the city's fairgrounds – even before beginning discussions – would be to form a Fairgrounds Advisory Committee. Waitsburg Commercial Club President Joy Smith said she would be willing to serve as tempo...
WAITSBURG – Filings to run for City Council opened Monday and several new contenders wasted no time tossing their hats into the ring. Current council member Debra Callahan is running for mayor while Karen Stanton-Gregutt and Kate Hockersmith will compete for first-time seats on the council. Mayor Walt Gobel has only been opposed once during his tenure as mayor. The Truth & Trust slate of candidates, then made up of Mayor Walt Gobel and council members Kevin House, Orville Branson, Marty Dunn, K...
Waitsburg's FFA team took fifth place, competing against 15 teams, in a Metal Art competition at Columbia Basin College last week. FFA Advisor Nicole Abel said this was Waitsburg's first time competing in the event. This year's competiton was done "Junkyard Wars style" with teams grabbing materials from a pile of scrap metal. Waitsburg team members chose an old bike frame and a piece of sheet metal as their construction materials. They had from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m to design and complete their art...
WAITSBURG – WHS seniors Megan Morrison and Stuart Walsh were honored at a Boys and Girls State Honor Night at Town Hall on Mon., March 7. The event was hosted by the Waitsburg American Legion Post #35 and the Legion Auxiliary, which sponsor Waitsburg and Prescott students each year. Megan Morrison attended the 2015 American Legion Auxiliary Evergreen Girls State at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash. last June. Morrison said she was initially unsure about applying to attend b...
WAITSBURG – One of the reasons the Waitsburg Resource Center doesn't refer to itself as a food bank is because its mission is to serve the community in as many ways as possible; not just by providing food, according to resource center treasurer Bret Moser. Most recently, the center added "emergency preparedness" to its resume of helpful endeavors. Last week the WRC received a shipment of 60 emergency blankets that will be stored by Columbia-Walla Walla Fire District No. 2. The blankets, which a...
WAITSBURG - A Waitsburg man entered not guilty pleas to charges of burglary, theft, and malicious mischief in Columbia County Superior Court last week. Lonnie Marick, 39, was arrested on Feb. 24, when a Columbia County search warrant resulted in the discovery of multiple stolen items at his residence. According to police reports, a warrant was requested following a burglary at commercial buildings located on Highway 12 in Columbia County. Walla Walla and Columbia County Sheriff's office...
