Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WALLA WALLA – The National Weather Service has issued an Excessive Heat Warning for portions of central, north-central, northeast Oregon, and central, south-central, and southeast Washington through 11:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 17, 2023. Dangerously hot conditions are expected, with temperatures between 103° to 110°, and residents should take precautions. To assist Walla Walla and area residents who do not have access to air conditioning during the hottest part of the day, an emergency cooling station will be open at the Christian Aid Cen...
WALLA WALLA-At the Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days this past weekend, the region's students competed to show the four-legged friends they raised over the summer. In each livestock class (steer, sheep, goat, and swine), students from Waitsburg, Dayton, and Prescott had noteworthy achievements. Starting with the steers, Elsie Mann of Waitsburg FFA won FFA Grand Champion Market Steer and Overall Reserve Champion Market Steer. Mann has been showing since she was nine and understands the importanc...
WALLA WALLA COUNTY—A fire broke out in a standing wheat field just north of Walla Walla on Friday, July 29. The fire was contained around 8 p.m. that night. The flames consumed more than 1,000 acres in a matter of hours, drawing responses from nearly all Walla Walla County fire districts, with aid coming from Walla Walla and College Place rural units. This fire has been dubbed the “Van Ausdle Fire” due to its starting point near Van Ausdle Lane. The cause of the fire is under investigation, and fire district officials said no injuries were repo...
WALLA WALLA — At a June 29, 2021, special meeting, the Walla Walla City Council did not express objection to the proposal of city officials to postpone the city’s July 4 fireworks display because of the current extreme heat and dry conditions. As such, the city is officially announcing the display will be postponed until an as-yet-unknown later date. At the special meeting, the Council voted to approve an ordinance that authorizes the city manager to prohibit the discharge of any or all fireworks within city limits. Pursuant to RCW 70.... Full story
WALLA WALLA—Walla Walla Community College (WWCC) is looking forward to meeting prospective students, parents, and other community members at an Open House to be held on the Walla Walla campus from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, June 24. “We are excited to be back on campus and are ready to serve students in person,” said Melissa Rodriguez, Director of Outreach. “Now is a great time to start – or complete – an educational program, particularly because most of our students can qualify for financial assistance to get started. We are here an...
WAITSBURG—The Columbia-Walla Walla County Fire District 2 met on February 10, via Zoom, for a regular board meeting. After the meeting was called to order by chairman Jake Long at 7 p.m, District clerk Anne Higgins presented an accounting report. She reported that some financial statements from both Walla Walla and Columbia County were complete. However, the January revolving account reconciliation from Walla Walla County was not available. She noted that budgetary items would have to be passed...
WAITSBURG-Registered Nurse Heidi Ely, of Waitsburg, has recently completed both rounds of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. She said that it had given her a renewed sense of hope, and she hopes that her story as a nurse, and a mother, will ease minds. Over the past year, Ely, who works in Providence St. Mary's Same Day Surgery department, has seen the effects of the COVID-19 virus firsthand. She watched as the medical facility needed to change protocols, often by the hour, and how the staff adapted... Full story
WALLA WALLA—As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to impact Washington State Penitentiary (WSP) employees and incarcerated population, the Department of Corrections (DOC) has updated policies and procedures to better combat the virus at facilities throughout Washington State. Starting April 10, 2020, DOC mandated the use of facial coverings for staff at all DOC locations, and on April 17, the DOC expanded the mandate to include facial coverings for the incarcerated population. On November 6, DO... Full story
WALLA WALLA—Walla Walla County continues to experience rising COVID-19 cases. As of Tuesday, November 24, there were 571 active cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Sixty-seven new cases were announced on Tuesday, and new deaths were announced over the weekend, bringing the death total to 18. Fourteen COVID-19 cases are currently hospitalized. The Washington State Penitentiary has 117 active cases from a recent breakout. One man, in his sixties, passed away after being transported to a medical f...
WALLA WALLA-The Walla Walla Association of Realtors and the Blue Mountain Action Council (BMAC) are kicking off the season with a hunger for helping. The Care and Share Food Drive looks a little different this year, but the cause remains the same. For more than three decades, the Care and Share Food Drive, which takes place in October, has sent more than 100 volunteers out into the community to drop off orange donation bags on doorsteps. The Association of Realtors and BMAC decided that the bags...
WALLA WALLA-The 2020 ArtWalla grant season is open for applications until November 16. Arts Education Grants include the Arts Build Community (ABC) Grant for organizations creating arts programming for the community and the Dan Dunn Memorial Grant for individual artists of any discipline. "These introductory grants are perfect for young or emerging artists and budding organizations," said ArtWalla board member Natalie Lyons-Cohen. With the mission of enriching local artistic vitality and...
WALLA WALLA—Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) has been diligently changing policies to safeguard employees and incarcerated individuals against the COVID-19 virus. In Walla Walla, The Washington State Penitentiary has had 134 incarcerated individuals test positive for the coronavirus with zero deaths. Twelve staff members have tested positive. The outbreak was contained in one housing unit, and the facility continues to test all staff coming into the penitentiary, as well as r...
The school year is right around the corner, and September 8th is the first day for Waitsburg students. As schools kick off a virtual learning experience, many parents are worried about childcare and ensuring their kids stay up to speed. Waitsburg Schools, partnered with the Valley’s largest non-profit, licensed childcare provider, may have a solution. Walla Walla YMCA CEO Karen Hedine said that the childcare conversation is long overdue in Waitsburg. Still, she couldn’t think of a better tim...
WALLA WALLA—One thing that unites us as a nation is land: Americans strongly support saving the open spaces they love. Since 1999, the Blue Mountain Land Trust has been doing just that for the people of Southeastern Washington and Northeastern Oregon. Today the Blue Mountain Land Trust announced it had renewed its land trust accreditation – proving again that, as part of a network of accredited land trusts across the nation, it is committed to professional excellence and to maintaining the public’s trust in its conservation work. “There...
WALLA WALLA—The Washington State Penitentiary is experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak in one of the housing units. In response to the outbreak, officials have developed a plan to keep inmates and staff safe. As of Tuesday, the prison had 121 confirmed COVID cases, with 53 of those cases currently active. The facility houses a total of 2,284 incarcerated individuals. Ten Washington State Penitentiary (WSP) employees have tested positive. The coronavirus outbreak began in late July when an inmate b...
WALLA WALLA—Walla Walla County 4-H is not going to let a pandemic steal success from the youth in the area. A virtual showcase will be held in response to the cancellation of the Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days. The virtual showcase is open to all Walla Walla County youth with a current 4-H project. Inspired by exhibits and classes from a traditional fair, the exhibition will feature both livestock, small animals, and still life exhibits. “We want to make this as fair-like as pos...
WALLA WALLA—Due to the current circumstances, Walla Walla County Elections will be moving ballot processing and tabulation to a Ballot Processing Center in the County Courthouse at 315 W. Main St., Room 203, Walla Walla. Canvassing Board meetings will also be conducted at this location. All voter services will remain at the Walla Walla County Elections Center, 310 W. Poplar Street. Offices in Primary Election Jurisdiction Federal: U.S. Representative in Congressional Districts No. 4 and No. 5; State of Washington: Governor, Lieutenant G... Full story
WALLA WALLA—The Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla is happy to announce that the Cepheid platform for rapid testing has arrived at the hospital. The Cepheid can produce a COVID-19 test result in 45 minutes. The equipment now is undergoing approximately a week of validation testing, then will be put into use. Initially, it will be limited to patients at the hospital due to continuing national shortages of testing supplies. As more test kits become available, they will be able to e...
WALLA WALLA—Walla Walla County’s application to move into a modified Phase 3 of the Safe Start Washington plan has been put on hold. Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman placed Walla Walla County’s application for a modified Phase 3 on pause Tuesday, June 30. Wiesman has requested the County monitor virus activity for an additional week. Walla Walla County Commissioners and the Department of Community Health submitted the application for a modified Phase 3 of the state’s Safe Start plan on June 19. Since that date, thirty-...
WALLA WALLA— Walla Walla County Commissioners decided at a special meeting on Thursday, June 18 to apply for a modified Phase 3 of Governor Inslee’s Safe Start plan. Phase 3 of the state’s plan allows outdoor recreational gatherings to be limited to 50 or fewer people, the county’s application modifies that to 25 or fewer people. Travel in Phase 3 would allow all non-essential travel to resume, Walla Walla County is requesting a modification to allow essential travel and limited non-essential travel for Phase 1, 2, or 3 permissible activit...
