Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 407 - 431 of 548
DAYTON—Port of Columbia Executive Director Jennie Dickinson said the county’s unemployment rate held relatively steady, at 10.5 percent in May, compared to 10.4 percent in April. June rates are not yet available. The state unemployment rate dropped from 15.8 percent to 14.8 percent over the same period of time, she said. Additional emergency assistance is on the horizon to help local businesses and nonprofits. The Port will be the conduit for funds from three different sources. Dickinson sai...
DAYTON—The State of Washington has announced additional grants for emergency small business support funded through the federal CARES Act. Details will be posted in the Port of Columbia newsletter, as they become available. The grants will be administered by Port officials. This new round of grants is in addition to the those awarded to local businesses last month, through the Working Washington Small Business Emergency Grant Program, according to Port of Columbia Executive Director Jennie Dickinson and Dayton Chamber Manager Molly W...
DAYTON—The Columbia County Rural Library District is moving ahead with summer programing despite the pandemic. Young readers are encouraged to sign up for their new Summer Reading Program, which began on June 15. The program gets a technological spin this summer as readers are encouraged to sign up for a computer application called Beanstack. Touted as the ‘Fitbit for Reading,’ the app lets patrons time reading sessions, log books by scanning their ISBN numbers, keep a log of current and past reading, track daily reading stats, and achie...
COLUMBIA COUNTY—Columbia County is beginning the annual consideration of amendments to its Comprehensive Plan. This process is designed to provide an opportunity for citizens to register comments on the plan and associated development regulations (county code). The docket is open continuously, but the deadline for consideration for the 2021 annual review is Aug. 1. Docket forms may be picked up at the Planning and Building Department at 114. S. 2nd St., Dayton and are available online at columbiaco.com under the Planning and Building D...
DAYTON—HomeStreet Bank is sponsoring a shred day on Saturday, June 27 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Just sit in your car while Dayton Kiwanis volunteers take the material to be shredded out of the trunk for disposal....
DAYTON—Columbia County is celebrating its recent approval for Phase 3 of Governor Inslee’s Safe Start plan in Washington State. The Liberty Theater is hard at work preparing to re-open their doors and welcome back their community of fans. The theater’s current projection is to open in July, which would allow some of their Summer Children’s Enrichment Program (SCEP) to be salvaged. In the past, the Theater has run six family films in June/July. This year it will be limited to four. When re-opened, the theater will be obligated to operate...
DAYTON-When the universe gives you Covid-19, you make CarVID-20. That's right folks, the annual All Wheels Weekend car show is going virtual this year. The Dayton Chamber of Commerce invites one and all to join them online for the 26th Annual All Wheels Car Show on Saturday, June 20 from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. The online event will be held on Facebook and people are encouraged to visit the allwheelsweekend.com website the day of the event for a link to participate. If you would like to be involved...
DAYTON—The Columbia County Food Bank needs able-bodied people who can lift up to 40 lbs. and can be on their feet for three hours to help fill boxes of food, load and distribute them every Tuesday afternoon. Judi Pilcher, who serves on the food bank executive board, said volunteers will receive on the job training at the current food bank location at the county fairgrounds. The National Guard has been providing this service, but it is not known whether they will be available after the month of June. For the past two months the food bank has s...
DAYTON—Eleven grants totaling $52,000 have been recently awarded from the Warren Community Action Fund, which is administered by Blue Mountain Community Foundation. The fund is a project of the extended Warren Family to honor Robert and Nadine Warren. Robert Warren passed away February 11, 2017 at the age of 90. The largest grants are: $20,000 to First Christian Church of Dayton for roof and truss repairs and replacement; $8,000 to Project Timothy through St. Joseph’s to assist with COVID response funds for those in need in Columbia Cou...
DAYTON—Dumas Station winery conducted a soft opening recently and were pleased with their social distancing setup, giving them confidence in their ability to conduct tastings in a way that will keep their customers and their team safe. The winery will now be open by reservation only - no drop-ins. Initially they will be open only on Saturdays with nine tasting spots available for groups of five people or less. Tasting groups will be seated at a table, and once seated, patrons will be served six different wines they will pour themselves, in sani...
DAYTON—On Monday, the county Board of Health accepted a recommendation from the Columbia County Medical Director, Dr. Larry Jecha, to apply for Phase 3 of Governor Jay Inslee’s four-phase coronavirus recovery plan, and the Board of County Commissioners adopted that recommendation. “I see no reason for you in Columbia County not to go to Phase 3,” said Dr. Jecha at the meeting of the BOCC. Jecha said he was basing his recommendation on adequate hospital preparedness and no new cases of COVID-9 since last March. “Fifty people is the magic num...
DAYTON-Liberty Theater Manager Mike Ferrians announced a change in the programming for the Winter musical, it will be A Christmas Carol, a reprise of their original production from 2011. The originally announced production of The Sound of Music will not take place. This version of A Christmas Carol was developed for the stage from the Charles Dickens book by Mike Ferrians and Brenda Henderson. The play is scheduled to run from November 12 through December 5, 2020. Ferrians said, "In light of cha...
DAYTON-The Coalition for Youth and Families is hosting an online presentation of Hidden in Plain Sight on Tuesday, June 9 from 8 - 10 a.m. The program is an educational experience that walks you through a typical teenage bedroom, which is set up with drug paraphernalia "hidden in plain sight." Access the event through the organization's Facebook page at www.facebook.com/cc.cyf. Initially designed as a hands-on interactive experience, the program has now been adapted to the virtual realm. The...
DAYTON-At a special meeting of the Port of Columbia Board of Commissioners on Monday, May 18, Sean Milligan was selected to replace outgoing commissioner Fred Crowe. He was the only person to apply, and was interviewed through the video application Zoom. The position was vacated in April when Fred Crowe moved out of District 3 and could no longer represent it. The term continues until Dec. 31, 2021. Milligan joins Commissioner's Earle Marvin and Dan Aschenbrenner, who had 90 days in which to...
DAYTON—The Dayton Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors voted on May 6 to cancel All Wheels Weekend, the 26th annual car show scheduled for Father’s Day Weekend, June 19-21. The decision to cancel was based on concerns over bringing large crowds into the community during the four-phase reopening of businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic. “It would not be wise or socially responsible to bring large crowds from outside into our community right now,” said Board Director Bette Lou Crother...
DAYTON—The Dayton Memorial Library is undertaking the initial collection, maintenance, and eventual archive of accounts of coronavirus in Columbia County. The purpose of this Community Memories Project is to encourage agencies, organizations, and individuals to document their actions and experiences during the COVID-19 outbreak. Caitlyn Dare, a staff member at the library, is asking for submissions of poetry, prose, diary entries, photographs, music, art, memes, videos, data collection, or any other medium that can be stored digitally. ...
DAYTON—The filing period for all Columbia County offices up for re-election this fall ends on May 15 at 4 p.m. Open offices include Columbia County Commissioner District No. 1, and Columbia County Commissioner District No. 2, along with Precinct Committee Officers. Candidates seeking to file must observe the social distancing of six feet while in the county auditor’s office. The auditor’s office is located on the second floor of the County Courthouse at 341 East Main Street. May 18 at 4:30 is the final day for a candidate to withdraw from...
DAYTON—The City of Dayton, Dayton Chamber of Commerce and the Port of Columbia launched a promotional campaign called “Big Hearts for Small Business” on Monday, May 4. The campaign was developed to help Columbia County small businesses who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to encourage residents to love where they live by shopping locally. The campaign kicked off this past Monday on social media. The Dayton Chamber will continue to share posts on its Facebook and Instagram pages every day of the week. Each day has a theme—such as...
The Dayton Days parade and rodeo scheduled for May 23 has been postponed until 2021, according to Dayton Days Committee Vice-president Loyal Baker....
DAYTON—The Dayton Chamber’s annual fundraising event, Brix and Brew has been moved from May 8, to Nov. 6, according to the Dayton Chamber Manager Molly Weatherill-Tate. This is the second time the fundraiser has been moved because of concerns around the COVID-19 situation. Weatherill-Tate said the Dayton Days parade, scheduled for Memorial Weekend, has been cancelled. “Social distancing will likely be around for several more weeks and with the parade scheduled for May, the board didn’t want to bring a large group to town,” she said about the...
DAYTON-City of Dayton Public Works Director Jim Costello said the city crew has been working to keep the parks and cemetery in good condition. They have also been blading and repairing city alleys, working from the north side of the town to the south side. Isaiah Lambert (pictured here) was helping rake gravel in the alley behind Steve's Grocery Store on Fourth Street last week. Mayor Weatherford said social distancing is foremost for city staff, during the COVID-19 challenge. All employees are...
This cute redesigned cabinet is the home of the Little Free Pantry located at the First Congregational Church, corner of Third and Spring Street, Dayton. Take what you need, leave what you can....
Columbia County Food Bank's distribution center moved from downtown Dayton to the Columbia County Fairgrounds on Tuesday, April 14. Distributions will be available every Tuesday from 2 - 4 p.m. with a drive by pick-up option. Blue Mountain Action Council (BMAC) Food Bank Director Jeff Mathias said that the distribution at this site will continue at least through the end of April. Members of the Army National Guard were on hand on Tuesday, April 14, helping to direct traffic and to pass out food...
DAYTON—American Legion and Auxiliary Post #42 of Dayton has canceled their annual Spring Bingo event which was to be held on April 23. Commander Amerien states that “when it can safely be determined that the threat of infection has been mitigated sufficiently, we will happily reconvene and host our event.” Amerein asks that those who have already responded with donations and pledges, to “let us know how you would like us to proceed with your gift, as we do intend to hold the Bingo at a later date....
DAYTON—To respond to the economic impacts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, Columbia County encourages property owners to pay property taxes as early in April as possible, to help fund vital services needed now, and in the months to come. Annual property tax collection is split into two payments, with due dates at the end of April and October. The due date for the first half of property taxes remains April 30 for tax parcels in Columbia County. According to County Treasurer Carla Rowe, property taxes fund essential services in state and l...
