The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

PARADE PLANS ANNOUNCED

WAITSBURG - Parade Waitsburg, a day of family-fun activities, on Saturday, May 21, will kick off at 10 a.m. with a parade on Waitsburg's Main Street. Parade Grand Marshals will be announced next week. The Parade will honor our Armed Forces Veterans. The Lion's Club of Waitsburg will have a pancake breakfast in Waitsburg Town Hall starting at 7 a.m .; cost is $5 for adults, $3 for children. Wait's Market will have activities, games and music throughout the day in Preston Park.

For Parade entry forms, contact Gail Wolfe at 509-540- 0974; for Waits' Market vendor applications, contact Lois Winchester at 509-337-6237. For up-to-date information or to post comments, see the Waitsburg Parade Blog at http:// etceteras.biz/parade/.

STORMWATER FEES COMING

WALLA WALLA - Residents of unincorporated Walla Walla County can expect to receive a bill for stormwater utility fees in the next few weeks. The fee, which by law may only be used for stormwater management, is billed annually and is $36 for residential parcels.

Stormwater utility fees for businesses, industries, farms, apartment buildings and other non-single-family-residential land uses are calculated based on the actual amount of impervious area (rooftop, parking lot, concrete, asphalt) on the property. Properties in incorporated cities (Walla Walla, Waitsburg, Prescott) are not subject to the fee.

Stormwater is rain and snow melt that runs off surfaces such as rooftops, paved streets, highways, and parking lots. In addition to creating flooding risks, stormwater runoff is the largest remaining source of water pollution to the waterways of the United States.

The Department of Ecology requires Walla Walla County to regulate stormwater but does not provide any long-term funding for stormwater management. The county has been regulated under a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II Permit since 2007 requiring the county to take new measures to improve the quality of the stormwater that discharges to creeks, rivers, and groundwater. State and Federal penalties for non-compliance can exceed $10,000 per day.

Stormwater utility fees are anticipated to generate approximately $350,000 in revenue, and to fund approximately half of the County's stormwater activities such as street sweeping, storm drain cleaning, and ditch and culvert maintenance.

More information regarding stormwater management and the county's stormwater utility fee may be found on the county's stormwater webpage: www.wallawallastormwater.com.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY MEETING

WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg Historical Society Meeting will take place at the Wilson-Philips house on Monday, April 25, at 7 p.m.

COUNTY SEEKS FAIR BOARD MEMBER

WALLA WALLA - Walla Walla County is seeking persons interested in filling an upcoming vacancy on the Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days Board of Directors. Board members serve three year terms. Members of the fair board meet once a month, or as needed. Board members serve in a volunteer capacity, performing duties as outlined in various board-related job descriptions.

Interested persons are encouraged to call or email (wwcocommissioners@ co.walla-walla.wa.us) with questions regarding this opening. Completed application packets must be returned to the county commissioners' office by May 31, 2011. As a part of the selection process, applicants may be interviewed.

GUESTS INVITED TO EASTER CANTATA

WAITSBURG - The Easter Cantata "Who Do You Say That I Am?" will be presented by the Waitsburg First Presbyterian choir and other Touchet Valley vocalists during the Presbyterian Church's 11 a.m. Easter Service on Sunday, April 24. The performance, under the direction of Charlotte Eaton, includes seven musical selections and six spoken characterizations. Rev. Bret Moser will narrate.

Featured soloists include Suzanne Williams, Chuck Reeves and Elizabeth Arebalos-Jagelski, of Dayton; and Krista McKinley, Barbara Knopp, Loyal Baker, and Bruce Abbey, all of Waitsburg.

Vocal characterizations include Dan Bickelhaupt as the Apostle John; Ron Groom-Peter; Krista McKinley-Lazarus' sister Mary; Chuck Reeves-Pontius Pilate; Loyal Baker- Joseph of Arimathea; and Deb Fortner-Mary Magdalene.

CANCER SOCIETY TRAINS AVAILABLE

WALLA WALLA - The American Cancer Society will hold a training session for new Cancer Resource Center volunteers on Wednesday, April 27, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. in the Marian Room at Providence St. Mary Medical Center, 401 W. Poplar. All who are interested in assisting cancer patients, their families, and caregivers are invited to attend. For more information, contact Todd Courtney, ACS Quality of Life Manager, 509-783-1574, or todd.courtney@cancer.org.

FREE EARTH DAY FISHING

BURBANK - Young anglers are invited to a free Earth Day celebration, featuring a kids' fishing event, on Saturday, April 23, from 8 a.m. to noon at Hood Park.

Fishing is just one of many activities planned for the Earth Day event.

This "Earth Exploration Education Experience" will take place at the nature area ponds in Hood Park, located adjacent to the Highway 124 turnoff on U.S. Highway 12 after crossing the lower Snake River in Burbank.

Kids ages 14 and younger do not need a license to fish. Hundreds of rainbow trout, provided by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, will be stocked in the ponds near the east side of Hood Park.

For more information about this event, call the Ice Harbor Natural Resources Office at (509) 547-2048.