The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

This week we have the privilege of presenting the writing of nearly 150 young contributors. Students at Waitsburg Elementary School have written Christmas poems or stories, or even letters to Santa Claus, and they've submitted them to us for publication. (And we're not even paying them.)

Last year in this space I said that, when you write for a living, it can sometimes feel like digging ditches with your fingertips. That's an example of an analogy, which is something we writers like to use, even though they're often corny and silly. That one is probably both, but it is also very true.

Writing can be hard, but it is a useful skill. I would argue that it is almost as important as reading, though reading must mastered in order to write well.

Writing well will help students excel as they make their way through school, college and on into their careers. And it can be done well right here in the Touchet Valley, as proved by the column to the right of this one. It was written by a Waitsburg High student who has mastered the skill better than most adults.

I want to give a big thanks to the Waitsburg Elementary teachers who took the time to compile their students' work and send it to us: Pam Nolan-Beasley, Dinah Lindsey, Deanna Coulston, Marne Henderson, Margie Douglas and Wenda Parr. That was a hard job too.

Those of us who get paid to write for The Times know that it's a great privilege to bring this paper to you every week, and we are thankful for the gift you give us when you read these pages each week.

And so we want to wish all of our readers a happy and healthy holiday season. We hope you'll take the time to enjoy reading all of the Christmas contributions from the Waitsburg students.