The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

As I write this early on Tuesday morning, it’s snowing at my house. But I’m not discouraged. Yesterday was in the 60s and more warm weather is on the way.

Baseball is up and running, and the Mariners are 3-4 after losing to the Dodgers last night. (Interleague games already? I miss the old days.)

On Friday, cyclists from around the northwest will converge on Waitsburg for the annual Tour of Walla Walla bike race. (See the article on Page 9.) The race schedule is a little different this year. The Tour will begin with a time trial on Friday morning. It starts on Cemetery Road and heads out Wilson Hollow Road and back. Friday afternoon, the Waitsburg road race will take cyclists up the daunting Middle Waitsburg Hill and then loop around to Lower Waitsburg Road and back up to Bolles Road.

Riders head to Walla Walla Saturday morning for the Criterium downtown. Sunday will feature the Kellogg Hollow road race, which starts and finishes in Waitsburg and follows a loop through Columbia County north of Dayton.

I know everyone will welcome the riders and I urge drivers to watch out for cyclists and give them a friendly wave, not a foul finger. They’re younger and in better shape than you are.

On Monday, the Walla Walla County Commissioners approved an event permit for the Karen Huwe Mohney Memorial ATV Run, which will be part of Waitsburg’s Celebration Days this year. That event is coming up in about a month, and volunteers are working hard to make it a great weekend.

In Dayton, more volunteers are working to get ready for the big Mule Mania event, which has been moved up this year to Memorial Day Weekend.

Times change, and with the end of pari-mutuel horse racing, it’s wonderful to see Waitsburg’s Days of Real Sport and Dayton Days evolve into new events that will continue to be the pride of our communities.

In the Dayton City Park, the kids’ fishing pond is full of water – and fish. Kids and disabled adults can enjoy a great fishing experience, without leaving town.

And finally, did you know that the greens fee for one round of golf at the Pebble Beach course in California is $495? Or…for $325, you can play as many rounds as you want for a whole year at the Touchet Valley Golf Course in Dayton. Now think about it.