The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Dear Editor,

After reading the Fairgrounds Committee article on page 1 and 5 followed by the letter on page 4 in The Times dated September 21 regarding the Waitsburg fairgrounds grandstands, I thought about the imminent demolition of Dayton’s East grandstands. It is my understanding that the demo is scheduled to begin in October. However, I hope our commissioners will decide to postpone this action.

I believe Mr. Nicely should be asked to evaluate our grandstands for repair and restoration before it is too late. It seems there is conflicting information about the actual condition of them. With his knowledge and experience, we may be able to clarify this. Maybe it is true that they are beyond repair or restoration. I would like to know that we tried to utilize his expertise to guide us to the best decision possible.

We are a rural historic community and the fairgrounds should reflect that too. I firmly believe that with the right management, planning and marketing our goal should be to need that seating capacity for many events. There are pros and cons to the purchase, use, and maintenance of movable bleachers.

Maybe our commissioners are already on top of this. If so, I thank them for being willing to make the effort and to consider other options even when the demo is scheduled and ready to begin.

Linda Miller

Dayton