Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WASHINGTON—Washington State is just shy of reaching a 70% population vaccination rate, but a new wave of COVID-19 has shown just how quickly the virus is spreading among non-vaccinated individuals. On Tuesday, August 3, the state’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard showed that 69.9% of Washingtonians aged 12 years or older had received their full dose of the COVID-19 vaccination. However, vaccination rates vary between counties and age groups. “I’m deeply concerned about areas of the state with lower vacc...
DAYTON—COVID-19 cases have risen sharply over the last couple of weeks in Columbia County. On Tuesday, August 3, there were 27 active cases. “We have been very fortunate over the past few months,” Columbia County Public Health Administrator Martha Lanman said Friday. “But the cases have risen significantly over the past week here. I want everyone to be aware and cautious.” Lanman encouraged people to get tested if they feel sick, especially if they are displaying symptoms of COVID-19. Common sy...
WAITSBURG—The Friends of the Weller Public Library met on July 28 at 7 p.m, to discuss the results of a recent community survey. Over 20 community members were in attendance. The overall goal stated by the Friends of the Weller Public Library is to create a space that is bright and vibrant and accessible to all. The community survey, which closed July 21, was available online, on social media, at the library, and sent to library patrons via email and text message. There were 111 respondents t...
Jumping into a truck and charging into a standing wheat fire, or encountering a burning building is not for the faint of heart, but for Captain Miguel Castillo, Columbia-Walla Walla Fire District 2, it is a way to help his community. Castillo was inspired to join the district around seven years ago after watching the devastation left behind by multiple complex fires in the Umatilla National Forest. "I reached out to some of the local guys here, applied, and got on the department," Castillo...
WAITSBURG—The Lions Club building was packed during the July Waitsburg City Council meeting, with nearly fifty residents gathered with concerns about recent property purchase, the current Weller Public Library's building and its governing entities, and inquire about a recently-surplused horse barn. Residents in attendance included mayoral candidate Kate Hockersmith, council candidates Jillian Henze, Rebecca Wilson, and Randy Charles. Park and Rec commissioner candidates Bart Baxter, Beth D...
DAYTON-A return home was the perfect start for Dayton's newest tire and service business, Van Ausdle Tire. Owned and operated by Dru and Brooke Van Ausdle, formerly of Pomeroy and Dayton, respectively, the business has had a booming opening month after their July 6 opening. Located at 36713 Highway 12 in Dayton, in the former J-Har Logging building, Van Ausdle Tire currently offers tire service and sales for cars and light trucks, commercial and ag tire services, custom wheels, and "all the...
WAITSBURG-A fireworks ban may be in Waitsburg's future as community members and leadership grow concerned about ongoing dry conditions, heightened fire danger, and overall weather changes. The potential ban was discussed at the July 21 City Council meeting. If a ban was implemented the soonest it could take effect in Waitsburg would be June 2023. Washington State laws govern the regulation of fireworks, including what days fireworks can be sold and when they may be discharged. The laws do allow...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg School Board met July 22 for a regular meeting. The school board is meeting in a hybrid fashion, via zoom and in-person. Dayton-Waitsburg athletic director Sam Korslund discussed a possible schedule-change proposal, which he presented to the Dayton School Board the week prior. The schedule that the DW Combine Committee had proposed had all indoor sports games played in Dayton, with football and baseball games played in Waitsburg. Korslund acknowledged that he had r...
Impact from the drought varies from field to field, slope to slope, and farm to farm. WASHINGTON-The full impact of the 2021 drought is beginning to show as farmers harvest a smaller-than-average wheat crop. "The crop is probably 30% below the average," said Byron Behne, Senior Marketing Manager for Northwest Grain Growers in Walla Walla. "Last year was way above average; it was an exceptionally high-yielding year. We might handle half of the wheat that we did last summer." Based on June 1...
If you drive anywhere in Eastern Washington, you are almost guaranteed to pass wheat fields. There are more than 3,700 wheat farmers on the east side of the Evergreen State, who, in 2020, represented an industry that reached nearly $800 million across the state. Wheat is one of the world's most essential crops, providing 20% of all calories necessary to sustain the seven billion people across the globe. Of the six different types of wheat grown across Washington state, roughly 80% of that is sof...
WAITSBURG-If you had asked former ICU nurse Brittany Brannock about owning a flower farm a year ago, she would have called you crazy. But funny things happen when you take a leap and purchase a 120-year-old farmhouse with a few acres attached. Brittany and her husband, Tre, decided to move back to his hometown in 2020, in a year of change, including selling their home in West Seattle and welcoming their son, Bode, into their lives. The farm is nestled away on a backroad, surrounded by wheat...
WAITSBURG—Fire season is here, and the Columbia-Walla Walla Fire District 2 has the run logs to show it. Over the last month, the district has responded to ten fire calls, ten medical calls, and two combination calls, for a total of 22 responses. The district’s commissioners met on July 14, in person for the first time in over a year. Fire commissioner meetings will now be held at the Waitsburg Fire Station, on Main Street, on the third Wednesday of the month. Commissioner Anne Higgins informed...
WAITSBURG—The Friends of Weller Public Library gathered at Town Hall with nearly forty community members on July 14, to brainstorm ways to keep Weller Public Library at its current location on Main Street. President Lisa Winnett said that there was a letter written by the Board of Trustees, to the City of Waitsburg, stating that all library leadership is against moving the library. The city recently purchased the former NW Grain Growers building at the north end of Main Street, with the i...
DAYTON—Senate Bill 5044, passed by the Senate in April, was the topic of the public comment period at the July Dayton School Board meeting. The bill, which reads, “Concerning professional learning, equity, cultural competency, and dismantling institutional racism in the public school system,” requires public school districts to designate one of three professional learning days to focus specifically on equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-racism training. The parent, who had approached the b...
DAYTON-Good food, great music, and all things vintage could be found at the Blue Mountain Station over the weekend, for the 2021 Foodstock and Vintage at the Station. The event highlighted the great vendors at the artisan market in Dayton, including three craft beverage producers, the Co-op and Nursery, and Mama Monacelli's Kitchen. Local vendors for the Vintage Faire, showed off sweet finds that included glassware, books, jewelry and much more. Attendees enjoyed tie-dying t-shirts, painting...
PENDLETON, Ore.-The Green Ridge Fire, burning approximately 30 miles east of Walla Walla, continues to challenge firefighters as they battle rough terrain and compete against perfect fire weather conditions. As of Tuesday, July 13, the fire had burned approximately 338 acres in the Pomeroy Ranger District, jumping more than 100 acres over a 24-hour period. Currently, there are ten hand crews fighting the fire, six engines, and three water tenders. Northwest Incident Management Team 7 took over...
TOUCHET VALLEY-It will be a busy weekend in the Touchet Valley, so clear your calendars! From golf tournaments to demo derbies, fun is bound to be had. Friday, July 16, the Waitsburg Block Party will be in full swing at 6 p.m. Bring an entree to grill, plus a side dish or dessert to share at 702 Orchard Street in Waitsburg. BBQs will be available to use, and Walla Walla Dj David Long will keep the music playing. Grab your chairs, bring your favorite yard games, and spend the evening with...
WAITSBURG-A fire on July 9 claimed a barn, an RV, and other parked vehicles at a property on Waggoner Road. Responding fire crews were able to extinguish flames that spread to a nearby wheat field, burning less than one acre. A neighbor to the property, Lisa Lee, said she was working in her yard when she heard a boom, turned around, and saw a black smoke plume. She immediately ran inside, called 9-1-1, and reported the fire. At the time, she was unaware that it was a structure fire. "After I...
A former soldier turned high school teacher, Dan Forester just wanted to watch a soccer game after receiving less-than-pleasant news in the year 2022. With his young daughter, Muri, snuggled closely, Dan is shocked as he watches armed soldiers appear out of a wormhole, onto the field. "We are you, thirty years in the future. We are fighting a war, our enemy is not human, and we are losing in eleven months time." Global leaders initiate the first-ever worldwide draft, sending civilians into the f...
Over the weekend, a concerned citizen asked The Times for help locating owners of a distressed hog at the fairgrounds. The resident was out walking their dog in the early morning, could not readily see the emergency numbers at the barns. After reaching out to various people, the responsible parties for that animal were located and took appropriate action that morning. There are two hog barns located at the Waitsburg Fairgrounds. The Waitsburg FFA uses the yellow barn at the northwest corner of t...
I remember how vibrant and alive Waitsburg was when I was a kid. I remember my sister and I riding our horses into town to get ice cream from the Delta Connection and having dinner at the White Stallion after a soccer game. I remember going to the pool with all of my friends on hot summer days and re-energizing with a candy bar from the grocery store, likely paying for it with a certificate I earned from the summer reading program (then hosted by Jan Cronkhite). I remember attending the 2010...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg City Council met on July 1 for a council workshop. The meeting was open to the public and attended by ten members of the community. There was no public comment period during the meeting. Per the public notice dated June 29, any questions or comments could be passed on to the City Council via City Hall, located at 147 Main St., P.O. Box 35, Waitsburg, WA 99361, or (509) 337-6371. The first item on the agenda regarded City Hall. City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe...
If you've been craving the sand and surf, this article may or may not be for you. On June 22, I woke my three-year-old traveling companion, Gracie, at 3:00 a.m. We said goodbye to my husband for the next eight days and began a twenty-hour journey that landed us in paradise. In Kihei, Hawaii, to be exact, just in time to beat the hottest week I have ever heard of in my more than 20 years of living in Waitsburg. After boarding the early-morning flight out of Walla Walla, Gracie and I had a...
While swimming in Hawaii, I overheard a woman talking to her grandson about the protests on Kaho'olawe, the island that seemed just a stone’s throw away from where I was standing. “I was there, you know,” she told him, catching my attention in full. The day before, at the Maui Ocean Center, I read newspaper article after article about the island, the bombings, and the destruction of a sacred place. The woman was kind enough to include me in her lesson, but after a quick internet search, I knew...
