Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg School District announced over the weekend that secondary students would continue learning from home through December 18, as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the area. Shortly before students departed for Thanksgiving Break, the school district announced that students would temporarily return to the virtual learning model out of an abundance of caution as COVID-19 cases surged in Walla Walla County. That temporary return has been extended for Preston Hall Middle School...
A great thing about small towns is knowing the shop owners. They are our neighbors, our family, and friends. 2020 has been hard for everyone, and many small shops and businesses feel the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically. If Waitsburg, Prescott, and Dayton are lucky to have one thing, it's a long list of great businesses. This year, The Times team encourages locals to check out their hometown shops before browsing sites like Amazon for stocking stuffers, care packages, and unique...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg City Council met Wednesday, November 18, via conference call. The council heard from City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe as he led a public hearing regarding property taxes. There is no recommendation to raise property taxes within the City of Waitsburg; however, due to the increase in the district's assessed value, partly based on nearly $1 million in new construction, the levy per thousand will be raised from $2.05 to $2.07/.08. An in-depth view of the levy...
Waitsburg, Dayton, and Prescott school districts are battling rising COVID-19 cases and have announced temporary closures or a switch back to virtual learning. COVID-19 cases are rapidly rising in both Columbia and Walla Walla Counties. In Walla Walla County, there were 571 active cases as of Tuesday, November 24. In Columbia County, there are 20 active cases. Confirmed cases in Waitsburg are now up to 18. Prescott School District Prescott School District moved back to the HOPE 1.0 learning... Full story
PRESCOTT—The Prescott School District met Thursday, November 19, for a regular meeting. The meeting was held remotely, via Zoom call. Business Manager Thomas Palumbo gave the Superintendent’s report. Superintendent Bradford was out for a family-related reason. Palumbo reported that the district is closely watching the COVID-19 situation in Walla Walla County. Palumbo shared a list of staff resignations, adjustments. Some teachers requested a leave of absence, and the district currently has a p...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg School Board met Wednesday, November 18, for a regular board meeting. The board met via Zoom conference call. During the meeting, secondary principal Stephanie Wooderchak reported that the secondary staff has been having conversations about moving back to online learning should the circumstance arise. She said if the school goes back to online learning, teachers would likely go with smaller ‘pod’ classes instead of having the entire class online at once. The pods were...
DAYTON-Civil Deputy Tim Quigg has hit a major milestone at the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. On November 21, Quigg celebrated four decades of service, with no plans to retire anytime soon. Quigg took his first steps towards a long law enforcement career in March of 1980. He attended Washington State University, where he majored in journalism and minored in English, with aspirations of becoming a teacher or a writer. He was working as a clerk at Freddie's Food Mart in Dayton while putting...
WALLA WALLA—Walla Walla County continues to experience rising COVID-19 cases. As of Tuesday, November 24, there were 571 active cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Sixty-seven new cases were announced on Tuesday, and new deaths were announced over the weekend, bringing the death total to 18. Fourteen COVID-19 cases are currently hospitalized. The Washington State Penitentiary has 117 active cases from a recent breakout. One man, in his sixties, passed away after being transported to a medical f...
WAITSBURG—The City of Waitsburg asks that residents stay close to home this Thanksgiving season and follow Governor Jay Inslee’s recently announced travel and shopping restrictions. To date, there have been 13 Waitsburg residents that have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. To help slow the spread, City Hall will remain closed to the public. Employees will be in the office, but residents are asked to contact City Hall via phone call or email for questions, concerns, and bill services. Cit...
OLYMPIA—Governor Jay Inslee announced a new wave of restrictions last weekend, amidst the third wave of COVID-19 in Washington. “Today, November 15, 2020, I have to report to Washingtonians, is the most dangerous public health day in over 100 years of our state’s great history,” Gov. Inslee began his Sunday-morning release. “It is troublesome that I have to report that there is a pandemic raging across our state.” COVID-19 cases have more than doubled over the past two weeks across the state,...
WAITSBURG-The U.S Army Corps of Engineers' Walla Walla District has awarded a $1.5 million contract to Northbank Civil and Marine, Inc. for levee repairs along the Touchet River in Waitsburg. Northbank Civil and Marine is a Vancouver, WA based company with a primary focus on marine, heavy civil, and industrial construction. Established in 2014, Northbank Civil and Marine has assembled a team that specializes in projects like dam and navigational locks rehabilitation, hydro-electric related...
In May, we remember all of the men and women who have given their lives fighting for our country. On November 11, Americans remember all veterans who have served. Veterans Day was first celebrated as Armistice Day, recognizing the end of the First World War. The War was officially over on June 28, 1919, after the Treaty of Versailles was signed. The fighting stopped months before the Treaty, when an armistice was put into place on the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month....
WAITSBURG-Columbia/Walla Walla County Fire District 2 recently reviewed an Emergency Medical First Response Contract to decide whether the fire district would renew the agreement with Columbia County Fire District 3. The current contract expires on December 31, 2020. Columbia/Walla Walla County Fire District 2 (CWWFD2) is based in Waitsburg and covers Waitsburg-area 9-1-1 calls. Most of the area District 2 covers is in Walla Walla County, however, a portion of the district north of Waitsburg and...
WAITSBURG—The Columbia/Walla Walla County Fire District 2 (CWWCFD2) Commissioners met Wednesday, November 4 via Zoom call. During the meeting, the commissioners discussed renewing the Emergency Medical First Response Agreement with Columbia County Fire District 3 and heard from Chief Moynihan on station updates. The board of commissioners and Chief Moynihan were joined by Columbia County Emergency Management Director Ashley Strickland while they reviewed the Emergency Medical First Response A...
SPOKANE—Last weekend, my mom and I had to head to Spokane while a family member was in surgery. Sacred Heart's COVID-19 restrictions only allow for one visitor every 24 hours, so we were unable to go into the hospital and decided to check out a few plant nurseries while we waited for surgery updates. My mom and I are both houseplant collectors. Plants have become my 'quiet-place,' and I've spent several hours just wandering around local nurseries as a way to destress. We spent a couple of h...
WAITSBURG-Not everyone is as excited to wake up in Hawaii and go to bed in Washington as Lark, the dog. On October 28, a Hercules C-130 flew more than 600 dogs and cats from the Kauai Humane Society to Seattle's SeaTac Airport, in what is being called the 'largest animal rescue flight in history' by Hawaii's Emergency Management. The Kauai Humane Society is an open-admissions shelter that takes in more than 3,000 animals each year; however, there are limited adoptive homes since it is an island...
WAITSBURG-The future is sunny and bright for the Prescott School District. The school board plans to make a final decision on a solar array project that can save the district thousands of dollars in energy costs. Apollo Solutions Group (ASG) approached former Prescott School District Superintendent Brett Cox before Justin Bradford took over the position this year. An Energy-Savings Company (ESCO), ASG works with clients, including school districts, universities, colleges, and city and county...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met Wednesday, October 21, for a regularly scheduled meeting. Due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, the council is meeting via phone conference. Call-in information is available on the City’s website, www.cityofwaitsburg.com. City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe reviewed the second payment application for the Taggart Road Waterline/Extension project. The second payment included paving services on the new Hazelbaker Road and water line repair/replacement. Con...
PRESCOTT—The Prescott School Board met Thursday, October 22, via Zoom call for their regularly scheduled meeting. Prescott School Board members are Chairman Preston Brock, Vice-Chair Kevin Chabre, Director Eva Madrigal, Director Erik Young, and Director Jacob Stueckle. John Graham, Apollo Solutions Group representative, was accompanied by Mike Fuentes, Division Manager and mechanical engineer, to help answer technical questions for a solar array project that the school district has been e...
WAITSBURG—Honeycrisp, Fuji, and Gala are all names we recognize. How about Fall Jeneting, McAfee, and Nero? Thanks to the work of Dave Benscoter and the Lost Apple Project, you may become familiar with a couple of recently-rediscovered lost apple varieties. The Lost Apple Project came to be after Dave Benscoter was asked to help pick apples for a friend outside of Spokane. Benscoter grew up around apple trees and quickly determined that none of the fruit was usable, but he couldn’t quite kic...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg Celebration Days (WCD) board of directors met Monday, October 26 at 7 p.m via Zoom call. The board met to elect a new president, vice president, and an advertising director. Directors had to postpone the election until the November meeting, as they had not yet had any volunteers step up with interest. Waitsburg Celebration Days is a volunteer-led non-profit, formed in 2013 to continue community celebrations originally hosted for over 100 years by Days of Real Sport. WCD...
WAITSBURG-The coronavirus has highlighted some unexpected heroes over the past ten months. The Waitsburg School District has had a handful of heroes step up and go far above and beyond their typical duties this school year. "Our para-eds and our kitchen staff... they have been working their tails off this year," Superintendent Mark Pickel. "Last week alone, they put together 1,700 meals to go." During a 'normal' school year, paraeducators can be found assisting in the classroom, often offering...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg School Board met Thursday, October 15, for a regularly scheduled meeting. The Board is still meeting via Zoom video call. Secondary Principal Stephanie Wooderchak reported that school has been going well overall, given the circumstances. She said that the parents had been a huge help troubleshooting the technology problems that sprung from the Chromebook distribution and remote learning. "People are having honest conversations and are making adjustments when we experience...
Both schools are working with county health departments for conditioning guidance WAITSBURG—The Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association (WIAA) recently released a ‘conditioning’ schedule for high school students. The Dayton/Waitsburg athletics combine has worked with athletes and coaches to develop a conditioning schedule for male and female athletes. Right now, coronavirus restrictions require students to stay within their district for conditioning. Waitsburg athletes must train in Wa...
WASHINGTON—The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) released a set of guidelines to help keep communities healthy with Halloween just a few weeks away. When planning your Halloween celebration, it is important to bear in mind that Governor Inslee’s Safe Start plan limitations are still in effect. Walla Walla County remains in Phase 2 of the reopening plan. As a general reminder, folks must limit gatherings to less than five people who do not live in your household, and group members must...
