Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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"This year's Celebration Days weekend of 'family friendly' fun events are cancelled due to Washington State health concerns about COVID-19," said Lisa Naylor, President of the Waitsburg Celebration Days Committee. The board met last Wednesday, April 1st, utilizing Zoom and phone conference calls. During the meeting, board members discussed the impact of COVID-19 in Walla Walla and surrounding counties, with some members of the board weighing in with their personal concerns about potentially... Full story
WAITSBURG-Electric and hybrid cars continue to grow in popularity. The City of Waitsburg recently embraced this growth, and in early February, City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe oversaw the installation of a public-access electric vehicle (EV) charging station at the city shop. "My goal was to give people traveling through the city another reason to stop," said Hinchliffe. "With more and more electric cars on the road, I thought a charging station between the Tri-Cities and Clarkston was a...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg City Elections are scheduled to be held on April 6, 2020. The City Council has three seats open, after council members K.C Kuykendall, Kate Hockersmith, and Terry Jacoy decided not to run for re-election this year. Karen Gregutt is on the ballot for a return seat on the City Council. She hopes that by contributing her professional experience, she will bring fresh ideas to Waitsburg and its citizens. Gregutt's career includes 30 years as the managing partner at Kaye-Smith...
WAITSBURG-Former Waitsburg Mayor Walt Gobel passed away on Wednesday, March 19, 2020. A very active member of the Waitsburg community, Gobel was a well-loved leader in our small town. A retired Washington State Patrol trooper, Gobel was elected as Waitsburg's mayor in 2010. Gobel would go on to serve the community until 2016, tackling well-known issues like the clean- up of the former bunkhouse and passing the beloved golf cart road laws. "Walt was one of Waitsburg's finest," Mayor and fellow...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met Wednesday, March 18 at the Waitsburg Lions Building. All members of the council were present, and all attendees practiced social distancing measures for a safe environment. During public comment, Karen Gregutt spoke on behalf of the Planning Commission. At the February meeting, Gregutt informed the council that the commission would be making recommendations pertaining to the Waitsburg comprehensive plan each month. Gregutt updated the council, letting t...
WAITSBURG—On Thursday, March 19, the Waitsburg School Board met for their regularly scheduled meeting. Superintendent Mark Pickel, Board Chair Ross Hamann, and board members Lisa Morrow and Sarah Boudrieau were present. Members Christy House and Pam Chapman were present via phone call. Due to COVID-19 concerns, the board will be meeting via conference call at the next meeting. All persons attending the meeting practiced social distancing. Superintendent Pickel swore in new school board member S...
Self- isolating during a pandemic isn't easy. Throw a very social, extremely busy toddler in the mix, and self-isolating suddenly seems impossible. After spending a couple of years as a full-time stay at home mom with my daughter, Gracie, I've got a few toddler-tested and approved projects up my sleeve. One of our favorite projects is a simple one. Shaving cream 'paint' is super inexpensive and the ingredients are typically already in your home. All you need is shaving cream and food coloring....
Local restaurants are rolling with the punches this week as they adjust their schedules to comply with Governor Inslee's temporary closures. The closures are part of the effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. These temporary hours are as of Monday, March 16 and are subject to change as new information is received. WAITSBURG: Ten Ton Coffee will be open seven days a week, 8 a.m - 1p.m. Drinks and pastries to-go will be available. Laht Neppur Brewing Co. will be open...
WAITSBURG—The Washington Little Guy Wrestling League announced Friday, March 13, that they will be cancelling the remainder of the season in an effort to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. All league tournaments, including the Jason Crawford Memorial Tournament at the Spokane Arena, have been cancelled. Wayne Terry, the league’s president, said that ‘some decisions are simple, and some require a lot of work’ and the difficult decision was made after league represe...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg Commercial Club has been under Joy Smith's leadership for nearly eight years. Last Thursday, Smith handed the reins off to Jamie McMillen-Smit, the owner of the Waitsburg Grocery. Smith joined the Commercial Club in 2010, and she recalled that she accepted a spot with the board of directors within the first nine months of membership. In 2012, Smith was elected as the president, where she has served ever since. She has dedicated the past eight years to promoting the...
WAITSBURG—Have you ever walked down Main Street in Waitsburg and admired your reflection in a business' windows? If you nodded yes, you probably have Tim Warehime, the owner of Jasper Mountain Window Cleaning, to thank for those clean windows. Warehime has been in the window cleaning business for nearly 30 years, and has been servicing both residential and commercial customers in the Waitsburg area for the last eight years, after moving back from Sun Valley, Idaho. He says that he enjoys w...
WAITSBURG—At a special meeting on Thursday, March 5, the Waitsburg School Board interviewed an applicant for the vacant District 1 seat. The board voted unanimously to appoint Sarah Boudrieau to the School Board. District 1 covers the north end of Waitsburg, spanning north along Preston Avenue and Hwy 124, stretching from Taggart Road out to where 2nd Street merges into Hwy 124. Applicants for the positions had to reside within the district in order to be considered. The seat was vacated by J...
DAYTON—It's not every day that the Columbia County Sheriff's Office gives a Lifesaver Award. Last Friday, in a full courtroom, Columbia County Undersheriff Robbie Patterson presented 7 year old Karl Burnstad with a Life saving Award. This November, Karl was able to recognize a medical emergency and dial 9-1-1, ultimately saving his mother's life. On November 12, 2019, Karl Burnstad, then only 6 years old, noticed that his mom, Tracy Burnstad, had been sleeping longer than normal and wouldn't w...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg City Council's Flood and Emergency Preparedness Committee has been meeting weekly, or as needed, in response to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak. The committee, which has representatives from the Waitsburg City Council, Columbia Walla Walla County Fire District 2 and various community members, is focusing on a community plan of action in the event that COVID-19 reaches Waitsburg. The members have been reviewing information from a daily webinar through the...
Return Waitsburg resident Jillian Henze didn't think twice when she volunteered to manage communication efforts following the February 7 flooding. WAITSBURG-The immediate volunteer response to the recent February 7 flood has been inspiring. People from different backgrounds and with a variety of skills came together to move sandbags, cook for victims and volunteers, gather donations, run heavy equipment, remove debris and mud. Jillian Henze volunteered her years of communications experience to...
The Waitsburg School Board met February 21 at 6 p.m. for a regularly scheduled meeting. Board members present were Ross Hamann, Christy House, Lisa Morrow, and Superintendent Mark Pickel. Secondary principal Stephanie Wooderchak reported that Mr. Kiefel has been planning an enrichment day for high school and middle school students. They will be taking a ski trip to Ski Bluewood. Middle school students will ski on Feb. 28, and high school students will ski on March 13. The high school will have a...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg City Council met February 19 at the Waitsburg Elementary multipurpose room. Present were all council members, Mayor Marty Dunn, and City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe. Karen Gregutt, chairman of the Planning Commission, let the council know she will be attending city council meetings on behalf of the commission, to relay suggestions and advice from that committee. Administrator Randy Hinchliffe proposed moving the city election process to Walla Walla County and the...
Home and School Association President, wrestling club coordinator, mom. These are just a few of the titles Kristy Taylor holds, and recently, she added yet another title to the list: Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Kristy is no stranger to the busy world of emergency response. Her husband, Jason, has been a part of the Columbia-Walla Walla County Fire District 2 for at least five years, volunteering as a firefighter. "Being at home, I would hear his (Jason's) scanner go off all of the time,...
WAITSBURG-Students at Waitsburg Elementary took a break from the books on Friday, February 14, and finished up the Hoops for Heart and Jump Rope for Heart fundraisers by shooting hoops and learning how to jump rope. Each year, Waitsburg Elementary School participates in the American Heart Association Kids Heart Challenge. While raising money to help kids with special hearts, students learn how the heart works and ways to keep their hearts healthy. Kindergarten through 2nd graders got to spend...
WAITSBURG-February 7 is starting to earn quite the reputation in the Walla Walla Valley, as two major floods have ripped through the area in less than 25 years. The 2020 flood, which people are just now able to start assessing the damage from, fell on the 24th anniversary of the 1996 flood. The flood is suspected to have been caused by a combination of snow, heavy rain, and unusually warm temperatures causing high water levels in local rivers. On Tuesday, Feb. 5. The National Weather Service rep...
WAITSBURG-Doug Biolo didn't have plans to stay in Waitsburg after his mother, Nancy Aronson, passed. It took a little bit of convincing from his sister, Janet Lawrence and a split-second decision to quit his job in Portland, Oregon. Biolo and Lawrence decided that it was time to give life to their mother's dream: a garden store. Now, they are getting ready to move Nancy's Dream Garden Center so that they can offer more than plants. Nancy's Dream Garden Center, currently located at 503 W 2nd...
The Waitsburg Elementary School multipurpose room has seen many transformations, and this weekend, it transformed into a 50s style diner, complete with vinyl records and milkshakes, for the Home and School Association's Daddy Daughter Sock Hop. The girls arrived all looking like they were straight out of Grease, with poodle skirts that flared up with a twirl, silk scarves, and saddle shoes. The dads, guardians, and father figures wore everything from the classic white t-shirts paired with...
Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early spring this year, which means we all should get a jump start on our spring cleaning. If you're a 'cleaning won't kill me, but why chance it?' kind of person, have no fear, Jamie's Perfection Cleaning, a Waitsburg-based cleaning service, is here to help! Jamie's Perfection Cleaning, owned and operated by Jamie Gleason, officially opened for business this last October. Gleason, who worked in accounting for 15 years, started cleaning as a side business about one...
WAITSBURG-Scrambling to set extra tables up is a fundraiser coordinator's 'best and worst case scenario' and that is exactly what happened at Lena Beren's Coronation Dinner on Saturday night. Her hard work over the past few months blew Director Ann Adams' expectations out of the water. Waitsburg Town Hall filled up quickly, with the expectation of 80 or so people, which turned into nearly 120 people. The walls were lined with silent auction items from various local businesses and generous... Full story
WAITSBURG-Susan Wildey attended her first Girls on the Run event last year with her niece, and that was all the inspiration she needed. Wildey, who is the Food Services Supervisor at Waitsburg Elementary, has teamed up with school board member Christy House and school counselor Rosy Nechodom to help young girls in Waitsburg recognize their potential while getting a bit of exercise by offering Girls on the Run at the school. "The program creates an environment for girls to really set goals,... Full story
