Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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COLUMBIA/WALLA WALLA Counties—With Columbia and Walla Walla County’s Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP) plans accepted by the state, implementation is underway. The VSP provides an alternative approach for counties to meet Growth Management Act requirements for agricultural activities. The Washington State Conservation Commission administers funds for counties to designate work groups to develop their own, unique plans to protect critical areas while maintaining economically viable agriculture. Both Columbia and Walla Walla Counties opted in...
WAITSBURG-For more than 20 years, visitors to the Waitsburg Elementary School office have been greeted by the smiling face of Linda Henze. With Henze's recent promotion to Human Resources/Fiscal Assistant, Hannah Peterson takes her place in the elementary school office. Henze began working for the Waitsburg School District in 1997 as elementary school secretary in 1997. As time passed, her duties grew and she eventually took on the title of District Administrative Assistant, under...
DAYTON—A $7,612 grant from the Wildhorse Foundation has helped enable the Touchet Valley Arts Council (TVAC) to address several safety and energy efficiency needs at the annex building adjacent, and integral to, the Liberty Theater in Dayton. The Wildhorse Foundation grant was combined with a smaller grant of $3,222 from the Sustainable Living Center in Walla Walla to complete energy efficiency and electrical safety upgrades. This project included adding insulation to the pre...
DAYTON—This year’s annual Liberty Theater spring variety show is “the best-of-the-best by the cream-of-the-crop,” according to co-directors and choreographers Julia Mead and Patti Jo Amerein. “Show Stoppers!” a musical revue highlighting favorite numbers from the past 17 fall productions, hits the Liberty stage March 29-31. Theater veterans Mike Ferrians, Elizabeth Jagelski, Brenda Henderson, Amerein and Mead “picked each others’ brains” to come up with a list of favorite numbers. But they are k...
DAYTON—Representatives of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, shared fish and wildlife habitat updates in a public meeting at the Delany Room in Dayton on Feb. 28. The representatives shared specifically about the stream and upland habitat restoration work the Tribes are conducting near Dayton and addressed questions from the public. Presentations were delivered on management activities in the Rainwater Wildlife Area property as well as multi-year restoration work p...
WAITSBURG-There will be plenty of activity in Waitsburg this weekend when the Waitsburg Mat Birds play hosts for a Washington Little Guy Wrestling Tournament on Sat., March 23. About 400 wrestlers and their families are expected to attend the event. The Waitsburg Mat Birds were started by Travis and Kari Newman and Laura and Bill Brown in 2006. Kids ages five through 14 are able to compete with other wrestlers around the region. The 2019 season, under the direction of head coach Jake Winona and...
WAITSBURG – The deadline for Declarations of Candidacy for Waitsburg City Council closed on March 10 one candidate short of a full slate of five members. The filing process will reopen with applications accepted for an additional three days, from March 11 to Wed., March 13 at 4 p.m. Council incumbents Terry Jacoy, Kevin House, Jim Romine, Kate Hockersmith all submitted applications, as did incumbent mayor Marty Dunn. There were no new applicants, according to City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe. Incumbent council member K.C. Kuykendall, who h...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg-area farmers Perry and Darleen Dozier have withdrawn their request for a text code amendment that would make water bottling operations a permitted use in all resource and agricultural districts in Walla Walla County. The proposal was hotly debated in the county but Doziers say pushback was not a factor in the decision. The text amendment, which was on the County’s 2018 Annual Docket of Comprehensive Plan and Development Regulations, was withdrawn on Wed., March 6, according to Walla Walla County Principal Planner Lau...
Unlike parents with their children, I hope it's acceptable for reporters to have favorites. There are a couple of folks that I love to interview, and Jeff Broom was one. Jeff passed away on March 4 at Dayton General Hospital. He will be missed, but not forgotten. Because of his community activism and his breadth of knowledge, I had the opportunity to speak with Jeff fairly often in the course of reporting for The Times. I have greatly missed his input and wisdom as he fought health issues in rec...
Nationwide program aims to improve family engagement and student academic success DAYTON – Dayton Memorial Library's first Prime Time Family Reading event, on March 6, was a great success with 60 people and 19 families in attendance. The nationwide program strives to build thought and conversation between children and families through reading. Prime Time Family Reading is a six-week program funded through a grant from Humanities Washington and is free to participants. Each evening begins with a...
Pomeroy test plant drives DOE fee schedule changes and increased incentives OLYMPIA – In an effort to encourage innovative approaches to pollution reduction, the Washington Department of Ecology is proposing to offer facilities a three-year, 75-percent reduction in permit fees for engaging in market research and development of products or processes that reduce pollution. The proposal, as presented in a DOE media release, used the Columbia Pulp straw pulp mill as an example of a facility that cou...
WALLA WALLA/COLUMBIA COUNTIES – Area students and teachers are often the pleased recipients of scholarships and mini-grants, also known as enrichment grants, from the Walla Walla-Columbia School Retirees Association. The main fundraiser for the group is the annual Teddy Bear Tea held each February in Walla Walla. Last month's fundraiser served 341 guests and estimated profits of $3,500 will be used for grants and scholarships. "Winners of the handcrafted, mink teddy bear raffle were Beth F...
DAYTON – More than two dozen people gathered in the Delany Building on March 4 to hear concerns about the practices and policies of the Dayton Memorial Library. The meeting was spearheaded and facilitated by former library employee Vicki Zoller and recently terminated employee Shakira Bye. Over the course of an hour-and-a-half, Zoller voiced concerns ranging from lack of training for both the director and employees, safety concerns for library patrons and employees, inconsistency in p...
COLUMBIA COUNTY – It should have been quitting time, but a 5:10 p.m. call to dispatch reporting a rock slide on Monday evening, sent the Columbia County road crew back to work. The slide occurred at milepost 10 on Tucannon Road, according to Columbia County Operations Supervisor Wayne Tate. "There were three to four very large, car-size rocks directly in the road and another dozen half that size," Tate said. No one was passing through at the time and the road crew was able to use a grader o...
WAITSBURG – At the close of nearly every winter, Waitsburg residents surmise about the likelihood of a high-water event like the Food of 1996. With a high snowpack and anticipated warming temperatures, this year is no different. Statistics can be frightening. Washington’s snowpack contains 30 million-acre feet of water, which is nearly the amount of water stored behind Grand Coulee Dam. Eight million of that was gained between Feb. 5 and 20, during record snowfalls, according to the Department of Ecology (DOE). That said, the state’s snowpack w...
WAITSBURG – Walla Walla County Digital Forensic Examiner Tim Hollingsworth will give a presentation on Cyber-bullying and Social Media Concerns on Thurs., March 14. Hollingsworth will meet with Waitsburg middle and high school students before presenting to the community at the Waitsburg High School lower auditorium from 6:30-7:30 p.m. While some experts do not feel that bullying is more prevalent than in years past, social media has made a significant impact on how it affects kids. “Bullying doe...
K.C. Kuykendall, Terry Jacoy, Kevin House, Mayor Marty Dunn, Jim Romine and Kate Hockersmith were all present. Public Comment -Commercial Club President Joy Smith said the Commercial Club has purchased some wayfinding banners to point out sites of significance. -Jim Davison thanked the City crew for doing such a good job on keeping the sidewalks cleared. -Justin Stegall provided an update on the Park and Rec Board. The three-year-plan has been drafted and will be reviewed and refined over the...
DAYTON – Michael and Danica Gatlin are still reeling after being blindsided by one those curveballs that life can lob out of nowhere. The parents were originally told their almost two-year-old, Chayton, was suffering from a swollen gland. When it hadn't subsided after four weeks, they took the toddler to the emergency room on Jan. 23. The response was not what they expected. Doctors immediately performed scans and, two hours later, Danica and Chayton were LifeFlighted to Seattle where Chayton r...
WAITSBURG - Several new faces joined the ranks of the teaching staff at Waitsburg Elementary School and Preston Hall Middle School this year. With the school year well underway, The Times checked in to introduce them to the community and find out about their experience in Waitsburg, so far. Shelby Pomerinke Shelby Pomerinke is Waitsburg's new music teacher, replacing Brad Green who retired after 22 years in the role. Pomerinke teaches PreK-4th grade general music and 5th-8th grade band. Dependin...
WAITSBURG – The Waitsburg School District has introduced the SafeSchools Reporting System as another tool in its arsenal to ensure student safety. Administration and the school board have been evaluating and testing the program which went live on March 1. The free service allows parents, staff and students to easily report tips on bullying, harassment, drugs, threats of violence, health concerns or any other safety issue. Tips can be submitted through the SafeSchools Alert app, by phone, t...
WAITSBURG – It’s no joke. Waitsburg’s annual elections, which take place the first Monday in April, will be held on April Fool’s Day this year. Caucuses may be held Feb. 25 – March 7 and Declarations of Candidacy must be filed with the City between March 1 and March 10. Declaration of Candidacy forms can be picked up at City Hall or downloaded from the City website at www.cityofwaitsburg.com. Waitsburg operates under its “one-of-a-kind” original 1881 charter, which means the City election process for mayor and five council members diffe...
WAITSBURG – Dr. Roger Hevel and his wife, Laura Jean, have been cornerstones of the Waitsburg community for decades. Laura Jean, who passed away in December, at the age of 93 was always ready to greet a neighbor with a warm smile and a kind word. She was also a strong community activist and philanthropist. While looking through past city council minutes, City Manager Randy Hinchliffe recently ran across these minutes from July of 1971. In them, Laura Jean was unanimously nominated to city c...
Robotics Club Seeks Help DAYTON, Wash. – The Columbia County FIRST Robotics Club 4-H group, which won the Research Award at the state competition in Spokane last year, is looking for community help to meet several needs. First, in order to apply for a Boeing grant, the team needs to be mentored by a current or former Boeing employee. Coach Jeanne Walter said the mentoring time can be brief; as little as two hours. The club is also in need of new or used tools including: tool cabinet with w...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg's youngest Celebration Days Queen officially passed the torch to 2019 Queen, Rebecca Holderman, at the Waitsburg Celebration Days Royalty Coronation Dinner on Fri. Feb. 23 at Waitsburg Town Hall. She may hold the title of Waitsburg's youngest Queen, but Barron probably also holds the record for representing Waitsburg in more places than any other royalty. During her reign, she traveled with her family, promoting Waitsburg Celebration Days and singing the National Anthem a...
WAITSBURG – With Waitsburg's city election process gearing up, The Times asked the sitting council and mayor to share their personal experiences as well as the pros and cons of serving as a community representative. Each council member responded to the same set of questions. Mayor Marty Dunn – Served since early 2000s. Mayor from 2004 to 2007 and 2016-2018. The Times: Why did you originally run for council? Dunn: Originally, I was on the planning commission and several council members were retir...
