Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG – One of two motorcycles stolen from the same location in Dayton was recovered on Sunday morning. Columbia County Sheriff’s Office Civil Deputy Tim Quigg said the office received a call from Walla Walla County deputies on the morning of Sun., Jan. 27, saying they had recovered the 2014 BMW motorcycle. The bike had been abandoned in a field on Bolles Road and McKay Alto Roads. Quigg said the motorcycle, which was reported stolen on Jan. 25, was impounded by Kyle’s towing. The other...
City council members: KC Kuykendall, Terry Jacoy, Kevin House, Mayor Marty Dunn, Jim Romine and Kate Hockersmith were all present. New Business Taggart Road Extension Project was awarded to Moreno & Nelson Construction with the stipulation that a release for construction package be available for review at the February council meeting. See full story in Jan. 24 issue of The Times. Discussion of vacant building utility fees. Council leaned toward finding more positive incentives. Requested that...
WAITSBURG – Parents of Waitsburg students will want to be sure their children are washing their hands well and often. The school district has sent out two emails letting parents know that hand-foot-and-mouth disease has been reported present in the school. School nurse Stacy Schwarz, who is in the district one to two times a month, said only one confirmed case has been reported so far. The disease is very contagious, and the spread of infection can be reduced by practicing good hygiene, such as...
Nelson & Moreno is prepared to begin construction in February WAITSBURG – After spending more than an hour weighing the pros and cons, the Waitsburg City Council approved Resolution 2019-692, awarding the Taggart Road Extension Project to Moreno & Nelson Construction, at their Jan. 16 council meeting. The approval, which is contingent upon a release for construction package being completed and available for review at the February council meeting, passed with a 3-2 vote. Council members KC Kuykendall, Kevin House and Jim Romine voted in favor o...
City looks at incentives to help fill empty buildings WAITSBURG – City officials across the country are faced with the problem of what to do about empty storefronts in their business districts and Waitsburg is no different. A Main Street filled with vacant storefronts is a visual blight and leaves tourists and residents looking elsewhere for something to do or buy. The topic of how to fix the problem was on last week’s city council agenda. The council had previously requested that City Manager Randy Hinchliffe look into what could be done abo...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg fourth grade teacher Deanna Coulston has reason to celebrate. After three years of hard work, Coulston is now certified as a National Board Middle Childhood Generalist. National Board Certification is the highest professional distinction available in education, according to Waitsburg Superintendent Jon Mishra, who congratulated Coulston at the January school board meeting. Coulston said she was willing to work around her job and family to pursue National Board c...
WAITSBURG - Waitsburg High School senior Loren Negron has been awarded the Washington State University Distinguished Regents Scholars Award. The scholarship covers full WSU tuition and mandatory fees for four years. Negron is currently taking classes full time at Walla Walla Community College through the Running Start program but the honor students has been an active part of the Waitsburg High School student body during her years at WHS. Negron won the creed competition at the Washington State...
In this multi-part series, The Times visits with businesses, organizations and agencies to learn their plans for 2019. This week, we continue our walk around Main Street. In future issues we will wrap up Main Street and talk with off-Main businesses, churches, clubs and organizations. Nothing New Antiques After 14 years in business, Lupe and Sandra Torres have closed the doors and sold the inventory at Nothing New Antiques, but say they are not going anywhere. "We just want to kick back and...
PRESCOTT – The Prescott performing group Tiger Beat will debut its one and only performance of the year at Friday's Senior Night basketball game in Prescott. Approximately 30 students in grades two through five have been meeting before school for the last several weeks to hone their drumming and dribbling skills in preparation for Friday night's performance. The group is the brainchild of Prescott's new physical education teacher Tiffany Hedman who began teaching in Prescott last school year. T...
Physical Education teacher Tiffany Hedman joined the Prescott School District staff with the 2017-2018 school year and says she is very happy here. “I love it. I enjoy the small community and knowing all the kids by name. I also love that I see every one of them for at least 30 minutes every day,” she said. Hedman attended college at the University of Montana Western where she earned her master’s degree in elementary reading and math. She most recently taught for three years at Mattawa Eleme...
WAITSBURG – The Waitsburg Superintendent Advisory Committee has met three times and has nailed down a purpose statement and action plan. The committee was formed in the last quarter of 2018 as an advisory committee to the superintendent. Committee Chair Matt Wyatt shared the following goals with the board: Identify all needs and goals among community, parents and students to increase the communication and effectiveness of the district/community Provide the superintendent with feedback and insigh...
YAKIMA, Wash. – The Dayton-Waitsburg AAU traveling team, the DW Birddogs, took fourth place at their first tournament of the season in Yakima this weekend. The team is made up of 7th and 8th grade boys who have finished their middle school basketball season. The team practices several times a week under coaches Jesse and Jason Mings. Yakima Tournament Scores Day 1: DW win over Union Gap, 41-22 Day 2: DW loss to Burbank, 25-36 DW win over Yakima Lightning, 35-26 Day 3: DW loss to Cle Elum, 5...
WAITSBURG - At the December 20 regular school board meeting, Waitsburg School District Superintendent Jon Mishra surprised school board members by tendering his resignation. Mishra cited family needs as the determining factor in his decision to leave Waitsburg. Mishra will terminate his employment effective June 30 and said he submitted his resignation early so that the district can move forward with the search for a new superintendent. Mishra, along with his wife, Loreena, and son, Aakash,...
WAITSBURG – Friends since first grade, Waitsburg High School grads Colton Townsend and Connor Talbot have built a successful website design business in the Seattle are. Townsend, son of Mike and Carla Townsend of Waitsburg, graduated from WHS in 2007, as salutatorian, and then attended Washington State University where he earned a degree in international business. Talbott, son of Becky Huwe and Jon Talbott, graduated a year later, and also headed to WSU where he earned a degree in a...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg school counselor Rosy Nechodom wants parents to know about two opportunities for families taking place in February. Rodeo clown JJ Harrison will give a bullying prevention and intervention presentation on Feb. 6 and a Strengthening Families program will begin February 14. JJ Harrison While he likes nothing more than making people laugh, Ellensburg's favorite rodeo clown, JJ Harrison, has an important message to share. Harrison, who is a WSU alum and taught middle school f...
My Facebook feed is regularly filled with posts from people who have lost dogs, sighted loose dogs or picked up lost dogs and are looking for their owners. It's always fun to watch dog and owner reunited. This week, I've seen a post searching for the owner of a pair of glasses lost on Main Street in Waitsburg and another by a Mom whose young daughter lost a small purse near Caboose Park in Dayton. The young lady and her purse were quickly reunited. I often see people tagging friends and acquaint...
In this multi-part series, The Times visits with businesses, organizations and agencies to learn their plans for 2019. This week, we continue our walk around Main Street. In future issues we will wrap up Main Street and talk with off-Main businesses, churches, clubs and organizations. Waitsburg City Pool It's business as usual for the city pool according to pool administrator Kelly Steinhoff. If time allows, the City may apply another coat of liner, she said. Steinhoff does want to urge anyone...
DAYTON - Dozens of volunteers from Dayton, Waitsburg, Dixie, Starbuck and Walla Walla, many with no association to the Columbia County equine facilities, pooled resources and labor to remove the old soil and footing in the Columbia County Fairgrounds indoor arena and replace it with a professionally engineered footing. The value of the project is estimated at approximately $70,000, according to Friends of the Columbia County Fairgrounds President Julia Mead. "This project was truly an amazing...
WAITSBURG – Local entrepreneur Dan Cole said he hadn’t intended to rid himself of more than one business, but when the right offer came along, he and wife Trina decided to accept. After 32 years in business, Cole sold Waitsburg Grocery, Inc. to Jamie Allen and Jesse Smit in September of 2018. On Jan. 1, he handed over the keys of Touchet Valley Communications, a Waitsburg Internet provider, to fellow entrepreneurs, Erik and Diana Young, of Prescott. “Erik approached me and said he heard I had sold the store and asked if I would be inter...
WAITSBURG – A Waitsburg woman has been formally charged with second-degree murder for the stabbing death of her boyfriend, Marcus J. Allessio, 25. Leslie Melgar Moreno, 25, of 206 Wheatland Drive in Waitsburg, is accused of fatally stabbing Allessio on Dec. 28, 2018. She was arrested and charged the following day. According to court reports, Walla Walla County Dispatch received a call from Moreno at approximately 3:35 p.m. on Fri., Dec. 28. Moreno allegedly told dispatchers that her boyfriend had a knife wound, was unconscious, and that she w...
WAITSBURG – In a 2018 budget recap, Waitsburg Mayor Marty Dunn listed completion of the Main Street Bridge as one of the most important projects completed in 2018. Looking forward, the Waitsburg City Council approved a 2019 budget of $1.98 million, slightly lower than last year’s $2.17 million budget, at its Dec. 27 meeting. While “substantially complete” in 2017, the Main Street Bridge project was finally checked off as officially complete in 2018. The roughly $1.8 million, three-year project...
WHITE SWAN, Wash. – A strong fourth quarter push wasn’t quite enough to nab DW a win against White Swan on Saturday evening. DW ultimately lost the league road game to the Indians, 41-55. DW found themselves down 14-32 at halftime but caught their stride to outscore White Swan 27-23 in the second half. They ended the night with a strong 14-6 fourth quarter but fell on the short end by 14 points. Chris Andrews and Mason Finney led DW scoring with 14 points each. Teal Soaring Eagle led the Cou...
WAITSBURG – With a new year ahead, and the paper under new ownership, The Times thought it would be fun to take a walk around Waitsburg to learn what local agencies, businesses and organizations are anticipating in the coming year. In this multi-part series, The Times will work its way up and down Main Street, check in with off-Main businesses, and talk with churches, clubs and organizations to learn their plans for 2019. The series kicks off this week with a Waitsburg School District update f...
One of the perks of having your older kids home for the holidays, at least around my place, is the ongoing discussion of which movies are worth seeing. Preferred genres and styles run the gamut among myself and my offspring so it’s fun to find a flick that makes everyone’s “like” list. My nineteen-year-old recently recommended Hunt for the Wilderpeople that I felt deserving of review. A bit of research reveals that it premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and was shown throughout New Zea...
WAITSBURG – For Marne Henderson, this will be the first August in 15 years that she hasn't spent time setting up her classroom at Waitsburg Elementary School. Henderson exited her position as third-grade teacher in June and says she feels the time is right to pursue her passion as YoungLife Area Manager. Henderson is a fourth generation Waitsburg High School graduate. She attended Eastern Oregon College and Walla Walla Community College for one year each, playing basketball at both. She then w...
