Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG – Waitsburg School Board opened bids for the 2017 Bond Project on March 6 and received a pleasant surprise. The project, which includes work on all three district buildings and a new field house at the athletic field, was awarded to DGR Grant Construction, which came in well under the projected cost. Besides DGR, the district received competitive bids from Wellens Farwell Construction and Total Site Services. Base bids ranged from $2,169,000 from DGR to $2,383,897 from Wellens Farwell. “Traditionally, it is considered a very competiti...
WAITSBURG – Unlike last year, the candidacy filing period for Waitsburg's annual elections closed on time this year, with a full slate of candidates. However, the council will look very much like last year, with the possible exception of mayor. And even that is a re-run, as incumbent Marty Dunn will once again run against former city council member Debra Callahan. The deadline for filing Declarations of Candidacy closed March 10 with all of the city council incumbents bidding to re-up their t...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg FFA and 4-H members, and their parents, spent last week's sunny Saturday taking the first steps in transforming the FFA pig barn and the nearby unused horse stalls into well-functioning pens for pigs, goats and sheep. "We're hoping that by making a space for kids to raise different species, more kids will be interested in joining 4-H and FFA," said Corral Wranglers 4-H leader Lisa Morrow. Morrow and Waitsburg High School FFA Advisor Nicole Abel will serve as the barn superi...
WAITSBURG – At their February regular meeting, the Waitsburg School Board made it official: the new Waitsburg Field House will be named for lifelong Waitsburg resident and WHS star football player Kenneth Marcus Zuger. Several years ago, an anonymous donor made $40,000 available toward building a new much-needed field house at the Waitsburg Athletic Field. The one stipulation was that the building must be named for Kenneth M. Zuger, better known as Kenny. The donor has since passed away, but his...
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Waitsburg teens Tom and Seamus House, and Tim Daves, got a firsthand taste of the legislative process as they represented Walla Walla County in the 4-H Know Your Government (KYG) program in Olympia on Feb. 17-21. The teens participated in a mock legislative process, but their results are often considered by the "real" Washington State Legislature. Know Your Government is a civic education program that rotates annually between learning about the legislative system, the j...
WAITSURG – While team members change from year to year, the Waitsburg High School Knowledge Bowl has been a familiar presence at the State Knowledge Bowl meet in Arlington, Wash. each year in March. This year's Team 1 took first place at the Southeast Washington Regional Knowledge Bowl Tournament held in Waitsburg on Feb. 21 to once again qualify for the State tournament. This year's Team 1 members include: Kevin Murphy, Chris Philbrook, Leena Baker, Cade Branson, Seamus House and Bradley S...
WAITSBURG – At their Feb. 22 regular meeting, the Waitsburg City Council agreed to look at reinstating the position of Assistant Public Works Director. The council will set up a workshop to hammer out the logistics. Currently, the City has a public works director, Jim Lynch, and two laborers, Jake Adams and John Langford, with no one having authority to supervise when Lynch is away from his duties. “We are finally at a stable working relationship among the public works employees that we could bring this position back and relieve some of the...
Library and Lions Community Building get much-needed makeovers PRESCOTT – In a true joint effort, the Prescott Library has been transformed from a dark, cramped, cavelike space into a light and airy environment ideal for welcoming a crowd. Not only that, but the adjoining Lions Club Community Building got a kitchen facelift and new bathrooms as well. The Walla Walla County Rural Library District Board, the Prescott Lions, and General Contractor Matt Tunell worked together on the massive r...
WAITSBURG – Following an hour of emotional discussion during their Feb. 14 meeting, the Waitsburg school board “reluctantly” agreed to rescind the full middle and high school combine and activities agreement with the Dayton School District. The combine had been approved by both Dayton and Waitsburg school boards in a joint Jan. 29 meeting. Waitsburg pointed to a volatile combine advisory meeting, held on Feb. 12 and attended by multiple Dayton community members, as the deciding factor in their decision to step away from the combine. “It’s...
SAN ANTONIO, Tex. – When it comes to running, Jess (Jessie) Winnett thinks longer is better. Why run a marathon, when you can run a double marathon? Jess, daughter of Andy and Denise Winnett, ran the Goodwater Trail Race – opting for the double-marathon event – in Georgetown, Tex. on Jan. 27. She finished in 11 hours, 14 minutes and 33 seconds, to take first place among the four women double-marathon runners. She placed second overall among the 14 men and women who opted to run the doubl...
WAITSBURG – At the regular Jan. 17 meeting, Waitsburg City Council members gave City Manager Randy Hinchliffe the go-ahead to explore development of a Park & Ride lot on the north end of town. The Park & Ride would be located on the site of the old county shop, just west of the newly replaced Main Street Bridge. Hinchliffe explained that the city is limited on how that space can be utilized. “After the 1996 flood, FEMA bought various parcels of land throughout the city and gave them to the city with the condition that they remain open so the...
WALLA WALLA – Waitsburg students and teachers are often the pleased recipients of scholarships and mini-grants from the Walla Walla-Columbia School Retirees Association. The awards are funded largely by the organization's annual Teddy Bear Tea. This year's twelfth annual Teddy Bear Tea will take place from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. on Sat., Feb.24 at the St. Francis Catholic Church Social Hall, located at 722 W. Alder Street in Walla Walla. The popular event features a four-course tea, a shopping are...
WAITSBURG – Makenna Barron, who turns 12 on Thursday, is most certainly the youngest Days of Real Sport or Waitsburg Celebration Days Queen, but she may be the most experienced as well. Makenna, daughter of Charlie and Tracy Barron of Waitsburg, reigned as Miss Rodeo Washington Sweetheart in 2013 and was 2016 Washington Little Rodeo Queen. In 2014, at age eight, Makenna sang the national anthem in the Happy Canyon arena at the opening night PBR Classic at the Pendleton Round-Up. In her roles a...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg and Dayton school boards brought an end to uncertainty about the proposed middle and high school Dayton-Waitsburg full athletic and activities combine at a joint school board meeting at the Waitsburg Elementary School on Monday night. In one fell swoop, both boards unanimously agreed to join into a two-year combine agreement and accepted the 38 individual action items presented by the combine advisory committee. Following an hour of discussion at the well-attended meeting, each board, in turn, unanimously approved e...
WAITSBURG – Beginning in February the Waitsburg Resource Center will no longer be open on Saturdays. The center, which provides food and resources for residents in Waitsburg and Prescott school districts, is open from 2-4 each Thursday. The decision was made because very few people come in on Saturdays. If demand warrants, the center will look at extending Thursday hours. The resource center provides many resources to the community, in addition to providing food to those in need. In 2017, the ce...
WAITSBURG – Semi-retired geologist Bill Rodgers moved to Waitsburg almost exactly two years ago and says he absolutely loves living in "a photographer's paradise." His landscapes have been featured in a collection of books by the Blue Mountain Land Trust and Rodgers hopes to offer landscape photography workshops in the not-too-distant future. Rodgers says his love of the land developed at an early age. "When I grew up in Spokane, there was a little undeveloped hill behind our house; a big pile o...
WAITSBURG – Voters in the Waitsburg School District will be asked to continue supporting schools by approving an Educational Programs and Operations (EPO) of $2.71 per $1,000 of assessed property value on the Feb. 13 ballot. If passed, the levy will replace the current M&O levy which was approved in 2016 and expires in 2018. Board members settled on the $2.71 per $1,000 figure to allow for an increase in Walla Walla County property taxes as the result of the McCleary Decision (EHB 2242), e...
WAITSBURG – A name for the new field house a the Waitsburg Athletic Complex will not be decided upon until policies regarding the naming of school facilities can be updated, but school board members spent some time discussing the matter at their January board meeting. Board chair Ross Hamann offered some historical knowledge on the project. Hamann said that years ago there were several projects in the works including a new press box and field house. After receiving a $15,000 grant from Cycle O...
The District house and two plots on Coppei Ave. are under consideration WAITSBURG – In recent months, the Waitsburg School Board has been examining the possibility of selling off real property, including two parcels of land on Coppei Avenue and the District house, located adjacent to Preston Hall. "We are still in the preliminary stages of discussion, trying to see if selling the properties would cut costs for the District with savings through maintenance and upkeep," District Superintendent J...
WAITSBURG – The Waitsburg Home and School Association will hold its second annual Father-Daughter Dance on Sat., Jan 20 from 6-8 p.m.. in the Waitsburg Elementary School multipurpose room. This year's "Ties & Tiaras" event is Cinderella-themed, with amazing décor, a fog machine, and roses for the ladies. Nearly 50 gentleman attended last year's event, raising $744 for the Home and School Association. Girls of all ages are invited to grab their dads, grandfathers, uncles, brothers and enjoy a ma...
Bly will continue to offer services through Total Comfort Solutions WAITSBURG – After nine years of faithfully serving locals, Stan Bly has closed the doors on Bly Plumbing, LLC. There is no need for worry, though. Bly, who sold his business to Total Comfort Solutions, says he is not going anywhere. Bly sold his business and truck to Total Comfort Solutions on Nov. 30. The Walla Walla Fair Board Director then took a week to represent the Big 4 rodeos in Las Vegas during the PRCA, before returnin...
WAITSBURG – The Waitsburg School Board took a few minutes during last week’s regular board meeting to share thoughts on the community Dayton-Waitsburg proposed combine meeting held Jan. 8. “It’s clear to me, at least from that particular meeting, that the support from the Waitsburg community is there and they want to see this go forward. We’ve already made our decision as a board,” said Board Chair Ross Hamann. He went on to comment on what appeared to be a possible change of heart by the Dayt...
WAITSBURG – The College Football National Championships played second fiddle for community members concerned about the fate of the proposed 2018-19 Dayton-Waitsburg full athletic and activities combine. Local sports took precedence as more than 50 people skipped the NCAA game in favor of speaking their mind at a community meeting held at the Waitsburg Elementary School library on Jan. 8. One of the most repeated and passionate sentiments expressed at the meeting was that parents should bow out, trust their elected officials, and allow both s...
WAITSBURG – After hearing from both parties involved and engaging in a brief discussion at their Dec. 20 meeting, the Waitsburg City Council decided to hand a noise ordinance issue over to the Planning Commission for review. The issue arose when the manager of the apartments located behind Whiskey Canyon Sports Bar & Grill, which is commercially zoned, complained that trucks parked overnight at the restaurant with their engines idling disturbed apartment residents. The complaints have been o...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg School District capital improvement projects are on track and building permits were submitted to the city last month, Design West Senior Project Architect Ned Warnick told the school board in a work session prior to their Dec. 13 regular board meeting. The projects, which encompass all three of the district school buildings as well as the athletic field, are slated to go to bid in early February. Due to uncertainty in the bid market, Warnick strongly suggested that s...
