Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 76 - 100 of 366
DAYTON—Thanks to multiple funding sources, The Club’s summer program is fully funded and the endowment fund is being replenished. Summer Program In an email update to The Club board members, Ginny Butler said that, in addition to the $5,000 The Club had previously raised, Martha Lanman at Columbia County Health had applied for and received two grants and Blue Mountain Counseling unexpectedly donated $5,000 for the program. Butler said that the program already has commitments from the Prescott Pool, Friends of the Pool, Columbia County Tra...
CARMEL, Calif-Waitsburg graduate Taelor Carter was on a trip to Maine with friends when she woke up unable to lift her foot. Little did she know then that the frightening experience would ultimately result in her running her first marathon, which she completed on April 28. Carter said she woke up with a case of drop foot about a year ago. Through physical therapy, and rest, the nerve eventually healed over a three-month period. "During that time, I thought about all the people that don't have...
BOISE, Ida.-Payback is a bummer! Christy House, who ran the Race to Robie Creek half marathon in Boise, Ida. side-by-side with her brother, Mitch Davis of Caldwell, Ida. on April 20, can testify to that. "When my brother turned 40, I thought it would be fun to do a 10K together so I signed him up. He thought it was terrible and has been looking for a way to get back at me. So, nine years later he signed me up for the Robie Creek Half Marathon. It's one of the toughest halfs ever. It is 8.5 miles...
OLYMPIA— A $456,000 allocation to the Taggart Road Waterline Project and an $80,000 allocation to The Club after-school-program in Dayton were among projects approved for the 16th Legislative District in the capital budget passed by Washington lawmakers Sunday. Other projects include $1.75 million to the Blue Mountain Action Council, $122,000 for the restoration of the Columbia County Courthouse, $2.1 million towards Touchet River restoration and $1.5 million for floodplain restoration in the Wooten Wildlife Area. Rep. Skyler Rude (R-Walla W...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg School Board announced the selection of Garrison Middle Assistant School Principal Mark Pickel as the new District superintendent and elementary school principal on May 1. Pickel has accepted the position and will assume duties July 1, pending successful contract negotiations. The District held preliminary interviews with four applicants and narrowed the field to two finalist, Pickel and Guy Strot of Kalama, Wash. Each candidate spent a day in the District, meeting with...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg Celebration Days Committee has been working for months to organize the city’s annual Celebration Days festivities, which run May 17-19. The three-day event, held the third weekend in May, was organized as a placeholder for the former popular Days of Real Sport which featured horse racing at the Waitsburg Fairgrounds. State spending cuts took horses off track, but Waitsburg Celebration Days brings another kind of rider to town. Participants come from near and far to participate in Karen’s Ride, the popular mountain trail...
COLUMBIA COUNTY-With all the media attention surrounding the innovative Columbia Pulp mill, which is preparing to open near Starbuck at Lyons Ferry this spring, it would be challenging to find a local citizen unaware of its existence. As the first tree-free market pulp mill in North America, which has brought dozens of jobs to the area already, the facility is a regular topic of conversation both near and far. But some folks are unaware of, or confused about, the other straw-related businesses...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg Historical Society is hopeful that a soon-to-be established memorial fund, in recognition of the contributions of the Broom family, will provide dependable funding for the organization. The new Broom Memorial Endowment Fund will be active once the first $10,000 in seed money is received. The Historical Society is hopeful that the endowment will be funded by Jeff Broom’s memorial service on Memorial Day Weekend. “Ever since I took over as treasurer, I have been concerned because we operate year-to-year,” said Histori...
COLUMBIA and WALLA WALLA Counties—Candidates filing for 2018 local and state elections opens Mon., May 13 and runs through Fri., May 17. Candidates for joint districts must file with the lead county. In Walla Walla County, candidates may electronically submit declarations of candidacy through https://wei.sos.wa.gov/county/wallawalla at the Online Candidate Filing Start Page which will be available Mon., May 13 at 9 a.m. through Fri., May 17 at 4 p.m. Walla Walla County candidates may also file in-person at the elections office at 310 W. P...
DAYTON—Law enforcement from across the region, including the Walla Walla SWAT team, descended on Dayton on the morning of April 25, in response to a report of an active shooter in the vicinity of Columbia County Transportation offices at 507 West Cameron Street in Dayton. No firearms were ultimately found at the scene but Sherrad J. Lahd was later arrested and faces charges of second degree assault and unlawful discharge of a laser, for causing fear of imminent danger. According to a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office press release, dispatch rec...
POMEROY-Area anglers have been pulling in some big ones at the freshly stocked lakes just past the Last Resort campgrounds, located at 2005 Tucannon Road. But fishing is just one of many activities outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy along the Tucannon as the weather warms. The Last Resort is just two miles from eight stocked lakes, the Tucanon River and hiking trails. The Towery's moved from a small farming community in Aumsville, Ore. and purchased the park in 2013. They are starting their sixth...
WAITSBURG—Waitsburg 2019 City election results were certified at the April 18 council meeting with no council seat changes from the preliminary results. The only minor “upset” is that longtime council frontrunner Kevin House, who was one vote shy of retaining his spot as top-vote getter in the preliminaries, gained enough vote to hold his title. Final vote counts are; Kevin House (216), Kate Hockersmith (213), Terry Jacoy (197), James Romine (190), K.C. Kuykendall (170). First-time filer Pam Chapman landed just two votes short of Kuyke...
WAITSBURG—Interviews of five Waitsburg School District superintendent applicants are scheduled for Mon., April 22 and Wed., April 24. Search advisor Dr. Bill Jordan vetted applications and performed background checks before bringing applications before the school board for final selections on April 8. Board chair said the board selected six applicants, but one has withdrawn. “They look like very strong candidates. We are very pleased with the final candidate pool that we had to review. We spent considerable time going over the candidate pac...
Secondary Principal Report (Stephanie Wooderchak) WHS FFA Trap team participated in State Competition on April 12-13 SBAC testing for grades 6-12 began Mon., April 15 Prom will be held with Dayton on April 20 NHS will host a blood drive on Mon., April 29 Teagan Larsen, Kolby Harris and Amy Farley will be inducted into NHS this month State FFA Convention is May 9-11 Class photos are May 1 Mr. Leahy will travel with 6th grade students to Camp Wooten from May 28-31. WHS Graduation is May 31. Leena...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg Commercial Club presented Doris Huffman with its 2019 Citizen of the Year award during the annual dinner and Community Service Awards presentation at Waitsburg Town Hall on Tues., April 16. Citizen of the Year A surprised and emotional Huffman was joined by proud son, Martin, great-granddaughter Paisley, and "other son" Andy Winnet as she claimed her award at the podium. Huffman, who turned 89 last week, is still an active part of the community. "I'm speechless. This is...
WAITSBURG-While most of Waitsburg is heaving a collective sigh of relief at having been bypassed by the heavy flooding that hit several not-so-far-away communities, not everyone was so lucky. Les and Laurie Richardson are still reeling from the devastation that hit their property last week. Record water flows in the Touchet River and sustained rains over the last two weeks pushed the river over its banks, and on a direct path to the Richardson's home near the junction of Hogeye Road and Highway...
Update: The below article was posted on The Times website on April 11, following last week's press deadline. Since the time of the original article, Superior Court Judge Scott Gallina was formally charged with second-degree rape, fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation and indecent liberties. He was released on his own recognizance after posting 10 percent of his $50,000 bail. On April 12, Dale Slack updated the Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney Facebook page saying, "I can confirm this...
DAYTON—Like dozens of rural districts across the state, the Dayton School District is scrambling to build a budget based on worse-case scenarios in the face of uncertain state funding. At an April 10 special meeting, the school board unanimously adopted Resolution 2018-04 which declares that the school is facing a financial emergency and allows for a reduction in staff, if needed. Superintendent Doug Johnson explained that the district is facing a potential 2019-20 funding shortage and is c...
DAYTON—The catch phrase, “Discover Dayton’s Diversity,” will be used in the City’s comprehensive plan and Boe Stevenson of Boe Designs created a corresponding graphic. Phrase development was initiated by City Clerk Trina Cole who suggested the Dayton Planning Commission come up with a phrase. The Commission held a brainstorming session and several options were sent out for for community members to vote on. “Discover Dayton’s Diversity” received the majority of the public vote and earned a sp...
STARBUCK-With a year of business under its belt, Rebecca's Lodge restaurant owner Carol Wildman says things are going well. When The Times stopped in on a Thursday afternoon, locals relaxed and chatted in arm chairs at the front of the café while visitors from Walla Walla enjoyed a meal and asked questions about the area. The restaurant, located at 211 E. Main in Starbuck, is a work of love by Carol and Floyd Wildman, who have operated Aunt Jennie's B&B in Starbuck for more than a decade. The...
DAYTON-With The Club youth center nearing completion of its first school year, co-founder Ginny Butler said community members are still confused about how the center is funded. Butlers said that tremendous community support has allowed The Club to thrive and successfully accomplish its mission "to enable all young people, especially those who need us the most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens." Butler said funding of The Club is split into three separate...
COLUMBIA COUNTY—In April of 2018, Governor Jay Inslee approved 139 census tracts in 36 counties for Opportunity Zone status. One of those designations included the majority of Columbia County and allows the county to offer special federal tax breaks to encourage development and job creation. The Opportunity Zone program was a bipartisan proposal in Congress incorporated into the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It allows the governor of every state to designate up to 25 percent of eligible census tracts as Opportunity Zones – areas that are str...
WAITSBURG—Three Waitsburg teachers will be retiring with the end of the 2018-19 school year but the District is currently only advertising for two teaching position openings. The unpopular option of not filling the spot vacated by Family and Consumer Science Teacher Nancy Bickelhaupt is being considered to compensate for the potential impacts of McCleary decision funding changes. At the March 21 school board meeting, Superintendent Dr. Jon Mishra presented the Waitsburg School Board with potential scenarios resulting from the enactment of t...
WAITSBURG—Waitsburg Kindergarten teacher Pam Beasley presented the WaKIDS program and an update on resulting data to the Waitsburg School Board at their March meeting. Beasley said resulting data shows deficiencies in several areas. WaKIDS (Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills) was piloted in the 2010-11 school and became mandatory in state-funded full-day kindergarten programs in 2012-13. The program assesses students in six areas of development and learning: s...
WAITSBURG – Ron and Cindy Standring had a special guest last week when they played host to Jimmy Novak, a retired veteran who is walking across the United States to raise awareness for PTSD and suicide prevention. Ron is American Legion Post #35 Commander and Cindy is the Legion Adjutant/Finance Officer. Novak is walking from DuPont, Wash. to Disney Land in Orlando, Fla. He began his walk on March 23 and, by the time he landed in Waitsburg, he had covered approximately 212 miles over 13 days, w...
