Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 167
DAYTON - When Washington state instituted a fee several years ago for documents filed at the county auditor's office to help offset the cost of fight homelessness, Columbia County Commissioners were sure it would take a long time to raise enough money to address the issue here. Although the state-mandated fees were set up to help counties build a reserve of cash intended to help the homeless, the roughly $12,000 per year leaders expected to raise wouldn't amount to much for years to come - or so they assumed. But in just a few years, that fund...
DAYTON - Dayton city officials have given volunteers the green light for a new playground on the north side of Main Street. The playground, a project sponsored by the Dayton Development Task Force, is the brainchild of sisters Cara Breland and Jessica Atwood. The 80 by 50 foot, fenced structure will sit on city property adjacent to the Historic Dayton Depot. The multilevel play area, including swings, a climbing web, slides and more, is intended to draw visitors and residents. "There is no playground on the north side of town right now, so...
Every girl deserves to be a princess on prom night, even those who can't afford the dress. So Dayton resident and Cinderella's Closet organizer Katherine Besst has decided to play fairy godmother. "It's something I've always wanted to do," she said. "I really want to let these girls know they're special and give them something they're always going to remember." The gift of glamour, freely given. It started with a wish of her own. "I remember reading an article somewhere about a group helping...
POMEROY - It was like a scene from Sherwood Forest. Men, women and children tromped through the woods carrying bows and quivers filled with arrows. But this wasn't Robin Hood and his band, nor was it Merry Auld England in the 12th century. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, hundreds of modernday archers, with compound bows priced between $15- $1,200, wearing synthetic, camouflage fleece and hiking boots, swarmed the forested hills at Tucannon Campground. "It's is a great way to get the family...
DAYTON - With a core group of veteran athletes, the Lady Bulldogs softball team is concentrating this year on their mental game. "We're doing new things this year like focusing on base running, signs, and knowing where to throw the ball," said junior Nikki Lambert. "If we can get those things down, we'll be one step ahead." The Lady Bulldogs are already a tough team. They were third in the league last season and lost just one senior, a veteran catcher. They lucked out, however, in Brazilian exchange student Miwa Umeda, who plays full-time...
DAYTON - The Bulldogs baseball team may be small, but they mean to make some big noise this spring. Having lost just one senior and gained one newbie, junior Garett Turner, the boys are a tight-knit team of 13 this year. " We don't have many kids, but we have some good ones," said assistant coach Dean Bickelhaupt. "They're all good athletes." Many of the team's juniors have moved together from the football field to the basketball court and now join again on the diamond for another season of...
WAITSBURG - What began with instruments, plenty of talent and a dream has developed into so much more for six Waitsburg kids. "We wanted to follow in the footsteps of the Troublemakers," said 12-year-old Emily Adams of Waitsburg. And without hesitation, that's what they are doing. The Blue Mountain Troublemakers started in January 2003 with a group of Waitsburg Elementary kids who wanted to play bluegrass like they'd seen in the hit movie, "O, Brother Where Art Thou?" These young musicians...
DAYTON - Senior Bulldog Dain Henderson stood before a crowd of teammates, schoolmates, coaches and family to read from the page he held. "I am a Bulldog. I've played for Bulldogs of the past and Bulldogs of the future. I have known success, and I have known defeat. I have known sorrow, and I have known joy. I am a Bulldog." The words came from a letter presented to the Bulldogs just before their final district playoffs game against Asotin two weeks ago. It was written by Roseann Groom, mother...
STARBUCK - Commerce along one of the state's arteries will soon kick back into gear as major repairs to key locks on the Columbia and Snake rivers draws to completion this month. Close to 10 million tons of cargo including wheat, barley, petroleum products (like fuel), fertilizer, hay cubes, peas, lentils, milk carton stock and containers full of merchandise are shipped via the Columbia-Snake River system each year. Over 2 million tons are moved just through the Little Goose navigation lock...
DAYTON - Bob McCauley wasn't a master gardener but just a community-minded retiree living next door to a piece of city land. He happened to be paying attention one day as citizens discussed community development in Dayton. "They were talking about things we could do, or needed to do," McCauley said. "One thing that came up was a community garden." McCauley nominated himself to head the push for an all-access gardening spot. He had just the place in mind. His father had farmed the land adjoining...
DAYTON - The weather couldn't have cooperated more beautifully for a day on the slopes shooting Snow Hoops with former Seattle Supersonic and sixtime NBA champion Shawn Kemp, said new Ski Bluewood co-owner Mike Stephenson. "Overall, the past week's skiing has been some of the best we've ever had, easily the best of the year," Stephenson said. Conditions were cold, and since last week the resort's seen almost five feet of snow accumulate. "It's just beautiful," Stephenson said. "What a blessing,...
OLYMPIA - Many in the Touchet Valley have seen 15-year-old Cougar Henderson on stage at Dayton's Liberty Theater. In fact, he's gearing up to appear with dozens of co-stars in the Spring Variety Show later this month. His voice has been heard at Salt & Light concerts in Waitsburg, where local youth minister to peers and others both here and around the region with contemporary Christian songs. And last week he could be seen at the state capital, serving as a page in the Washington State House of...
WALLA WALLA - Dayton brought plenty of spirit, plenty of fans and plenty of energy to George Ball Court on Saturday night, but they didn't bring enough net to carry them on to state. The Bulldogs put up a good fight against the Asotin Panthers in the final game of the Southeast 2B District 9 boys basketball championship at Whitman College, but Asotin took the 60-53 victory and ended Dayton's 10-11 basketball season. "Asotin just got an early jump on us, and we weren't able to come back quickly...
PRESCOTT - In a tradition beginning with his Oregon pioneer ancestors, Prescott businessman Larry Pitcher has taken to pioneering in cyberspace. He and his family have settled down on a small farm just outside Prescott, but not to work the land - Pitcher is a website developer. "He's very knowledgeable and creative," says Dayton's Judith Henderson, whose website www.chefjudithhenderson.com is hosted by Pitcher. "But he's also a country boy at heart, so he's laidback and not intimidating like...
DAYTON - When the Bulldogs cheerleaders get together to raise spirits, they mean business - on the field, on the court or in matters of the heart. Next Tuesday, March 1, the 12 young women will show Dayton what community support looks like as they hold a spaghetti feed fundraiser for the family of 6-year-old Jayden Dedloff. Jayden was diagnosed last year with intractable epilepsy, a rare seizure disorder. He suffers from four different generalized seizure types, making the syndrome difficult to...
DAYTON - Dayton Days will not "go dark" this year, thanks in part to the Columbia County Fair Board, but it will not likely offer any horse racing. The Washington State Horseracing Commission decided earlier this month to give only six days of racing to the four-track Class C "Bush" circuit, with all of those days going to Sun Downs in Kennewick. This news hit the Touchet Valley hard, with its tradition of horse racing every spring at Dayton Days and Days of Real Sport in Waitsburg. Last week Waitsburg's Days of Real Sport board decided not to...
RICHLAND - The Lady Bulldogs achieved basketball league play-ins this week but were defeated by Liberty Christian 58-41 in a loser-out game Monday. Players and head coach Scott Hudson remained proud of their season, however. The young women started the year slowly but hit some exciting highs before it was over, Hudson said. "We played some really good games this year, we really did," he said Tuesday. The ladies, with several key players out from day one with injuries and illness, struggled in...
STARBUCK - Mary-Jo Sanderlin may have just the right attitude to make it as a business owner in Starbuck, "45 miles from anything." She and her husband, Dan, were new in town just a few months ago when they arrived fresh from the construction business in Montana. She's enthusiastic about snowmobiles, ATVs, quads and motorcycles. And at 29 years old, she's owned and operated a bar in Moses Lake and a power sports retail outlet. Now she and Dan are opening Rawhide Bar N Grill on Baxter Street in...
DAYTON - The Green Giant has only been gone from Dayton since 2005, but people in town have already forgotten what a force it used to be in the community, says Dayton booster Ginny Butler. "Growing up in Dayton, I knew it was the major employer for many years," Butler said. "I remember in the '60s, you could work all summer long and earn enough to pay for a whole year of college, at $3,000. There is no job a kid can get today that will pay for a year of college in just three months." To remind...
DAYTON - Dayton farmers now have more options for their agronomy needs. The Walla Walla Farmers Co-Op has opened an office at 509 Cameron Street, right next door to Columbia County Transportation, on Port of Columbia property. It is its third satellite outside Walla Walla. The business hosted a luncheon tour for members Tuesday afternoon. The new location will have just one office employee, but field men will come to farmers out of Walla Walla like they already do, said Co- Op General Manager Mike Potter. "We already have some growers in the...
DAYTON - Dayton City Council approved Columbia REA's application for rightof way use during its regular meeting Monday night. The meeting was moved up a week to accommodate councilors who will be absent for the usual second Monday of the month meeting. That meeting has been cancelled. The decision to grant CREA a permit to run three underground power lines to its own office on Main Street and a fiber optic line for Columbia County's use at the county courthouse through the city's right-of-way took councilors through weeks of research and many...
DAYTON - Passersby in downtown Dayton may notice a new set of occupants on the corner of Main and Second streets across from the Bank of America. Christy's Realty, a longtime Dayton real estate agency, has moved to the building where Columbia County Title continues to operate. "We wanted to do business in our own building," said Christy's owner Garry Snyder. Christy's opened in its downtown location at the end of January. "It's the best location in Dayton, actually," Snyder said. The real estate office was formerly housed with Columbia County...
DAYTON - The Bulldogs were victorious against the bigger Liberty Christian Patriots on Friday night in Dayton, defeating the visiting men's team 50-47. The Lady Bul ldogs fought hard but lost to their female counterparts 63-54. The extra-tall men's team from Liberty Christian had three big-time scorers, including 5-foot-9 sophomore Mike Olson with 12 points, 5-foot-9 junior Jake Stiefken with 19 points and 6-foot-5 senior Bryon Korrigan with 14 points. Senior Travis Sitton, at 6-foot-3, was the...
DAYTON - The following, stuff-of-legends account, which has intrigued history buffs for almost 100 years, ran in a local newspaper in 1920: Dayton, April 8. - Frank Finkel, a pioneer resident of Columbia county, was the chief speaker at the Thursday luncheon of the Dayton Kiwanis Club this week. He was eye witness to the Custer Massacre and gave to the club the account of his thrilling escape and the circumstances which prevented the knowledge of his survival from reaching the government at the...
DAYTON - The Bulldogs were cautiously optimistic Friday evening after defeating both Walla Walla Valley Academy teams on Thursday - including a much-needed victory for the Lady Bulldogs - but their high spirits weren't enough to earn them a win against the tough Asotin Panthers. Though Dayton's young men and women went head to head on their own court against Asotin, the Panthers were victorious on both counts, at 50-64 against the men and 51-63 against the ladies. In the men's match, the...
