Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 589
WAITSBURG - Gail Gwinn and Joe Patrick's yard on the corner of Sev- enth and Orchard looks a bit bare. Not only did crews leave "a pretty big hole" when they removed a 135-year- old maple to widen Seventh Street, but the couple just re- located here from Whidbey Island after remodeling their new Waitsburg home and they haven't had much time to devote to a garden. "There are three plants in our yard and some grass," said Gwinn, who had a lush botanical spread at their home near Coupeville and...
WAITSBURG - Long before the Lewis & Clark expedition made its way through the Touchet River Valley in the early 1800s, the site of the state park named in their honor was a fall hunting camp for the Palus, Nez Perce and Walla Walla tribes. This place between Waitsburg and Dayton was called Tapash Itxachika, where the tribes said "the ponderosa pine tree fell and was raised again." And the river was called Tu-se, meaning roasting. It's one of the closest Native American historical references to...
WAITSBURG - As the newest and youngest member of a country rock band, Shane Ugalde may not know all the rock classics. When asked at a recent practice if he had ever heard of Aerosmith's Sweet Emotion, he drew a blank. But when it comes to the "country" in country rock, Ugalde is the genuine article, so genuine you might imagine a hint of burning leather around him. "He's a real cowboy," band manager Wendy Richards said. "And he feels like he's always been part of the group." Together with the o...
PRESCOTT - Waitsburg Prescott ended its promising season Tuesday after a 7-4 loss against Takeo-Oakesdale Rosalia in a game that almost turned into a Tigers' come-from-behind classic. "It was a close game," head coach Dustin Snedigar said afterwards. "It was one of those nail biters. But we came up short." The Nighthawks scored in the top of the 1st inning and Dalton Estes answered it with a run of his own in the bottom. But the WP bats went quiet after that, while TOR scored another run in the...
DAYTON - Getting all the fundamentals right from the start, the Lady Bulldogs beat TriCities Prep 13-3 in a five-inning home game Tuesday and advanced to the regional playoffs in Spokane on May 18. The third-ranked Dayton softball team still faces second-ranked Waitsburg Prescott on Friday, but only to decide seeding for the next round of the playoffs, assistant coach Des Jones said. Under the hot afternoon sun, Sam Harting pounded out a two-run homer in the first inning that ignited the...
WAITSBURG - On a sunny Tuesday afternoon last week, Waitsburg Cel- ebration co-organizer Lisa Naylor got a taste of what's to come on the third weekend in May when the town marks the first century of its downhome "one-of-a- kind" horse extravaganza, the Days of Real Sport. In the shade of the grand stand at the fairgrounds, somebody flung a hat down and three cowgirls launched their mounts around the track, hoofs thrashing the soft dirt, smiles flying above the saddles. "The expression on these...
TEKOA - The Lady Bulldogs seemed headed for third in league after sweeping Tekoa-Oakesdale-Rosario in their last doubleheader of the regular season Tuesday. "The girls did well today," assistant coach Des Jones said in a telephone interview after the away games. "They played together and they played smart." In 14 innings marked by a handful of snow flurries, Dayton beat the Nighthawks 11-8 in the first game and 6-4 in the second, ending the season on a high note. "We've struggled some and we... Full story
WAITSBURG - Edward Hopper could have painted it. The little Victorian on Preston Avenue, most re- cently owned by the late gar- lic grower Travis Weedman, sits back from the highway shaded by evergreens. Its porch and porch roof are sagging. But its structure, dating back to 1895 and placed on a new foundation after the 1996 flood, is good, ac- cording to its new owners. Those kinds of "bones" make it a good candidate for restoration, and that's how it became the first project of Touchet Valley...
DAYTON - The Bulldogs track and field team is ready to show off its growing talent at the first home meet of the season co-hosted with Waitsburg Prescott this week, head coach Dan Nechodom said. The meet, which will draw league teams from Asotin, DeSales, St. John- Endicott, Tekoa-Oakesdale- Rosario, WP and Walla Walla Valley Academy, starts at 3:30 pm Wednesday. The afternoon is expected to be sunny with temperatures in the upper 60s. "They're excited," Nechodom said about the eight boys and seven girls on his young team. "I see a lot of...
PROSSER - The Cardinals placed 10th in the tough Prosser Rotary Invitational Saturday thanks to the lofty performances from runner Seth Deal and thrower Ben Shafer. "Seth and Ben both stood out and, between the two of them, got all of our points that we collected as a team," WP head track and field coach Jeff Bartlow said. WP's 32 points allowed the boys team to vault ahead of such competitors as Richland, Kennewick, Ellensburg and DeSales. Dayton did not participate in the event. Shafer p... Full story
PASCO - Three WP athletes qualified for the Pasco Invite on Saturday and each did well in competition, setting new personal records and earning a place on the podium. The meet included only the top athletes from 4A schools on down. Out of more than 60 teams competing from throughout the northwest, only nine were from "B" schools. "I was really happy with our results and the kids should be proud of themselves," WP track and field coach Jeff Bartlow said. Sprinter James Thompkins competed in the 100 meter dash and ran it in 11.49 seco...
PRESCOTT – It was more than a decade ago, but James Thompkins remembers the night like it was yesterday. He was only six, the youngest of six siblings. They lived with their mother in a crammed high-rise apartment on the west side of Chicago. He woke up in the small hours that day when she opened the door for his uncle, who stumbled in with a fresh gunshot wound in his leg. From that moment on, he remembers how trauma and drama were a constant part of his life. The Thompkins were always mo... Full story
WAITSBURG - Tickets are on sale for a hometown dance concert by a hometown band. The members of the popular Frog Hollow Band have agreed to perform Saturday evening, May 18, during the Waitsburg Celebration mark- ing the 100th anniversary of the Days of Real Sport racing weekend. The concert is a collaboration of the Waitsburg PEO chapter, the Waitsburg Lions Club and the band, whose members live in Waitsburg, Prescott and Walla Walla. It's a fundraiser for PEO, which promotes education for women. "When we learned noth- ing was scheduled for...
WAITSBURG - Fresh from a preseason loss against the Idaho Matadors and the loss of their best running back, the Waitsburg Elite face the high-ranking Spo- kane Wolf Pack in their regu- lar season opener at Cardinal Field Saturday. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. "It will be interesting to see what they bring," team owner and quarterback George Martinez said about the Elite's first opponent of the season. The Elite went down 32-7 against the Matadors on Easter weekend, March 30, a game that drew 225 to the...
WAITSBURG - Imagine a raised vegetable bed the size of a dinner table. Now picture growing enough greens in this 5' x 5' space to feed a family of four year round. Impossible? Not according to Waitsburg's Mickey and Tawnya Rich- ards. With their partners Ray and Debi Fosnot they have worked since December building their new business, "Lettuce Eat Fish". As long as you have the right ingredients - fish, fish feed, rocks, water, light and heat - you should be able to meet your leafy needs around...
SEATTLE - Until last week, Joseph Linder had never heard of Waitsburg. The Austrian-born som- melier from the Fairmount Olympic in downtown Se- attle had been to Walla Walla many times to taste and or- der wines for his diners at the upscale historic 450-room hotel. But it wasn't until he attended the launch of Paul Gregutt's new "Waitsburg Cellars" that the little town in the Touchet Valley got on his radar. Now he's not only plan- ning a stay in Waitsburg dur- ing his next trip to the Walla...
WAITSBURG - It may be too close to call. But with two votes ahead of current council member Scott Nettles, Deb Callahan may become the newest member of the Waitsburg City Council later this month. For the most part, the Truth & Trust slate of canidates headed by Mayor Walt Gobel returned to office in the city's annual elections. Gobel received 216 votes as mayor, while Kevin House got the highest number of votes as councilman with 228, followed by Carl Newell with 216, and Marty Dunn and KC Kuykendahl each with 207. Callahan received 156...
COLTON - The Bulldogs softball team suffered its first losses of the season, going down 10-7 in the first and 3-7 in the second of its spring break doubleheader against Colton Tuesday. "They (Colton Wildcats) got their big opportunity hits when they needed them and we didn't," assistant coach Des Jones said on the way home to Dayton. In the first game, the Lady Dogs out hit the Wildcats 12-8, but couldn't capitalize as well on its superior batting average. Dayton went into the bottom of the t... Full story
At the launch of Paul Gregutt's Waitsburg Cel- lars, tasters were offered a small ribbon-bound booklet describing the elements of the new wine label's logo. The image contains many symbols - all elements of what inspires winemaker and critic Gregutt and his wife, filmmaker Karen Stanton Gregutt, about being artists in Waitsburg. "Our sense of time both slowed and expanded," Gre- gutt wrote about the couple's transition to life in Waitsburg, which started about eight years ago. "The century-old... Full story
Basketball, football and baseball fans in the Touchet Valley may be wondering what happened to former Cardinals head basketball coach T.J. Scott. Scott, who stepped down from his part-time coaching and teaching positions in the area last summer, reports he is alive and well in a remote part of southeast Alaska where he just took a team of Tsimshian Indian high school basketball players to the state title game. The Annette Island Chiefs, who hail from a community 15 miles by floatplane or ferry... Full story
Tourist season is just around the corner, which means the Touchet Valley will be filling up with visitors taking in special events, the many historic sites on offer, or just visiting local friends and relatives. A host of small boutique hotels in our area offer those visitors a wide variety of lodging experiences. Dayton's best-known boutique hotel, the historic Weinhard on Main Street, recently added two dates in May for a weekend special that has drawn guests from throughout the region - a...
WAITSBURG - Paul and Karen Gregutt adopted their beloved Cookie more than a year ago. But they didn't take the three-year-old Terrier Chihuahua mix on an extended car trip until earlier this year when they drove down the coast to be with family in Palm Springs. During their first few nights on the road, they quickly made a discovery. As dog owners, the Waitsburg couple was either charged exorbitant rates or, well, relegated to the dog house. "Places are expensive or shabby," Karen Stanton G...
PRESCOTT - The Lady Tigers' offense gave rise to hope for the season, but its defense left much to be desired in Tuesday night's face-off against the Weston- McEwen Tigerscots, head coach Angie Potts said. "We hit the ball better," she said in an interview after the game, which WP lost 20-7. "That was definitely a bright spot. But a game like this doesn't build confi- dence." Although it was a non- league matchup against the team from Oregon, Potts said her players are on notice that they have t...
PRESCOTT - It took the WP Tigers a few innings to warm up in their Tuesday night game against the hard-hitting Weston McEwen Tigerscots. But when they finally did, there was no stopping their cannon balls and bullet runs, demolishing the visitors 11-5. After being down by as much as 4-0 in the 3rd, the Tigers' ignited in a magical 6th inning, firing on all bats and wielding a home run off a high arcing hit from sophomore Chance Leroue. It landed well beyond the field fence. "When it came off... Full story
WAITSBURG - The cen- tennial celebration of Waits- burg's Days of Real Sport will not have the traditional pari-mutuel races for which the third weekend in May became so famous over the decades. But the big weekend that organizers are now calling Waitsburg Celebration Days on May 17-19 is shaping up to be action-packed for lo- cal families and visitors. It will have everything from a Cowboy Dance on Friday to court races Saturday, and plenty of kids activities on Sunday, according to mem- bers of the committee that met on Monday night to firm...
