Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 551 - 575 of 589
WAITSBURG - There are no specific long-term plans for the use of 103 Main St. between the old Delta Connection building and Poto's Small Engine Repair. But owner J.P. Kent said he does "not intend for it to sit vacant" after repairs to it are completed by mid November. "It could be so many things," said Kent, owner of Remote Data Storage in Walla Walla who bought the historic building three years ago. "It depends on what the economy will support. It does not have to be one thing." Heavy...
WAITSBURG - Shortly after Cycle Oregon organizer Tara Corbin arrived in Waitsburg ahead of the 2,250 cyclists coming here for their midweek stay last week, Mayor Walt Gobel took her to see the city's "Hollywood" sign on the hill: a giant bicycle ploughed into the field south of town to greet the far-flung visitors. "That almost brought tears to my eyes," Corbin said about the iconic welcome initiated by local hospitality coordinator Deanne Johnson. "It was one of those standout moments for me...
WAITSBURG - When Swissair Flight 111 went down off the coast near St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia, in 1998, a newspaper account of the crash described the nighttime waters at the site as "inky." Canadian artist Michelle Forsyth took that description to set the context for a sculpture she dedicated to the air disaster that killed all 229 aboard. Her piece, "For September Second," is now on display at AMO Art Gallery on Main Street, open by appointment. She worked the nighttime darkness into he...
ENTERPRISE - In their first away game of the season, the Bulldogs fell to the Enterprise Outlaws 34 - 0 last Thursday. Dayton came close to the end zone several times, thanks to big individual plays by such veterans as Colton Bickelhaupt and Dain Henderson, but each time a fumble or an interception cost them the opportunity to score. "We just need to learn how to finish," head coach Dean Bickelhaupt said. The long bus ride, Bickelhaupt said, also played a role in wearing down the team b...
WAITSBURG - After last Wednesday's loss against Dayton, fortunes and abilities began to turn around for the Cardinals volleyball team after WP beat visiting team Pilot Rock in fivegames Friday and won Saturday's WP Invitational in Walla Walla. But a game against Walla Walla Valley Academy Monday turned the tide back again - the Knights won three of five matches against WP. In their Friday evening game against Pilot Rock, the Cardinals lost the first two games (20 - 25 and 20 - 25), then won the third (25 -21). In the fourth, Genesis Pe...
WAITSBURG - After 5' 8" middle blocker Sarah Mascall went out with a tweaked ankle during the first volleyball game against Waitsburg-Prescott, the young Bulldogs looked like the underdogs as they found themselves up against the much taller Cardinals. But in the end, Dayton won the two teams' first league match last Wednesday night, beating WP in four games. The Bulldogs won three of the games 25 - 23, 25 - 16 and 25 - 12. WP won one 25 - 17. "It was a good win," said Dayton head coach Shannon...
WAITSBURG - In their first home game of the season, the Cardinals beat the Pilot Rock Rockets 34 - 14 in a Friday night football game that excited the home crowd and bode well for the season. WP is now 2-0 after having won against the Kamiah Kubs in a tough defensive away game last week. "It was a nice thing to see us improve and move forward," head coach Jeff Bartlow said. The Cardinals rushed or passed for an impressive total of 380 yards with 156 on the ground and 224 yards in the air, a...
WAITSBURG - Some years back, the Waitsburg Masonic Lodge No. 16 had a dilemma. Its members were getting older, and the only way some of them could make it up to the temple on the second floor above the grocery store was with the help of an elevator. There was only one small problem. The stairs were steep and had two landings. An installation would have to be so sophisticated, it would cost more than $15,000. So, the Lodge turned to one of its members, Bill Zuger, for a solution. Known for his...
DAYTON - The top-ofthe hill Main Street building that was once home of Patit Creek Cellars will be entirely devoted to wine again this fall, giving Dayton two winetasting venues by the end of the year. Owners Paul and Marcene Hendrickson have leased the 1,100-square-foot building at 507 E. Main to Abacus Wine Llc of Pasco, which will operate the location as "Dayton Wine Works" and targets casual wine drinkers and travelers. In May, Dayton resident and former winemaker Reggie Mace announced he...
WAITSBURG - Few Waitsburgers will forget how on Sunday, Sept. 6 last year, the town sirens wailed in the predawn hours and the sky north of Main Street was lit up with the orange glow of a huge fire. Many gathered on the bridge to see how the town's largest historic structure and once its economic heartbeat, the abandoned Wait's four mill, was engulfed in flames so big firefighters could only contain the blaze and watch its stories collapse one by one. Within hours, the 145-year-old building...
WAITSBURG - In their first home game of the season, the Cardinals beat the Pilot Rock Rockets 34 - 14 Friday night. WP is now 2-0 after having won against the Kamiah Kubs in a tough defensive away game last week. Although there were still plenty of missed and dropped passes on the part of the Cardinals, the evening showed a team getting more comfortable in its skin, particularly on defense. "We struggled connecting the dots," head coach Jeff Bartlow said about the offense after the game. "But we've made a lot of improvements. I'm proud of...
ENTERPRISE - In their first away game of the season, the Bulldogs fell to the Enterprise Outlaws 34 - 0 last night. Dayton came close to the end zone several times, thanks to big individual plays by such veterans as Colton Bickelhaupt and Dain Henderson. But each time, a fumble or an interception cost them the opportunity to score. "We just need to learn how to finish," head coach Dean Bickelhaupt said. Bickelhaupt said the long bus ride wore down the team. The dawgs came out dragging during the first quarter with two immediate touchdowns from...
WAITSBURG - After 5' 8" middle blocker Sarah Mascall went out with a tweaked ankle during the first game against Waitsburg Prescott, the young Bulldogs looked like the underdogs as they found themselves up against the much taller Cardinals. But in the end, Dayton won the two teams' first league match Wednesday night, beating WP in four games. The Bulldogs won three of the games 25 - 23, 25 - 16 and 25 - 12. WP won one 25 - 17. "It was a good win," said Dayton head coach Shannon Turner, who has only four returning varsity players this year. "I...
DAYTON - Ski Bluewood, whose current owners said earlier this year they would need to shut the resort down unless they could hand it over before the upcoming season, has a prospective buyer. "We're negotiating," said Stan Goodell, who owns Ski Bluewood with his wife Nancy. Goodell declined to share the name of the possible buyer for fear it might upset the talks. Neither would he speculate whether a deal could be reached before the beginning of the 2010 - 2011 season. But he indicated that talks between the two parties are going well and...
We could easily hold forth for several pages about the importance of our educators. At a time when school is underway or close to resuming, there probably wouldn't be enough room to describe the challenging task teachers, staff, coaches and volunteers undertake for the next 40 some weeks. Parents in the Touchet Valley place their kids in their hands, knowing instructors will do their utmost to help them learn, grow and engage in meaningful pursuits in the classroom and on the sports fi...
PRESCOTT - The Board of the Prescott School District has appointed a former deputy superintendent of Walla Walla Public Schools as its interim superintendent. The district announced the temporary appointment after an executive session before its regular meeting Thursday night. The announcement comes a week after the board decided to forego interviews with seven applicants who have sought the permanent appointment so far and take more time to expand the pool of recruits during the school year. The board said the interim appointment gives the...
DAYTON - Several homeowners were evacuated from the Tucannon River valley Thursday as dozens of firefighters from three counties battled wildfires that spread across thousands of acres northeast of Dayton. A fire that started off Patit Road Tuesday and was thought to be under control flared up again Thursday afternoon and grew rapidly with winds of up to 35 miles per hour fanning the flames through wheat land stubble, grass, brush and trees in gullies and canyons. The fire dropped down into the Tucannon River valley between Hartsock and...
WAITSBURG - Kim Hamann has presented pigs at local fairs before, but her favorite animal to raise and show is a sheep. One of the reasons is that the 14-year-old Future Farmers of America member has raised sheep on her family farm since she was five. The other reason is that she has feels "the best connection" with sheep from the time they're still lambs to well beyond the yearling stage. This year, for instance, she brought her 1.5-year-old sheep Todd to the Junior Livestock Show in...
WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg City Council last week passed a law that may have appeared limited in its applicability to Mayor Walt Gobel who enjoys getting around town using a different mode of transportation. But there are others who say they'll take advantage of a new ordinance allowing the use of golf carts on city streets. WP football coach and PE teacher Jeff Bartlow, for one, is a big fan. "I'll use mine for a lot of things now that I can," said Bartlow, who bought a used golf cart - read: a...
DAYTON - This year's fire season in the Touchet Valley brings back some memories of the Columbia Complex fire that raged four years ago and became the nation's top firefightingpriority that summer. They're memories that most who lived through the 100,000-acre fire would just as soon forget. But starting at the Columbia Court House on Monday, some people whose lives were affected by the devastating blazes will relive the experience in front of a jury. Ironically for one of them, former...
WALLA WALLA - The idea of starting a pub in Walla Walla kind of came through the back door for Laht Neppur owners Court and Katie Ruppenthal. As the labels from their brewery on Preston Avenue were becoming more popular, they toyed with the notion of adding a bottling and distribution operation to their current barrels and kegs production facility. But when they found out what it would cost, they figured they might as well open a restaurant for that price. So by the end of Sept...
PRESCOTT - For several tense hours Monday, Teresa Price experienced a mother's worst nightmare. She and her husband Bruce were on one side of the fire along Harvey Shaw Road while their 19-year-old son Kyle was inside the family home on the other side of the flames and smoke. "It's such a helpless feeling," said Price, who moved to the area four years ago and was at her job at Walla Walla General Hospital when she received the call about the fire. "We fear this (fire) every fall during harvest...
DAYTON - The last time Holly Warner left the Touchet Valley, she cried for days. She was barely 11 and living with her mom in Dixie, which she says was a tomboy's paradise. There was a creek close to her house on a 20-acre farm. The property had an orchard, three vegetable gardens and a treehouse. Warner was an avid horseback rider. In the winter, she'd hit the slopes at Bluewood. She liked walking to school, which had just 40 kids kindergarten through 5th grade. "I loved it here. It was th...
WAITSBURG - Cardinals T-shirts, Touchet Valley farm truck decals, Kison Court sports banners, Dayton shop signs, Waitsburg High Letterman jackets. The list of items produced by Blue Crystal Screenprinting Signs on Willard could go on and on. Chances are they all look familiar. They're icons of our everyday lives and our every-weekend sports. In the 16 years since it was founded, Waitsburg entrepreneur Elizabeth Cole has supplied the Touchet Valley and many clients in Walla Walla with at...
WAITSBURG - By all accounts, the life of Ginny Ruffner is extraordinary. She is a celebrated glass artist known for her lamp-working technique. She uses a gas torch to melt rods and tubes of clear and colored glass, then paints them. The results are groundbreaking, some would say "other-wordly," making her one of the most important female glass artists in the country. She once dated Northwest author Tom Robbins and is said to have inspired a character in his novel "Skinny Legs And All." Earlier...
