Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG - Touchet Valley football fans who can't get enough of their favorite sport don't have to wait until fall to see action on Cardinal Field. For the first time in nearly a decade, a minor league team will bring the pigskin game back to Waitsburg with some former high school stars on the new team to boot. The Waitsburg Elite will make its first appearance at the high school field this Saturday with a team scrimmage starting at 3 p.m. The first game of the eight-game season will follow on...
WAITSBURG - Long- time Waitsburg resi- dent, activist and tireless his- torian Jeff Broom received the prestigious Commercial Club Community Service award on Tuesday, a recog- nition some said was long overdue. "Jeff has done more than his share to see that Waits- burg is on the map and de- serves our thanks for all his volunteer work to support our wonderful community," club members Larry and Deanne Johnson wrote in their nomination letter. Broom, who received a standing ovation from...
PRESCOTT - A chilly March breeze at the Tigers' ball fields wouldn't let spectators shake off their winter blues completely. But in every other respect, Saturday's sun-drenched jamboree was the perfect start of the spring sports season for the Touchet Valley teams, their coaches said. "It was a productive day," said Dustin Snedigar, the WP Tigers' head baseball coach. "We got a good look at a lot of kids. It was a success for everyone." Six baseball and softball teams, including the Dayton B... Full story
PRESCOTT - A group of teachers in the Prescott School District has created a scholarship fund in honor of former athletic director Jack Smiley, with the first recipient expected to be a 2013 graduate. The initiators of the Jack Smiley Memorial Scholar- ship, the Prescott Education Association teachers' union, hope the popular sports fig- ure's reputation and his as- pirations for young studentathletes will inspire Prescott alumni and residents of the Touchet Valley to help sup- port it with...
WALLA WALLA - A Prescott man remains a key suspect in a recent spate of Touchet Valley burglaries, after the Walla Walla County Prosecutor dismissed ear- lier charges in the hopes of building a bigger, better case against him. The case against Jimmy Mathews, 33, identified in court records as a resident of Prescott, is part of an ongoing investigation into one of the biggest property theft and trafficking operations in the area's history. It recently yielded hundreds of stolen items at a residence in Walla Walla. Mathews was arrested in mid-Dec... Full story
KENNEWICK - Four contestants each from Prescott, DeSales and Connell high schools sat at round tables in the lobby of the South Hills Church in Ken- newick last Wednesday. In front of them was a metallic strip wired to a box near the moderator who sat across from the players. She fired off a question: "Name the Egyptian president who was assassinated by extremists in 1981 for ne- gotiating peace with Israel." Several students slapped their hands on the strip to make the buzzer go off and signal...
TACOMA - Before WP Tiger Tristan Newman even set foot on one of the many mats at the Tacoma Dome Friday, he had every reason to celebrate victory, his coach, family and friends in the stands said. "It's always been our goal to get kids here," said head coach Lanny Adams, who has been a wrestling coach for 28 years, waiting to see a competitor to state. "Tristan has helped me make that dream come true." Newman, a freshman expected to make future appearances at state, did not advance after losing... Full story
REARDAN - Freshman Tristan Newman is content to revel in the prospect of being the lone Tiger going to the state wrestling meet at the Tacoma Dome Friday and Saturday, but only for a moment. He's quick to point out that he wouldn't have gotten this far without all his years as a "little guy" in Waitsburg's "Matbird" program (a nod to his parents and coaches) or his teammates on the Waitsburg-Prescott wrestling team. "I wish they could be there with me," he said about the other Tigers who...
DAYTON - Senior Bull- dog Samantha Harting saw several of her friends get scraped up in motorcycle spills, so when it came time at her high school Youth & Government club to propose a new law in Olympia, she crafted a bill that might protect them better. Junior Cardinal Meara Baker, a member of Waits- burg's Youth & Government club, chose a different issue for her bill. She feels that as a state of immigrants, Washington should have a law requiring high school students to graduate with foreign...
WAITSBURG - Before Martha Mason moved to Thailand for two years in the early 1960s, she had her sights on music for her creative journey through life. But when she returned to the U.S., ready to pursue a college degree in the field, she couldn't do it. "It was too emotional for me at the time," said Mason, who now lives in Dayton. "It just wasn't working." And while in Thailand, she had discovered some- thing else that would lead her down a different path. "I had an epiphany," she said. "On a...
PASCO - The Dayton Boys Varsity basketball team ended their 2013 season on a high note with a 57-55 cliff-hanger win over Tri Cities Prep on Saturday. "It was a great way to end their year," Bulldogs head coach Roy Ramirez said. "They did a great job finish- ing that game." Plagued by second-half scoring slumps for most of the season, the Bulldogs displayed one of their strongest after-the-half rallies yet, outscoring the Jaguars 19-12 in the third quarter and holding on to their lead until the... Full story
DAYTON - The Bulldogs boys varsity team fought until the bitter end in their 60-41 loss against the WWVA Knights Tuesday night, but they could not get past their two biggest season-long hurdles: height and second-half shooting malaise. "It's been like that all year," head coach Roy Ramirez said. "You can't fault their effort. They all played hard. They ran the floor well. They passed the ball well. But during the second half they have a tough time putting the ball in the hole." And not b...
DAYTON - Tuesday night's 38-31 victory over Walla Walla Valley Academy wasn't quite as sweet for the Lady Bulldogs as the 45-40 cliff-hanger win over DeSales on Saturday, but the seniors were pleased they pulled it out of the hat on their home court during Senior Night. "It was awesome to get a win," senior Malia Frame said. "It was a bit messy, but we were able to pull it off." With only one regular- season game left against Tri Cities Prep on Saturday, the Lady Dogs are virtually guaranteed s...
WAITSBURG - Kate Hockersmith, the instiga- tor and, some might say "mother," of Waitsburg's bluegrass scene, remembers the first local jam night. It was some time in December at the old Carmen's Deli on Main Street. She put the youthful Troublemakers, fresh from their musical exchange in Ja- pan, in the same room with several veteran bluegrass musicians from Walla Walla and created a Touchet Valley tradition marking its fifth an- niversary this winter. Together with bluegrass lessons...
PRESCOTT - After serving as its "accidental" superintendent for three years, Dr. Bill Jordan announced last week he will be leaving the Prescott School District at the end of the school year. "Our district is strong, good things are happening," Jordan said in a telephone interview. "It's a good time for someone to come in and take over this district." Jordan, who has been universally praised for turn- ing around a school dis- trict struggling with enrollment, morale and academic achievement,...
Having been in band at Waitsburg’s Preston Hall for two years, my son Niko knows what it takes to get ready for performances. But his most recent “gig” was a bit different. Niko, who plays guitar in jazz band at Bainbridge High School, along with three dozen of his fellow band members, received a surprise last-minute invita- tion to a special event last week. How last-minute? Let’s just say they had a mere five days to practice four pieces, three of which were original arrangements of songs t...
WAITSBURG - Waits- burg Mayor Walt Gobel has invited the Confeder- ated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to join in the 100th anniversary of the Days of Real Sport this spring in Waitsburg. And one idea for their participation is an Indian relay event, often described as one of the most exhilarating equine sports. The idea drew immediate enthusiasm from a race coor- dinator for the Umatilla tribe, who said Native American relay racers from all over the west would welcome such a... Full story
PRESCOTT - Residents of Prescott are rallying behind the family that lost nearly everything this week- end in one of the town's worst structure fires in three decades. Jason and Christine Steele and their four children were forced from their home at 410 Touchet St. on Sun- day after a fire that started in their garage spread quickly through the four-bedroom one-story structure. Walla Walla fire districts 7 (Prescott) and 2 (Waits- burg), along with other area stations, responded to the...
WAITSBURG - In an- other sign Waitsburg's Main Street is struggling, the own- ers of Betty's Diner have decided to close temporarily and "regroup" this month. It's unclear what its schedule will look like when the res- taurant reopens, probably in February, they said. The development follows last year's closure of La Monarca Mexican restaurant and comes amidst reports of slowing revenues for other establishments. After almost four years, Etcetera's is also wrapping up its business in the Plaza... Full story
WAITSBURG - It's rare for burglary victims to ever see their stolen goods again. But Waitsburg residents and even some Columbia Coun- ty households who were hit last year may get lucky. And some already have. During a drug bust in Walla Walla last month, local law enforcement of- ficers stumbled on an enor- mous treasure trove of stolen items, the county's largest in recent memory. The find leads authorities to hope they can soon nab a handful of burglars operating in the Touchet Valley and return much of their loot to the rightful owners. The... Full story
WALLA WALLA – Waitsburg’s Joanna Lanning can breathe a little easier these days. More than a month ago, the part-time caretaker of the Pioneer Park Aviary in Walla Walla was dusting off her resume after getting a layoff notice from the city. She was starting to make calls and send off emails to organize a massive foster home placement effort for the 150 birds at the facility. And she was getting deeply depressed at the thought of emptying the pens and closing down the feathered friend...
WAITSBURG - With the first tenant already in hand, the Port of Walla Walla plans to break ground for its new Waitsburg Business Park north of town in January, according to Jim Kuntz, the agency's executive director. "We think it's going to be a magnet for other businesses," Kuntz said in a presentation last Tuesday to members of the Waitsburg Commercial Club. "We're excited about it." The 12.6-acre industrial site will have seven lots of varying sizes. The first order of business is the constru... Full story
PRESCOTT - The public swimming pool in Prescott got a huge lift from a recent $54,000 grant earmarked by the Sherwood Trust for capital improvements to the facility. The grant, the largest ever received by the Prescott Joint Park and Recreation District, is equal to half the agency's total 2013 budget of $110,400 approved through a city levy initiative earlier this year. "We're delighted," said Patsy Adams Warnock, the district's chair. "It makes us feel our hard work has been seen by others and they real- ize this pool is such an impor- tant...
DAYTON - On the eve of Ski Bluewood's 2012 open- ing, the resort's owners have hired new managers to run the mountain and get it better known in the region. With more snow in the forecast this week and into the weekend, Ski Bluewood looks poised to open at 10 a.m. on Friday, the new managers said this week. WWG Ski, the Tri-Cities- based group that bought Ski Bluewood more than two years ago, has hired Jody and Brandy Ream, a veteran ski industry couple from the Midwest to become the re- sort's...
WALLA WAL- LA - More than once dur- ing her three months at the Walla Walla Regional Fire Academy this fall, Dayton's Heather Truitt's experience was a bit like trying to drink from a fire hydrant. "I thought to myself 'I don't know if I can do this,'" the 22-year-old volunteer fire fighter said. "I didn't realize how much was involved." It was intimidating at first, she said. Not only did she have to "step it up to keep up with the boys" physically, but the "homework" of reading and theory was...
