Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 418
WAITSBURG - One of Waits- burg's best-kept secrets is on Arnold Lane, tucked back behind sweet, country houses. For the past four years, those who have driven down Arnold Lane have noticed or even stopped at the produce stand run by Ed and Cathy Lambert. And the Lambert's, though unseen from the street, have six gardens full of ripening produce fresh for the picking and selling every summer. Ed's family has lived in the house on Arnold his whole life. He and his wife Cathy raised their four...
WAITSBURG - It has been nearly three full years since Wait's Mill burned to the ground and city staff members and the Waitsburg Historical Society are thinking it may be time to add something small to commemorate the significance of the mill. City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe said earlier this month he asked Jeff Broom, the presi- dent of the Waitsburg Historical Society and committee member of the Waitsburg Community Revitalization Committee, to begin looking into the cost and designs of...
WAITSBURG - Change is never easy and some parents in the community are having difficulty wrapping their minds around the fact that the Waitsburg fourth, fifth and sixth graders will be in intermediate, mixed-grade level classes next year. However, combining grade levels is not a new concept for the district that has combined grade students in the past to handle enrollment fluctuations, district officials say. Forty-eight children will be in the fourth, fifth and sixth split starting in the fall. The split class will help the district reduce...
Huxoll's Service Won't Stop After High School Editor's Note: This is the third of a three-part series of profiles on the winners of this year's Times $500 com- munity service scholarships given to Waitsburg, Prescott and Dayton students. These three seniors were chosen for our scholarship based on community service, grades, need and their bright futures. Kayla Huxoll is the scholar- ship winner from Waitsburg High School. W AITSBURG - For Waitsburg High School graduate and class of 2012...
VISTA HERMOSA - Forty Prescott students who live in Vista Hermosa take part in an opportunity of six weeks of extra schooling over the summer to help them remember and even improve their skills before the next school year begins. Scott Branson has been with the Prescott School District for three years. His teaching position is fund- ed by the federal GEAR UP grant that partners with Washington State University Tri Cities. "The goal is to get (students) into universities," Branson said. The local school districts that also have GEAR UP pro-...
DAYTON - Dayton's elu- sive squatter-burglar went for- ward with a plea agreement last Thursday in Columbia County Superior Court after previously sending a note to the prosecutor saying he had changed his mind. Daniel Baxter, a transient man, was arrested in February and charged with 28 burglary- related counts stemming from the seven months or so he spent breaking into vacant homes in the city of Dayton and squatting in them overnight. Last Thursday, Baxter did plead guilty to Judge William...
WAITSBURG - The current Waitsburg city contract for services with the Walla Walla Sheriff's Office is too expensive for the city to maintain and city staff and the city council are consider- ing a reduction in services to also reduce the annual price tag. The sheriff's office cur- rently patrols and serves the city of Waitsburg for 47.5 hours per week. This level of service costs the city $125,000 per year. "The city can't sustain it at the rate it's going," said City Administrator Randy...
PR ESCOTT - Jubilee Youth Ranch students have been participating in WP sports for about six years now and the school is planning to expand its offerings to possibly three sports for the upcoming fall season - football, cross country and soccer. Not only will this provide a wider variety for the Jubilee athletes in sports activities, but it means WP coaches may have more talent on their hands than ever before. Mark Hauck, the student activities and athletics director at Jubilee Youth Ranch, said... Full story
WAITSBURG - For Karen Stanton-Gregutt, there's nothing better than a soak in her 1929 claw foot tub that sits in one of her Waitsburg Cottages. She loves that soak so much she has designed a new retail business around it called Bubbles & Chocolate: The Finer Things, set to open June 28. The opening on June 28 will be a soft opening and the grand opening will take place sometime in July, Stanton-Gregutt said. The shop, located on Waitsburg's Main Street in the Plaza Theater build- ing, will be...
WAITSBURG - Waits- burg's Mary Kay consultant and photographer Belinda Cook has moved into a store- front on Main Street with the hope of taking her business to the next level. "It's one of my dreams to have my own business and get up and go to work," Cook said. "I'm adding the store- front for the professionalism." Cook is planning to host a grand opening of her storefront on Friday, June 29 at 11 a.m., with hot dogs and face painting for customers. Cook will be opening one day after Karen Stanton-Gregutt's Bubbles and Chocolate: The Finer... Full story
WAITSBURG - Preliminary scores for the 2011-12 High School Proficiency Exam are in for Waitsburg and Prescott and the students and staff members have a lot to be proud of. Waitsburg earned 100 percent in meeting both reading and writing standards. Prescott earned 84.6 percent in reading and 100 percent in writing. The annual proficiency exam measures how much students are learning and serves as the state's exit exam in reading and writing. Students must pass this assessment or a state-approved alternative in reading and writing in order to be e...
WAITSBURG - Waitsburg Elementary School students washed laundry, made fire with flint, listened to folk music and immersed themselves in Waitsburg history last Friday at the Bruce House Museum. This is the second year the students spent the day at the museum for Pioneer Days near the end of the school year. The kindergarten, first and second grade classes rotated through the historical stations in the morning, and the third, fourth and fifth grade classes did so in the afternoon. At the ice... Full story
Mendoza's Community Pride Shines In Prescott Editor's Note: This is the first of a three-part series of profiles on the winners of this year's Times $500 community service scholarships given to Waitsburg, Prescott and Dayton students. These three seniors were chosen for our scholarship based on community service, grades, need and their bright futures. Pedro Mendoza is the scholarship winner from Prescott High School. P RESCOTT - Pedro Mendoza, a graduating senior at Prescott High School, spent...
Twenty WHS Graduates Honored By School Staff, Friends, Family W AITSBURG - Ten girls and 10 boys earned standing ovations, cheers and plenty of scholarship money during the 116th commencement at Waitsburg High School last Friday. The seniors marched into the gym in full caps, gowns, stoles and brightly colored cords to cheerful, upbeat music played by the high school band. Families were treated to a special slideshow of photos of the graduates throughout their lives bringing back happy memories... Full story
WAITSBURG - After 30 years selling liquor on Main Street in Waitsburg, Bonnie Olson closed the doors of her liquor and spirits store on May 21. Olson had obtained a license from the state before the big transition that allowed her to carry and sell liquor, and but she recently decided that running her own store wasn't a priority. "I just decided I really didn't need to do that," Olson said. Initiative 1183 was passed by voters in the last General Election. The initiative took liquor sales in Washington out of the hands of the Liquor Control...
WAITSBURG - The WP Cardinal track and field team had state champions and personal records to celebrate last Wednesday night. And while the WP Tiger baseball team didn't come away with any state trophies this year, they had many moments of their own to cheer about. The athletes and their families gathered at Waitsburg Elementary School for food and awards to top off a successful season. Track Head coach Jeff Bartlow said he had about 50 athletes turn out for track this year and he said each of them made the season memorable for him. "It's my fav...
LAKEWOOD - WP's lone golfer Dakota Baker made it to the state competition in Lakewood on May 22 and 23 and despite pouring rain and tough competition he placed 16th overall. Baker tied with Colfax golfer Hunter Weitze with 176 points total. In the first round, Baker shot a 92 and in the second round he improved considerably and shot an 84. Baker has been playing and practicing alongside the DeSales golf team all year. DeSales won the overall state golf competition, but DeSales coach Lon Olson...
SPOKANE - James Lehr, a 2010 graduate of Waitsburg High School, is a shot put and discus champion in his conference and he's hoping to be an NCAA champion in the near future. Lehr, who has attended Spokane Falls Community College for the past two years, is working on his degree to teach special education. Most recently in his college athletic career, he placed first in the conference meet in the discus and the shot put on May 21 and 22 in Spokane. That's an improvement from 2011 when he placed f...
WALLA WALLA - Frank Brown wants to be clear about why he wants to be a Walla Walla County Commissioner - and that's to serve people. "I want to work for the people," he said. Brown, who is 58 and lives on Blue Creek Road, is a 1973 graduate of Walla Walla High School and has lived here most of his life. He did leave the area for college in St. Louis and Seattle to study forensics and engineering, but since 1989 he has lived on his current 20 acres in the Mill Creek area. Brown is the third... Full story
DAYTON - Dayton's alleged elusive squatter-burglar Daniel Baxter has reached a plea agreement with the prosecutor's office that will put him in prison for 40 months. According to Columbia County Prosecutor Rea Culwell, the state and Baxter, with his attorney Andrea Burkhart, reached a plea agreement last week. The agreement says Baxter will plead guilty to seven of his 28 total burglary-related charges. Culwell said he will plead guilty to making false or misleading statements to a law...
CHENEY - The WP Cardinal men's track and field team racked up 46 points in the state meet in Cheney on Friday and Saturday and placed fourth overall - higher than the team's fifth-place finish last year. The Riverside Christian men's team won the competition with 48 points. The Cardinals participated in 10 events in the state finals on Saturday. Despite the chilly win, some athletes really showed their colors. "We had some very good performances and I was really proud of my kids," said head...
WAITSBURG - Last week, new City Councilman KC Kuykendall asked the council whether it would like to add a prayer or invocation to the opening procedures of the monthly council meeting. The council did not make a decision last Wednesday on whether the members would like a prayer to be added to the proceedings because it would like to hear from community members on the topic. "It was an obvious gap in our proceedings," Kuykendall said the morning following his proposal. "It has an obvious benefit to our process." Kuykendall said the benefit that... Full story
DAYTON - The Future Business Leaders of America in Dayton are studying and competing to become the cream of the crop in the business world and the practical job interview and parliamentary procedure skills they earn will help them in their future careers. Dayton High School teacher Rob Moore said FBLA is one of the fastest-growing clubs in America for high school students. The club has been in Dayton for many years. Moore said when he began teaching at the school in 1987, it was already...
WAITSBURG - City Councilman and longtime Waitsburg resident Scott Nettles has thrown his hat in the ring to run against incumbent Mike Hewitt for State Senator of the 16th District. He announced his candidacy last week but has not yet filed to run. Nettles said he will run on the Democratic ticket. "I've been kicking the idea around for the last couple of year," Nettles said. "I want to make sure (working people) have a voice." Nettles said because Hewitt has recently run unopposed, it felt...
WALLA WALLA - The Dayton and Waitsburg- Prescott track and field teams had some surprising and great successes at subdistricts last Wednesday at Martin Field in Walla Walla. The top eight finishers in each event will be on their way to compete in districts on May 17 and 18 in Clarkston. For being such a small team, the Bulldogs had a great showing at subdistricts and will be sending athletes to districts in a variety of events. Veteran trackster Adam Strohbehn had a great day last Wednesday. He qualified for districts by placing fourth in the...
