Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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It’s hard to believe that summer’s over for kids and their teachers (though not for the rest of us – September will, no doubt, bring more warm, sunny weather to the Touchet Valley.) School’s already up and running in Dayton and Prescott, and kids head back to school next week in Waitsburg. Every year at about this time, newspaper editorialists throughout the land write optimistically about the excitement of the upcoming new school year. They also, without fail, give a stern warning to all of...
A family gathered in front of the Columbia County Courthouse Tuesday morning to look over the latest updates on the Grizzly Bear Complex Fire . . ....
DAYTON – During a special meeting on Monday, the Columbia County Board of Commissioners rejected a motion to ban growing, processing and sales of marijuana in the unincorporated parts of the county. The motion to ban, which was made by Commissioner Merle Jackson, failed on a 2-1 vote, with Commissioners Dwight Robanske and Mike Talbott voting against. After the vote, the commissioners asked Columbia County Planning Director Kim Lyonnais and County Prosecutor Rea Culwell, who were both in a...
Columbia County Commissioner Dwight Robanske said it best on Monday: “The ban will not stop pot use. It probably won’t even slow it down.” And so, on Monday, the commissioners voted 2-1 against a proposed ban on marijuana businesses in the unincorporated parts of the county. (See story on Page 1.) I’m encouraged to see a big dose of realism by the commissioners on pot businesses. Even Commissioner Merle Jackson, who made the motion for the ban, and lost the vote, made some very constructive sugg...
County has purchased former PGE office on E. Clay for Prosecutor DAYTON – The Columbia County Prosecutor's Office will move to a new location on South Clay Street in Dayton next month. According to Prosecutor Rea Culwell, the Columbia County Commissioners have agreed to purchase the building at 215 East Clay Street, next door to the County Planning office. The sale was expected to close this week. The building formerly housed the Portland General Electric Dayton office during the construction o...
I drove with trepidation toward Walla Walla on Friday morning, waiting for the inevitable back-up of cars. I knew I would have to carefully thread through the line of young hipsters in their cars at the airport exit waiting to get to their camping spots. I brought walking shoes with thick socks in case I had to park somewhere beyond College Place and hike back to downtown Walla Walla. As I breezed through town on Highway 12, the cluster never appeared, (though all the left turns were blocked)....
On the front page of The Times this week is a tragic story about a young Dayton man who is being charged with multiple counts of child rape. Besides being terrible for those involved, stories like this present one of the most difficult dilemmas that those of us who put out newspapers face. This young man and the other people close to this story are obviously going through a very difficult time. Having the charges against him publicized on the front page of a local newspaper, even in vague...
Emergency services have been on the minds of Touchet Valley residents a lot this summer, what with four major building fires in Dayton and the Blue Creek Fire in Walla Walla County. None of the causes of these fires has been determined for sure, but they’ve kept a lot of firefighters and other emergency personnel up a lot of nights in the last few weeks. So it’s fitting that this week, Dayton and Waitsburg residents got to see many of these emergency management people during daylight hours and...
It’s better to want what you have than to have what you want. ~Ancient proverb Those are good words to ponder if you’re looking to have a more satisfying life. But they beg one other question: What if you have a lot of stuff you don’t want? Answer: hold a yard sale. Last weekend, many of us who live on the South Touchet Road near Dayton took part in the third annual South Touchet Yard Sale. In our case, we passed the first two years. But as proud owners of a large barn, we felt we were guilt...
As The Times was going to press on Tuesday, many of our local firefighters and emergency responders were busy helping out at the Blue Creek Fire, east of Walla Walla. That fire was called in shortly after noon Monday, and by Tuesday afternoon, it was reported by the Blue Mountain Interagency Dispatch Center to cover 5,000 acres. Teams have been called in from around the northwest to help fight that blaze, including multiple aircraft. One home and several outbuildings had been destroyed as of Tue...
Back in the fall of 2010, the Dayton City Council and many city residents had a contentious debate over whether to allow limited use of off-road vehicles on some city streets. In the end, in a split vote, the council decided to kill the proposal. As we report on the front page this week, the issue is back on the council’s to-do list. But a lot has changed in five years. In 2013, the Washington State Legislature created a new category of vehicle, called a WATV, or wheeled all-terrain vehicle. T...
DAYTON – The Blue Mountain Station Co-op is sponsoring its second annual FoodStock event Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. FoodStock features food, live music and fun activities. Last year's event took place on the anniversary weekend of the famous 1969 Woodstock music festival. However, since that date conflicts with the Gentlemen of the Road Tour event in Walla Walla next month, FoodStock was moved up a few weeks, according to co-op board member Brad McMasters. "We didn't want to compete with t...
Washington Legislature Slogs On Last week, the Washington State Legislature was within hours of passing a biennial budget, wrapping up business and going home. But a glitch developed at the last minute. Here’s how State Representative Terry Nealey, of Dayton, put it in an email message: Unfortunately, there’s some bad news. Due to some 11th-hour sabotage from Senate Democrats early Wednesday morning, the operating budget is now in jeopardy. The reason is Senate Democrats, despite an agr...
I grew up in the heyday of Smokey the Bear. Smokey drilled into our heads the message that we needed to stir our campfires until they were dead out, and that we must never ever throw a lit cigarette out our car window. Smokey doesn’t get the press he once did (he died in 1976, at the age of 26) but his message is as important as ever - perhaps more so. As The Times’ Dian Ver Valen has been reporting the last couple of weeks, we’re in a drought. River levels are at record lows and tempe...
Last weekend, while all of you were marinating in record triple-digit heat, I was relaxing on Puget Sound, enjoying temperatures in the mid-80s and mild breezes off the water. The official purpose of my trip was to check on my father's boat, which is moored at the Port of Bremerton marina. In reality, that was just a free place to sleep while I got a quick big-city fix. Besides a couple of ferry trips to Seattle, and way too much time and money spent at Starbucks, I took some time Saturday to to...
BREMERTON - The Bremerton Naval Shipyard is one of the largest U.S. Navy facilities. Approximately 190 acres was purchased on Sinclair Inlet in 1891 for what was to be a repair facility. With the advent of World War I, the yard began constructing battleships. It became a major shipbuilding and repair facility during World War II, and to this day remains an important maintenance and repair facility for navy ships. The Puget Sound Navy Museum, located next to the Bremerton ferry dock, tells the st...
I’m sure I don’t totally understand how emergency services operate in and around Waitsburg, but here’s how I can best explain it: The city of Waitsburg has a fire department that puts out fires and responds to other emergencies within the city limits. The area of Walla Walla County surrounding Waitsburg has its own fire department (WW Co. Fire District 2) that responds to emergencies outside the city, but within the county. Then there’s an area in Columbia County that’s nearer to Waitsburg...
WAITSBURG – Troy Larsen knows a thing or two about coaching football. He has been an assistant coach – both volunteer and paid – for the past 15 years for the Waitsburg and WP teams. Larsen takes over head coaching duties next season, after the resignation of longtime head coach Jeff Bartlow. "He's been with me since my second year," Bartlow said of Larsen. "Troy is a deep seated Cardinal. He is a community guy and has a love for Waitsburg. He's the right man for the job." Larsen is a Waits...
Twenty years ago this week, the Dayton Chamber of Commerce attempted an experiment. They decided to hold a car show on Main Street. Dayton's Main Street had recently undergone a complete reconstruction, from the new water and sewer lines to the tops of the new trees and light poles. It was the pride of the city, and the Chamber wanted to show it off. Dayton's State Farm Agent, Bette Lou Crothers, was already a 10-year veteran on the Chamber board, and she agreed to head up the committee to try t...
On that warm June evening in 1973 when I graduated from high school, I can still remember experiencing feelings of anticipation and excitement for the future. In my case I was mostly looking forward to the near future: I had a party to go to later that night, and I couldn’t wait. (And, just for the record, it wasn’t at my parents’ house.) After high school, and the big party, I went on to college for several years, with a break or two mixed in. The thing that surprised me most about colle...
STARBUCK – Local dignitaries, the Dayton High School band and a crowd of well-wishers enjoyed a sunny day at Lyons Ferry Park Friday as they celebrated the park's rejoining the Washington State Park System. During the grand opening ceremony, a new entry sign to the park was unveiled and visitors heard from several speakers, including Southeast Area Manager Gary Vierra and State Representatives Terry Nealey (R Dayton), Joe Schmick (R Colfax) and Mary Dye (R Pomeroy). Visitors also got to view t...
It drives like a boat and has some nicks in the paint. It has what looks like a cigarette burn in the driver's seat. It even includes a working 8-track tape player containing – get this – a well-used Barry Manilow tape. But it's an all-original survivor, and it might be the coolest car you'll ever own. That is if you buy a ticket and win it. For the second year in a row, the Dayton Chamber of Commerce – this time with sponsorship from us, The Times – is raffling off this 1970 Buick Electra...
CHENEY – Dayton High School senior Kaitlyn Andrews was her school's only representative to the state 2B track meet here over the weekend. But she had a stellar meet, snagging three second-place finishes and single-handedly giving Dayton an 8th-place finish in the girls' 2B Division, out of more than 40 teams competing. Andrews missed the top podium spot in the long jump by one-quarter inch, with a jump of 16 feet, 8 ¾ inches. Andrews' javelin throw of 122 feet, 6 inches, was ten feet s...
CHENEY – The Waitsburg-Prescott boys' track team finished a strong sixth in the 2B Division at the Washington State track and field final meet at Eastern Washington University last weekend. Senior Kobie Brown lead his team with a 2nd place in the 300 meter hurdles and 5th in the 100 hurdles. Brown also anchored WP's 7th-place 4X400 meter relay team. Owen Lanning, also a senior, placed 4th in the triple jump, 5th in the long jump and 7th in the 110 meter hurdles. Lanning also competed in the 3...
AKIMA – In their second game in the state softball tournament Friday afternoon, the Dayton girls' softball team faced eventual champion Adna, and felt like they hit a brick wall. Adna scored six first-inning runs and went on to beat the Lady Bulldogs 13-0 in five innings. The Dayton girls got only four hits in that game, while pitchers Savannah McFarland and Madison Mings gave up a total of only eight hits. In their first game Friday morning, Dayton mounted a big comeback against Okanogan and p...
