Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 551 - 575 of 610
DAYTON - The Columbia County Board of Commissioners Wednesday approved a motion that would allow Columbia, Garfield and Asotin Counties to work together to complete their state-mandated Shoreline Master Programs. The cities of Starbuck and Clarkston are also likely to join the effort. Each county and city in the state which has a waterway designated as a "shoreline of significance" - defined as a river, large lake or marine waterfront - must complete an SMP to meet the requirements of Was...
DAYTON - Booker Rest home sits just a few doz- en yards away from the Touchet River and the dike path that runs along its east side. It’s an easy walk through the grass next to the city’s soccer and baseball fields. But it’s not an easy roll for a wheelchair. The Columbia Cares Coalition of Dayton has begun a project to build a path from the Booker parking lot to the paved dike path. It will run alongside the north fence of the athletic fields. The path will allow Booker residents and other... Full story
DAYTON - John Smiley, a retired hospital administrator from Prosser, has begun work as part-time interim CEO at Columbia County Health System in Dayton. He takes over for Dale Polla, who agreed to resign August 1 after less than a year on the job. Smiley spent about six months as CCHS's interim CEO in 2012, after the departure of Charlie Button and prior to Polla's hiring. "Smiley is highly respected in the state," said CCHS board chair Lisa Naylor in an interview. "He knows everybody and he...
When Dale Polla was hired last fall as CEO of the Columbia County Health System, we at The Times, along with most other community mem- bers, breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that finally a long stretch of turmoil at our local healthcare provider had ended. Apparently it hadn't. On August 1, Polla agreed to resign during the regular Columbia County Health System Board of Director's meet- ing. In interviews given after the resignation, board chair Lisa Naylor indicated that the board was...
DAYTON - Portland General Electric Company announced it completed purchase of the development rights for a portion of the Lower Snake River Wind Energy Project from Puget Sound Energy on August 2. The purchase includes 116 wind turbine sites in northern Columbia County, east of Highway 12. PGE spokesperson Brianne Hyder said that construction at the site is expected to begin within a month, with completion in early 2015. The new project will be called the Tucannon River Wind Farm. Hyder s... Full story
DAYTON - Washington Federal, a Seattle-based banking company, an- nounced Thursday that it has entered into an agreement to purchase 51 branches in four western states from Bank of America. Local employees would not comment for the record, but confirmed that Dayton's B of A branch is one of them. A press release issued by Washington Federal said the branches it is purchasing are in Washington, Oregon, Ida- ho and New Mexico. Nine- teen of those branches are in eastern Washington, where...
DAYTON - The Dayton High School and Dayton Elementary School build- ings both received a major overhaul in 1984. That may seem like yesterday to some, but school administrators say the changes made then were designed to meet the school's needs for 20 years. It's been nearly 30, and a new round of renovation is sorely needed, they say. A committee made up of school board members, administrators and staff, and local citizens, has been meeting for nearly a year to discuss a potential renovation...
DAYTON - About 15 miles north of Starbuck can be found one of the most stunning sites in the Pacific Northwest. From a vantage point above it, Palouse Falls State Park provides a spectacular view of its namesake falls and the river that feeds it. The park also offers great views of the canyon running south away from the falls toward the Snake River. The state park encompasses 105 acres and includes a campground, large picnic area, restrooms and extensive walking trails. A Washington State Parks... Full story
DAYTON - The Longears return to town this year with an expanded schedule over two weekends. The third annual Mule Mania event starts this weekend with workshops for mule and donkey owners Saturday and Sunday at the Columbia County Fairgrounds. More than 150 mules and their owners - and sev- eral hundred visitors - are expected in town for the nine-day event. All events at Mule Mania are free and open to the public. Except for the downtown parade, all activities will be held at the Columbia...
DAYTON - The Port of Columbia is joining in a partnership with a group called Walla Walla Flat Roof Educational Energy - or "WW-FREE" - to install a solar power generation system on the roof of the first Blue Mountain Station building. The building - the first at the Port's new artisan food center here - is cur- rently under construction, and is expected to be com- pleted by October. Port Manager Jennie Dickinson says the installation could save the Port as much $2,800 in energy costs each... Full story
DAYTON - Dayton May- or Craig George was elected President of the Association of Washington Cities last week during their Annual Conference in Kennewick. He will serve a one-year term. The AWC is a non-profit group that represents all of Washington's 281 cities and towns. It is currently in its 80th year. During the past two years, George has served as secretary/treasurer and then vice president of the group's board of direc- tors. George says that the AWC provides many impor- tant services for...
DAYTON - Fire fighters from Columbia County Fire Districts 2 and 3 responded to a 911 call at 3:30 Satur- day morning and found a travel trailer fully engulfed in flames at the Shangri-La RV Park west of Dayton. A man's badly-burned body was found inside the RV after the blaze was ex- tinguished. The victim was identified as 52-year-old Gary Spainhower. Spain- hower's dog also died in the blaze. Kandi Dame, who lives in the space next to Spain- hower's with her husband and daughter, said she...
DAYTON - On a rainy Tuesday morning, members of the Dayton Swim Team practiced their swim strokes in sweatshirts and sneakers as they sat on benches in the pool house. They call it "dry- land swimming." "We don't go in the water until it's 75 degrees," said coach Rosie Nechodom. She noted that warm weather is on the way and it won't be long. More than 60 kids, aged five to 18, have signed up for this year's team. Team mem- bers practice at the Dayton City Pool each weekday from 8 to 10 a.m., exc...
DAYTON - Wesley Hoskins grew up on a farm on Whetstone creek in the 1920s and 30s. During those years he witnessed some amazing changes. In 1930, there was no electricity on the farm. By 1940, the REA co-op had brought electricity to farm- ers on the Whetstone, and throughout Columbia County. In 1930, Hoskins' fam- ily - and all their neighbors - plowed, harrowed and harvested wheat using draft horses or mules. By 1940, many farmers in Columbia County were using Caterpillar tractors. Hoskins,...
DAYTON - Karen Scha- rer spent 29 years working for the King County plan- ning department. During that time she worked in of- fices in downtown Seattle, Renton and Snoqualmie. More recently she worked as a city planner in Auburn and Sea-Tac. "This is the first time I've ever been able to walk to work," Scharer said of her ten-minute commute on foot to her new job at Dayton City Hall. "I love it." Scharer took over as Day- ton City Planner in late April. She replaces Kim Lyonnais, who was hired...
DAYTON - A special meeting of the Dayton School Board will be held June 19 to discuss potential school facility improvements. The meeting will be in the high school auditorium from 6:30 - 8 p.m. The public is invited to attend. According to Superintendent Doug Johnson, the architectural and engineering firm BLRB Architects, has been hired by the district to prepare a study and survey to determine what potential projects the district might undertake. Representatives from BLRB's Spokane offic... Full story
DAYTON - Columbia County Planning Director Kim Lyonnais told county commissioners last week that his office may have to devote more than 2,000 additional hours in the next two years to planning and inspection efforts related to construction of Phase II of the Lower Snake River Wind Energy Project. He asked the commissioners to consider adding a full-time planning position to his office to cover the increased workload. "I don't think of this as a 'part-time temporary' posi- tion," Lyonnais said....
DAYTON - Portland General Electric Company announced Monday that it has agreed to purchase development rights for a por- tion of Phase II of the Lower Snake River Wind Energy Project in Columbia County from Puget Sound Energy. PGE is a utility based in Portland that serves more than 800,000 customers in Oregon. In a press release issued Monday, PGE said the por- tion of the project they are taking over includes 116 wind turbine sites on land north of Dayton and west of Highway 12. It will use...
DAYTON - Parents, grand- parents, friends and relatives filled the seats and lined the outside isles of the Liberty Theater Saturday afternoon to watch about 30 young dancers perform. The 25-minute show was put on by students of Patti Jo Amerein, who took part in what may have been Dayton’s first-ever dance recital. Amerein’s dance studio is called “The Studio,” and her students are just completing their spring session of classes. The Studio has been open for three years. Amerein offers classes...
DAYTON - Portland General Electric Company announced Monday that it has agreed to purchase development rights for a portion of Phase II of the Lower Snake River Wind Energy Project in Columbia County from Puget Sound Energy. PGE is a utility based in Portland that serves more than 800,000 customers in Oregon. In a press release issued Monday, PGE said the portion of the project they are taking over includes 116 wind turbine sites on land north of Dayton and west of Highway 12. It will use 2.3...
CHENEY - Eight members of the WP boys track team traveled to the state 2B track meet here Friday and Saturday. They left with the third-place trophy, coming in a point shy of second place La Conner. As he's done in every 2B meet in which he's been healthy, Junior James Thompkins dominated the sprints. He won the 100, 200 and 400 meter dashes and anchored the winning 4x100 relay team. Those four wins accounted for 40 of WP's 57 team points. The relay team also included DJ Leroue, Brendon D... Full story
CLARKSTON - The WP Cardinal boys came up five points short against a dominant Asotin team, failing to capture the 2B District 9 team championship after six straight winning years. But the team had many outstanding performances, and they'll send eight boys to the state championships in Cheney this weekend. James Thompkins continued his dominance in the sprints, winning the 100, 200 and 400 meter dashes and anchoring the winning 4 x 100 relay team. Thompkins will be one of the favorites at st...
DAYTON - John Hutch- ens knows exactly how many passes it takes to clean the floor of the multipurpose room at Dayton Elemen- tary School. "Thirty-three times," he said, waving his finger up and down the floor while pushing the Speed Scrub 2001 (a.k.a "Zamboni") past a crouched photographer. It wasn't between peri- ods at a hockey game, but a small crowd gathered any- way to watch, shortly after a lunch period last week, as Hutchens completed the task for one of the last times. He retired...
COLFAX - James Thompkins won the 100, 200 and 400 meter races and anchored the winning 4 x 100 relay team, as WP overwhelmed the competition at the NE 1B/2B League Meet in Colfax April 30. WP scored 151.5 points, ahead of a distant Colfax, with 92.5 points in second. James Thompkins is coming off a sprained ankle and shined with four first places," said WP Coach Jeff Bartlow. "His 400 was a bit off, but his 100 and 200 were both PR's and he anchored the 4x1 (Alex Dill, Dalton Lerue, Luke Alex... Full story
DAYTON - In a special meeting last week, the Port of Columbia commissioners agreed to issue bonds through Banner Bank of up to $300,000 to complete construction of the first building at Blue Mountain Station. The vote was 2-1, with Commissioner Earle Marvin dissenting. The move will allow the Port to proceed with construction of the first phase of the artisan food center planned for the site at Dayton's west end. Five firms have signed letters of commitment to rent the eight spaces in Building 1...
