Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 265
WAITSBURG — The Walla Walla Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Police, Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, and SWAT responded to a reported domestic assault at 19391 E. Hwy 12 in Waitsburg on Sunday, June 30. An assault was reported at 7 p.m.; deputies arrived on the scene around 7:15 p.m. According to the WWSO, a father reported his adult son hit his other adult son with a wooden rod. Units arrived and set up a perimeter. Deputies on the scene attempted to contact the suspect by hailing and calling, but there was no response. The SWAT team...
WAITSBURG-Summer youth programs kicked into gear this weekend for kids in Waitsburg, Dayton, and Prescott. The Waitsburg Christian and Waitsburg Presbyterian churches offered Vacation Bible School to preschool through sixth-grade students from June 26 through 28. This year's "Breaker Rock Beach" theme was a hit with more than 40 kids who enjoyed the beach decorations, crafts, songs, games, and other activities. On Saturday, June 29, from 9 to 11 a.m., the two churches and Waitsburg's Firemen's...
Bar Bacetto and Gaudy Gals on Main are closing, and former city hall sale is moving forward. WAITSBURG -The last few years have seen significant changes on Waitsburg's Main Street. This June, the city lost two popular businesses, and several empty buildings are finding new owners. Mike and Erin Easton announced they would not reopen Bar Bacetto in July. The James Beard 2024 nominee for Best New Restaurant opened in October 2022 and offered Easton's signature pasta, cocktails, and excellent servi...
WAITSBURG—At a special meeting on June 13, the Waitsburg City Council voted to accept Patraic Slattery’s offer for the former city hall building. The offer included a project description: an organic wine bar on the ground floor and eight hotel rooms upstairs. Slattery is completing his remodel and rebranding of the former Weinhard Hotel, which will reopen as the Hotel Hardware this summer. His plans for the city hall building were similar to the Dayton project On Thursday, Council member Jillian Henze announced the agreement on her public pag...
WAITSBURG/AN TIR KINGDOM-Waitsburg's Preston Park will be the weekend base for members of the Society for Creative Anachronism from June 7 to 9. The society is an international community in which members choose a pre-seventeenth-century period to research through immersive reenactment. Dame Katherine of Akornebir, once Baroness of Wastekeep, and known in present-day as Kathy Carpenter, encouraged anyone interested in history to come to the park, ask questions, borrow a tunic, and join the...
DAYTON - Area non-profits and charities, including Project Timothy, Blue Mountain Action Council, and the Walla Walla YWCA, appreciate the generosity of retired computer tech Gordon Gerlitz. After owning and operating GWhiz Computing for twenty years, Gerlitz now offers his considerable skills to help his community. Gerlitz has collected, refurbished, and donated over ninety laptops, tablets, and phones since he started this project in January 2022. He is now within five devices of 100, a goal...
The Waitsburg City Council met at the city hall for its regular meeting on Wednesday, May 15, at 7 p.m. Council members Kevin House, Jim Romine, Jennifer Bishop, and Court Ruppenthal attended in person, and Jillian Henze attended on Zoom. In new business, the council discussed Ordinance 2024-1090, which would amend the municipal code regarding how the city council conducts business. Council members would no longer be limited in the use of a virtual option to attend meetings. Another change was adding Section I(10), which limits council members...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg Citywide Garage Sale is coming up on Saturday, June 1. "The Times" will publish the go-to map for the event in the May 30, 2024, edition. The map will have addresses for all the participating garage and yard sales in Waitsburg and Prescott. It is free to be included on the map, so send your garage sale details to "The Times" to be included. Information must be sent to "The Times" by 3 p.m. Friday, May 24. Please email advertising@waitsburgtimes.com with all the necessary...
PRESCOTT - Laura Chabre's fourth-grade students participated in an art workshop with artist Victor Trejo, a native of Mexico City. Working with clay and papier mâché, Trejo worked with the kids to create mythical and magical creatures in the Mexican folk-art style of alebrijes. Trejo first drew examples of animals the kids could choose to create alebrijes. Next, he demonstrated how to use clay to make armatures for the papercraft pieces. Working with red clay, the students filled their w...
WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg BE, P.E.O. held the chapter's 100th Anniversary luncheon at Town Hall on Sunday, April 28, 2024. Over 100 attendees, including long-time members, new members, and B.I.L (Brothers in Love) members, enjoyed the luncheon. The hall was decorated with period clothing and memorabilia from the Waitsburg Historic Society collection. Members recognized at the luncheon included Barbara Danforth, who has been a member for 60 years. Lynn Mantz-Powers, Linda Stonecypher, Kathy...
WAITSBURG - Four bike riders stopped at Ten Ton Coffee in Waitsburg on their estimated 50-day journey to NYC. Bob Zalnis, Chris Watson, Lucas Murga, and Paul Brazeau began on April 24 after the riders and bikes arrived at the Seattle Airport. Chris Watson traveled the farthest, from Salisbury, England, to meet up with friends Brazeau and Zalnis from Wisconsin and Murga from California. The bike adventurers told The Times, "We do this not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be...
WAITSBURG -The Waitsburg Commercial Club honored community members at its annual meeting and community service awards dinner on Tuesday, April 16. The event was held at American 35, where guests enjoyed a lasagna dinner, desserts, a silent auction, and a chance to celebrate Waitsburg's one-of-a-kind community. The 2024 Community Service Award was presented to Jillian Henze. Incoming Commercial Club President Tiffany Baxter presented the award to Henze for her work on the Waitsburg City Council...
DAYTON - The Dayton Historical Depot Society (DHDS) is sponsoring a free screening of "Colors of Threads" on Monday, April 22, at 7 p.m. at the Liberty Theater in Dayton. The movie "Colors of Threads" was written by Josie Henderson, a WWU alumna, and produced by the Center for Media Ministry (CMM) at Walla Walla University. The screening at The Liberty will begin at 7 p.m. , followed by a question-and-answer period with producers. The film was produced as a proof of concept project, a short...
WALLA WALLA - The Columbia Walla Walla Fire District 2 volunteers and board are grateful for the voters' approval of the 2023 Levy Lid Lift. In allocating these resources, the department has prioritized hiring a full-time, paid Fire Chief. The department understands the importance of the community having an opportunity to give input on leadership of CWWFD2. Assistant Fire Chief Matt Spring formed a hiring committee of department and community members to begin the process. The committee reviewed...
OLYMPIA - On Tuesday, March 26, Senate Bill 5824, sponsored by Sen. Sam Hunt (D-Olympia) and requested by Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, was signed into law in Olympia. The bill raised the required number of petitioners from 10% to 25% of eligible voters. In addition, eligible voters include all residents who pay taxes to fund the library district. "The Dayton library was on the verge of becoming the first library in the country to shut down because of a dispute over the books inside," Hunt sai...
WAITSBURG-Students and chaperones from Tamba-Sasayama, Japan, visited Waitsburg on April 2. Their first stop was lunch at Ten Ton Coffee, where barista Cheyenne Frohreich shared a scrapbook and photos from her exchange trip to Sasayama. Following lunch, the group walked down Main Street to the Bruce House where Waitsburg Historical Society members Sarah Wilson and Margaret Terry gave the group a tour. of the museum's collection. Next, the students experienced the creative side of town with...
WAITSBURG— Waitsburg City Council held its regular meeting on March 27 after being delayed one week due to council members’ availability. In public comment, Joy Smith told the council that with the success of new businesses in town, there is now a budding parking problem. She said Waitsburg Commercial Club and the city have used signage to direct visitors to additional parking, usually the city-owned property west of the Main Street bridge. Smith suggested it may be time for businesses to post parking options on their websites. She also sai...
DAYTON - The Columbia County Commissioners met for a special meeting on March 25, 2024. Chairman Jack Miller and commissioners Ryan Rundell and Marty Hall were present. The commissioners and County Prosecutor Dale Slack discussed changes to the county's coroner services required due to amendments to RCW 36.16.030. The coroner function must be separated from prosecutors starting in 2024. The commissioners decided not to turn the position into an elected office, choosing to appoint or contract...
WAITSBURG - Members of the Waitsburg Corral Wranglers and Pen Pals 4H gathered on Main Street Monday afternoon to break into four scavenger-hunting groups for their annual food drive. Each team received a list with nearly 50 items broken into 11 categories. Items were given values from 10 to 50 points each. The team with the highest point total would win the evening's philanthropic competition. Coveted items on the list included proteins like canned tuna, chicken, and ham, each with 40 points....
PRESCOTT - After losing Izzy in January, Tawnya and Mickey Richards have decided to begin another dromedary journey. Izzy left a big hole in the community and the Richards family's hearts. Hearing how his friends and neighbors felt about the sweet boy, Mickey knew they missed Izzy. However, finding a new camel was not only about the community. Mickey misses his friend of 17 years. Mickey asked Tawnya what she thought about a new camel. She was on board but asked if they could look for a baby...
DAYTON/PRESCOTT —The Club, which offers after-school and out-of-school programs, is working with community stakeholders to develop a water safety component as part of its summer program. Representatives from The Friends of the Dayton Library (FDL), Dayton Hospital, Kiwanis Club, and Prescott Joint Parks and Recreation met on March 7 to discuss the program. Club Program Director Shakira Bye told the group that there was a safety issue for kids in the community who do not have access to swim lessons. She said that until a pool is built in D...
DAYTON—The Friends of Dayton Memorial Library is hosting an innovative evening of conversation on Thursday, March 7, from 6:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. Set up in a café setting, the event for Columbia County residents will be held at the Columbia County Fairgrounds Pavilion in Dayton. The topic of the evening’s discussion will be “Books in Libraries,” exploring the challenges facing the public and school libraries in Columbia County. The Walla Walla Civility Project (WWCP) will provide the format and facilitate the event designed to enhance personal...
Council member Charles steps down WAITSBURG - Mayor Marty Dunn called the city council meeting to order at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 21, 2024. Council members Cindy Bishop, Kevin House, Jim Romine, Jillian Henze, and City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe were in attendance. Hinchliffe introduced representatives from the Washington State Department of Commerce to present the city with a 2023 Governor's Smart Community Award. The Smart Project Award was given to the City of Waitsburg for its...
WAITSBURG - On February 11, the Touchet Valley Acoustic Music Project (TVAMP) began recording local musicians for a new album to be released on CD. This is TVAMP's fourth production, preceded by two CDs for the Blue Mountain Troublemakers and one for Switchgrass Delta. TVAMP Project Leader Kate Hockersmith said, "We have so many wonderful local musicians in and around Waitsburg, and for years I've wanted to record local singer/songwriters. In early February, Mike Easton of Bar Bacetto,...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met in the high school library at 6:30 p.m. on February 21, 2024. Board members present were Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Zac Fabian, Aneesha Dieu, and Grant Griffin. Superintendent Rich Stewart was also present. The board approved the consent agenda, including hiring Danica Porter as the Middle School Head Softball Coach. Dayton FFA Trap Shooting Team members presented plans for an overnight field trip to the Wenatchee area. Six Dayton students expect to p...
