Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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DAYTON-The Texaco truck stop at 533 W. Main St. is now open for business as the Shop 'n Go 2. The new owners are Gurmit Ghuman, Victor Virk, and Paul Soh, and they held a grand opening for their fifth business on Friday of last week. The family owns four other fuel marts, in Walla Walla, Pasco, Prosser, and Granger. Ghuman said the business located at the corner of Hwy. 12 and Cameron St. is a convenient location for truckers, people passing through Dayton, and for local customers. Look for...
DAYTON—Last week, the Hospital District board of commissioners was invited by Commissioner Bob Hutchens to share their thoughts about whether some of the remaining Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) funding received by the District should be used for hospital projects and services. Hutchens serves on the District’s Finance committee. CCHS CEO Shane McGuire explained that any project or service must meet COVID-19 criteria. Many hospital districts have received CARES Ac...
DAYTON-The separation from family and friends and decreased socialization with each other have been difficult for Booker Rest Home residents since the facility was locked down in March to protect its vulnerable population. There is now a little light at the end of the tunnel since Governor Jay Inslee announced his Safe Start for Long Term Care Facility Reopening Recommendations and Requirements on Aug. 12. The good news is the Booker Rest Home is now in Phase 2 of the governor's four-phase...
DAYTON-What began as a way to sell some extra lasagna has become an ongoing labor of love for Weinhard Café owner Mandi Wendt, and a blessing to the recipients of her generosity. Every Friday, for the past several years, Wendt has been preparing take-and-bake meals for sale. This idea was created in 2017 when Wendt made too much lasagna for a fundraiser in memory of an employee who had recently passed away. "Not knowing how many people to expect, I made about 20 too many lasagnas. I didn't...
DAYTON—The Friends of the Dayton Memorial Library have installed their first free Little Library in the courtyard of the Historic Dayton Depot Museum. Books for children and adults stocked in the Little Library are provided by the Friends of the Library. The books come from donation and from library books which have not sold in their book sales. People who take a book can also leave a book. The main goal is to get books into the hands of the public and let them travel among readers instead of be...
Virtual activities planned DAYTON—It has been “overwhelmingly” decided by The Club’s board of directors, not to open to coincide with the Aug. 25 start of school, but to delay opening for up to four weeks, depending on the local COVID-19 situation. “I agree with their very thoughtful decision. It wasn’t an easy one to come to,” said Jim Pearson, Director of The Club, on Monday. The board met on Aug. 11 and discussed all the complicating factors, as they considered whether to open or not. He sa...
Paige's Floral and Gifts to open the end of Sept. DAYTON-"Who can go into business with their daughter? How often does that happen?" asked Laura Auckerman, who took time out from learning the business at SnapDragon Floral and Gifts for an interview last Friday. Laura Auckerman and her daughter, Paige Auckerman, will be taking the business over from mother/daughter dynamic duo Vicky Beckmeyer and Cara Watts at the end of September. The Auckermans have to jump-in the same way Watts and Beckmeyer...
DAYTON—During the regular Dayton City Council meeting last week, special guests Judi Pilcher and Dianne McKinley requested and received authorization to move forward with a research and compatibility study to use the two most southern bays of the City Hall Fire Department garage for expansion of the Food Bank. The Columbia County Food Bank has seen an increase in service from 40 families each week to 185 families, and the current facility is not adequate to meet the increase of needed food stock...
DAYTON—Museum Event Coordinator Shellie McLeod said the Sat. Aug. 1 benefit for the Dayton Historic Depot was a resounding success. A game was played where attendees were shown an architectural element of a particular Dayton building, and then asked to identify it, using the chat function on Zoom. The first person to answer correctly won a pair of Depot wine glasses, beer glasses, or coffee mugs, of their choosing. McLeod said Emcee Shawn Brown did an outstanding job of keeping things light and...
DAYTON—With less than two weeks before the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, Jan and Sterling Leonard are concerned about sending their two children, Leann, and Christian, back into the classroom, considering the COVID-19 outbreak. “I constantly question if we are making the right choice to have them return to school,” Leonard said. “It’s my biggest hope that all school personnel will do whatever they can to take social distancing and mask-wearing seriously, to keep everyone safe.” Pa...
DAYTON—Shawn Brown has been elected by the Port of Columbia commissioners to fill the open seat on the commission, which was vacated in June when Dan Aschenbrenner moved out of District No. 1. Brown said, “I am very interested in two things: First, giving back to this community that I have grown to love. Second, participating in the vital role of the Port around economic development.” Brown has spent the last seventeen years in the field of Real Estate as a residential lender. He said his exper...
DAYTON-In a diary entry dated March 5, 1933, Marie Boldman mentions making the "Flower Garden Quilt," similar to the raffle quilt, which was on display at last Saturday's quilt show at the Boldman House Museum. Sylvia Beuhler said Marie Boldman saved quilt patterns from newspapers during the 1920s and 1930s. Ruby Short McKim published the "Flower Garden Quilt" pattern, sometime in 1929 or 1930. The Spokesman-Review published in their newspaper between 1930 and 1933 and Boldman saved it. "She...
DAYTON-Jurors are seeing some changes in the county courtroom layout, practices, and procedures, now that trials are resuming in Superior Court, and in Municipal Court, after a long recess due to the COVID-19 shut-down. Jury Coordinator Jessica Atwood said Superior Court Judge Gary J. Libey has visited the courtroom and taken measurements to make certain social distancing requirements will be met. The state's Chief Justice Debra Stevens has appointed Libey to Presiding Judge for the Columbia,...
DAYTON—On Monday, July 20, the Columbia County Commissioners considered whether to place an advisory ballot before voters in November to assess the people’s interest in becoming part of the State of Liberty. Earlier in July, they were approached by a Liberty State representative, urging them to do so. During a work session on Monday of last week, the commissioners decided not to proceed with that. Commissioner Ryan Rundell said he cast his vote as more of a “not yet” vote rather than a straight...
DAYTON-What better location for the County's Public Health Department than the building on North Second Street, which has been a medical clinic, serving Dayton residents, since the 1930s? "I think it's going to be a great move for the community," said County Public Health Director Martha Lanman standing inside the building at the end of July. When the full-scale interior remodel is finished, there will be enough room for all the Health Department staff. Some of the team are working at the County...
Continues supporting the community DAYTON—This week, Bette Lou Crothers is wrapping up a forty three-year career as an insurance agent in Dayton. Not to worry, our Town Mother is not leaving us. “I’m still going to be downtown bugging everybody, doing All Wheels and Christmas Kickoff,” she said. There is nothing retiring about this hard-working Dayton booster. In high school and during college breaks, Crothers worked at Dorsey’s restaurant waiting tables. After she and Gene Crothers got married...
DAYTON—Columbia County Public Health Director Martha Lanman has reported one new positive case of COVID-19, over the past weekend, in a woman under the age of 50. To date, 339 people have been tested for the virus in Columbia County. A woman in her 60s tested positive in March and has since recovered. Seven people related to one household who tested positive have also recovered. A man under the age of 50 has tested positive on July 9 and is recovering at home. Two tests are pending. There h...
DAYTON-Guy Strot presided over his first school board meeting last week. Strot is the new superintendent for the Dayton School District, replacing Doug Johnson, who retired on June 30. Strot told the Board of Directors the Dayton schools would reopen on August 29. He said the goal is to have all the students back for all five days. He has met with and will continue to meet with, Public Health Director Martha Lanman, regarding COVID-19 requirements. "She is going to be a great partner for us. I...
DAYTON-Step inside the cool interior of an old barn on a warm summer day, and as your eyes adjust to the dark interior, and your senses are assailed by the locked-in aroma of hay, livestock, and old timber, present-day focus can easily transport you to the past. According to County Extension Agent Paul Carter, there could be fifty, or more, barns, of all ages, styles, and conditions, in Columbia County. Two of the county's older barns are standing taller, and two more will be, soon, thanks to...
DAYTON—Port of Columbia Executive Director Jennie Dickinson said the county’s unemployment rate held relatively steady, at 10.5 percent in May, compared to 10.4 percent in April. June rates are not yet available. The state unemployment rate dropped from 15.8 percent to 14.8 percent over the same period of time, she said. Additional emergency assistance is on the horizon to help local businesses and nonprofits. The Port will be the conduit for funds from three different sources. Dickinson sai...
DAYTON—Dayton residents can phone the Dayton City Hall with non-emergency animal control complaints, and leave a message for staff in the city shops, who will be handling those calls said Mayor Zac Weatherford at last week’s meeting of the Dayton City Council, He said staff have been trained in handling those types of calls, and complaints will be investigated the following business day, including calls that come in after hours, or on weekends. The number to call direct is 382-4571. Wea...
DAYTON—Garry Snyder, owner of Christy’s Realty in Dayton said local home sales remain strong, in spite of the state mandated restrictions on in-person meetings, put in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 . “I’ve had a very good year,” Snyder said. “It has been very busy. We’ve had a lot of sales under contract.” Snyder said there are fewer current listings, but that was true for this time of year even before the COVID-19 restrictions. Snyder has thirteen active listings with home prices...
DAYTON—Finances for the Columbia County Health System continue to be impacted due to the COVID-19 situation, which caused a significant reduction of patient services during the first months of the year, according to CCHS CEO Shane McGuire. An average of 771 patient visits were recorded at the Columbia Family Clinic, during the first three months of the year, but only 542 visits were recorded in May. However, the month of May saw an increase in patient volumes in several areas; including R...
DAYTON—Doug Johnson is a man who loves kids and he will be involved with them, in some way, even after he retires at the end of June. Johnson has been in the field of education for over 41 years, teaching history to middle school students, serving as a school principal, and as a school superintendent. For the past year, he has performed a balancing act at the Dayton School District, as school superintendent and principal of the elementary school. Johnson stepped in to fill the vacant e...
DAYTON—This is year two of the Dayton Country Club’s five-year strategic plan to achieve financial independence and sustainability for the Touchet Valley Golf Course, said Sean Thurston who has led the charge for securing grants for Club projects. The primary goal in year two is the installation of an underground irrigation system, which will reduce labor expenses and decrease electrical expenses for the County while increasing the quality of the golf course and fairgrounds. Saving water for...
