Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 788
DAYTON-This election year, there are some hotly contested races for Port commission offices. In District 1, Seth Bryan is running for a four-year term against the incumbent Shawn Brown. Bryan said his top priority if elected, will be improving the local economy by working to provide a solid foundation on which to grow. He said the most pressing concern for the Port is recovery from damage caused by the COVID-19 situation including overreaching regulations imposed by the government. "Up to this p...
DAYTON--Ron Asmus, owner of Ron Asmus Homes, Inc in the Tri-Cities, is moving ahead with construction of the new Assisted Living Facility units and he expects construction to begin within the next thirty days. The monthly cost of each leased unit, originally calculated at $12,000 each, has shot up an additional $2,000, because of the high cost of lumber and other building materials, according to CCHS CEO Shane McGuire at last week's hospital board meeting. "Everything is more expensive, right...
DAYTON-In November 2015, Norm Passmore's dental practice closed in Dayton, and treatment options for Medicaid patients became slim. Realizing the importance of preventative dental care to whole-body health, the Columbia County Health System administrators got busy. The result is the Columbia Family Dental clinic located on the Dayton General Hospital campus at 1012 South Third Street. Since the grand opening on June 30, Audra Morgan DMD, Michael Strang DDS, Registered Dental Assistant Cherie...
DAYTON—On Aug. 12, The Times reported on the vaccination rate for the Columbia County Health System employees, which stood at about 52 percent. Columbia County Health System (CCHS) CEO Shane McGuire said some of the 218 employees had reacted strongly to Governor Jay Inslee’s Aug.9 proclamation that health care workers be fully vaccinated by Oct. 18. A few have resigned in response to the mandate. However, he said ongoing support is being provided to help CCHS healthcare workers with their decisi...
DAYTON—A 2020“Washington Child Care Industry Assessment” sponsored by the Washington Department of Commerce characterizes Walla Walla and Columbia counties as childcare “deserts.” This means 96-percent of families in Columbia County and 18-percent of families in Walla Walla counties do not have the childcare they need. In 2020-21 three in-home providers in Columbia County closed their doors, pushing the county into a childcare crisis. The issues for parents who seek care for their children...
DAYTON—A question on the minds of many in our community is why the Columbia County Health System (CCHS) does not require its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Back in January, CCHS employees took an internal survey to assess their receptivity to the vaccine. According to Stephanie Carpenter, COO, one-third said yes, they would. One-third said probably, but not now, and one-third said they would not get the vaccine. Last week, Carpenter said that currently, only a little over half o...
DAYTON--Guy Strot sat down with me last week to talk about his first year as the Dayton School District Superintendent and Elementary School Principal and his thoughts about the upcoming 2021-22 school year. Just days after completing a 390-mile bike ride in California, from Crescent City to San Francisco, he said his legs were still a little sore. “It was a lot hillier than I thought. And of the 390 miles, there were 300 miles with no shoulder, ranging from a six-inch shoulder, and 100 m...
DAYTON—The Port of Columbia has taken a significant leap forward in its quest to bring broadband, high-speed internet access to the local community. In Olympia last week, the Port’s Executive Director Jennie Dickinson and Robert Greene, Manager of Communications and Internet Telecommunications for Columbia Rural Electric, met with representatives of the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) to talk about how the local economy will benefit from such a project. Dic...
DAYTON—The Dayton City Council has passed a resolution authorizing Mayor Zac Weatherford to execute an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) between Columbia County and the City of Dayton for temporary Planning Department services. This will be on an hourly basis, as needed, and as availability and resources allow. It is hoped personnel in the County’s Building and Planning Department will step in on a temporary basis to fill the void after the City’s Community Development and Planning Director was termi...
DAYTON-A special City Council meeting took place on Wednesday, June 30, to discuss future staffing at Dayton City Hall. The meeting was scheduled in the aftermath of the termination of the City Administrator, the Planning and Community Development Director, and the Public Works Director, by Dayton Mayor Zac Weatherford, on June 16. Mayor Weatherford said the City Council would not take public comments or answer questions at this meeting or discuss anything that was not on the agenda. A public...
DAYTON-It has been two weeks since Dayton Mayor Zac Weatherford terminated the employment of the City Administrator, Trina Cole, the Planning and Community Development Director, Meagan Hayes, and the Public Works Director, Jim Costello. The mayor has been on a family vacation and attempts to reach him have been unsuccessful. However, the Times was provided with the following written statement from Weatherford to the Dayton City Council, dated June 16: "Although their work and dedication to our...
DAYTON—The Hospital District’s board of commissioners have authorized a request from Columbia County Health System (CCHS) CEO Shane McGuire to spend $250,000 from CARES Act funds allocated to the District. The requested funds are for the Construction Review Services application, electrical service relocation, and construction-ready documents for the proposed hallway construction project. The hallway to be constructed will join the Acute Care wing of the hospital with Hall One at the Booker Res...
DAYTON-Perhaps you have noticed the Free Little Libraries located at Steve's Grocery and the Dayton Historic Depot. There is another one in Starbuck, which is soon to be relocated to the Starbuck Post Office. And two more are being planned for other locations in Dayton. You may have wondered how to use them and who is behind them. The concept is for people to borrow, or take, a book and replace it with one they have already read or are willing to share. According to Pam Russel, the idea for the...
DAYTON—June 5, at 1 p.m., has been tentatively selected for this year’s senior class graduation ceremony, according to DSD Supt. Guy Strot, at last week’s school board meeting. Strot was short on details but said more information would follow after Governor Jay Inslee’s May 7 COVID-19 update. Sam Korslund, the Gear Up Academic Specialist, has been chosen for the position of Athletic Director for the remainder of the school year. Strot told the board there is one internal candidate and one extern...
DAYTON-On Monday, as many as 101 people attended the Port of Columbia Touchet Valley Trail (TVT) information meeting and to ask questions of the presenters. Brian Hansen, Principal Engineer for Anderson/Perry & Associates, Inc., shared the 30-percent design documents for the trail. He talked about the results of the surveying and ownership research through titles and deeds. Ken Voorhis, a Principal Architect with SPVV Landscape Architects, presented the 30-percent landscape design drawings and...
DAYTON—The Port of Columbia Executive Director Jennie Dickinson reminded those in attendance at the Port Commissioners meeting last week about the Touchet Valley Bike Trail informational meeting, which will take place on Monday, April 26, at 5:30 p.m. on Zoom. Dickinson said most of the marketing for the meeting is in place. Ads have been placed in all the local newspapers and a digital ad campaign in the Union-Bulletin. Information about the meeting is posted on the Port’s Facebook page, as...
DAYTON—Vicki Zoller from the Friends of the Dayton Community Center was a special guest at the Dayton City Council meeting last week. Zoller said fundraising efforts for the feasibility study for the pool/community center have slowed due to the COVID-19 situation. She has written two grants which were both rejected. “There is a lot of need out there right now, and there are not a lot of dollars,” she said. The group is still willing to be the fundraising arm for the $50-60,000.00 feasibility stu...
DAYTON—Only one COVID-19 vaccine clinic was scheduled this week. That clinic took place at the county fairgrounds on Tuesday, when 91-second doses of the Pfizer vaccine were administered. Sixty-five, second doses of the Moderna vaccine have been scheduled for May 4, and 57-second doses are planned for May 11, according to Stephanie Carpenter, Columbia County Health System CCHS CFO, who is in charge of organizing the vaccination clinics. She said the fairgrounds Pavilion would no longer be l...
DAYTON-There will be a licensed daycare vacuum in Dayton, when the only current licensed provider drops out of the business at the end of June, said Paul Ihle, a Community Health Worker for the Columbia County Health System. "To the best of my knowledge, we are down to one licensed daycare provider, Susan Schlenz, and she has announced her retirement this June. . . I believe that Sylvia Demaris is currently not open for home daycare, and Haley Puckett dropped out of the business at the s...
DAYTON-If you find you love the food prepared by Sid Highsmith and Nathanial Steen at Blazin Burgers, you should let them know so they will be encouraged to stay. Steen said when the golf course restaurant closes this winter, they will take a three-month hiatus to explore the possibility of opening a restaurant in Indonesia. But, if they do well here, they will stay. Blazin Burgers has been open since Saturday and, so far, there have been "huge" compliments and lots of buzz on Facebook,...
DAYTON—Columbia County Treasurer Carla Rowe believes the duty of the treasurer’s office is to collect taxes, not to make judgments on who is, or who is not, qualified for delinquent tax deferrals. That is what she says she will be required to do if one of two pieces of Washington state legislation, dealing with the state of emergency due to the novel coronavirus, pass into law. Engrossed Substitute House Bill 1332 suspends interest and penalties during a state of emergency declared under RCW...
When I first landed in Dayton in 2012, I didn’t know anybody and wasn’t sure how I was going to find out anything about my new community. I got my first insight into the community through reading a copy of Ken Graham’s news magazine, Blue Mountain News. I want to thank Ken for that and for hiring me at The Times in 2015 to be the Dayton reporter. That put me on a fast track to knowing Dayton and being embedded in the community. I have had the good fortune to cover some pretty big stories for C...
DAYTON-Work to remove sediment from the Touchet River, in the area of the Hwy. 12 and railroad bridges and the confluence of the Patit Creek, is on hold until the Columbia County Flood Control Zone District receives a cultural resource review permit from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Flood Control Zone District (FCZD) Administrator Charles Eaton told the FCZD board of supervisors that he hopes to have the permit in hand this week so work can begin in the next few...
DAYTON—Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney Dale Slack has wasted no time heading off a headache for local law enforcement due to the State Supreme Court ruling Washington State v. Blake on February 25, 2021. As reported in the March 18 edition of the Times, the ruling struck down as unconstitutional Washington’s strict liability drug possession statute, RCW 69.50.4013, which made possession of a controlled substance a felony. The Court’s ruling said the state law was unconstitutional becau...
DAYTON—At their meeting on March 10, the Dayton City Council expressed reluctance to sign the Interlocal Agreement (ILA) with the County for Law Enforcement, Dispatch, and Municipal Court services. Columbia County Commission Chair Ryan Rundell went on record last week to talk about his frustration over the protracted negotiation process between the county and the city. He also addressed opinions expressed by some city council members at that meeting. Rundell explained the need for an updated I...
