Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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If you watched the Country Music Awards last night, you may have caught the opening performance by the 'super-group' The Highwomen. With a play on the name of the Highwaymen, the outlaw country supergroup that included Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson, the four women who make up the group are a potent follow-up to their male counterparts. The Highwomen include Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris and Amanda Shires. Their self-titled album was released on...
PRESCOTT—Brittany Zuger, ECEAP Lead Teacher at the Prescott School District shared some photos of her students having fun with the pumpkins that were donated to the class from the District office staff. District employees grew them outside their main entrance, and donated them to the preschoolers, probably never imagining the amount of learning and fun they would generate. Ms. Zuger expressed her appreciation saying, “Thank you all SO SO SO much for the pumpkins you provided to the ECEAP Pre...
WAITSBURG—Help your friends and neighbors celebrate the holiday season this year by getting in on a fun new tradition proposed by the Waitsburg Resource Center. For the first twelve days of December place one of the items listed on page seven into a sturdy box or reusable bag. Make it easy on yourself by picking up extras of these typical groceries when you shop, so that you can easily make your “12 Days Box” complete. Once your box is complete, drop it off at the Resource Center at the Preston street entrance of Waitsburg’s Banner Bank, o...
Waitsburg School District Superintendent Mark Pickel welcomed a small group of parents to a coffee hour this past Friday at the Waitsburg Elementary music room. With chocolate donuts, and fresh hot coffee, he shared recent test data from the district with the five mothers who attended. Four of the mothers had elementary and pre-school aged children, and one was a mom to a seventh grade student. The pre-schoolers in attendance added a level of industry and volume to the gathering as they...
For Dayton Resident Joanne Poolman, participating in the Touchet Valley Trail design charrette this past weekend is part of "being a good human." As a resident of this area for 50-some years, she became involved with the trail design process because "I was trying to bring the local element into it. I've been here longer than most, and I don't want our history to be forgotten." Poolman joined other community members, architects from the Washington Chapter of the American Society of Landscape...
PRESCOTT—In November 2018, voters of the Prescott Joint Park and Recreation District (PJPRD) voted 62.63% YES on the $115,000 Maintenance & Operation levy request. Because of the levy passage, the Prescott Pool completed a 69-day season with an average daily attendance of 60 swimmers. The annual levy is on the November 5, 2019 General Election Mail-In Ballot again this year and needs to be postmarked by that date. Successful passage requires a 60% YES vote. Operating expenses remain on budget f...
Way back in the last century, my father, a teacher at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, WA, let me know that I could go to any college I wanted to: as long as it was located in Washington state and was a public institution. With an older brother and sister already attending the University of Washington, we simply didn't have the funds for any other type of choice. I remember briefly considering The Evergreen State College, but having visited my siblings in Seattle, I was pretty excited...
DAYTON—Dumas Station Wines has acquired Birch Creek Vineyard, a 32 acre vineyard located in the heart of the Walla Walla Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA). Birch Creek consists principally of Bordeaux varieties. The first block of Cabernet Sauvignon was planted in 1997. Over the years, several wineries—including Dumas Station—have produced award winning wines using grapes from Birch Creek. The Dumas Station team, lead by Jay DeWitt, managing partner and vigneron, has managed the viney...
WAITSBURG—In operation for just one year, the Waitsburg Parks and Recreation District is organized and energized to continue with their goal of actively involving citizens with their community. In support of the upcoming levy to fund the organization, all board members will be available at a meet and greet event this Sunday, October 27th at 11:00 a.m. at Words-N-Print (Ju’s Traveling Pages bookstore), located at 101 Main street. The levy to fund the district is on the ballot for Waitsburg reside...
Karen Tonne is a 10-year veteran of the Prescott School Board. She sees the biggest challenge facing the distict as "funding all programs for all students. We need to consistently send information to state legislators to remind them of the deficits we face daily." When asked how she will maintain standards in an era of declining enrollment she noted that, "the district has been very astute in saving monies through the years to help in times of student declining numbers. We set our budget with...
WAITSBURG-Locals know Sarah Putnam as one of the friendly Sarahs at the Waitsburg Post office. What people may not know is that she carries with her an active appreciation for an erudite TV show set in a small quirky town. The TV show is the Gilmore Girls, which initially appeared in 2000 on the WB channel. Created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, it ran for eight seasons and focused on the loveable and unique townspeople of Stars Hollow, CT. Putnam estimates she's watched the entire series over a...
WAITSBURG⎯On Thursday, October 10, officers from the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, the Walla Walla Police Department and Crisis Response Team members responded to a Main Street home in Waitsburg after a woman reported that her son, Markes A. Cantrell was allegedly threatening her and two other women with a metal bat inside her home. The woman told Walla Walla dispatch that her son, Cantrell was “smashing the kitchen” and she was frightened for her safety. She also claimed that he had bee...
WAITSBURG-Sharp-eyed Waitsburg visitors notice Mr. C's Smokin Co. at the corner of Preston Avenue and Highway 12. Area residents know the location as the place for smoked cheeses and meats, with good eats from the farm to the fields. Nancy's Dream Garden Center business owner Doug Bolio shared that he was convinced to offer the Schulke family pumpkins for sale at his business on 2nd street. "Mr. C suggested I participate this year," he mentioned. Together they plan to sell 18 bins of pumpkins. B...
In 2002, the Schulke family lost their beloved son and brother Cooper who died at age 7-1/2 from a brain tumor. The Walla Walla area family have addressed the heartache of that loss by growing and selling pumpkins. Lots and lots of pumpkins. Father Jeff, wife Kara, son Campbell and daughter Emerson now grow 27 different varieties of the gourds with hues ranging from the traditional orange, to white and pink to blue and green. The purpose of that bounty is to raise funds to support the Ronald...
Randy Hinchliffe Randy Hinchliffe is relatively new to the Waitsburg School Board having joined in fall 2018 when Board member Russ Knopp moved to Walla Walla. The father of two boys, he is married to Stephanie Hinchliffe who is a 2nd grade teacher with the district. Hinchliffe has been Waitsburg's City Administrator since 2004, and like his wife, is a graduate of Washington State University. Hinchliffe hopes to continue "helping out where I can," and feels that "with my background as city admin...
WAITSBURG-Susan Wildey, Director of Child Nutrition for the Waitsburg School District, is a big San Francisco 49ers fan. Her love for the San Francisco team has garnered a good bit of harassment from the elementary school students over the years, most of whom were Seattle Seahawk fans. She started the tailgate party at the elementary school four years ago as a reaction from all the Monday morning jabs and goading she received from the students over the games from the weekend. "I decided at that...
Attending the meeting were Walla Walla County Commissioners Todd Kimball and Greg Tompkins, Walla Walla County Director of Public Works Tony Garcia and Director of the Walla Walla County Emergency Management System Liz Jeffries WAITSBURG—A small group of community members gathered at the Lion’s Building in Waitsburg on Monday, September 30 for a Walla Walla County Commissioner’s Open House Meeting. City Councilman Terry Jacoy asked about his recent home assessment value going up and wanted to know if this new valuation would increase his taxes...
Pointed questions were raised about the availability of automated external defibrillator devices (AEDs) and naloxone at the County Commissioner's Open House on Monday, September 30th, revealing two significant public health challenges Waitsburg citizens face. Waitsburg resident Randy Charles, a former career firefighter and paramedic, raised questions about these two vital forms of first aid, which promoted a heated exchange at the meeting. AEDs, or automated external defibrillators, are used to...
DAYTON-Chayton Gatlin's family will be holding a fundraising gathering on Saturday, October 12 at the Dayton Eagles Club located at 222 E. Main. From 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. Chayton's cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment in Spokane was covered by the Times in March of this year. The shocking diagnosis of Rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of the soft and connective tissue, was initially thought to be a swollen gland --Chayton and his mother Danica were Life Flighted to Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, f...
Debra Callahan is tenacious. She is determined that Waitsburg adults and children are offered opportunities to be creative. Despite not having a permanent space in which to hold classes, or to offer retail purchases of craft supplies, she is moving ahead with her business, the Creative Corner. She is offering a series of classes to be held at the Fireside room at Waitsburg Town Hall until she can finalize a location. Her next class will be a pumpkin painting workshop for children aged 5-12 on...
Sharp-eyed travelers on Middle Waitsburg road might have noticed a distinctive looking crop on a field there this summer. The large, leafy plant seen growing is hemp, and a nearby sign identifies the company associated with it as New West Genetics. New West Genetics develops seed varietals for products intended for the nutraceutical cannabinoid industry, the brewery industry, and in the human/animal food nutrition markets. Although the crop may look like marijuana, it is specifically bred as a...
DAYTON—The Club is interested in expanding its program to give Waitsburg students the opportunity to attend its after school program. Several Waitsburg students attended the Club’s Summer Program and expressed interest in the ability to attend the after-school program, as well. With enough interest,The Club is hoping to run a one-month trial in collaboration with Columbia County Public Transportation, wherein The Club would cover the cost of bus passes for Waitsburg students. If successful, The Club would make every effort to continue the pro...
WAITSBURG—City Councilman Kevin House mentioned at the recent Council meeting that two vehicles had been brazenly stolen from in front of McGregor Seed on September 14. He said that the perpetrator(s) entered through an unlocked gate to steal the vehicles even though there were people working inside and the lights were on inside the shop. One vehicle was recovered “just up the road” and the other vehicle was found in Dayton last week. House said that there was not much inside the vehicles to steal, and that both were left in good condi...
Staffing a small-town pool has proven to be a difficult task for the City in recent years. According to Deputy City Clerk Kelly Steinhoff, the issues of training and retaining the part-time pool lifeguards and managers has been a challenge to safe operations. The part-time workers at the pool typically clock 25-30 hours a week with a pay range of $12.50-$13.50 hourly. "Many teens find that they can earn more money with an agricultural job, or one with longer hours," she said, which makes...
Waitsburg's Plaza Theater hosted a broad range of community vocalists at the Blue Mountain Chorus Sweet Adelines of Walla Walla's first-ever karaoke event on Saturday, September 21. The fundraiser netted over $400 with the goal of purchasing new sheet music for the choral group. The Sweet Adelines have been active for over 45 years and recently welcomed a new director in Doug Boedigheimer, Milton-Freewater's Chief of Police. Boedigheimer is also a vocalist who performs with the Stateline...
