Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG - Ken Graham, longtime Dayton resident and former publisher of the Blue Mountain News, became the eighth publisher of The Times based in Waitsburg this week. Graham, who was hired at the community newspaper's editor a year ago, agreed on Jan. 1 to buy its holding company, Touchet Valley Publishing, from owner Imbert Matthee. He takes over as publisher beginning with next week's issue. The Times, which marked its 136th year last year, will be in very good hands, said Matthee, who h...
DAYTON- The Dayton girls' basketball team won both games in their home holiday tournament over the weekend. The Lady 'Dogs dominated LaCrosse-Washtucna Friday night, 46-16 and then won Saturday's championship game against Elgin easily, by a score of 54-33. "It was kind of nice to knock off some rust from the holiday layover," said coach Clayton Strong. "Everybody had a chance to play and got lots of minutes." Madison Mings had a huge game against Elgin, scoring 20 points. She made eight of 16... Full story
3 Toddler and Preschool Story Time (every Friday) Dayton Memorial Library 10:30 a.m. Toddlers; 11:00 a.m. Babies Perk Up for Diabetes Fundraiser Coppei Coffee ( 137 Main, Waitsburg) 6 p.m. Local musicians will provide entertainment and low and sugar-free desserts will be available. Funds go to the American Diabetes As- sociation. 5 Bluegrass at the Plaza Benefit Concert The Plaza Theater (208 Main Street, Waitsburg) 3 p.m. A Bluegrass Kids ben- efit concert featuring The Barnstormers and Kate & The Bluegrass Gentlemen. Tickets are $10 and can...
Waitsburg kindergarten teacher Pam Nolan- Beasley was awarded the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching in December. Beasley was nominated by Waitsburg District Superintendent Carol Clarke for her hands- on, inquiry centered method of teaching and challenging students. Beasley will receive a cash award of $10,000 and will travel to Washington D.C. to receive her award in a special ceremony....
In late July, Columbia County Health System CEO Dale Polla abruptly resigned during a regular meeting of the organization's board of directors. He was replaced by Interim CEO Jon Smiley. Also in July, Chief Financial Officer John Hennessey left for a new job. He was replaced by Steve Geidl.... Full story
Waitsburg's Ambulance Service has reached a critical point. The Service Board shared that, for the first time since the volunteer based, non-profit service began in 1970, it was necessary to take out a loan to cover operating expenses. The Board hopes that an increase in annual memberships and community donations and memorials will soon have the service back in the black.... Full story
A facilities committee formed by the Dayton School District spent most of this year studying the need for renovating school facilities. They worked with representatives of BLRB Architects, and, in December, recommended a plan with an estimated cost of $24.2 million. Voters will be asked in April to approve a $19.5 million capital bond levy measure to cover most of the cost. The remainder will be covered by state matching funds. The project would include a complete renovation of Dayton High School, replacing the HVAC system in the elementary...
Two grants totalling about $700,000 -- $615,000 from the Department of Transportation and the remainder from the state Transportation Improvement Board - made it possible to complete a major update to West Seventh Street, between Main and Arnold Street. Five large trees were removed to allow for the street-widening project that included a new roadway, sub-surface drainage, sidewalk installation and signage....
Construction of Blue Mountain Station's Building 1, at Dayton's west end, began in April and was completed in December. Three tenants will be up and running in the new Artisan Food Center by January: Gypsy Girl Granola, Little Dipper Dairy and Mace Mead Works. Space is available for two more tenants. The building will also house a central retail space and commercial kitchen. Port Manager Jennie Dickinson began planning for the new artisan food center in 2007. In 2009, the Port received a $1...
Dayton's new Best Western Plus Hotel and Suites opened in May. It is an important addition to the Touchet Valley's business and tourism. The Hotel, developed by Dr. Derek Duke, has 50 rooms, conference space for up to 100 people and an indoor pool....
In May, the Columbia County Commissioners appointed former Washington State Trooper Rocky Miller as new Sheriff of Columbia County. Miller replaced Walt Hessler, who resigned about half way through his second term. Miller Took office July 1 and will be up for re- election in November 2014.... Full story
The loss of horse racing, which had been the centerpiece of the "Days of Real Sport" event for over a century, inspired Waitsburg to create a new event. The first Waitsburg Celebration Days, May 17 through 19, was a big success, thanks to many volunteers throughout the community. Weekend events included a Cowboy/Cowgirl Ball, Cowgirl Ranch Horse Racing, live music featuring Frog Hollow Band, classic car show and goat tail tying (shown)....
In late May, Portland General Electric Company announced that it would purchase a portion of the development rights for the Lower Snake River Wind Energy Project in Columbia County from Puget Sound Energy. The new project, now called the Tucannon River Wind Farm, will include 116 wind turbines, and have a “nameplate capacity” of 267 megawatts. The sale closed in early August and PGE began construction of roads and other infrastructure in September. PGE opened a new office in Downtown Dayton...
WAITSBURG - From "kind of" teaching herself guitar as a child to organiz- ing and directing the Touchet Valley Acoustic Music Proj- ect, Kate Hockersmith is one of those people who sets out to meet a need when she sees it. Hockersmith had set her childhood guitar aside until about five years ago, when she picked it up again to support her son's musi- cal interests by providing him guitar backup at area Bluegrass Jams. But Hock- ersmith hasn't limited her support to her own children; she is curre... Full story
WAITSBURG - Waits- burg Commercial Club will meet on Tuesday, January 7 at 6:30 p.m. at Waits- burg Town Hall (121 Main Street, Waitsburg). Keri Isaacson, Executive Direc- tor of the Blue Mountain Foundation will be the fea- tured speaker. Please RSVP dinner reservations to ikbakeve@charter.netikbakeve@charter.net or 509-337- 6546. Dinner is $12.00 per person and there is no charge to attend the program only, which will begin at 7:30 p.m. Waitsburg Commercial Club is a 501c6 Chamber of Commerce representing the business interests of the...
January 3: Mary Olona, Guy Antonius. January 4: Meagan Zajac, Loegan Harshman, Andrea Payne, Ben Kiefel, Carol Clarke. January 5: Fred Rankin, Barb Colby, Willard Cameron, James Wood, Terry John, Aaron Jones and Ted Seaton. January 6: Kurtis Reser, Maddie Callahan. January 7: Cecil Webber, Erma Gilbertson, Patrick Don- nelly, Jim Hofer, Alice Webber and Kristyn Scott. January 8: Steven Price, Esther Presler and Todd Larsen. January 9: Jennifer Nichols, Neil Henze, Angela Craw- ford, Tim Estes, Nicholas Carpenter, Gail Thames, Gerri Glover,...
Dayton 12-24 Open door noticed on E. Mustard Street, no suspicious circumstances. 12-25 Report of loud music on S. 2nd Street. Civil situation re- ported on N. 1st Street. Traffic hazard reported on Highway12; deputy unable to locate. Non-injury accident reported on Highway 12. Non-injury accident on Bluewood Lane;vehicle slid into ditch. 12-26 Noise complaint on E. Richmond Avenue; deemedunfounded by deputy. Reckless driving reported on E.Washington Avenue; deputy unable to locate. Civil standbyfor citizen dispute on S. 4th Street. Theft from...
Ten Years Ago January 8, 2004 A severe winter storm began pounding the region on New Year's Day, bringing sub-zero temperatures, blow- ing snow and wreaking havoc with a number of scheduled events. In Waitsburg, the January 6 gathering of Commercial Club was canceled, along with weekend basketball games. Temperatures dipped into the -20s, according to local sourc- es early Monday morning, then warmed up to a few degrees above zero on Tuesday. Cole Lindsey and Bertha Poirier, both seniors at Waits- burg High School, were named the Walla Walla...
A fter having served for four years as your publisher, where do I even start to sum up what this time has meant to me? Perhaps the easiest way to say it is: a lot! From the moment the Bakers took our photo in front of the old Linotype ma- chine in the back room when our purchase was announced just before Thanksgiving 2009 to the pictures I took at the last Hometown Christ- mas parade this December, my time at The Times has flown by as one big and fast- paced adventure. I'm melancholy closing thi...
Dear Editor, The Times has reported sparse attendance at local public school renovation and maintenance information meetings. Churches increasingly are dealing with the same thing: low attendance. Does it mean that no one cares? No, it doesn't. Some people really don't, but oth- ers simply are not following the conventional rules about civic participation, as was the case in past generations. This is not your grandmother's church nor your grandfa- ther's public school. This is not 1975. According to last week's Times story on Dayton High...
I t was love at first sight. When I saw it in a catalogue, I gave a little squeal. As Christmas ap- proached, I started hinting. It was simply too perfect - simply too me - to pass up. But even if I had an inkling it was coming my way, I never expected it to arrive in quite the manner it did. On Christmas morning, in the mad rush to exit our house and head to the larger family celebration, Mom sent me out to feed the chickens. I have three chickens - two hens, Mercy and Gin- ger, and a rooster,...
I t's distressing sometimes here in newspaperland when we have to report once again on a crime or other nega- tive story about our local schools and their students. This fall, especially it seems, the bad news has been com- ing regularly: A swastika burning at Dayton Schools, kids dressed up in KKK costumes for Halloween, a bomb scare, a sexual assault. But as 2013 comes to a close, we want to forget about all that and take a look at some of the good things our lo- cal students are doing. And they're very good indeed. For instance: Tackling... Full story
WAITSBURG - Waitsburg's Field House - the old Whiskey Creek School Building that was moved to the athletic field and repurposed in 1931 - has been a hot topic of conversation at community forums, school board meetings and Lion's and Booster club meetings in recent months. "We've known for several decades that the facility is inadequate," said School Board President Ross Hamann, who is also a member of the Booster and Lions clubs. The rapidly approaching potential loss of $40,000 in don...
