Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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Dear Editor, As a graduate of Dayton High School and newly appointed school board member, I would like to encourage our community to vote “yes” for both the renewal of the Replacement Maintenance and Operation Levy and the Capital Levy for Technology, Safety, Security and Efficiency Improvements. I don’t know of a school district in the State of Washington that can operate without the community approval of levies. Like all other public schools in the State of Washington, Dayton relies on a levy to make up for at least 25% of the budget short...
Dear Editor, Why should anyone pay more taxes to the public school? 1. Freedom. “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” —James Madison or “The more the ignorance, the better the slave.” —Edmund Fairfield, President, Hillsdale College, July 4, 1853 2. Equality of Opportunity. Public education provides the same instruction regardless of a person’s gender, income, race, religion, sexual orientation or nationality—it levels the playing fie...
Dear Editor, As the business manager for the Dayton School District, it is my job to insure school district funds are used in a responsible manner. When reviewing expenditures, we have a process that continually keeps these things in mind: Is it practical- does it make sense? Can we afford it? What are the legal ramifications? What will people say/think? Will we be serving students in the best possible way? Local taxpayers trust us to be stewards of their money, and we take that obligation very seriously. The time has come once again to bring...
Dear Editor, Like most of the state’s school districts, over 20% of Dayton’s school budget has to be covered by the local citizenry - the state clearly has not met its constitutional mandate to fund basic education. Until that situation gets resolved I am voting “yes” in support of Dayton’s upcoming replacement levy. The funds are needed to ensure that students have a safe and educationally adequate facility which will prepare them for an incredibly diverse and complex world. The finances will provide for a continuation of education needs and...
Dear Editor, I am writing in support of the upcoming Maintenance and Operations Levy and the Capital Projects Levy. As a 26 year previous employee of the Dayton School District, I have extensive knowledge of the condition of the facilities and I know first-hand what has been done (and not been done) to maintain the facilities over the past 3 decades. The custodial staff works diligently to maintain the facility to the best of their ability within the budget restrictions. Each year, the needs of the ground and facilities are reviewed and are...
PRESCOTT – Voters residing in the Prescott School District will be asked to approve a two-year replacement maintenance operations levy, in the amount of $650,000 each year, in the Feb. 9 special election. The rate per $1,000 for the proposed 2016-17 and 2017-18 levy is estimated to be $1.92, which is down $0.41 from the 2014 rate of $2.33 per $1,000, due to an increase in property valuation. Levy funds support programs not covered under the basic education act as defined by the state l...
Columbia County Superior Court January 6, 2016 Arraignment: Jeffrey Allan Brooks, 22, Walla Walla. Brooks entered a not guilty plea to charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, a Class B felony and possession of methamphetamine, a Class C felony. On Dec. 23 Columbia County dispatch was notified that a white Ranger pickup with a Pepsi decal was stolen from the Wal-Mart parking lot. Dispatch had received calls of a Pepsi truck driving erratically through town and another call reporting a Pepsi truck stuck in the dike by the baseball fields....
DAYTON—Representatives from the Dayton Chamber of Commerce, the Port of Columbia and Southeastern Washington State Parks are preparing a new event for Columbia County. In July and August, the New Old Time Chautauqua is teaming up with the Washington State Parks System to bring live entertainment and workshops to State parks and nearby rural communities, for the purpose of connecting the communities to their parks. Washington State Park Program Specialist for the Blue Mountain Area, Clara D...
Dayton—An After School Task Force, formed by the Coalition for Youth and Families, has been meeting regularly since April, 2015 to discuss creating an after school enrichment program for Dayton students. The group is getting closer to making the program a reality. The ASTF decided at their meeting on Jan. 12 to offer a pilot program to fourth, fifth and sixth graders during the last four weeks in March. The program will be held three days a week, and students will be able to choose from among th...
WAITSBURG – Newly elected school board member Russ Knopp would like to see students play an active role in board discussions, and possibly even decision-making. At last week’s board meeting Knopp presented information he gleaned from a recent Washington State School Directors’ Association (WSSDA) workshop. The board expressed interest and directed Knopp to continue researching the possibility of including student representatives on the board. Knopp listed four reasons to include student represen...
WAITSBURG – A crowd of appreciative community members gathered in the Plaza Theater here on Friday to wish Waitsburg Clinic registered nurse Karla Scott well in her retirement. A tropically decorated cake read, "Good Bye Tension, Hello Pension." Karla started working part-time at Dayton General Hospital in 1976, where she remained until 1985. She worked for Dr. Luce in Dayton from 1985 until 1996 and then moved to Dayton Hospital's Columbia Family Clinic. Scott stayed at Columbia Family C...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg resident Tyler P. Judd, 32, plead guilty to rape of a child in the third degree and distribution of a controlled substance (methamphetamine) to a person under the age of 18 in a plea agreement in Walla Walla Superior Court on January 11. Judd, a registered sex offender, was arrested in Walla Walla on Nov. 17 and, according to police documents, admitted to having sex with a 15-year-old girl and supplying her with methamphetamine, beginning in August of last year. The Walla Walla teen allegedly corroborated Judd’s story in...
PASCO – The Dayton girls’ basketball team ran their overall record to 10-2 with a win over Tri-Cities Prep Saturday night, 44-25. The Lady Bulldogs are undefeated at 6-0 at the halfway point of league play. Dayton jumped out to a 14-4 lead after one quarter and took a 22-13 lead into the half. With a balanced scoring attack, Sidney Andrews led Dayton with 12, while Shayla Currin had 11, Jenna Phillips scored nine and Josilyn Fullerton added eight. Currin and Fullerton each had seven rebounds. Dayton 14 8 9 13—44 Tri-Cities Prep 4 9 2 10—25...
WAITSBURG – The Lady Cards basketball team followed losses to Dayton, Mac-Hi, and Asotin with a win against the Prescott Tigers on Saturday. Waitsburg vs. Asotin The Cardinals traveled to Asotin on Jan. 9 where they put up a good fight against the Panthers but ultimately fell 34-49. Asotin took an early lead of 20-9 in the first quarter and maintained it for the win. Catilin Mohney was high scorer with three, three-point buckets for a total of nine points and made three steals. Analisea Araya ad...
WAITSBURG – The Cardinal boys hosted Prescott Saturday night and got an easy win, 64-25. Waitsburg jumped out to a 22-5 lead in the first quarter, and led 32-13 at the half. Kyle Gradwohl had another big night, with 28 points, including six three-pointers. He also pulled down ten rebounds. Jacob Dunn had 11 points, and Jason Carter added eight. Travis Crockett led the Cardinals with 12 points, including two three-point shots. Prescott 5 8 8 4—25 Waitsburg 22 10 16 16—64 Prescott (25) — Gonzales 3 1-1 7, T. Crockett 5 0-0 12, Lopez 1 0-0 3, R. C...
PASCO – The Dayton Bulldogs got a big league win Saturday night here as they rolled over Tri-Cities Prep, 45-31. Zach Waggoner scored 15 points and Ben Kleck got 14, including two three-point shots. Tanner Bren had a big game on the boards, pulling down 12 rebounds, as the Bulldogs outrebounded TCP 30-14. Dayton came out hot, outscoring TCP 15-7 in the first quarter and taking a 29-12 lead into the half. Dayton 15 14 8 8 — 45 Tri-Cities Prep 7 5 7 12 — 31 DAYTON (45) — Helm 0-0 0-0 0, Dieu 0-1 0-0 0, Martin 2-6 0-0 5, Wilkening 2-4 0-0 4, Klec...
COLBERT – With 21 teams participating in the Northwest Christian Invite, Waitsburg Wrestling Coach Lanny Adams said his 113, 138, and 145 class wrestlers had to win their first match just to make it into the tournament. Even with stiff competition, freshman Ky Adams did Waitsburg proud by bringing home the gold in the 145 lb. class. Adams took a bye in his first round before pinning JT Tachell (Davenport) at 2:02 into round two. He pinned G. Jones (Pullman) in 2:10 in round three and took first place from Reggie Jones (Colfax) in a 6-4 d...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg’s first-ever wrestling home meet on Jan. 12 brought a great turnout in the stands in spite of conflicting basketball games at Mac-Hi, according to Coach Lanny Adams. “The cheerleaders remained at home and cheered for the wrestlers instead of traveling with the basketball players. That was another first, to have cheerleaders on the edge of the mat,” Adams said. Carlos Norris (113) won by technical fall against Seth Brown (Col-Bur) in 3:32. David Lewis pinned Garrett Phillips (Colfax) in 3:15 and won an 18-11 decisio...
Dear Editor, Dena Wood’s article on the meeting January 6 with Mayor Gobel and Brandon Kelly was excellent in laying out the many concerns residents of Waitsburg have about the proposed stock car racetrack at the fairgrounds. For many of the same reasons, I am opposed to any and all stock car races within walking distance and earshot of our town. Here is something to consider in addition to all the liabilities that others have addressed. As it would be highly unlikely that anyone would build a cemetery next to a stock car dirt track, why w...
DAYTON – Washington State University Extension and the WSU Oilseed Cropping Systems (WOCS) project are hosting an all-day workshop on canola and other oilseed production, marketing and end-use on Jan. 26 at Dayton’s Liberty Theater. Crops covered may include winter and spring canola, winter and spring rapeseed, mustard, and flax, and how those oilseeds will fit in existing rotations. General sessions in the morning will shift to breakout sessions with interactive discussions in the afternoon. Regional oilseed and livestock producers, industry r...
Sheriff’s Office urges residents to lock vehicles and report missing property DAYTON – The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office took reports on 19 car prowls over just two days last week. Though most owners reported missing only small change from their glove boxes and cup holders, the sheriff’s office is asking individuals to at least call in and report incidents even if they don’t want to be contacted by a deputy. Citizens are urged to lock their vehicles any time they are left unattended, even if it is only for a short amount of time, and to st...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg High School principal Stephanie Wooderchak said during last week’s school board meeting that the WHS staff has recently developed procedures for both soft and hard lockdowns and has begun practicing those procedures with students. In a soft lockdown, Wooderchak said that all but the front door is locked, with an administrator or police officer monitoring the front door to identify anyone entering the building to make sure they aren’t a threat. The students are contained but may move freely within the building. She expla...
WAITSBURG - The Plaza Theater on Waitsburg’s Main Street was packed last week as parents and children attended a viewing of the original Star Wars movie. The movie viewing – a fundraiser of the Waitsburg Home and School Association – raised $508 for the organization. Last year, the HASA purchased school supplies for all K-8 students. Students were told all they needed to bring to school was “a smile and a backpack.” For the coming school year, HASA would like to provide school supplies for high school students as well. The next HASA fundraise...
WALLA WALLA – The Walla Walla Police Department is now accepting applications for the 2016 Citizen’s Academy classes which will be held on Thursday evenings from 6:30- 9:30 p.m., Feb. 11 – April 29. The Citizen’s Academy provides the community with an understanding of how law enforcement agencies and the judicial system work. Past graduates are citizens from throughout the Walla Walla Valley and includes students, parents, grandparents, and retirees. Registration is free and the deadline is Jan. 29. The class is limited to 30 students age 18...
****PRESS RELEASE****WALLA WALLA POLICE DEPT**** Police Searching for Suspect in Vehicular Assault January 22, 2016 Walla Walla Police have probable cause to arrest Kyle Zenk, 20, transient from Waitsburg, for a collision yesterday morning near the intersection of Park Street and Cherry Street. Officers were dispatched to the area at 7:29 a.m. for a report of a one vehicle collision. Upon arrival, officers found the vehicle, a 1994, Honda Accord, crashed into a tree. A 15-year-old female...
