Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG - Up against a deadline to make a recommendation regarding the preliminary plat proposal for the Whoopemup Meadows subdivision here, the Waitsburg Planning Commission chose to recommend disapproval on Sunday evening. However, they appeared to make that recommendation anticipating that the Waitsburg City Council will reject it and will instead require the commission to gather more information. This would allow the city and developers, Warren Land Co., the time they need to make...
DAYTON – Columbia Pulp plans to break ground at its building site on Highway 261 near Lyons Ferry this March or April, according to Company President John Begley. “And it will be about a year until we’re up and running,” he told The Times last week. Melissa Shumake with the Columbia County Planning Department told county commissioners in their board meeting last week that Columbia Pulp plans to “bring in a check” for its building permits on the first day of February. County Planning Director Ki...
WAITSBURG -- Early this school year, Waitsburg High School special education teacher Patty Hazelwood happened upon a small dresser desperately in need of refinishing. It occurred to her that such a project would be ideal for her life skills students: Coe Richards, Austin Baker and Rachel Gradwohl. The trio successfully transformed the eyesore into a work of beauty, learning new skills and experiencing the satisfaction of a job well done along the way. Hazelwood has over twenty years experience...
DAYTON - Residents of the Touchet Valley and across southeast Washington lost phone and Internet service for several hours on Friday when a CenturyLink fiber line was reportedly cut. Columbia County residents lost the ability to call 911 for over two hours, until the Columbia County Public Safety Communications Center was able to get 911 calls rerouted to an emergency call center in Everett, according to Columbia County Emergency Manager Lisa Caldwell. The outage began at approximately 2 p.m., a...
PRESCOTT – Two-term city council member Marion “Gene” Alandi passed away at his home in Prescott on Friday, Jan. 2, 2015, at age 65. Alandi, a Vietnam veteran, was serving his second term on the city council at the time of his passing. He is survived by his son, Prescott High School graduate Dusty Alandi, who is currently serving in the U.S. Army. No services are planned at this time. “The Prescott council would like to recognize Gene and express the City’s appreciation for his service to the community,” said Mayor Steve Heimbigner. The council...
WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg High School National Honor Society will be raising funds and sponsoring a pet food drive for Black Dog Animal Rescue at the Jan. 31 home basketball game against Dayton. NHS members will serve a taco salad and dessert dinner for $5, with all profits going to Black Dog Rescue. At the same time, they will take in donations of cat and dog food to be used at the rescue....
DAYTON – The Dayton Chamber of Commerce Board has one open position and is seeking input from chamber members for possible candidates. To be a board director, the individual must be a chamber member or an employee of a business or organization that belongs to the chamber. The person filling the position would serve a two-year term, ending on Dec. 31, 2016. Chamber board directors are required to attend noon meetings, held twice monthly, and serve on one event committee. All nominations must be submitted in writing or via email to the chamber o...
Ten Years Ago February 3, 2005 A garage with a bit of history for Bolles Junction-area folks was lost to fire last Friday. The structure was formerly the Bolles Junction School District’s one-room schoolhouse. Firefighters from Joint Fire District Nos. 2 and 7, and a pumper from the City of Waitsburg, responded to the 7:31 a.m. call to 13366 E. SR 124. The fire progressed into the attic, resulting in nearly total destruction to the structure. Firefighters were able to protect the adjacent residence. They were at the scene approximately four hou...
Waitsburg Nothing reported. Dayton Jan. 19 Report of missing person taken at Valley View Court; subject hadn’t been seen for 24 hours and had been enroute to Walla Walla. Deputies contacted Walla Walla and learned that the subject had been transported to the mission by Walla Walla police officers. A third-party complainant stated a friend on S. Willow Street had been startled by someone banging on the house; deputies did not see anything suspicious upon arrival. Domestic dispute reported in Starbuck on W. 1st Street; under investigation. J...
1. According to a fan poll by the web site Reddit.com, the Seattle Seahawks are the most hated NFL team in the state of California. We’ll take that as a compliment. (The most hated team in the Pacific Northwest is the San Francisco 49ers.) 9. The Seahawks’ all-time regular season record against the 49ers is 16-15. 8. In high school, Seahawk cornerback Richard Sherman scored 1,400 on his SAT test (that’s very good). He graduated high school with a 4.2 GPA and graduated from Stanford Unive...
“So, Mom,” I said. “Yeah?” “So here we are. We’re strolling down the street in Leavenworth, in America, looking at German buildings. We’re eating gelato, the Italian equivalent of ice cream. I’m carrying the set of Russian dolls that I just bought, plus a hair clip and some candles from an Asian boutique. You’ve got a sack of stuff from a fair-trade shop that carries products from Africa and South America, and you’re thinking about whether to let Chris buy that sword from the Australian impo...
OLYMPIA—Farmers, private businesses and neighboring communities could have more access to water if legislators succeed in requiring state agencies to lease surplus water rights on public land. In prior sessions, some lawmakers have tried to push through legislation allowing local communities to tap into state-held water rights. Rep. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen, prime sponsor of House Bill 1000, said his proposal is an effort to have a conversation with the agencies about potential revenue from leasing unused water rights managed by the state D...
Dear Editor, When you get off the two or three most traveled streets of Dayton, there is no question we have some of the worst streets to be found in a city of our size. The side streets are covered with pot holes, deteriorating pavement, and in some cases, just plain gravel. We deserve better than what we are getting. The City’s proposed ballot issue coming up on February 10 to increase the sales tax from 8.1% to 8.3% is a drop in the bucket. It will produce a whopping $69,000 a year if approved, which will be dedicated to street repair and r...
In the 23 trading sessions following Dec. 18, 2014, the Chicago March wheat futures contract dropped $1.22 per bushel. The average bid for Pacific Northwest white wheat in Portland also declined by about 90 cents (approximately 73% of the Chicago move). The primary drivers for this move down were simple; a large crop of wheat in the northern hemisphere last fall, and a very powerful upward move in the cost of U.S. Dollars to foreign buyers. A jump from near 89 to more than 95 in the Dollar Index represents as much as a 6.7% increase in the...
DAYTON – Although the board didn’t take official action last week, the Dayton School District has announced that it intends to place an $800,000 capital-improvement levy on the April 10 ballot. “The board hasn’t taken action yet because the resolution and ballot measure are still being written,” said Superintendent Doug Johnson. “But unofficially they said, ‘Yeah, this is a good thing to do.’” The board will vote on the official language and timing of the ballot measure at its regular Feb. 4 me...
Dayton Elementary School Teacher Ginger Bryan is hoping to raise enough money through www.donorschoose.org to buy six iPad mini tablets for her combined second/third grade classroom this year. As of this week, 13 donors have contributed $996. Bryan has $1373 to go. "My school is filled with hardworking students who [are] actively engaged in the learning process every day," Bryan posted on her donations page. "They are responsible and hard-working kids who need opportunities to excel with cutting...
DAYTON – The Columbia County Health System board of directors decided last week to hire an outside firm to help them determine how best to spend the $5.5 million bond approved by voters in November. The hospital district will contract with Stroudwater Associates, a national firm whose consultants design solutions for healthcare, according to Interim CEO Jon Smiley. “They will evaluate our need and provide us with recommendations,” Smiley said. The assessment conducted by Stroudwater will cost...
DAYTON – Dayton resident Marshall Hernandez, 53, of 605 Country Village Court, has been arrested on suspicion of arson, reckless burning, and possession of stolen property. Hernandez was arrested last Thursday morning without incident, after it was reported that he had set fire to a fifth-wheel travel trailer, a residence and a bag of garbage in the 200 block of South Willow Street in Dayton. Residents at the location were able to extinguish the fires before any major damage was caused. The f...
DAYTON – Dayton teens Katie White and Mary McHaffie have been announced as this year's Columbia County Fair Hostesses. White, 16, is the daughter of Luke and Dawn White. She is a high school student attending Walla Walla Community College this year. Mary McHaffie, also 16, is the daughter of Robin and Bill McHaffie. She is homeschooled. These childhood friends and fellow participants in various 4-H programs, Community Bible Church events, Awanas programs and swim team events will represent C...
WAITSBURG – Debra Callahan, a member of the Waitsburg city council and the fairgrounds advisory committee, has been working hard to organize events she hopes will create a stronger sense of community among locals while drawing visitors to the area. At last week's city council meeting Callahan reported on several event reservations for the Waitsburg Fairgrounds, possibilities for a Fourth Friday music festival during the summer months, and Waitsburg's first National Night Out celebration. C...
BREMERTON, Wash. – Waitsburg native Wyatt Withers, son of Laurie Withers and the late Ian Withers, and grandson of Jack McCaw and the late Laurette McCaw, has done his family proud by receiving recognition as the 2014 Sailor of the Year for Submarine Squadron 5 out of Bremerton. Withers graduated from Waitsburg High School in 2010 and followed in "Grandpa Jack's" footsteps by joining the Navy, where he pursued a career in nuclear engineering. He excelled early on, finishing 13th among 320 s...
WAITSBURG – The Waitsburg-Prescott boys' basketball team is heating up as the season draws to a close. With their fourth and fifth straight wins over the weekend, the Cardinals are now 4-4 and tied for third in the Southeast 2B standings with Asotin and second-place Tri-Cities Prep. Their overall record is 10-6. On Friday, the Cardinals hosted Asotin and cruised to a win over the Panthers, 67-48. The high-scoring contest featured big games from Owen Lanning, who scored 18 points, and Kaimen S...
DAVENPORT – The WP wrestling team traveled to Davenport on Saturday, Jan. 24, where two of the three competing grapplers walked away with wins. "The WP wrestlers showed a lot of improvement. They were making the moves happen!," said Coach Lanny Adams. 132 lb. Devin Newman won by pin in 1:29 against Connor Beattle of Davenport. "Devin wrestled aggressively. He did not want a repeat of his last couple of matches. He moved off on the whistle and dominated," said Adams. 138 lb. David Just also c...
DAYTON – The Dayton girls' basketball team went on the road Friday to DeSales, and fell to the league-leading Irish, 39-35. The following night, however, the Lady 'Dogs easily defeated the Asotin Panthers at home, 44-29. Against DeSales, Dayton fell behind early and was never able to catch up. They trailed 10-4 after the first quarter and 18-12 at the half. "We just couldn't get shots to fall," said Dayton coach Clayton Strong. "It was a fun atmosphere to be in as far as the crowd goes. I t...
