Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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When Kate Hockersmith convinced me to join her music group after school in 2010, I never thought I'd be writing about it in The Times more than a decade later. I spent much of my childhood inspired by the Blue Mountain Troublemakers, a bluegrass band led by Hockersmith, who traveled as far as Sasayama, Japan (Walla Walla's sister city), to perform. Walking into the Hockersmith home as a peewee 4-H'er, I was awestruck by the music flowing out of the basement. The Troublemakers formed in 2003,...
DAYTON-The Port of Columbia Commissioners met Monday, March 21, for a workshop to discuss Touchet Valley Trail. As many as 39 people attended via Zoom, in addition to a packed conference room at the port. Public comment was not allowed at the workshop meeting. Executive Director Jennie Dickinson was joined by Ken Van Voorhis from SPVV Landscape Architects, Brain Hansen, and Adam Schmidtgall, from Anderson Perry (A.P.). Dickinson began the meeting going over a brief history of the trail,...
DAYTON—The Dayton School Board held its regular board meeting at 6 p.m. on March 16, 2022. All members were present, Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Aneesha Dieu, Zac Fabian, Grant Griffin, and Korinda Wallace. Superintendent Guy Strot was also present in person, as was student representative Madison Richardson. The board approved the Consent Agenda without debate. During public comment, Pearl Dennis suggested the board consider hiring a non-certified superintendent as it appears to be allowed by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (...
DAYTON—The Batman is playing at the Liberty for two weeks.Bruce Wayne/Batman (Robert Pattinson), after two years of stalking the streets, has been led deep into the shadows of Gotham City, striking fear into the hearts of criminals. Amongst the city’s corrupt network of officials and high‐profile figures, the vigilante Batman, with only a few trusted allies—Alfred Pennyworth (Andy Serkis), Lt. James Gordon (Jeffrey Wright), has established himself as the sole embodiment of vengeance amongst his fellow citizens. When a killer targets Gotham...
SPOKANE—Innovia Foundation is excited to announce the opening of their third annual Photo Contest: This is WHO We Are. This region is a beautiful patchwork of lives and communities and they invite residents to submit images that capture the unique identity and spirit of the Inland Northwest. Participants can submit photographs to the following six categories: People, Landscape/Wildlife, Education, Arts and Culture, Community, and Nonprofit Mission in Action. Photographs must be taken within Innovia Foundation’s 20-county service area. To ben...
As a former educator, I am very concerned about the conflict regarding the Proposed Daycare Center. Of course, there is a need for one or more day care centers with over 340 children under the age of 8 within our community. The Port’s mission statement says its responsibility is, “to maximize public resources and private investment, create jobs, provide infrastructure, and maintain and improve the economic vitality of Columbia County and its communities”. The Port Commissioners are not doing their job with obstructing the proposal as it is ob... Full story
To the Editor and the Public, Columbia County Commissioner, Chuck Amerein, continues to show his hypocrisy with public statements. The cases in point are fear, government overreach, and indoctrination. Several weeks ago, Commissioner Amerein stated in a commissioner's meeting that The Club (a nonprofit afterschool program for kids in our community) was not worthy of public funds, in his opinion, because they do not show sufficient patriotism by flying the American flag. The money being requested was from the Juvenile Justice Fund, which is not... Full story
The Henze Family has three generations of Columbia-Walla Walla County Fire District 2 firefighters. Dane Henze is a volunteer firefighter/EMT for our local department, following in the footsteps of his late grandfather Carl Henze and (now retired) uncle Neil Henze. Dane’s cousin Samantha (Henze) Shafer also served in Waitsburg. We love our department. Seeing a lack of “sufficient volunteer base” in our town is heartbreaking, and I’m thankful for Beka Compton’s call-to-action story in last week’s edition. Our volunteer firefighters are heroes....
Judy A Rowland passed away peacefully at home in Dayton, Wash. on March 3, 2022. She was 67 years old. Judy was born on February 19, 1955, to Doris Estelle Criss and James Wayne Alexander in Walla Walla, Wash. She attended Walla Walla schools and graduated from WaHi in 1972. She enjoyed a full and varied life after high school, working for a variety of employers as far away as Alaska, before marrying Willis (Bill) Rowland in 1986 in Dayton. He was the love of her life. They enjoyed spending time... Full story
Kyle Anderson (left) was sworn into Dayton City Council position #6 before the March 9th city council meeting, by Mayor Weatherford. The seat had been vacated by long-standing council member Byron Kaczmarski, who passed away Dec 19th, 2021....
DAYTON—The Northstar Digital Literacy Assessment, offered through Columbia County Library, is aimed at helping adults acquire the skills they need in today’s workplace. “People without basic computer know-how are at a disadvantage when it comes to finding a job because employers expect basic computer skills for most jobs, including many entry-level positions,” said Todd Vandenbark, Library Director. “We joined Northstar because it will help our patrons have a better chance at getting jobs and getting ahead.” The free set of assessments includes... Full story
WAITSBURG—The Corral WRanglers 4-H will be out and about on March 28, from 7 p.m- 8 p.m, for their annual Food Collection, gathering food donations for the Waitsburg Resource Center. Shelf stable food is welcome, including pasta, rice, and canned goods. If you would like to donate but will not be home, please contact leader Tracy Barron at (509) 520-8776 to make arrangements for pickup. Help your local 4-H club support those who may need a little extra help this spring!... Full story
It has been almost a year since the Dayton Eagles Club in Dayton caught fire on a Tuesday afternoon. The members and volunteers plan to either rebuild at the location on Main Street or find another building to be able to continue the Eagles tradition of People helping People; a family of brothers and sisters that work hard to better our communities and world. In times of joy and in times of sorrow your Eagle family is always there for you. As stated on the Dayton Eagles website: Our members are vitally important, we accomplish a lot together... Full story
OLYMPIA—Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs encourages Washingtonians to do their due diligence and conduct research on the charities or nonprofits to which they donate to support relief efforts in Ukraine. “Americans are a generous people. Whenever a tragedy or crisis occurs around the world, we express our compassion by donating to any number of honest, legitimate charities,” said Secretary Hobbs. “These charities have the resources and infrastructure to ensure the money we contribute directly supports their designated causes....
It was June of 2021 when the Friends of the Library first heard about the possible surplus sale of the Weller Library building. In July the community came together to request that the library remain in its present location on Main Street. The main issue was that the building was not ADA compliant. It is now March 2022 and the library will be ADA compliant in a few weeks. After months of volunteer work to get the back room ready for a handicap lift, on Thursday, March 10 the lift arrived. Louie...
Waitsburg resident, Karen Stanton-Gregutt brought The Times for a driving trip through Oregon and California.... Full story
Recently I was introduced to a local police chief who is also a classically trained musician. Doug Boedigheimer is the Police Chief in Milton Freewater, Oregon. He makes the trip out to Orchard Street Studio in Waitsburg to bring his guitars to be set up by my brother-in-law, Joe Patrick. He also comes to talk music. "The first guitar I brought him I had for 31 years, I didn't know about setups and guitar care. I was a music teacher, so this thing has been drug through everything. He turned... Full story
Basalt Cellars 2019 Rim Rock Red This delicious red blend from a Clarkston winery is more than half Merlot with the rest divided among five other grapes, principally Bordeaux varieties. It's smooth and polished, the flavors nicely integrated despite the wine's youth. It's rare to find such a "kitchen sink" blend so harmonious, with a rich mix of purple and black fruits, silky tannins and a lightly dusty mouthfeel. The lingering finish brings notes of smoke, coffee and dark chocolate. 377 cases;...
Prescott School District is now offering an esports program as an extracurricular activity. It is covered under Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) as an activity and may later be categorized as a sport under the organization. There has been considerable discussion about the value of esports in K-12 education. In 2018, the Pew Reseach Center reported that 97% of teen boys and 83% of teen girls played video games. Including esports as an extracurricular activity can help...
Twelve Matbird wrestlers received medals at the Colfax Little Guy Tournament on Saturday, March 12. Wrestlers were placed into brackets based on age and weight. First place finishers were Parker Winona in the 7/8 age group and Carter Barron in the 9/10 age group. Second place medals went to Connor Murdock (7/8), Ian Mertens (9/10), Monte Lee Richie and JJ Gleason (11/12) and Byron Collier (13/14) age group. Jess Winona placed third in the 11/12 age group. Fourth place finishers were Auri... Full story
D/W golf on Wednesday, track on Friday and softball and baseball on Saturday, DW young athletes are competing with intensity; some for the first time since seventh grade. Golf The golf team traveled to Milton-Freewater to compete on a 9 hole par-30 course. Top DW players, Caleb Barron and Garrett Palmer are the only two returning golfers from the 2021 shortened season. Coach McGhan stated that though the team is inexperienced, he saw a lot of good things from the kids, especially around the...
Alyssa Hollingsworth, Cedar Stegall, and Marion Duncan participated in their very first FFA leadership contest on Wednesday, March 9, in Pomeroy. The three freshmen girls competed in Creed. Creed is a public speaking event where each competitor presents the 5-paragraph National FFA Creed from memory and answers three questions related to it. The FFA Creed outlines the organization's values and beliefs regarding the industry of agriculture, FFA membership, and citizenship and patriotism....
Ten Years Ago March 22, 2012 With the April 2 election right around the corner, Waitsburg residents Bart Baxter and Tiffany Laposi are throwing their hats in the ring for city council. Baxter who has lived in town for 7 years and owns Betty's Diner, has already completed one year on city council and made an unsuccessful bid for mayor in 2011. Laposi, who has lived in Waitsburg for 31 years, is a real property appraiser for Walla Walla County. She is a candidate in Waitsburg for the first time.... Full story
As regular readers of my column might recall, I often use my time in the kitchen to satisfy my periodic bouts of wanderlust. Recreating discoveries made during past travels, or dreaming of future trips, cooking and eating have become an extension to my passport. Music, like great food, can have the effect of transporting me to faraway places, with my kitchen playlist often influenced by what is on the stove. There are passionate Mexican corridos on my stereo when stirring a pot of mole, while...
