Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 32
"I love this 'eyebrow', especially when the sky is filled with dramatic clouds. I noticed it a year ago, after having driven past it at least once a week for the past four years and have photographed it many times since then" – Bill Rodgers, June 2020...
DAYTON—Both city parks and the Dayton City Hall are now open to the public since the county has moved to Phase 3 of the governor’s plan to reopen Washington State. Mayor Zac Weatherford said social distancing regulations are still in place. “We are still practicing social distancing and protecting ourselves as best we can,” he told the Dayton City Council at their regular meeting last week. Weatherford ‘s report included an update from the public works department. He said the City crew has...
OLYMPIA—Washington State Department of Health (DOH) released the latest statewide situation report on Saturday, June 13, which shows COVID-19 transmission continued to increase in eastern Washington as of the end of May, with a possible uptick in western Washington as well. There are still significant differences in transmission from county to county. The situation in eastern Washington is of greatest concern, particularly in Benton, Franklin, Spokane and Yakima counties. The report estimates cases and deaths in these counties will soon i...
OLYMPIA—Washington State education officials released a guide to reopening schools for Fall 2020 on Thursday, June 11. The document lays a framework for schools to begin planning what their return to school in the fall looks like. The guidance was developed in partnership with the state Department of Health (DOH); the Governor’s Office; the Department of Labor and Industries; and a broad stakeholder group of more than 120 educators, practitioners, parents, community-based organizations, legislators, and students. State School Sup...
Students in grades K-12 are eligible for Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) cards to help with buying groceries while school is closed for the summer. Families can apply by calling (877) 501-2233 or online at www.WashingtonConnection.org. The application will be open by June 30th. (Application is not currently open). If your family receives Basic Food through DSHS and your children receive free or reduced-price school meals, you do not need to apply for P-EBT. You will automatically receive these one-time benefits on your EBT card....
WALLA WALLA—The Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days board of directors met Thursday, June 11 via conference call. The board discussed the decision to cancel the 2020 fair, and how they can help livestock exhibitors that raised market animals intended to be sold at the event. Commissioner Todd Kimball wanted to clarify that it was the Frontier Days Foundation, not the board, that suggested cancelling the 2020 fair. Director Kevin Smith suggested that the board explore options for a virtual animal sale for livestock exhibitors. All members of t...
DAYTON—HomeStreet Bank is sponsoring a shred day on Saturday, June 27 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Just sit in your car while Dayton Kiwanis volunteers take the material to be shredded out of the trunk for disposal....
STARBUCK—Columbia Pulp, LLC Vice President Mike Schock informed The Times that the straw-fiber pulp mill in Starbuck has brought back twenty employees since the company let go 93 workers in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 crisis. “We are bringing back people in maintenance, operations and at the office,” Said Schock. Eight employees with the mill were kept on at that time, and Shock reports they have 28 people currently working at the mill, with plans to bring more back each week. Columbia Pulp suspended operations on Tuesday, March...
WALLA WALLA—Construction projects at Mill Creek will cause a number of closures to Bennington Lake and the Mill Creek area over the summer. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Walla Walla District (Corps) will be replacing the division works fish ladder and hand railings at the Division Works (yellow bridge) and repairing the supports of the yellow pedestrian bridge. Security fencing will be installed June 18, creating a detour around the paved section of the levee next to the fish ladder. Work is expected to last until the middle of Oct...
WALLA WALLA—Walla Walla Community Hospice (WWCH) just successfully completed its first 10-week online adult grief support group. This pilot group used the Zoom platform to connect individuals experiencing the grief of having lost a loved one. The support program is called, “Understanding Your Grief” and uses the book and journal of the same name written by Dr. Alan Wolfelt as a guideline. To ensure safety and comfort, the group was closed to new members after the second meeting. Once confident with the online platform, the team of WWCH socia...
DAYTON-People shopping at the Blue Mountain Station Co-op market have been able to find some of the items they couldn't find at retail grocery stores, because of hoarding by panic-stricken shoppers reacting to the coronavirus pandemic. Market Manager Valerie Mudry said there were no impacts or disruption to their supply chain, largely because all products at the market are locally sourced. People are now consistently buying their meat, produce, dairy, and eggs from the Co-op, she said. Business...
DAYTON—Columbia County is celebrating its recent approval for Phase 3 of Governor Inslee’s Safe Start plan in Washington State. The Liberty Theater is hard at work preparing to re-open their doors and welcome back their community of fans. The theater’s current projection is to open in July, which would allow some of their Summer Children’s Enrichment Program (SCEP) to be salvaged. In the past, the Theater has run six family films in June/July. This year it will be limited to four. When re-opened, the theater will be obligated to operate...
To the Dayton City personnel who continue to keep the public bathrooms by the bridge sparkling clean....
DAYTON—Tom Dingus, owner of Dingus/Zarecor & Associates, Certified Public Accountants, presented the 2019 Basic Financial Statements, and Independent Auditor’s Reports to the Hospital District Board of Commissioners at a special meeting last week. 2019 Financial audit Dingus said the 2019 financial audit went smoothly. “Half the hospitals in your group are doing better and half are doing worse,” he pointed out. He said the Hospital District has the resources to pay its obligations, as they be...
June 18: Bernice Patrick, Linda Bode, Gertrude Brock and Ryan Leid. June 19: Barbara Johnson, Rollin Carpenter. June 20: Beau Marshall, Frank Loveall, Louis Donnelly, Katreena Mabe, Seth Pierson, Cameron Danforth, Amber Hilton. June 21: David Dunn, Dick Harper, Tawnya Nettles, Peggy Brookshire and Anita Baker. June 22: Andy Winnett, Michael Spidell and Paul Cook. June 23: James Lehr, Teresa McConnell, Debbie Shaeffer, Delbert Porter, Michelle Bergevin, Lynn Savage, Jon Gibson and Heather Havens. June 24: Kathleen Seaton, Donna Surry, Rod...
Walla Walla County Sheriff’s Office May 23 Adult male reported discovering his shop located in the 26000 block of Ice Harbor Drive had been entered and multiple tools taken, as well as his safe. He stated the burglary occurred within the last two days. Burbank, WA June 1 Adult male reported discovering his home, located in the 100 block of Cherry Street, had been burglarized and electronics taken. Burbank, WA. June 3 A citizen called to report illegal dumping at an address on Braden Road and Two Acre Lane. Walla Walla County. A burglary and t...
Kellie Moore, RN, and Emily Lewis, RN graduated from Walla Walla Community College's Nursing Program this spring. Since the graduation and pinning ceremonies were cancelled, a celebration for the nurses was held at Columbia County Hospital....
Pamela Leigh Puhak, 65, a retired airline customer service representative, world traveler, and devout member of the Roman Catholic Church, died today at her Durham, NC home due to complications from triple-negative, metastatic breast cancer. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010, Mrs. Puhak was admitted to Duke HomeCare & Hospice five days before her death. Known to her family and friends as "Pammie," Mrs. Puhak earned an associate of arts degree from Shoreline Community College, Shoreline,... Full story
Steffen Earl Jacobson was born June 11, 1948 in Walla Walla Washington to Robert & Betty Jacobson, leading the way to 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Growing up on a farm outside of Prescott, Washington and graduating high school in 1966, he went on to WSU on a music scholarship, playing trumpet. Steffen soon moved to the Seattle area where he stayed until 2012 when he relocated to Goodyear, Arizona. Steffen passed away June 1, 2020 in a Waddell, Arizona assisted living home while fighting to gain... Full story
STARBUCK/DIXIE-A unique partnership between two rural school districts was cut short this school year when Governor Inlsee issued his Stay Safe, Stay home proclamation, and schools closed in-person instruction due to COVID-19. Starbuck School Superintendent Kevin Graffis has worked with Starbuck Elementary School teacher Lynette Palmer-France and Dixie Elementary School teacher Bill Clancy to offer the "Salmon in the Schools" program to their students. This informative and hands-on program is...
Within a week of my move to Waitsburg, construction started on my house. My ears were bombarded with drills, hammers, compressors, nail guns, saws and lots of cursing. About two weeks ago, construction slowed down for a short time. The silence was deafening, much appreciated, albeit too short. The first few nights I spent in Waitsburg the silence was so eerie I had to keep the TV on to fall asleep. It was winter and I swear I could hear the snow falling, and icicles forming. It was culture shock...
Had the Curse of the Lost Security Deposit not loomed in the temporal distance, our intrepid adventurer might well have ceased her quest for the Lost Treasure of Apartment 1B rather than brave the belly of the Ford Fusion. Marked as sacred by the Ground Transportation Gods, it was taboo to cause it any injury. But the Fusion shared no such concern for the welfare of its riders, and the labyrinthine streets of South Bend, Indiana, were no willing ally to our adventurer and her mother. "Turn the...
(On The Road Part Five) Following the harrowing rescue of Mr. B from the (potential) clutches of the pterodactyl, we proceeded on down the coast uneventfully. Which believe me, was a blessing. On a previous trip south in the pre-Cookie days, we'd randomly stopped each day in whatever town we happened to find ourselves in, looking for what seemed to be interesting or unusual places to overnight. On one memorable occasion we'd knocked on the door of a B&B that sat on a high bluff over an ocean...
WALLA WALLA-Plans are underway to boost business income in Walla Walla's downtown corridor through active collaboration between the City, local agencies and business owners. The proposals all encourage utilizing outdoor spaces which many believe is a safer alternative to dining indoors, recognizing data that shows the coronavirus is transmittable through prolonged contact in enclosed spaces. The Walla Walla City Council has approved a number of measures to increase outdoor seating, allowing rest...
OLYMPIA—When COVID-19 hit, just over 670,000 Washington households were already one emergency away from financial ruin—a 10-year record high— setting the stage for the unprecedented economic impact of the crisis, according to the state’s latest Asset Limited Income Constrained, Employed Report (ALICE) released on Tuesday, June 16 by United Ways of the Pacific Northwest, in partnership with United For ALICE. Over the last decade, Washington’s low-income families systematically lost buying power and financial stability as the high cost of essent...
