Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG-Summer BBQ menus are going to be a little less sweet in Waitsburg this summer. After 30 years of growing a secret variety of sweet corn, Ed and Cathy Lambert are retiring to focus on family, Ed's lumber milling, and their own family garden. "We started growing corn when we moved here in 1988," Cathy said. "Our kids would load up a wagon with fresh vegetables and walk around the neighborhood, selling the veggies to neighbors. Everyone loved it!" Cathy said it didn't take long for local...
DAYTON—Garry Snyder, owner of Christy’s Realty in Dayton said local home sales remain strong, in spite of the state mandated restrictions on in-person meetings, put in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 . “I’ve had a very good year,” Snyder said. “It has been very busy. We’ve had a lot of sales under contract.” Snyder said there are fewer current listings, but that was true for this time of year even before the COVID-19 restrictions. Snyder has thirteen active listings with home prices...
WALLA WALLA—The Providence St. Mary Medical Center in Walla Walla is happy to announce that the Cepheid platform for rapid testing has arrived at the hospital. The Cepheid can produce a COVID-19 test result in 45 minutes. The equipment now is undergoing approximately a week of validation testing, then will be put into use. Initially, it will be limited to patients at the hospital due to continuing national shortages of testing supplies. As more test kits become available, they will be able to e...
WALLA WALLA-The Walla Walla branch of American Association of University Women (AAUW) are hosting two candidate forums next week. The County Commissioners and Superior Court Judges will be at the first candidate forum on Tuesday, July 14th at 6:30 p.m. The State Representatives will be at the second candidate forum on Thursday, July 16th at 6:30 p.m. Since in-person gatherings are not possible at this time, the forums will be conducted via a Zoom meeting hosted on the Walla Walla Valley Chamber...
OLYMPIA—On July 3, Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman approved Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties to move to a modified Phase 1 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s Safe Start plan. Effective July 3, the following activities are permitted in Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties: • Construction as permitted in Phase 2 guidance. • Manufacturing as permitted in Phase 2 guidance. • Restaurants for outdoor seating only at 50% of existing outdoor capacity. • In-store retail at 15% indoor capacity with indoor activities limited to 30 minutes. ...
PENDLETON, Ore.—For only the third time in its history, The Pendleton Round-Up has been cancelled. Organizers could not ensure the safety of the community due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Happy Canyon Indian Pageant and Wild West Show have also been canceled for 2020. The events had been scheduled for Sept. 16-19. The Round-Up was previously cancelled in 1942 and 1943 due to World War II. "It is with a heavy heart that the 2020 Pendleton Round-Up and Happy Canyon will not be taking place thi...
OLYMPIA—The Washington State Small Business Administration expanded the eligibility criteria for the EIDL program earlier in June. Small businesses may check eligibility and apply for an EIDL on the U.S. Small Business Administration website, located here: https://covid19relief.sba.gov/#/ . Interest rates are 3.75% for small businesses, 2.75% for nonprofits. EIDLs may be used on common operational expenses that cannot be paid due to effects of the pandemic, this includes debt payments, payroll, accounts payable and other bills. EIDLs can be u...
DAYTON—The State of Washington has announced additional grants for emergency small business support funded through the federal CARES Act. Details will be posted in the Port of Columbia newsletter, as they become available. The grants will be administered by Port officials. This new round of grants is in addition to the those awarded to local businesses last month, through the Working Washington Small Business Emergency Grant Program, according to Port of Columbia Executive Director Jennie Dickinson and Dayton Chamber Manager Molly W...
Jasper Morrow snapped this photo from the safety of his car at the Waitsburg Fairgrounds on Sunday as a young moose took a lap around the race track. The moose was later seen wandering around the football field before heading out of town....
WALLA WALLA—City of Walla Walla officials have finalized plans for a three-part virtual town hall series to address topics relating to local policing including a local officer’s tattoo, police practices, policies, and funding. The meetings will be conducted online via Zoom, and the schedule will be as follows: Thursday July 9 at 6:30-8:30 p.m. — Presentations by City Manager Nabiel Shawa on City budget and police funding; City Attorney Tim Donaldson on legal issues surrounding Officer Nat Small’s tattoo; and Police Chief Scott Bieber on Wall...
DAYTON—County officials are dealing with projected shortfalls, state required cuts, and are trying to maintain adequate funds to cover expenses. In her second quarter financial report to the Board of County Commissioners on Monday, County Treasurer Carla Rowe offered a dire forecast for state revenue collections over the next few years due to the COVID-19 situation. She said the Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council announced an estimated decrease in revenue collection for the 2019-21 budget of around $4.5 billion. “It is rep...
Anna Newell is 14 years old and is visiting from Ponca City, Oklahoma. She is the granddaughter of Karl and Marianne Newell and learned to weld last year while visiting Waitsburg. Anna has been learning to weld from Jack Miller and has made several projects including this beautiful bird which she and her grandfather made this visit....
July 9: Michael Henze. July 10: Bob Butler, Billie Leroue, Patricia Dunn, Roberta Osborne, Bob Swenson, Michael Kiefel, Rami Feryn, Al Thompson. July 11: Susa Roberts. July 12: Judy Townsend, Dick Surry, Lynette Newbill, Bill Duckworth, Deandra Smith, John Wood, Jr., Gayle Durkee, Bruce Anderson, George Downing. July 13: Tom and Gracie Lyman, Terri Schuler, Ron Kessler, Tom John, Janis Austin, Steve Low, Gary Vaughn, Kimberly Williams, Tucker Gleason. July 14: Karen Gregutt, Brett Tuttle, Pat Davis, Megan Price, Lauren Rohde. July 15: Howard...
Editor, The Waitsburg Times Publisher has this to say after attending the Peace Rally in Walla Walla: “The topic of our country’s systemic racism and its effects on people of color is difficult to hear.” She continues, “It was a big reminder that we must listen, truly listen, to voices other than our own. Listening without feeling the need to respond or debate.” This is awful advice. What if those “voices other than our own” are spewing bad ideas? Bad ideas that meet with no response or debate tend to turn into implemented bad ideas, bad po...
Dear Editor: We are fortunate indeed to have a remarkably experienced and qualified candidate running for the State Senate this year. Danielle Garbe-Reser, was born, raised, and educated in Eastern Washington. On September 10, 2001, she began what would be a dozen years of advancing our country’s interests, at duty stations and embassies in the post 9/11 world. Stateside, she also served American interests in the White House during both Republican and Democratic administrations, serving on the Staff of Condolezza Rice at State and, later, on t...
To the editor: Too many times in life an event leads to an abrupt change in a reactive manner versus proactive, planned approaches to change. Sometimes this is hard to avoid but in the case of choosing to age in place, most people will tell you that they want to remain in their homes and community with many feeling that this is completely feasible, and the good news is that studies support this idea. AARP’s most recent survey of adults age 50 and over reveals that 76% want to remain in their homes as long as possible, and that only 5% of the 6...
In the wake of February’s flooding event, the Blue Mountain Long-Term Recovery Group (BMLTRG), a multi-state, multi-county organization, has been formed to reflect the structure of similar long-term disaster recovery groups across the nation. The new group will continue the work taken on by multiple community groups in our region including the Waitsburg Flood Mitigation Group. BMLTRG’s Executive Committee is co-chaired by Christy Lieuallen from the United Way of the Blue Mountains and David Reinholz from The Community Action Program of Eas...
DAYTON—The Dayton School Board met July 1 for a regular monthly work session via Zoom. The board reviewed the middle and high school principal contract, and the 2020-2021 budget. This work session was Superintendent Guy Strot’s first regular meeting for the district. The board reviewed the middle and high school principal’s contract. Board member Fred White noted that there was one area with non-inclusive language within the contract, and the board agreed to fix the language to read ‘his/...
OLYMPIA—On Monday, June 6 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Washington state’s “faithless elector” laws. The Office of the Secretary of State won the lower-court rulings in both the state Superior and Supreme courts, and these decisions were supported today by the U.S. Supreme Court. Secretary of State Kim Wyman was confident that Washington state’s laws would be reaffirmed. “I am pleased to see that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld our role to ensure the popular vote of the people is represented in the electoral votes cast,” she said. The...
WAITSBURG—Waitsburg School District held a virtual public hearing on June 30 to discuss the upcoming school year. No more than four families attended the informative hearing to discuss concerns regarding classroom structure, face shields and masks, and other education concerns arising with the longevity of the coronavirus pandemic. Superintendent Mark Pickel started the meeting off by expressing that the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has been revising in-classroom t...
June 19 The reporting party in 1300 block of Barleen Drive was scammed out of 1,000 dollars, Walla Walla. June 22 A hit and run occurred in the county at an address on Interchange Road over the weekend. Walla Walla County. June 24 Reporting Party stated that items that fell out of the back of his SUV were picked up and taken in the 13900 block of Dodd Road. Burbank, WA. June 25 Reporting party in the 57 block of Farmland Road reported being scammed out of money, Walla Walla. June 29 Deputies responded to the 100 block of W. Birch St regarding...
WALLA WALLA—Recent survey results, representing feedback from nearly 2,000 Walla Walla Public Schools parents, provided district staff critical guidance as they begin finalizing Fall 2020 reopening plans. Results from this recent survey, in addition to three prior surveys representing thousands of respondents, a focus group interview with students, and 10 different workgroups consisting of dozens of staff and community partners, have provided a path forward as the district modifies in-person instruction this fall. The strict, 6-foot social d...
As stay at home orders persist, and nearly every aspect of daily life is impacted in some way, it is no surprise that mental health problems are increasing across the country due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Kaiser Family Foundation notes that significantly higher shares of people who were sheltering in place (47 percent) reported negative mental health effects resulting from worry or stress related to coronavirus than among those not sheltering in place (37 percent)....
Take me out to the ballgame In Chronicles #2 and #3 I introduced you to Mr. B, Cookie's lifelong companion, ward and wing man. And I may have mentioned that Mr. B generally hits the sack earlier than the rest of us, the 'sack' being an empty slot in the kitchen spice drawer. Cookie is quite fond of this routine, and though we sometimes forget to put Mr. B to bed right after dinner, she will leave him on the kitchen floor, just below the drawer, as a gentle reminder. And that is where she will...
Mom made yet another quarantine mistake. Actually, Mom and Dad were both in on this one. It didn't involve shaving cream and the Roomba, but a TV show called "Shark Tank." Mom thought she was going to deter little me from the TV by watching a 'big kid' show, but boy was she wrong! I'm hooked, everyone. "Shark Tank" is a show where entrepreneurs pitch an idea, an invention or a business to billionaires like Mark Cuban (Mark is one of my favorites). Sometimes, the presenters have a great plan and...
