Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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WAITSBURG—The Lions Club building was packed during the July Waitsburg City Council meeting, with nearly fifty residents gathered with concerns about recent property purchase, the current Weller Public Library's building and its governing entities, and inquire about a recently-surplused horse barn. Residents in attendance included mayoral candidate Kate Hockersmith, council candidates Jillian Henze, Rebecca Wilson, and Randy Charles. Park and Rec commissioner candidates Bart Baxter, Beth D...
DAYTON-A return home was the perfect start for Dayton's newest tire and service business, Van Ausdle Tire. Owned and operated by Dru and Brooke Van Ausdle, formerly of Pomeroy and Dayton, respectively, the business has had a booming opening month after their July 6 opening. Located at 36713 Highway 12 in Dayton, in the former J-Har Logging building, Van Ausdle Tire currently offers tire service and sales for cars and light trucks, commercial and ag tire services, custom wheels, and "all the...
DAYTON— Welcome to the Jam! NBA champion and global icon LeBron James goes on an epic adventure alongside timeless Tune Bugs Bunny in this animated/live-action event Space Jam: A New Legacy. This transformational journey is a manic mash-up of two worlds that reveals just how far some parents will go to connect with their kids. Basketball great LeBron and his young son Dom are trapped in digital space by an A.I. gone rogue. To get home, LeBron must lead Bugs, Lola Bunny, and the whole gang of notoriously undisciplined Looney Tunes characters t...
WALLA WALLA—The 2021 Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days present an exciting event in their line-up: the Demolition Derby. Sponsored by Walla Walla Valley Honda, the Derby begins on September 2nd at 6:00 PM. Gates open at 4:30 PM. You can join the Demolition Derby as a spectator or participate as a driver. Driver registration is available on the Walla Walla Fair’s website. The deadline for registration is August 10th. Tickets for the Demolition Derby at the Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days start at $18. Purchase tickets early to ensure the...
WALLA WALLA—The City of Walla Walla Water Division will soon supplement the drinking water supply by using water from one or more of the city’s seven groundwater wells. Drought conditions have caused below normal stream flows in Mill Creek. Typically, 80-90% of Walla Walla’s drinking water is treated surface water from the Mill Creek watershed. The combination of high customer water demand, lack of rainfall, low streamflow, and the requirements to provide a minimum stream level at Kooskooskie for fish and wildlife has created the need for t...
The Lick Creek Fire is 90% contained, according to an update provided on Tuesday, July 27. California Team 12 assumed command of both Lick Creek and Green Ridge fires on July 26. Smoke will continue to be visible as unburned pockets of vegetation inside the fire area are consumed. Crews will continue to monitor and patrol the perimeters until full containment is achieved. Lick Creek Fire has burned 80,392 acres, and is located roughly 20 miles southwest of Asotin. The Green Ridge Fire has burned 6,799 acres, and remains at 15% containment,...
WAITSBURG-A fireworks ban may be in Waitsburg's future as community members and leadership grow concerned about ongoing dry conditions, heightened fire danger, and overall weather changes. The potential ban was discussed at the July 21 City Council meeting. If a ban was implemented the soonest it could take effect in Waitsburg would be June 2023. Washington State laws govern the regulation of fireworks, including what days fireworks can be sold and when they may be discharged. The laws do allow...
WALLA WALLA—This past session, the Washington State legislature passed multiple bills addressing “police reform” following various tragic police events that have occurred in other cities around the nation. In May, Governor Inslee signed several of these “reform” bills into law. The majority of these laws take effect July 25th, and they will profoundly impact policing across the state of Washington. Most of these new laws are ambiguous and require profound legal interpretation. We have been asking and waiting for clarification from the Attor...
To the Editor, We invited the Christian Church to join us for our 4th of July worship at Waitsburg Presbyterian. This last Sunday, the 25th, we were invited to join them for their service. This has been a taste of the past. Years ago our congregations met together for two months every summer. July meetings were in one of the churches. August meetings were in the other. Those times are fondly remembered by the many who took part in them. In August we will look forward to sharing with the Christian Church as they welcome their new pastor,...
Remembering my awesome Sister, Pam Conover on her birthday July 30. I usually came to Waitsburg on her birthday. So enjoyed spending the day with her and her friends on her special day. Love and miss her, Judy...
WAITSBURG—Recently, I received a voice message from a number I was not familiar with. The message claimed there were actions filed on my social security number for fraudulent activities. The recorded message said I needed to call the provided number before they begin legal proceedings. This is not the first call or email I have received from someone identifying themselves as a financial or government agency. Before I started getting calls like this, my parents received similar messages. One incident involved my very intelligent and computer-sav...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg School Board met July 22 for a regular meeting. The school board is meeting in a hybrid fashion, via zoom and in-person. Dayton-Waitsburg athletic director Sam Korslund discussed a possible schedule-change proposal, which he presented to the Dayton School Board the week prior. The schedule that the DW Combine Committee had proposed had all indoor sports games played in Dayton, with football and baseball games played in Waitsburg. Korslund acknowledged that he had r...
PORTLAND— Members of the public planning their next outdoor adventure on National Forests in the Pacific Northwest now have a tool they can use to check fire information for more than one forest quickly and easily. The new resource can be found on the U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region website, at https://go.usa.gov/xFTHh. Website visitors will find current fire information and usage restrictions for all National Forests in Washington and Oregon on one page, in an easy-to-use, at-a-glance format. The page can also be found linked t...
WALLA WALLA—Walla Walla County Department of Community Health (DCH) and healthcare partners will open vaccine clinics on the first three Wednesdays in August (August 4, 11, 18). All three clinics will be held at the Providence Southgate campus. The clinics on August 4 and 11 will run from 3-5 p.m., and the clinic on August 18 will offer extended hours and run from 3-7 p.m. Clinics held after August 18 will be announced later as DCH evaluates the vaccine interest level in the county. All clinics will offer interested residents both the P...
DAYTON—Anyone who wants to get a COVID-19 vaccine can now check out the county's new, easy-to-use, scheduling website: https://ccvaccines.as.me/. It is an easy-to-use, 3 step, an online questionnaire which allows you to schedule your own vaccination. Choose the date that is right for you and get vaccinated. Vaccination Clinic Addresses CCPH: Columbia County Public Health @ 112 N. 2nd St. Dayton, WA 99328 DSD: Dayton School District, Multi-Purpose Room @ 614 S 3rd St, Dayton, WA 99328*Vaccine v...
Impact from the drought varies from field to field, slope to slope, and farm to farm. WASHINGTON-The full impact of the 2021 drought is beginning to show as farmers harvest a smaller-than-average wheat crop. "The crop is probably 30% below the average," said Byron Behne, Senior Marketing Manager for Northwest Grain Growers in Walla Walla. "Last year was way above average; it was an exceptionally high-yielding year. We might handle half of the wheat that we did last summer." Based on June 1...
If you drive anywhere in Eastern Washington, you are almost guaranteed to pass wheat fields. There are more than 3,700 wheat farmers on the east side of the Evergreen State, who, in 2020, represented an industry that reached nearly $800 million across the state. Wheat is one of the world's most essential crops, providing 20% of all calories necessary to sustain the seven billion people across the globe. Of the six different types of wheat grown across Washington state, roughly 80% of that is sof...
After dropping the opening game of the Oakland series in Seattle, the Mariners rebounded with three straight wins by one run to win the series. They also beat the Astros on Monday, coming back from an early seven-run deficit to win 11-8. This stretch has moved them up to one game behind the A’s for second place in the division and one game out of the second wild-card spot. With the trade deadline coming up on July 30th at 4 p.m., it’s surprising the Mariners haven’t been more active trying to improve the team for this year and beyond. The T...
WAITSBURG-If you had asked former ICU nurse Brittany Brannock about owning a flower farm a year ago, she would have called you crazy. But funny things happen when you take a leap and purchase a 120-year-old farmhouse with a few acres attached. Brittany and her husband, Tre, decided to move back to his hometown in 2020, in a year of change, including selling their home in West Seattle and welcoming their son, Bode, into their lives. The farm is nestled away on a backroad, surrounded by wheat...
The 2017 Census of Agriculture found over 4.5 million farm vehicles participate in the United States harvest. At 91%, the bulk of that equipment is tractors, followed by combines, forage harvesters, and other self-propelled equipment. Many of those vehicles will share the road with passenger cars at some point during their season. Non-commercial drivers are often frustrated when delayed by a convoy of tractors, combines, and flagger vehicles. Frustration can have severe consequences if it fogs...
Ten Years Ago July 28, 2011 For T. J. Hersey, running her father's grocery store in Dayton is a way for him to live on. Hersey is now a third-generation grocer in the town. Her grandfather, H. W. Stephenson, came to Dayton in 1938 from Portland, Ore., and he opened up a grocery in 1944. Hersey's father, Gail Bennet, took over in 1961 and ran the neighborhood Steve's Grocery on Fourth Street until he passed away last year. Twenty-Five Years Ago August 1, 1996 Waitsburg's Days of Real Sports...
Living in wheat country, I feel a deep connection to the fields of grain that surround me, even though I'm not a farmer myself. The rolling hills give us a colorful reminder of the changing seasons: from vibrant spring green to the golden hues of summer. Watching the combines and grain trucks during the busy harvest season, I am always reminded that our farmers, with the help of modern machinery, are continuing an agricultural tradition started many millennia ago. According to the...
