Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 32
Contractors broke ground on replacement of the Academy Street sidewalks on Monday. The job should be finished in the next week, or so, well before the first day of school on Sept. 6, according to Waitsburg City Manager Randy Hinchliffe. Hinchliffe said total sidewalk projects are spread throughout the city and are expected to go well into October....
DAYTON – Excavation began in earnest this week at the site of Columbia Pulp's new straw pulp plant, about five miles west of Starbuck. Crews from Pacific Civil and Infrastructure, the general contractor for the new plant, moved equipment onto the site on Monday and began moving dirt. Nearly four years after Columbia Pulp first announced plans for its new plant, funding finally closed on Aug. 9, on both the equity and bond financing for the project. The Washington Economic Development Finance A...
WAITSBURG – Anyone with a late-night urge to play basketball in Waitsburg is out of luck. Abuse to the school grounds and a lack of respect for neighbors has resulted in a closure of the playgrounds from 10 p.m. – 7 a.m. A Facebook post from the Walla Walla County Sheriff's Office stated that increased reports of multiple people on the school grounds after hours, making noise, littering and being a "general nuisance" resulted in the decision. Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Sha...
Ron and Marilyn Groom celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Aug. 12, 2017, with family and friends. They were married at the First Nazarene Church in Walla Walla (now Amazing Grace Nazarene). Following a brief honeymoon at Wallowa Lake, Ore., the couple returned to Guam where Ron was stationed at Anderson Air Force Base working as an instrument technician on C-130 weather squadron planes. Marilyn taught second-grade at Anderson Air Force Base Elementary School – at the time, the largest e...
Ten Years Ago August 23, 2007 Photo caption: Slowly the mule-drawn wagon carrying the casket of Kenneth G. Smith climbed the gently sloping hill at the Waitsburg City Cemetery, conveying the prominent wheat rancher and Quarterhorse enthusiast to his final resting place. Friends and Family attended the graveside service last Wednesday, officiated by Rev. Bret Moser, to bid farewell to Smith who, after military service in World War II, assumed management of the family farm at a young age. His hand in guiding and supporting the Days of Real Sport...
WALLA WALLA – Fort Walla Walla Museum will host its annual ice cream social from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Sun., Aug. 20 on the museum lawn, located at 755 Myra Road, Walla Walla. There will be entertainment for the whole family and ice cream is free with a paid museum admission. In addition to free ice cream with Klicker’s strawberry toppings, there will be pioneer games, old-time music, a living history performance and a bouncy castle. A pioneer dress-up booth will be set up for visitors to borrow a costume for the day. Antique vehicles court...
WAITSBURG – All Waitsburg School District students, both new and returning, need to register the week of Aug. 21-24. That week, all school offices will be open from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m., Mon., Wed., and Thurs. and from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. on Tues. to accommodate parents who work during the day. All fees (ASB, meals, etc.) may be paid at Preston Hall Middle School....
COLUMBIA COUNTY - Campground No. 3 and the access road to Deer Lake are going to be closed longer than originally anticipated, as construction to Rainbow Lake begins this week. For more information contact Kari Dingman, DFW, Assistant Wildlife Area Manager at: (509) 843-1530....
The Port of Columbia County has scheduled a public meeting on Wed., Aug. 23 from 6-8 p.m. at the KOA Lyons Ferry Marina restaurant, to get public input on the updated facilities plan design. Several options will be presented for consideration and food will be provided. For more information contact Jennie Dickinson at jennie-@portofcolumbia.org or by phone at: (509) 382-2577....
OUCHET VALLEY – Through last year’s series of Community Conversations meetings the Community Council learned that Health and Well-being is a top priority in the region. A workgroup is currently seeking additional input on priorities, activities, and community interest and has published a survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WPBGQYY. Residents of Columbia and Walla Walla counties and the Milton-Freewater area are encouraged to complete the survey to help the workgroup better understand the region’s needs. Please share the survey with other...
August 18: Kay Pettichord, Wiley Miller, Angela Hopkins, Clark Hulce, Nicole Page, Levi Fluharty, Paula Cooper, Jeanie White, Keith Williams, Alex Dill, Janell Groom, Chris Wood, Vincent Wright, Madison McCaw, John Stellwagen. August 19: Nicki Johnson, Steve Barr, Lucas Mohney, Georgia Rose Leisure, Brandon Crawford, Christopher Rohlfing. August 20: Deric Davidson. August 21: John Largent, Jennifer Clifton, Rick Reedy, Adelaide Johnson. August 22: Randy Farley, Peggy Stedman, Lynn Baker, Mindy Nordheim, Raylene Scott, Richard Beckel, Luke...
....
Dear Editor, When the issue of problems with the Waitsburg Fairgrounds grandstand first came up more than a year ago, it was supposed to be easy and inexpensive to determine whether to fix the problems and keep the structure or tear it down. After this much time and thousands of dollars spent on expert opinions, the decision has still not been made to repair or demolish. Are there other options? Portable grandstands were mentioned. Should their cost be added to the cost of demolition to be comparable with rebuilding? What about a pole-building...
Dear Editor, A few years ago Waitsburg was torn up one summer to make Main Street look pretty. Why wasn’t the infrastructure taken care of then? A couple of years later we had a leak on Main Street. Now a bridge needs to be replaced without the necessary funds to do it. How much of the plans are just “bells and whistles?” Heaven forbid it should be practical. I hope we won’t be stuck with more foolishness. Donna Murray Waitsburg...
* On Aug. 31, 1886, an earthquake near Charleston, South Carolina, leaves more than 100 people dead and destroys hundreds of buildings. It was the largest recorded earthquake in the history of the southeastern U.S. * On Sept. 3, 1935, Britain’s Sir Malcolm Campbell sets a new land-speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats of Utah. With its low-slung, aerodynamic body and 2,500-horsepower engine, the Bluebird averaged 301 mph in two runs over a 1-mile course. Today, the land-speed record stands at 763 mph....
On Aug. 19, the Blue Mountain Station Co-op and local food producers are sponsoring “Savor Summer,” a farm-to-table dinner, featuring whole lamb with chimichurri sauce, grilled vegetables, wheat berry salad and grilled garlic bread. Starters may include charred bread with house-made ricotta and cherry salsa, grilled artichokes with smoked tomato aioli, heirloom tomato gazpacho and grilled chard and kale with roasted peppers, sweet onions and fresh cheese drizzled with a balsamic reduction. A light cheese plate will follow the main course. Emry...
OLYMPIA – The Wash. State Parks and Recr. Commission needs snowmobilers from eastern Washington to serve on the state Snowmobile Advisory Committee. The committee will have two vacancies this fall and one must be filled by a resident of Adams, Whitman, Franklin, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield or Asotin County. Nominations must be received by Aug. 30, 2017. Appointments begin Oct. 1 for a term of three years. The committee convenes semi-annually and advises the commission on program policies, funding priorities and issues related to trail g...
DAYTON – Dayton resident and State Farm Insurance agent Bette Lou Crothers is doing what she can to support Dan and Ginny Butler in their quest to organize a Boys & Girls Club in Dayton. Now she needs community support to win $25,000 toward the cause. Crothers entered the Boys & Girls Club project in the State Farm Neighborhood Assist national grant competition in June. State Farm reviewed and scored the 2,000 submissions, narrowing it down to 200 finalists. The Boys & Girls Club made the cut. T...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg High School earned a well-deserved nod of recognition in an Aug. 10 article in The Seattle Times. The article, titled ‘Fewer Washington students who go to college need to take remedial courses,’ says that the state’s highest enrollment rate was in Waitsburg School District where 86 percent of the district’s 21 2015 graduates attended college. Issaquah was a close second at 85 percent, followed by Mercer Island and Bellevue, which both had 81 percent of their students...
WASHINGTON STATE - People don't typically think of an eclipse being an emergency, but depending on where you live, it could be something you need to prepare for well in advance. According to the Oregon Department of Transportation, an estimated one million visitors are expected to arrive in Oregon to view the total solar eclipse crossing the United States on Mon., Aug. 21. The DOT expects the eclipse to be the biggest traffic event in the state's history. Residents who live in the direct path...
DAYTON – The Missoula Children's Theatre (MCT), the nation's largest touring children's theatre, has once again partnering with the Liberty Theater to bring a week-long summer camp to our community, and a fabulous play to the Liberty stage. MCT has been touring for more than 40 years, sending team members to nearly 1,200 communities from Montana to Japan. These teams arrive in towns with a set, lights, costumes, props and make-up; just about everything they need to put on a play. The one t...
Dayton – Beau Sabin and Rick Nicely of Pillars of Society Woodworks, LLC have been tasked with moving a small log cabin from its current site in the backyard of a home on W. Richmond St., to its new location at the Smith Hollow School House Museum, and with its reconstruction. The cabin was unbuilt, beginning with the last piece added when it was first built. The pieces are being numbered, and photographed, before they are moved. "The more pictures, the more documentation, the better," said S...
DAYTON—With no immediate plan to replace Planning Director Karen Scharer, who is no longer employed by the city, and with the news that Columbia Pulp is moving forward with its development plans, local officials have been scrambling to put together a seamless plan for providing planning and building services, in the county, and in the city. On Aug. 9, County Planning Director Kim Lyonnaise told the county commissioners that his office is much busier than usual. He said that one day he yelled out of his office, to Greg Abramson and Meagan B...
At last week’s meeting the Columbia County Board of Commissioners signed agreements between the county and the U.S. Geologic Survey Department, and between the county and the Department of Natural Resources for high resolution lidar topographic mapping of the county, that will take place in the fall of 2017. Public Works Director Andrew Woods told the commissioners, “FEMA is on board for flood maps. The DNR is on board for slopes and rockslides. The USDS wants the maps, and the Corps will hap...
Note from the Editor: Dayton Code Compliance Officer Clint Atteberry, will be providing The Times with a monthly code compliance focus, beginning this month. Foot traffic safety is very important, and cars being able to see these pedestrians is paramount to their safety. Dayton code says that you must not have any vegetation over 30 inches high on any corner measured 10 feet from the corner. Trees must also be kept a minimum seven feet off the sidewalks to provide for adequate safety of pedestrians. Please help keep our sidewalks unobstructed....
