Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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STARBUCK-The town of Starbuck, nestled between Hwy. 12 and Lyons Ferry Marina, northeast of Dayton, has a small school district serving forty students. All of the District's students, except for three who are distance learning, are being taught in real-time, since school began on Aug. 25. Luann Truesdale, the office administrator, spoke of all the work that has gone into preparing the school to meet COVID-19 requirements for returning students. She said "bubblers" were disconnected from...
A massive smoke cloud covered Washington with heavy smoke over the weekend A supermassive cloud of smoke blanketed parts of the Pacific Northwest over the weekend, leaving many areas in the 'hazardous' air quality range. Fires are still raging across Washington, Oregon, and California, creating a plume that meteorologists expect to hang around for a while. The fire season has been fueled by an unusually dry, hot summer, with the last measurable rain dating back to July, which measured less than...
DAYTON—After monitoring the opening of Dayton schools using face-to-face learning, The Club’s Board of Directors voted to resume in-person programs on September 28, 2020. The Club currently offers virtual programs and weekly activity boxes delivered to members. “All indications are that things are going smoothly at Dayton schools”, said Jim Pearson, Director of The Club. “In coordination with the school, we believe we can open safely and provide some meaningful activities and engagement to the community’s youth”. Initially, the program will...
OLYMPIA—Washington state voters may soon receive a postcard from the U.S. Postal Service encouraging voters to “plan ahead” for the Nov. 3 General Election. Among the recommendations is to request a mail-in or absentee ballot at least 15 days before Election Day. The following is a statement by the Office of the Secretary of State in response to the “If you plan to vote by mail, plan ahead.” postcard. “Voters in Washington do not need to request a ballot, as ballots are automatically mailed to all registered voters at least 18 days prior to El...
OLYMPIA – More than 629,000 acres have been consumed by wildfire in Washington state since Monday. Washington, along with Oregon and California, is experiencing some of the largest fires in their states' respective histories in just the last week. Gov. Jay Inslee issued a proclamation Thursday in response to damage from several wildfires across the state. The proclamation will help families and individuals impacted by wildfires with cash assistance for immediate needs. The assistance provided t...
DAYTON—The Friends of the Dayton Memorial Library will be hosting a book sale on October 2-4 at 250 Main Street. All proceeds go to the Friends of the Library to support future library programs. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, a limit of ten customers will be allowed in the building at one time, and masks and distancing will be required. Get ready to read and pick out out a book or two on Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3, from 9 a.m- 6 p.m. Sunday, October 4, the sale will be open from 1 p.m-4 p.m....
Gov. Jay Inslee today announced updated guidance for indoor fitness and training facilities as part of Washington’s Safe Start phased reopening plan. Effective today, indoor fitness and training facilities are allowed to operate in Modified Phase 1 counties under Phase 2 guidance. This means that facilities like gyms, yoga studios, and indoor sports facilities can open for personal fitness and training, group fitness classes, and practice for certain low-and medium-contact sports. Occupancy is limited to ensure proper physical distancing, a...
WAITSBURG-How do you make tired volunteer firefighters smile in the middle of one of the worst fire seasons on record? If you ask the local Girl Scouts, it is as easy as donating a few cases of cookies. Columbia-Walla Walla County Fire District 2 happily accepted a generous donation of twelve cases of Girl Scout cookies last week, as a 'gift of caring through the council.' While donating leftover cookies is a normal thing, according to troop leaders Brandi Hollingsworth and Amber Lambert, the...
OLYMPIA—Today, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) released the latest statewide situation report, which reflects an overall decline in COVID-19 activity as of late August. The report also highlights encouraging signs that keeping our distance, limiting gathering size, and wearing face coverings are working to slow the spread of the disease. Report findings include: The reproductive number (how many new people each COVID-19 patient will infect) was close to one in western Washington and above one in eastern Washington as of A...
OLYMPIA/YAKIMA—The first two cases of West Nile virus (WNV) in Washington this year have been reported by the Yakima County Health District and Benton-Franklin Health District. The Yakima County resident, a man in his 50’s, was hospitalized due to the infection. The Benton County resident, a man in his 60’s, was not hospitalized. WNV can be a serious, even fatal illness. It can affect people, horses, birds, and other animals. WNV is almost always spread to people by the bite of an infected mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected after feedi...
Before the smoke settled last Friday, Waitsburg-resident Jule Keller headed out to mow her lawn, but stopped when she heard 'Amazing Grace' being performed by Wyatt Bohlman on his trumpet. The song was a nod to those lost in the attacks on 9/11/2001. Keller writes: 'At around 11 a.m. this morning I was going to mow my lawn but stopped because I heard my neighbor's son playing Amazing Grace on his trumpet to honor those lost on this day in 2001. I did not start my lawnmower and just stood to...
Washington Lawyers for the Arts (WLA) announces Legal Advice Week (LAW) for September. This week-long, pro bono telephone clinic offers artists and art organizations throughout Washington state a chance to connect with lawyers and get 30 minutes of free advice related to their legal issues. WLA’s LAW in September starts on the 21st and goes through the week. The telephone legal clinic is replacing WLA’s monthly in-person clinics for the foreseeable future. Legal issues must relate to an artistic discipline. Still, they can cover a wide range of...
Dear Editor: I’m writing to endorse Mike Mitchell for Superior Court Judge Position 1. Though I retired from the practice of law about four years ago, prior thereto I had a number of cases over the years where Mike was on the other side. Hence, I can tell you from my own experience that Mike is a first-class lawyer and will make a first-class judge. Mike’s knowledge of the law is unsurpassed. He has handled all variety of cases including criminal (both as a prosecutor and as a defense attorney); civil (including domestic, personal injury, estat...
September 10 Weapons violations, suspect placed traps in residence temporarily vacated, E. Hwy 12., Waitsburg. September 11 Theft, report of stolen credit card and attempted usage, Power Line Rd, Walla Walla Co. Theft, leaf blower stolen, Coppei/Preston Ave., Waitsburg September 12 Burglary, tools stolen from a business shop on Campbell Rd., Walla Walla...
WAITSBURG-Nancy's Dream Garden Center has moved closer to main Main Street. Owner/operators Janet Lawrence and Doug Biolo said the move has been great for business, with a new surprising customer base picking up. At the new address, 124 Warren Street, the brother-sister duo now have room to grow Nancy's Dream bigger than they ever imagined. The former site had just enough room for a single greenhouse and an outdoor display, but limited parking, especially for semi-trucks, was a problem. The new...
DAYTON-Dayton is becoming a magnet for people who are attracted to the rural lifestyle. Dayton Chamber of Commerce Manager Molly Weatherill-Tate said a couple from Colorado recently moved to Dayton, and a man from western Oregon is thinking about moving to Dayton when he retires. Another family moved to Dayton sooner than they had planned to, because of the COVID-19 situation, and she has sent relocation packages as far away as Missouri, California, and Texas. "People generally seem to be...
DAYTON—City Administrator Trina Cole provided the Dayton City Council with an update about the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) project at last week’s council meeting. “We are moving forward with constructed wetlands,” Cole said. She said while it seems like progress is slow, the City and its partners; Anderson/Perry & Associates, the Confederate Indian Tribes of the Umatilla, Washington Water Trust, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Dept. of Ecology continue to work on the project...
Jeromy Phinney, Chief of Columbia County Fire District 3, is a good man to have a conversation with right now. He's cool as a cucumber, with a large framed photo of John Wayne on the wall beside his desk. He has the confidence you want in a fire chief while wildfires rage around the Pacific Northwest. "Everything's dry, and dry conditions happen every year. It's nothing new," he said. "But yeah, this summer has been tough." Twenty-one years ago, Jeromy Phinney was a kid fresh out of college. He'...
WORLD WIDE WEB-By now, you might've seen a certain viral video floating around the web. Or perhaps not, it's a big internet world out there. The Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company posted a video to their Instagram feed of grilled sunflowers. By the end of this quick tutorial style video, the sunflower is taken in hand and eaten like corn on the cob. Sunflower seeds are a popular snack, sure, but this isn't that. The edible part is the head. It broke my brain a little. The video says to pick a...
In week two, the Seahawks will host the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football. The nationally televised game is at 5:20 PM on NBC. The Patriots have had some roster changes; the biggest is new quarterback Cam Newton, who takes over for Tom Brady, who now plays for Tampa Bay. Cam Newton missed all but two games last year with the Carolina Panthers with a foot injury. He looked fine last week in New England’s win over the Miami Dolphins, completing fifteen of his nineteen passes for one h...
The Mariners have gone 14-7 in their last twenty-one games and find themselves in third place in the American League West. The Houston Astros, who are currently in second place, have gone 8-13 over their last twenty-one games and had a six-game losing streak in the middle of that span. This puts the Mariners just one and a half games behind the Houston Astros with twelve games left to play, including three games against Houston in Seattle. For Seattle to have a chance to move into second place and guarantee a playoff spot, they will probably ne...
As you all probably know, I’m a city girl. Born In New York (Brooklyn), we then moved to Queens, and eventually to the suburbs of Long Island. We grew nothing in New York, except for one crab apple tree and a pear tree, that never bore fruit. Our vegetables didn’t come from the ground; they lived in little white boxes in the freezer. My mother would boil salted water, drop in the frozen vegetables, then cook the life out of them. We eventually moved to Tucson, Arizona, because my father’s arthr...
The River Cottage Preserves Handbook, by Pam Corbin, (Ten Speed Press, 2010). The British have a knack for preserving, and author Pam Corbin has created easy steps with gorgeous images in this book. There is nothing more rewarding than preserving fruits and vegetables from the garden, so get out the kettle and grandma’s canning jars! My favorite recipe from the book is Bachelor’s Jam; a recipe with fruit, sugar and rum, brandy, or gin. You can sign up for the River Cottage Newsletter or che...
There is one thing that gets Cookie-otherwise, the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)-repeatedly into big trouble. We call it the Walkabout. The word has fallen into general usage but initially referred to a ritual journey by Aboriginal Australians. During these solo pilgrimages, the individual would head off into the Outback, often as a rite of passage into adulthood. The Walkabout was a break from the modern world and a spiritual practice as well, forging connections to traditional lands and...
Several Washington State Parks remaining open until Nov. 1 Washington State Parks is extending the camping season at select parks throughout the state through November 1. The extension is in response to a higher than normal demand for camping at parks across the state due to the COVID-19 pandemic since most parks booked up quickly this summer. There were less available slots to accommodate time for cleaning between visitors. This extended reservation season offer is for 2020 only. Extended...
