Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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STARBUCK-If you see a traditional dugout canoe paddling down the Snake River over the next couple days, wave and say hi! Willow Bill is completing his second trek to the ocean, but not before stopping to share his love of willow branch art with students at Starbuck School. Since 1998, Nevada resident William Gouldart, best known as Willow Bill, has taught kids how to build reindeer out of willow branches. In 2016, December 2-9 was declared Willow Reindeer Project Week in the state of Nevada....
STARBUCK-The first thing you notice when you meet Starbuck School District Superintendent Kevin Graffis is what a big man he is. Graffis has played professional football, and as he begins to talk, his love of sports comes across. Just two years into his first teaching job in Bridgeport, Wash., he was tapped by the San Francisco 49ers to play professional football. He said he played two preseasons with the 49ers but didn't make the final cut; and ended up playing in the United States Football...
WAITSBURG-Columbia-Walla Walla County Fire District 2 is excited to announce the new fire chief, Michael Moynihan, from San Francisco, California. Chief Moynihan began his position as the first paid fire chief in the history of CWWFD2 on Monday, September 21. Born and raised in San Francisco, Moynihan has more than 30 years of firefighting experience. He began as a firefighter/EMT with a volunteer fire department, very similar to the one that serves Waitsburg and the surrounding area. He took...
The Blue Mountain Land Trust is excited to announce the on-demand streaming of the thirteen-part series, Secret Life of the Forest: The Northern Blue Mountains. The series explores the natural history of the northern Blue Mountains of Southeastern Washington and Northeastern Oregon. Soak in the massive mountain range’s beauty and splendor and the plants and animals that inhabit this little-known landscape through Mike Denny’s incredible knowledge and Daniel Biggs’ photography. Episodes are available to stream on-demand from your home. Acces...
WALLA WALLA—The Fort Walla Walla Museum will be showing ‘The 1879 Blue Mountain Railroad- Detecting a Ghost’ Museum After Hours online. Log in to the Zoom video to experience the long-forgotten route of a railroad that steamed its way from the Whitman Mission into what we now call Umatilla County. Join Clark Colahan as he relives his adventures after stumbling across the lost map of the Blue Mountain Railroad. The prerecorded program will be held on September 24 at 5 p.m. To register, visit www.fwwm.org....
DAYTON—The Wenaha Gallery will feature artist Tanna Scott for the upcoming Art Event. Based in Kennewick, WA, Scott finds her inspiration in rough range cattle and roaming horses, focusing on Western and Rodeo art. Her work has brought viewers to tears more than once, striking emotional chords and leaving them feeling nostalgic. Scott tells of one encounter with a viewer who insisted that the horse in her painting was the same one he looked to each morning. After getting to know the viewer, she learned he was battling cancer, and looked to t...
Per Fire District #2, the agriculture burn ban has been lifted North and West of Hiway 12. Contacting the Department of Ecology and other state agencies is suggested....
DAYTON—Holds can be placed for library materials through the online catalog at www.DaytonML.org. Holds must be placed by noon the day before pick-ups begin. Pick-ups take place curbside at the library Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. until 5 p. m. and Friday from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Librarian Kristie Korslund said Adult Curbside Take-And-Make crafts are available during curbside pick-up on the first and third Friday of each month. Crafts include crochet bookmarks, birdseed ornaments, bread-baking, and more. They are available on a first-come, f...
PRESCOTT—‘HOPE 2.0 is here!’ Prescott School District will be returning to in-person instruction starting Monday, October 5th. Superintendent Justin Bradford announced last week that the school district will be returning to a hybrid schedule, with students divided into A and B groups for schedule purposes. Walla Walla County schools did not anticipate returning to in-person instruction until the end of the first quarter, at the earliest. ‘We know that this represents yet another change in our schedule, but it does bring us closer to safely...
OLYMPIA—The Washington State Department of Health provided an update on progress being made toward a COVID-19 vaccine: Five federal regions (four states and a city) have been chosen to be pilot states in the CDC’s planning. Washington is not one of the pilot states. However, we will develop our plans based on lessons learned from the pilot project. Yesterday we received, from the federal government, the interim playbook. We are now reviewing it and are on a 30-day clock to return our plans by October 16th. We want to remind people that whe...
WAITSBURG—Waitsburg School District will be returning to in-person instruction on Monday, October 5. The decision to reopen schools for in-person instruction, which many school and health department officials believed would wait until the end of the first quarter, was an ‘unexpected surprise’ to Superintendent Mark Pickel. Superintendent Pickel announced the reopening on September 17, following a school board meeting. In a public notice, he stated the decision was made in collaboration with the faculty, school board, and the Walla Walla Count...
DAYTON—Dayton and Starbuck schools have opened with full attendance. Because Columbia County’s population is low, a few cases of COVID-19 can impact whether or not schools remain open. According to Martha Lanman at the County Health Department, keeping schools open depends on whether new cases are connected to kids in the schools, and will be decided on a case by case basis. If new cases are not connected, the Health Department will analyze the situation and have a conversation about whether it is safe to remain open. An outbreak will be con...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg School Board met September 17, via Zoom meeting. High School Principal Stephanie Wooderchak said that the school year was going smoothly though there have been some issues with the students’ Chromebook laptops. Some computers were equipped with the wrong cords, and some had login issues. Wooderchak noted that the IT provider, NexGen, had installed shortcuts for Zoom and Google Classrooms, which many of the students reported they appreciated. Waitsburg FFA will be att...
WAITSBURG—The Waitsburg City Council met Tuesday, September 15, via conference call. All members of the Council were present. The Council reviewed an application for the first of a series of payments for work done on the new Taggart Road extension. Sharpe & Preszler Construction Company requested a payment of $345,066.74 to cover the cost of total work completed and materials on hand, to date. The Council approved the Taggart Road extension in 2019; however, construction was paused due to the f...
It is vital we vote for an effective advocate for our County Commissioner. Jenny Mayberry is that person. A successful local business woman, passionate in her giving and highly invested in our community. Her business supports a variety of projects and fundraisers to help organizations and nonprofits. Jenny selflessly gives countless hours to the care of our community through her volunteer service as a Firefighter/EMT. She has a passion for the health and well being of our community. I met Jenny a couple years ago and my first impression upon...
The 16th Legislative District is changing. While the 16th LD is composed of Columbia and Walla Walla counties, most of southern Benton County, and Pasco, it is no longer predominately an agricultural region. Our region has a rich diversity in its peoples and industry. Even within the agricultural sectors we see a multitude of different agribusiness variations with sometimes competing legislative policy needs. These policy areas are as wide ranging as water use, pesticide application, to immigration and if I dare say —public health! Throw in t...
Dear Editor: I’ve known Mike a long time. He was a trustworthy, straight talking friend to all as a teenager and hasn’t changed—he has become more so. His compassion runs deep and he understands how important it is for everyone to be heard. That is how Mike approaches every facet of the law and he has practiced them all! From prosecuting cases in criminal court, traffic court and the State Appellate and Supreme Courts to defending criminals and engaging the breadth of civil law and arbitration, Mike is committed to fairness for every perso...
Letter to the editor, The Mayor and City Council Public Safety Standing Committee (“Committee”) contests claims made by Commissioner Ryan Rundell in the September 10, 2020 edition of The Times. As provided in the June 22, 2020 Press Release, the County did send notice in May 2019 requesting negotiations on the interlocal agreements. Though, at the time, the City and County had actually been in formal negotiations since mid-2017; and, the City had requested level of services (“LOS”) and budget information dating as far back as 2016. Our inquiri...
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court and a pioneering advocate for women’s rights, died on Friday at her home in Washington, D.C. She was 87. The cause was complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer, the Supreme Court said. “Our nation has lost a justice of historic stature,” Chief Justice John Roberts said. “We at the Supreme Court have lost a cherished colleague. Today we mourn, but with confidence, that future generations will remember Ruth Bader Ginsbur...
September 12 Unknown subject(s) broke a flagpole and stole a Donald Trump flag from residential driveway. Walla Walla Co. September 13 Deputies were dispatched to Piper Rd in Burbank for a domestic issue between mother, daughter. Daughter was taken to hospital for mental health evaluation. Burbank September 16 Unknown subject(s) pushed open a gate to gain access inside the storage yard at A&J Storage. Personal lock was pried off a unit and items were stolen. Burbank Adult female reported she found a previously stolen firearm. Waitsburg...
Books are magical treasure troves of knowledge and art. Academics love books. It makes sense that places of study such as colleges and universities would house libraries of rare collections. The University of Washington's Bhutan book, for example, is a massive seven-foot by five-foot behemoth. This thing weighs 133 pounds and took an entire 24 hours to print. As a former Guinness Book of World's Records holder, Bhutan, at its mammoth scale, offers landscapes as big as windows and life-size...
The Mariners’ chances to finish second place in the division and make the playoffs took a big hit last week when they had to travel to San Francisco and San Diego to play five games on the road. These games would have been played in Seattle if not for the hazardous air quality caused by wildfires. Losing four out of five of those games has them facing elimination against the Houston Astros in head to head play. With six games remaining in the season and a 24-30 record, the Mariners would need to sweep the series against Houston and win their f...
I am not, nor have I ever been accused of being a “romantic.” Even as a young girl, I didn’t fantasize about wearing a big white poufy wedding dress, or a white knight charming and romancing me. It had nothing to do with being levelheaded; I was just more enthralled with action, adventure, and getting dirty. My sister, brother, and I have all been married twice, and none of us opted for big parties or over-the-top events. We had small weddings at home, except my last one to Daniel; we elope...
Woke, Project Power, and Dora the Explorer: Lost City of Gold Woke [TVMA] Hulu Keef is an African-American cartoonist on the verge of mainstream success when an unexpected incident changes his life. The more Keef confronts his revelations, the more he puts his career’s success in jeopardy. Keef, the cartoonist, and his pen draw more than conclusions. Episodes are about a half-hour in length and meet at the intersection of social awareness and comedy. Dora the Explorer & the Lost City of Gold [PG...
DAYTON-Kim Clark, General Manager of Bluewood Ski Resort, said the forecast is for a "good, strong snowfall all winter long," and he is keeping his fingers crossed. Clark said the goal for the upcoming ski season is normal operations with as few disruptions as possible. "We know there is a huge pent up demand out there, as shown by our spring season pass sales. We're excited about the season ahead and can't wait to welcome guests back up to their hometown ski area." Bluewood Ski resort is part o...
