Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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Frost on Walnut Trees, 2021. Bill Rodgers was out at one of his favorite spots last Sunday and took this stunning photo through freshly frosted trees looking north up Whiskey Creek Valley....
WALLA WALLA—It’s just after 10 a.m. Monday morning, and Kathryn Witherington, Executive Director of the Downtown Walla Walla Foundation (DWWF), is already brimming with ideas. When we met back in August 2019, Witherington worked for the Port of Columbia and kindly escorted me through all the businesses that seemed to be thriving at the Rock Hill Industrial Park. Since then, her talent for ideation has led her to Walla Walla County, where she is still finding personal ways to connect local bus...
Budget includes water/sewer utility rate increases DAYTON—The Dayton City Council adopted the 2021 City Budget at their meeting on Tuesday, Dec.1, and Mayor Zac Weatherford presented the following: Built into the Budget are proposed water and sewer utility rate increases for all service types. The average residential customer will see an increase in their utility bill of $10.65 each month. Weatherford said the City Council delayed an increase in these rates in 2020 in exchange for deferring c...
Waitsburg High School Seniors Teagen Larsen and Koby Harris were nominated by Waitsburg High School staff for the Walla Walla Exchange Club Scholarship program. On Monday, December 7, the high schoolers joined a Zoom conference call and read essays to all attendees. Both Larsen and Harris are now eligible to compete for the Youth of the Year award and a $1,000 scholarship....
WALLA WALLA—With an annexation application period approaching, the city of Walla Walla’s Development Services Department would like to remind residents of recent updates to the annexation process. The annexation application periods are Jan. 1-31 and Sept. 1-30, as adopted by City Council in Ord. 2019-38. The annexation application fee is $1,600. Applications are available on the department’s website, https://tinyurl.com/y6f2785d. Those who wish to annex into the city of Walla Walla must be contiguous with existing city limit boundaries and m...
WALLA WALLA—Four new 8-foot by 8-foot murals have been placed in front of the Land Title Plaza, 33 E. Main, Coffee Perk, 4 S. First Ave, the Macy’s building on 58 E. Main St, and at TMACS, 80 N. Colville St. The idea was a community-led initiative originating with business owner Staci Wanicheck, who wanted to add extra cheer to downtown through local art. Wanicheck contacted Annette Bergevin, General Manager and Founding Partner of Bergevin Lane Vineyards, whose daughter Jaden Bergevin offered to paint the mural now displayed outside TMA...
COLUMBIA COUNTY—A public hearing has been scheduled by the Columbia County Board of Commissioners to hear comments on the adoption of the 2021 budgets for the Columbia County flood control district. A copy of the proposed budgets will be placed on file with the county auditor, where it will be available for public inspection. Final approval of the budget is pending this hearing. The meeting will be held on Monday, December 21, 2020, at 11:15 a.m. at the commissioners’ office at 311 E. Main St., Dayton, WA....
DAYTON— On Tuesday of this week, Columbia County Public Health Administrator, Martha Lanman, confirmed two more deaths in men over the age of fifty. This brings the total to four, including a death reported earlier in November and one in July. There were fifteen positive cases and one test awaiting results on Tuesday morning. Forty-seven people have recovered from COVID-19 since March. Dayton School District Superintendent Guy Strot posted on the District website over the weekend that Dayton Schools would need to stay in remote learning for t...
WALLA WALLA—Walla Walla County health officials were notified that two local men, one in his 50s and one in his 70s, as well as three local women in their 70s that had tested positive for COVID-19, have passed away. “We offer our heartfelt condolence to friends and families during this difficult time,” said Kara Breymeyer, DCH Preventative Services Division Manager. Case overview as of 12/08/2020 @ 5 p.m. New cases for the day: 41 Confirmed Cases: 2,497 Recovered: 2,154 Deaths: 27 Active: 355 Home Isolation: 341 Hospitalized: 14 Walla Walla...
WALLA WALLA—The Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days is pleased to announce that the Board of County Commissioners has appointed William (Bill) Jordan and Todd Stubblefield to the Walla Walla Fair and Frontier Days Board of Directors. William Jordan began attending the Fair after moving to Walla Walla in 1969 for a teaching position. Raising his family in the area, the Fair has been an important end of summer ritual. Jordan has volunteered at the Fair in the Kiwanis Booth, with the Shuttle Cart and Education Building, and wherever else he was n...
DAYTON—The Dayton School District Board of Directors met Wednesday, December 2, for a regularly scheduled board workshop session. During the session, Superintendent Guy Strot gave a brief update on the Dayton-Waitsburg Athletic Combine mascot. After speaking with Superintendent Mark Pickel, Principal Kristina Brown, and Principal Stephanie Wooderchak, Superintendent Strot said that the schools would keep their individual mascots. Dayton School District will still be represented as the Dayton B...
DAYTON—Jennie Dickinson, the Executive Director for the Port of Columbia, is on the board for the Palouse Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO). She is asking the community to provide input to a Regionwide Active Transportation Plan being developed by the RTPO. Dickinson said the RPTO is developing a website for the Regional Active Transportation Plan. The site will include maps of city sidewalks, showing gaps to fill to connect walking routes. There will also be maps with r...
It seems common sense and decency have been upstaged by rule changes at the USPS. In our small town of 1,200 we do not have mail delivery to our homes as an option. The two choices are a mailbox at the end of the street, if living far enough away from the Post Office, or a Post Office Box. With COVID-19 restricting so many folks to shopping from home due to store closures to in-person shopping we are having problems. Sellers want to know a street address, even though their shipper sometimes drops packages off at the local Post Office. At the...
Let me begin by saying I know this policy of returning items has caused a huge inconvenience for many Waitsburg Postal Customers, and I am sorry. Also, we at the Post Office appreciate the support many of you have extended. The Waitsburg community has been overwhelmingly kind while trying to deal with this problem. After talking with some of our valued customers, we have decided to suspend the practice of returning items through December so patrons will not have to worry about this through the holidays. Over the past two-plus years, we have...
DAYTON—For the past few months, Columbia County Health System (CCHS) CEO Shane McGuire has been talking to the Hospital District Board of Commissioners about five small works roster1 projects that could improve the hospital’s ability to treat COVID-19 patients and help the Health System with its response to a potential surge of COVID-19 in the community. Cost for the five projects is estimated at 1.1 million and are listed below in order of priority: 1. Upgrade the currently undersized hospital...
DAYTON—The 2020-21 season at Bluewood opens the weekend of Dec. 11-13 as the winter sports area welcomes skiers and snowboarders to the mountain. As of Monday, Dec.7, there are 24 inches of snow at the base and 24 inches at the summit. On Friday, opening day, the first chair will be at 9 a.m. Throughout the weekend, hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, with the Skyline Express, Triple Nickel, and Easy Rider conveyor lifts all scheduled to be spinning. “We’re super excited to welcome everyone back up on the mountain,” says Kim Clar...
November 30 Reporting party came to the Sheriff’s Office to report a burglary that occurred over the Thanksgiving holiday in the 400 block of Preston Avenue. Waitsburg Deputy dispatched to the 3000 block of Issacs Avenue regarding theft of automotive parts from company vehicle. Fence to property was also damaged. Walla Walla County Males arrested for warrants and possession of stolen property. Burbank A fire hydrant was struck by a semi-truck overnight. Burbank An assault was alleged to have occurred within the county. Burbank December 1 A m...
Jon Rampey: Wand Maker 2020 has taught us how to make lemonade out of lemons. Jon Rampey, a newcomer to Dayton, makes art using this philosophy of resourcefulness. "Creating something is better than buying it," he said. Like many of his generation, 27-year-old Rampey loves the Harry Potter universe and knows nearly everything about it. Years ago, he decided he must have his own sorcerer's wand like Professor Dumbledore's. Wands being a bit pricy, he decided to carve his own. In 2009 he made his...
It has become exceptionally clear over the years that as much as we give of ourselves to Cookie in terms of time, love, and care, she will always out-give us. It's the nature of her dog-ness, the core of her being. When a dog feels secure and locked into a regular, dependable, and quite pleasant routine, there is more opportunity to expand and grow past the basic animal concerns for food, shelter, and safety. A dog who spends her days without fear is a dog that will instinctively want more...
After an upset loss to the New York Giants last week, the Seahawks have dropped down to the fifth seed in the playoffs. If the Seahawks end the season as the fifth overall seed, they would have to travel to New York for a rematch against the Giants in the first round of the playoffs. The December 27th game in Seattle against the Rams will likely determine the NFC West division winner this season. This week the Seahawks host the New York Jets. The Jets are now 0-12 on the year after a...
Columbia Walla Walla Fire District 2 held a vehicle extrication class Saturday in Waitsburg involving ten volunteer staff. Vehicle extrication is the process of removing a vehicle from around a person who has been involved in a motor vehicle collision. Damaged cars were donated by Kyle's Custom Toys & Towing of Dayton for the class. District Chief Michael Moynihan said everyone did a good job using the lifesaving tools that are always with fire district trucks....
Growing up, my family loved to find ways to make our Christmas trees unique. Not always successfully or safely. In the sixties, my mother turned one tree into Pop Art bordering on Psychedelic Art. Brightly colored giant paper flowers in orange, pink, and lime green, love beads, and loads of lights covered the tree. It was so mod, reminding us of the 'Joke Wall' on T.V.'s Laugh-In (look it up). We were so excited to plug in the lights and enjoy its grooviness. It took less than four minutes for...
I am an eastern Oregon gal and my most precious holiday memories are the times spent at my grandparents’ homes in the farming community of Keating, east of Baker City. In the 1960s, we didn’t have many real toys to play with. What was lacking in material wealth was made up for by using our imagination. Playing “store” with my brother, Jim, in my grandmother’s country store on Hwy. 86, and looking for Easter eggs my uncle hid in a haystack on Easter Sunday, are two of my favorite memories....
Like many Christmas trees, ours is a time-measuring tree. We have so many ornaments now, there are too many for one tree to hold! We have a couple of small table trees that help out, but when you choose which ornaments will be hung, you’re choosing which will not. Some of our ornaments have been gifts from many friends over time. One is the cup of hot chocolate, knitted by our friend Joan Helm. Some we have given to ourselves during the years. We have one cut from wood that says, “Peace on Ear...
My most memorable holiday happens to be a Christmas when I was just old enough to sleep on the top bunk. Being the youngest, I wasn’t alive during the fabled Christmas when my older brothers peeked, found presents hidden, and my parents returned everything to the North Pole to prove a point! I don’t mean to imply that I was a good kid by any means, but the idea to go snooping for hidden presents would never even have occurred to me. Nonetheless, I was a party to the wisdom gained from that yea...
