Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Articles from the December 29, 2016 edition


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  • Fresh Snowfall

    Dec 29, 2016

    Dayton photographer, Nick Page, took this Christmas-card-perfect photograph of a barn and old farm truck, lightly dusted with a layer of fresh snow, just outside Colfax, Wash. Page has captured magnificent images in his recent travels to China, Hawaii, and Iceland but never falls to find comparable beauty right in our very own backyard....

  • 2016 in Waitsburg - The Year of Contention

    Dena Wood, The Times|Dec 29, 2016

    WAITSBURG – 2016 in Waitsburg could be called The Year of Contention. The year kicked off with the city council responding to public outcry by abandoning plans to approve a one-year trial lease with Brandon Kelly, who wanted to operate a race car track at the city fairgrounds. But that was just the beginning of citizens making their opinions known. Voters rejected the school's capital improvements bond and community members shared their views about fairgrounds usage, removal of trees by the c...

  • Columbia Pulp Cancels Bond Sale

    The Times|Dec 29, 2016

    DAYTON—An update on the status of the planned Columbia Pulp facility near Starbuck was given by Port of Columbia Manager Jennie Dickinson at the Community Economic Development Strategy meeting last Wednesday. Dickinson told participants that half of Columbia Pulp’s bond sold, but that private equity investors have pulled out of the process. Dickinson said that Columbia Pulp CEO John Begley told her that “due to the inability to close on the equity side of the transaction on the timeline needed for bond cap expiration, the transaction will...

  • Hospital, Fairgrounds Renovations Among Top Dayton Stories in 2016

    Dec 29, 2016

    DAYTON-2016 was an eventful year in Dayton and for Columbia County. *** Among the top stories were passage of the Dayton School District capital projects levy and maintenance and operations levy, after their failure in 2015. The four year $1.46 million M&O levy was approved in February. The M&O levy provides 25 percent of the district's budget, and helps support athletic programs, and food services. The levy will be used not only for ongoing maintenance and repairs, and to counter the effects of...

  • Community Health Dept. Returns to Full Time

    The Times|Dec 29, 2016

    WALLA WALLA – With the approval of the 2017 Walla Walla County budget the Dept. of Community Health staff will return to full-time work, with no mandatory furlough days. As a result the Dept. of Community Health will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The Dept. is closed from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. for lunch. Services available at the Health Dept. include Women, Infant, and Children (WIC), with limited immunization and communicable disease nursing services. “We are in the process of working with community partners to identify gaps in servi...

  • Wildfire Plan Updates

    The Times|Dec 29, 2016

    WALLA WALLA – The City of Walla Walla and the Oregon Dept. of Forestry will work with Walla Walla County to update the county-level Community Wildfire Protection Plan. The plan includes risk analyses with predictive models that indicate where and how fires are likely to ignite and how they may impact local communities and the environment. Northwest Management, Inc. will facilitate meetings and review and update the current plan which will focus on creating fire adapted communities, improving wildfire response, and restoring and maintaining h...

  • Pioneer Portraits - December 28, 2016

    The Times|Dec 29, 2016

    Ten Years Ago January 4, 2007 Three Waitsburg youngsters will compete in the Elks Lodge Free Throw Contest in Moses Lake on Saturday, January 6. Owen Lanning, 10, finished third in the Walla Walla contest, but advanced when the first- and second- place finishers in the 10-11 year old bracket opted not to participate further. . . Eighth graders Dru Somers and Christy Poirier will also advance to the Moses Lake competition. A structural study of the long-idle Wait’s Mill will be the first step in a two-phased approach being commissioned by the W...

  • Yoga Class

    Dec 29, 2016

    DAYTON - Lydia Caudill is offering a yoga class on Thursday evenings at 5:30 p.m. in the Firesdie Room of the First Congregational Church in Dayton. The class is donation-based. Suggestions include: $10, a bar of soap, a jar of peaches, a piece of art, or anything else. Call Lydia at (509) 956-8385 or email her at lydia.caudill@gmail.com with questions....

  • Winter Quarter After School Program

    The Times|Dec 29, 2016

    DAYTON - Winter quarter for the Dayton School District’s After School Program starts Jan. 10, and ends March 9. Classes for third, fourth, fifth and sixth graders take place every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at various locations. Tuesday activities include Intro to Crocheting, Model Airplanes, Cooking/Nutrition, and Disaster Preparation. Disaster preparedness presentations will be held for all students in the program, to help them to understand the importance of basic first aid. Students will also explore possible natural disasters in t...

  • Public Hearing on Public Works Fees

    Dec 29, 2016

    DAYTON – The Columbia County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing at 10 a.m. on Jan. 4 to consider setting of fees for items at the Public Works Department. The meeting, to hear public comment, will be held at the Commissioners’ Chambers at the courthouse located at 341 E. Main. A list of the proposed fees may be accessed online at http://www.columbiaco.com/DocumentCenter/View/3118 or hard copies are available at the Public Works Department at 415 North Guernsey Ave. in Dayton. If you cannot attend the meeting, comments may be mai...

  • Birthdays - Week of December 29

    The Times|Dec 29, 2016

    December 30: Bob Collins, Megan McKinney, Henry Hubbard, Krista Houle. December 31: Janice Ford, Beth Tietjen, Gail Leid, Eva Leroue, Nancy Engels, Gannon Grende, Barry Hulce. January 1: Jerry Baker, James Estes, January Pietila, Kyle Perry, Caitlin Bales, Sonia Crawford, Jeana DeWitt, Josh Largent, Jerry Wood, Bill Bloor, Teeny McMunn. January 2: Joy Hill. January 3: Mary Olona, Guy Antonius. January 4: Meagan Zajac, Loegan Harshman, Andrea Payne, Ben Kiefel, Carol Clarke. January 5: Fred Rankin, Barb Colby, Willard Cameron, Terry John, Aaron...

  • Republicans May Not Be Prepared for the Obamacare War

    Jennifer Rubin, The Washington Post|Dec 29, 2016

    Republican Senate and House leaders who have summarily decided on a “repeal and dawdle” plan for Obamacare don’t seem to understand what they are up against. They see House and Senate majorities, an incoming president who vowed to repeal all of Obamacare and a reconciliation process that allows them to gut Obamacare taxes and subsidies, essentially killing the program with 51 votes in the Senate. Do they understand it won’t be that easy? The first problem is Republicans in the House and Senate. Several Republicans have already voiced doubts...

  • Your Future Commute: Flying Through Tubes at 760 mph

    Vivek Wadhwa, The Washington Post|Dec 29, 2016

    Picture the commute of the future: You live in Palo Alto, California, but work 350 miles away in Los Angeles. After your morning latte, you click on a smartphone app to summon your digital chauffeur. An autonomous car shows up at your front door three minutes later to drive you to a Hyperloop station in downtown Mountain View, where a pod then transports you through a vacuum tube at 760 mph. When you reach the Pasadena station, another self-driving car awaits to take you to your office. You reach your destination in less than an hour. That is...

  • New at the Library - Waitsburg

    The Washington Post|Dec 29, 2016

    Weller Public Library 212 Main Street, Waitsburg Hours: Mon. and Thurs. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Storytime: Mon., 10:30 a. m. “Night School,” by Lee Child (Adult Fiction) – Jack Reacher goes back in time to 1996 when Reacher is still in the army and is sent back to school. His three-man class is a front for a secret mission to uncover the plot behind a message intercepted in Germany which reads “the American wants 100 million dollars.” Reacher recruits the best soldier he has ever worked with: Sergeant Frances Neagley to get their man and save the wo...

  • New at the Library - Dayton

    The Times|Dec 29, 2016

    Dayton Memorial Library 111 S. 3rd Street, Dayton Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri., 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Tues. & Thurs., 12-8 p.m.; Sat., 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Storytime: Wed., 10 a.m “The Littlest Bigfoot,” by Jennifer Weiner – Lonely twelve-year-old Alice Mayfair is shipped off to boarding school where she saves Milli Maximus from drowing in the lake. Millie is a Bigfoot, becomes her friend and Alice swears to protect Millie’s secret. But a league of Bigfoot hunters is on her trail, led by a lonely kid named Jeremy. In order to survive, Alice and Millie have...

  • DW Football Run Leads 2016 Sports Stories

    Ken Graham, The Times|Dec 29, 2016

    DAYTON – The year in Touchet Valley sports was highlighted by a brand-new Dayton-Waitsburg combine football team that went undefeated in the new Eastern Washington Athletic Conference, and advanced to the state 2B playoff quarterfinals. After losing their opening game at Mac-Hi, 14-7, DW knocked off Columbia Burbank, a strong 1A team, 45-41 at home, before cruising through the EWAC schedule with relative ease. Their narrowest victory in league play was a 35-20 win over Tri-Cities Prep in P...

  • Dayton Girls Remain Undefeated After Rout of DeSales, 48-24

    The Times|Dec 29, 2016

    WALLA WALLA – The Dayton girls’ basketball team overwhelmed DeSales in the first half on Dec 20, on their way to an easy 4-24 win. The win keeps the Lady ‘Dogs undefeated on the season. Dayton jumped out to a 14-5 lead after a quarter, and the Irish got only a single free throw in the second, as Dayton took a 26-6 lead into halftime. The only dark spot in the game for Dayton was an ankle sprain suffered by Jenna Phillips in the second quarter. Phillips didn’t return to the game. Shayla Currin led the Lady ‘Dogs with 16 points on seven-for...

  • After Hot Start, Bulldogs Fall to Irish, 59-49

    The Times|Dec 29, 2016

    WALLA WALLA – The Dayton boys’ basketball team built an early lead in their game Dec. 20 at DeSales, but were unable to keep pace with the Irish in the second and third quarters, and fell, 58-49. The Bulldogs built a 15-9 after the first quarter, but went into the half down by one. A 12-0 run after halftime put the game out of reach for the visitors. Tanner Bren knocked down five three-point shots in the game on his way to a game-high 21 points. Bren also led the Bulldogs with six rebounds. Ben Kleck had 14 points and Junior Helm scored nin...

  • TEENY MCMUNN: MY RECIPE BOX

    Teeny McMunn, The Times|Dec 29, 2016

    Scalloped potatoes sound boring, but it’s great comfort food. I haven’t met anyone that doesn’t like the dish—but I’m sure they are out there somewhere. This is the recipe I have used many times, and always with compliments. It is thew basic cream sauce over potatoes, but I think the difference must be the thyme and parsley. I have often made it without the ham, as some of my family does not eat pork, and it does not take away the flavor. If one wanted to, one could use turkey ham. Less calories and tastes a lot the same. Ingredien...