Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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A low maintenance, yet highly rewarding secret iris garden, created and maintained by local photographer Bill Rodgers, is in its third year of bloom in Waitsburg, and it is impressive. The sprawling garden has rhizomes that stretch their roots across the state to Mercer Island, where Rodgers originally began growing them in a community garden. He brought starts with him when he moved to College Place, where a friend let him start a garden in a private horse pasture. After moving to Waitsburg...
It's been a while since many of us have heard from the Frog Hollow Band, a local music group composed of five men from Walla Walla and Waitsburg who are friends to many of us. Knowing how frustrating it has been to be a performer without gigs during the last year, I called up my friend Brian Richards, drummer for Frog Hollow, to check in with the local Alternative Country-Rock group whose music we've enjoyed for years. "We're still here!" Richards said. He says the group has been collecting...
Planty friends, this one's for you. My birthday was on Friday, and it presented my mom and me with the perfect excuse to pop over to the Tri-Cities and do some plant shopping. We joined the Tri-Cities Houseplant Lover's Facebook page, and members were constantly posting photos of their loot from C&M Nursery in West Richland. This was our first stop of the day, and we ended up falling in love with the little shop located at 2517 W Van Giesen Street. They have a huge outdoor plant spread which...
I Care A Lot-Netflix Original Legal guardian scams clash with the Russian Mafia in this all-villains-on-deck film. Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike), the owner of Grayson Guardianship, carefully selects her clients. Elderly, wealthy, on the brink of a dementia diagnosis. She quietly goes about cutting off family and draining client bank accounts before the client suddenly deteriorates and ends up in a full-time care facility or a psychiatric living setting. Her well-practiced scam is upended when...
What Christmas Means to Me By Braden Johnston To me, Christmas means family, love and happiness. One reason it's about family is that we are together even if we can't see each other; we are still family. Christmas is about love because when we open stuff and we love it. It also gives love to the person that got you it too. Lastly, Christmas is about happiness when you open up stuff it is giving you joy and happiness and it gives it to everyone. What Christmas Means to Me By Carter Barron What do...
It’s a wet and windy afternoon in early November. I’m sprawled out on the sofa, and between my legs is a small blonde dog, flat on her back, legs up, ball in mouth, sound asleep. It occurs to me that this sort of blissed-out relaxation is one of the many things that dogs do differently than cats. Cats like to stretch, yawn, spread out, and chill, but at all times, they look poised, elegant, even regal. Dogs, on the other hand, look like they’ve just come home from an especially good kegge...
WAITSBURG-The future is sunny and bright for the Prescott School District. The school board plans to make a final decision on a solar array project that can save the district thousands of dollars in energy costs. Apollo Solutions Group (ASG) approached former Prescott School District Superintendent Brett Cox before Justin Bradford took over the position this year. An Energy-Savings Company (ESCO), ASG works with clients, including school districts, universities, colleges, and city and county...
Gardening is inherently humbling. Perhaps this is because a gardener is an architect and a janitor, literally in the dirt with earwigs and ants crawling alongside as one attempts to render a masterpiece. Anytime I invite someone into my garden, I lead with a disclaimer. "Mistakes have been made," I say, "good plants have died here." Most recently, we said goodbye to a tomato plant. It's fallen over three times now. The fruits that have come off it tend to have rotten spots and represent an...
DAYTON-Regina Weldert, of Dayton, has been many things in her life, including a goat farmer, sheepherder, and factory worker. She went back to school later in life and became a fish biologist. I've known her as a coffee roaster and coffee shop owner. To her fans, she is the finest roaster in Southeast Washington. For four years, she has owned and operated her coffee shop, Rey's Roast, on Main Street in Dayton. The COVID-19 pandemic has now altered her course, but it hasn't stopped her from...
DAYTON-Jurors are seeing some changes in the county courtroom layout, practices, and procedures, now that trials are resuming in Superior Court, and in Municipal Court, after a long recess due to the COVID-19 shut-down. Jury Coordinator Jessica Atwood said Superior Court Judge Gary J. Libey has visited the courtroom and taken measurements to make certain social distancing requirements will be met. The state's Chief Justice Debra Stevens has appointed Libey to Presiding Judge for the Columbia,...
Seth Small of Small's Family Farm took some time during a busy harvest season to talk about his family's approach to farming, and his marketing efforts to bring his single variety flour to restaurants and bakeries throughout the Northwest. The restaurants and bakeries in the Walla Walla area have also embraced the local flour, and Small says "we work with almost all the restaurants locally in Walla Walla." Although for a time, savvy grocery shoppers could find bags of Small's flour on the...
As stay at home orders persist, and nearly every aspect of daily life is impacted in some way, it is no surprise that mental health problems are increasing across the country due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Kaiser Family Foundation notes that significantly higher shares of people who were sheltering in place (47 percent) reported negative mental health effects resulting from worry or stress related to coronavirus than among those not sheltering in place (37 percent)....
Skills and experience gained along with bonds of friendship WALLA WALLA-A Walla Walla native and WA-HI graduate, Jenna Watts was just finishing up a nine-week traveling nurse stint at Harlem Hospital in New York City when she and I spoke a week ago. "New York has a special place in my heart, my dad lives here, and I spent all of my summer's here growing up," she said. The coronavirus crisis and Governor Cuomo's appeals for doctors and nurses to help, resonated with her. In early April, The New...
This last Sunday I was fortunate to be in attendance at the Peace Rally held in Walla Walla. I was there to take photographs for the The Times. I was immediately impressed with the number of people who turned out for the event. As I was taking photographs, I got caught up listening to the speeches from the impressive lineup of scheduled and impromptu speakers. The topic of our country’s systemic racism and its effects on people of color is difficult to hear. It was a big reminder that we must listen, truly listen, to voices other than our o...
DAYTON-Quality time together, learning from each other, the need for flexibility, and the importance of staying positive are common themes for parents and children as they navigate the new normal of virtual school instruction. Allicia Stapleton normally has her hands full during the school year as a full time cook in the Dayton School District cafeteria. Since schools closed on March 16, she finds her hands are still full helping run the District's food pick-up and delivery program, serving...
Visits to the emergency rooms have declined in Walla Walla county and across Washington since the COVID-19 pandemic began. “Overall, the number of people coming to the Emergency Department are down significantly. On an average, pre-pandemic day, the Providence St. Mary Medical Center Emergency Department sees between 80 and 100 patients. Currently, it is seeing from 40 to 50,” said Kathleen Obenland, Director of Communications for Providence. “A concerning trend we are seeing are people with serious medical emergencies, such as stroke or heart...
DAYTON-Communities around the nation are coming up with creative ideas to honor their high school's Class of 2020 in the midst of a pandemic. In Dayton, Scott Kirk and Bette Lou Crothers teamed up to raise money for banners to display on Main Street. While Bette Lou handled the fundraising efforts, Kirk, owner of Scott Kirk Photography, donated his time to design the banners and ensure each student had a senior portrait for the project. The banner idea came from a few Facebook posts that Scott...
DAYTON—Learning has taken a curious shape in the Dayton School District since brick and mortar schools were shut down on March 17. The school closures have provided opportunities for teachers and staff who are working from home to provide continuous learning in different and creative ways, and not just distance learning, said Superintendent Doug Johnson, at last week’s board meeting. “We’re trying to continue educating the students in any manner, shape or form we can between now and when we can...
To the residents of Walla Walla County: Due to the restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, you, your friends, or your family members might be out of work, missing personal contact, favorite activities, or living and working in extra-stressful conditions. As officials elected to serve the residents of this county, we’d like to thank everyone who is helping to keep our Valley safe and working to maintain a sense of normalcy during this crisis. Everyone has a part to play, including health care workers, first responders a...
Mayor Marty Dunn is once again up for re-election as mayor. Dunn, who has served on council since the early 2000s and served as mayor from 2004-2007 and 2016-present is running against Debra Callahan. When asked about Waitsburg's recent flood event, Dunn credited the City's Flood Response plan, the fact that the Main Street bridge had been replaced, and that the dike at the fairground area had been armored with helping to limit the damage to the town. "We still have more work to do, hopefully we...
DAYTON—During the February meeting of the Hospital District commissioners, Columbia County Health System CEO Shane McGuire said John McLean of Blue Room Architecture in Spokane has submitted the sole bid for architecture services for the planned dental office project. The dental clinic for Medicaid patients will be located at the Columbia Family Clinic, adjacent to the hospital. McGuire said construction bids will be solicited, shortly. The clinic should be operational at the end of 2020. A n...
As adults we sometimes get way too involved in our kid's athletic events. I know I have fallen down that rabbit hole a few times with my own kids and now again recently with my semi-adopted kids, the ones I cover as a member of the Waitsburg Times writing staff. I have had to remind myself that I need to be more neutral and objective, but it can be difficult when you really care about the players doing well. Most of us have seen the stories with the out-of-control parent or the overly...
WALLA WALLA—The speed of sound for Walla Walla music Organization (WWMO) is about three years, give or take a few months. Three years is about how long it took founder Rodney Outlaw to build a substantial course load of audio production education and to find the students passionate about learning to populate it. Outlaw teaches students how to produce, record and manage music and sound. Audio engineering is a broad term for managing signal flow through channels. There is a science to it. The g...
A special meeting was held prior to the regular City Council meeting on February 19, to address community responses to the recent flood of February 7. About 35 people attended, along with City Administrator Randy Hinchliffe and the City Councilmembers. Pastor Matt Wyatt of the Waitsburg Christian Church described his efforts which included helping organize the Waitsburg Flood Relief Committee. He thanked committee members; Margie Benson; food preparation, Jillian Henze; communications, Bryan...
Home and School Association President, wrestling club coordinator, mom. These are just a few of the titles Kristy Taylor holds, and recently, she added yet another title to the list: Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Kristy is no stranger to the busy world of emergency response. Her husband, Jason, has been a part of the Columbia-Walla Walla County Fire District 2 for at least five years, volunteering as a firefighter. "Being at home, I would hear his (Jason's) scanner go off all of the time,...
