Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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I apologize for my uncalled-for pity party indulgence last week. In retrospect, although I don’t live a charmed life, I do live a pretty good one here in Waitsburg. Moving here was a difficult decision for me, but like most things in my life, I act on impulse, don’t overthink anything, and try not to look back. I’m glad I made the move. I left my family, friends, nearly 12 months of sunshine, countless ethnic restaurants, and great sushi to take on the renovation of an ancient and decre...
DAYTON—The Economic Development Steering Committee met via Zoom on November 2. Jennie Dickinson kicked the meeting off with an update regarding a grant from the Innovia Foundation for startup businesses. Two businesses in downtown Dayton, Table Rock Meat and Main Street Marketplace, have benefitted from the grant in the past. This year $5,000 has been awarded to Annie’s Attic, a new cafe and a vintage furniture business coming to Dayton, both owned by Laura and Tony Auckerman. A second sta...
City of Dayton Council Member #1 485 - Laura U. Aukerman 316 - Boe Stevenson 1 - Write-in Council Member #3 392 - Cindi John 424 - Teeny McMunn 3 - Write-in Council Member #5 514 - Marchand Hovrud 224 - Vicki Zoller (Write-in) City Council Member #7 391 - Fred Crowe 430 - Tyler Dieu 2 - Write-in Columbia County Port – Commissioner #1 546 - Shawn Brown 787 - Seth Bryan 1 - Write-in Commissioner #3 698 - Jack Miller 682 - Johnny Watts Dayton School District No. 2 School Director District #1 566 - David D Bailey 651 - Karinda Wallace 5 - W...
I doubt the person credited with that expression didn’t have a good grip on reality. Recently, I have learned that the “small stuff” becomes “big stuff” when it happens in a condensed time frame. As things pile up, what should have been a “small thing” can become a major annoyance or worse. Yesterday, I felt like Peter Finch in the movie Network. I was on the brink of screaming out my window: “I can’t take it anymore!!” I am usually very even-tempered. Unlike Daniel and my sister, I can take...
A busy weekend for Halloween trick-or-treaters in Waitsburg and Dayton!...
Columbia County Needs Positive, Nonpartisan, Inclusive, Qualified Candidates I received a flyer identifying “Columbia County Conservatives” (CCC) endorsing Conservative candidates for Dayton City Council, Port of Columbia and Dayton School Board positions. This political group professes that over the 200+ years since our country’s founding, the US has done remarkably well living up to the goals improving the human condition, free from rule by a person, or body, not beholden to the people. But, we’re a representative government, “By The Peopl...
Letter to the Editor: We are just a few days away from another local election and we have an opportunity to make some truly good and thoughtful choices for leaders in our community. We have an opportunity to elect people that have been active members in this community through volunteer roles, through board and committee roles and through other public participation roles. These are people that have shown up year after year in so many ways in Dayton and Columbia County. They make things happen, they are a part of yearly successful events like Day...
This will be the last week of letters to the editor before the election. I hope that all of you will be voting. I am hoping that Dayton will be moving to a more positive and open attitude in all areas. Therefore, my candidates of choice are: Boe Stephenson, Fred Crowe, Teeny McMunn, Shawn Brown , Jack Miller and Vicki Zoller. I know all of them- some just a bit and others, I consider friends. However, all of them have earned my respect and my vote. I believe that all of them will look at both sides of every issue and make decisions to help...
Elections tend to be a confusing time for me. Sometimes a friend may be running for office or there may be other people I don’t know. This year has been different because of the fake information issues and hateful commentary! I promised myself that I would not vote for angry candidates, or candidates without positive visions or platforms for the community I love and have chosen to live in. Platforms are created by local people, then go to county, state and national levels and candidates must have an understanding of their Party’s Platform to...
When I was very young, I had two nicknames. The first, Miss Perpetual Motion. From the moment I woke up, I was on the go until I would fall sound asleep wherever I happened to run out of steam. I'd sleep anywhere, at the dinner table, on the floor reading, while playing a game. I was out! The second nickname was Miss Independent. My constant retort was: "I can (and will) do it myself!" Both my energy and fierce independence have been my stalwarts most of my life. But as I have recently learned,...
Congratulations Beka Compton and Lane Gwinn on your designation as a “serial fabulist” as stated in the recent letter to the Times’ editor by Seth Murdock. As a recent witness to the confrontation between Jack Miller and the alt-right conservative group presented to me by Mr. Miller, you continued your history of excellent, concise reporting by representing accurately the viewpoint of the conservative group in Dayton as experienced by Mr. Miller. Dayton is lucky to have leadership who believe in economic development and who are able to lever...
Although Daniel and I enjoy many of the same things, we also have major differences in our personalities and ideas. For example, before he even starts boiling water for his morning tea, he gets dressed. I, on the other hand, can hang out in my PJs for hours. In fact, I’ve become an expert at fitting “sweats” over my PJs when necessary. Daniel considers the back of our dining room chair to be his closet. He neatly stacks his clothes at night in the order he will need them in the morning. On th...
To the Editor, The ballots will soon be arriving for the local general election. Voters have 2 very different groups of candidates to select from. One group, the Columbia County Conservatives, is against a long list of projects and proposals. As a group, the members can be described as angry, aggressive towards their own local government, and disruptive to the process of decision-making. As described in an article in The Waitsburg Times, Jack Miller divorced himself from the group when he was verbally attacked in one of their meetings. One of...
DAYTON-Several candidates are running for a position on the Dayton City Council, including one write-in candidate. Laura Aukerman and Boe Stevenson will face off for Position 1, a four-year term on the Dayton City Council. Aukerman calls herself a critical thinker. With a thirty-year career in the nuclear industry under her belt, she says she knows how government processes work, and how and when they don't. She thinks it is very important to look at issues, utilize all the facts and data, gather...
DAYTON—The Economic Development Steering Committee held a regular monthly remote meeting on October 5, 2021. Martha Lanman, Columbia County Public Health Administrator, announced that there were 21 active cases, with more than 20 tests performed that morning. She commended the Columbia County Health System for their ongoing hard work as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. She clarified that the COVID-19 case count is still a roller coaster in the county. She observed that cases seem to taper s...
And the seasons all have their beginnings and endings. The season for driving through the Walla Walla Valley with my top down, the wind blowing in my face, is ending. According to my weather app, it looks like tomorrow will be the end of convertible weather, which coincides with my final push for tomatoes ripening on the vine. Sadly, I am watching my plants shrivel and wither away, as the days grow colder and shorter. I am glad that we at least did have a successful crop of cucumbers, peppers an...
Letter to Editor - We have candidates running for leadership positions in Columbia County and the City of Dayton that profess to be followers of Jesus Christ yet cannot seem to perform the simplest act of loving, Christian kindness towards their fellow man: the wearing of a mask when indoors at public locations such as school board meetings. This basic, simple act of loving-kindness isn’t much to ask of Christians that profess their love of a Savior that willingly died for them. So, it makes it hard to accept that this same Savior wouldn’t be...
My mother drilled certain behavioral lessons into our psyche, starting when we were very young. One that has stuck with me is, “Don’t blow your own horn!” No bragging, boasting, or puffing of the chest. Not only is it bad manners, but you may be setting yourself up for embarrassment or humiliation at some future point. Sorry Mom, but a little brag, I have good intuition and instincts about people. A trait I probably inherited from my mother. During my insurance career, I’ve hired several...
Dear Editor, People are quick to believe the bad things they hear about good people. Never has this been more evident. In the last three years I have seen adults I once respected, actively spread rumors and gossip online. They do this because someone else’s views differ from theirs. They leave no room for real open conversation, because their frustration stems from fear. Fear of what? Change? Progress? Spreading misinformation as a public official is something that we should all take a stand against. Vicki Zoller stands for the truth, she a...
Recently, I connected with friends that I hadn’t had contact with for several years. Our “catch-up” conversation was not the usual, as we all have had significant life changes to share. Without any prompting, they acknowledged mine were more dramatic than theirs. When I told them of my move to Waitsburg, their first reaction was, “where?” I gave them the geographical high points and explained that I am not on the “wet” side of the Cascade mountains but in the country of wheat and wine. Next ca...
Letter to the Editor I have noticed that a number of local shops have discontinued wearing masks and have removed the signs mandating the wearing of masks in public buildings, shops stores, etc. This flagrant defiance of the current law is very discouraging, to say the least. Forgoing all references to science or politics; this is a mandate! Not a suggestion by the State of Washington, but a law. At a minimum, can we all agree that the Miriam Webster dictionary is correct when they define mandate as: Mandate – a verb: to officially require s...
Early this week I had to make another trip to the Tri-Cities, this time to have my car serviced. Another great ride with my top down, music blaring, enjoying the perfect weather and empty highway. Of course, I made a quick Costco run as well. Evidently, the last time I was in Costco, I was either oblivious or disinterested because I didn’t register that they were already selling Halloween costumes. I should have noticed the candy. Yes, the seasons are changing quickly, and I’m almost glad to...
To the Editor, I am writing to express my support for Vicki Zoller as a write-in candidate for Dayton City Council Position #5. I’ve gotten to know Vicki pretty well, working with her on various projects and committees over the last few years. I’ve had ample opportunity to admire her leadership and character, and there are three things that I think make her a great choice for the Dayton City Council. One is that she doesn’t come into a project or decision with an agenda or preconception of what the final solution will be. She is open-...
When I walk through town, I see flags of all sorts waving in the wind; they celebrate with "Small Town, Big Heart," support the Cougars, Seahawks, and of course, Old Glory. Recently, I noticed a flag holder on our front porch post and deliberated joining the flag fliers. Deciding what flag to fly became a small project. Should I fly the California flag, maybe the Italian or European Union flag for Daniel, or a Go Dodgers or Lakers banner. How about designing a Weinhard Café flag so we can...
I’m almost scared to write about my perfect Sunday (yesterday) for fear I will jinx any future Sundays, but I’m not superstitious, so here goes. Our plans for this weekend were to take off a few days and drive to Portland, sort of a Daniel apology and belated birthday trip for me. However, with the uptick in COVID-19 cases and increased mask mandates, we decided to reschedule for a safer time. But all was not lost! As a result of a catering job we did in Dayton, I recently met a lovely lady who...
