Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1724 - 1748 of 2504
Dear Editor, This morning, May 14th, was spent riding around Waitsburg with Ivan Keve, in his classic turquoise and white Ford Pickup, as a shotgun spotter for debris piles for City Cleanup Day. The Waitsburg City Crew is a hard working bunch; fun to be around! City Administra- tor Randy Hinchliffe donned his work clothes and pitched right in to help the clean up. Volunteers Jim Burris and dump truck, Skip Carpenter and tractor, Larry John- son driving Jack McCaw's dump truck, went above and beyond the scope of their Commercial Club job...
Dear Editor, It was good to learn Rocky Miller has been appointed Columbia County Sheriff. Rocky's many years experi- ence and knowledge as a law enforcement officer will be beneficial for our county. Liv- ing in this county and raising a family and having an integral part in the schools, church and being active in the community is beneficial. How honorable it must be for someone to choose to remain local rather than move on to other areas just for advancement and promotion. The county has been through some trying times, to reflect back to...
I woke up at 6:30 last Saturday morning. My toes hurt, which may or may not have had anything to do with the fact that I had crammed them into my mother's cowboy boots and danced until nine-thirty the previous night. I yanked myself out of bed and threw on a pair of black jeans with silver embroidery, as well as a black camisole. I ate breakfast and put on excessive quantities of Mary Kay makeup, as my mother curled my hair into ringlets tight enough to pass for strawberry-blond automotive...
The past few weeks have given us a chance to talk about the human side of the century-old tradition we now call Waits- burg Celebration Days. Of course, I would be remiss to pass up one more opportunity to praise every- one who made the centennial a success, from Mayor Walt Gobel and Mrs. Mayor Gwen Gobel to Karen Mohney, who spearheaded Sunday's very enjoyable family day at the fairgrounds. There are many others to thank, but the list is simply too long. It's probably hard to find Waitsburgers...
Memorial Day weekend has been special in Dayton for many years, with the celebration of Dayton Days. We've been told his year is the 95th running of the Dayton Days Parade, which kicks off at 10 a.m. Come down to Main Street and see all the court roy- alty from around the northwest, along with dozens of horses. It's a special site not to be missed....
I t's the beginning of the summer season - a chance to get away for a long weekend of camping, boating or other outdoor sports. Or maybe it's a chance to stay home and relax and do some yard work. But Memorial Day is more than just a holiday. According to Wikipedia, the source of all modern information, Memorial Day was formerly known as Decoration Day. It originated after the civil to com- memorate Union and Confederate soldiers who died in the Civil War. By the 20th century Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died...
Dear Editor, My mother, Bettie Chase, believed that the best people on earth had roots in the Touchet Valley. And she believed you had an extra dose of good sense if you picked Waitsburg as your home (especially if you came from someplace foreign like Seattle or California.) It turns out that, as usual, she was right. My family and I are so grateful for the exceptional concern, consideration and respect mother received. She always felt safe and secure in Waitsburg because you all showed her how much you cared. Heartfelt thanks goes to all of...
A s this is apparently the special Days of Real Sport historical issue, I thought I'd share a few personal memories of the event. Last year was my first year on the Columbia County Fair Court, and the Days of Real Sport parade was our first parade of the year. The float had been lavishly decked out through many hours of meticulous labor. It depicted, among other things: the harvest moon, a giant treasure chest, a waterfall, a river, baskets of flowers and fruit, and a red barn with a quilt for a roof. It was a nice float. In fact, it took first...
I f you've been around the Waitsburg elementary school lately, you may have seen kids doing something a bit unusual. They're walking laps around the playground. No, this isn't a form of punishment. It's not even intended strictly as exercise, though that never hurts. The kids, who complete three to five laps around their beloved recess hangout, are making a point about the distance many kids in other parts of the world have to travel every day to find safe drinking water and they want you to...
Sometimes, it's all in a name or a date. But in this case, we'd like to look beyond mere words or points in time. When it comes to this weekend's centennial, we want to focus on its spirit as a lasting legacy, whatever form this third-weekend-in-May tradition in our little town will turn into after marking its first 100 years. Both the name of the centennial and its origins are a bit controversial. Local historian Jeff Broom has been bemused by the number of references to the Days of Real Sport or what preceded in documented history. Here is...
Theater has been a love of mine since I first hit the stage at Wa-Hi in 2001. As I went on to college at the University of Idaho in 2005, I tried to ignore this crazed love in order to focus on a teaching degree. But after a semester of wandering around cam- pus with no script in my hands, the gnawing in my gut steered me over to the theater arts building. There, I struck a compromise with myself: get the teaching cer- tificate, and minor in drama. It was one of the best deci- sions I have ever made. As we approach the summer months, I am delig...
[Editor's Note: Emma informed us at the very last minute that she would not have a column this week. That's about what we expect from high school students. Following is her explana- tion.] H ey there! If you're looking forward to reading my column this week, I've got some bad news for you - I was so busy that I couldn't really write one. You see, the day my col- umn needed to be turned in to the editor, I had this big long honkin' standardized test. It's an AP test, meaning that the class it covers (AP Environmental Science) is worth college...
The upcoming Waitsburg Celebration promises to be a smorgasbord of festivities, from the colorful, prideful Main Street parade to the much-anticipated homecoming concert by the Frog Hollow Band. Add to that the Classic Auto Show, the mayor's luncheon and the brandspanking new ranch horse racing at the grand stand, and Saturday looks like the heart of the Days of Real Sport centennial. Don't be fooled, kids! On the face of it, Sunday's schedule looks more relaxed. But you can't miss out on the...
An article in last week's Times incorrectly stated that Day- ton City Council member Arthur Hall is moving to Tri-Cities. Hall is resigning from the Dayton Council effective May 31. However, while he and his wife are working in Richland during the week, they remain Dayton residents. Hall says he is leaving the council because he cannot de- vote the time to the position to make a difference and feels that he cannot adequately represent the citizens of Dayton. We regret the error....
I s a city council meeting an "event"? Find out Monday, when the Dayton City Council considers a proposal to enact a "Special Events Permit" process for residents of Dayton. As we reported in our April 25th issue, we have some questions about what the city will consider an "event", and why the permit is even necessary. If you have questions too, plan to attend....
Event season in the Touchet Valley is just around the cor- ner. First up on the agenda is the Waitsburg Celebration Days, taking place May 17 through 19. Next week's Times will be a special commemorative issue covering Waitsburg's celebration Days. We'll talk to many of the people that are making this new event happen, and we'll include a complete schedule of events. After next weekend, there are many more events to come in the Touchet Valley. The Dayton Days Parade starts the summer off in Dayton, taking place Saturday, May 25. Below is a...
May promises to be filled with action at the Liberty Theater. The month starts off with a showing of the sci-fi adventure,"Oblivion", followed by the uplifting biographical sports drama," 42". Later in the month, the Liberty gets your heart racing again with "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" and the political thriller", The Company You Keep". "Oblivion", starring Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, and Olga Kurylenko takes place on planet Earth after it's been devastated by decades of war. Jack Harper, p...
While I'd wager that most everyone has at least heard of Youtube.com, I wonder how many realize just how useful a tool it can be. Once known mainly as a means of promoting the latest viral frivolity, Youtube.com has morphed into a truly valuable resource. Using Youtube.com for pretty much anything and everything seems to come naturally for the younger generation. My youngest recently prepared for his very first ski trip. When I relayed that a friend suggested he watch a few Youtube.com skiing...
David Finch is an intelligent, hardworking, engineer with a thriving career. He is a self-confessed nerd and the father of two young children. He likes to watch television and hang out in coffee shops. He loves music, reality TV and his wife, Kristen. He even owns a home in the suburbs of Chicago. Finch also has Asperger Syndrome. The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man's Quest to be a Better Husband is an hilarious account of Finch's process and plan to save his marriage by facing his autism...
I find memoirs boring and I'm not particularly interested in the Kennedy family, so I don't know why I plucked Mrs. Kennedy and Me: An Intimate Memoir off the library shelf. Perhaps it was the cover photo or the tone of the title but whatever it was, I was captivated from the very first page. The author, Clint Hill (with help from award-winning journalist Lisa McCubbin), retired in 1975 as the Assistant Director of the Secret Service but from 1960 to 1964 his assignment was to protect Jacque...
In the upcoming special legislative session in Olym- pia in May, lawmakers will be seeking agreement on a two-year state operating budget. Frequently, as bud- get debates heat up, you'll hear proponents of bigger government use their favorite phrase, "close tax loopholes," as if there is an oversight in state law that allows some to escape paying taxes. But don't be fooled. These "tax loopholes" are actually tax incentives, or officially known as "tax preferences," that were intentionally enacted by the Legislature to provide specific tax...
I live on West Seventh Street. In all likelihood, the above sentence means noth- ing to you unless: You are planning to 'toilet paper' my house, or You know about the West Seventh street reconstruction project. Yes, the street near my home is being improved upon. Actively. As you read this very column. The City plans to resur- face the road, creating two lanes of traffic with parking space on either side and a five-foot-wide sidewalk on the north side of the street, which just so happens to be (TP-ers take note) the side where my house is...
