Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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Dear Editor, Take a moment and thank your volunteer firefighters in Columbia and Walla Walla County (Waitsburg). They are on duty for us, providing first class, responsive fire and property protection, including education for rural forest homeowners. Our volunteers choose to protect us. They serve our rural communities at the their own expense, skipping time with their families, especially in our time of need. They are on duty during holidays, weekends and after midnight. Our quality of life here is much improved by the sacrifices these...
I’m sure I don’t totally understand how emergency services operate in and around Waitsburg, but here’s how I can best explain it: The city of Waitsburg has a fire department that puts out fires and responds to other emergencies within the city limits. The area of Walla Walla County surrounding Waitsburg has its own fire department (WW Co. Fire District 2) that responds to emergencies outside the city, but within the county. Then there’s an area in Columbia County that’s nearer to Waitsburg...
There are pros and cons to computers. One pro, of course, is that you can work on multiple things at once. One con, however, is that you can work on multiple things at once. Take this seemingly simple dovetail: Working on signing up for college classes while trying to write a chapter for a “collaborative fiction project.” I started off by booting up the Internet and attempting to log into my course manager. While that was loading, I typed a few paragraphs, trying to flesh out my character withou...
Twenty years ago this week, the Dayton Chamber of Commerce attempted an experiment. They decided to hold a car show on Main Street. Dayton's Main Street had recently undergone a complete reconstruction, from the new water and sewer lines to the tops of the new trees and light poles. It was the pride of the city, and the Chamber wanted to show it off. Dayton's State Farm Agent, Bette Lou Crothers, was already a 10-year veteran on the Chamber board, and she agreed to head up the committee to try t...
I’m not sure that my subconscious knows that I’ve graduated yet. For the past two nights, I’ve had dreams about being late for school, which I still apparently need to attend. The night before that, I dreamed that my grades were lousy – not oh-heaven-help-us-it’s-an-A-minus lousy, but give-us-the-diploma-back lousy. According to the omniscient internet, dreaming about school “most often represents social concerns, insecurities or anxieties.” I have no idea what on earth that’s about. After al...
Dear Editor, I want to take this opportunity to say “Thank you” for all of the notes, cards and well wishes on my retirement. A special thanks to Dinah Lindsey for organizing and Dr. Clarke for hosting the event. Margie Douglas College Place...
On that warm June evening in 1973 when I graduated from high school, I can still remember experiencing feelings of anticipation and excitement for the future. In my case I was mostly looking forward to the near future: I had a party to go to later that night, and I couldn’t wait. (And, just for the record, it wasn’t at my parents’ house.) After high school, and the big party, I went on to college for several years, with a break or two mixed in. The thing that surprised me most about colle...
On Friday night, the senior class of Waitsburg High School graduated. I’m sure there’s a lovely article about this somewhere in this paper, so I won’t go into much detail. On Monday morning, all the classes of Waitsburg Elementary School went to the Bruce Mansion to learn a bit of hands-on history on Pioneer Day. There’s probably a story – or at least a few pictures – in here somewhere. If not, check back next week. [Thanks for the tip, Emma. We’ll get on it. – Ed.] I attended both events – the first one as a graduate, the second as a demonstra...
It drives like a boat and has some nicks in the paint. It has what looks like a cigarette burn in the driver's seat. It even includes a working 8-track tape player containing – get this – a well-used Barry Manilow tape. But it's an all-original survivor, and it might be the coolest car you'll ever own. That is if you buy a ticket and win it. For the second year in a row, the Dayton Chamber of Commerce – this time with sponsorship from us, The Times – is raffling off this 1970 Buick Electra...
It’s June, everybody? Whoops, did I accidentally put a question mark there? Sorry. Let me try that again. It’s June, everybody! Much better, right? Although, come to think of it, maybe the question mark is appropriate, because as I write this the sky is choked with gray clouds and I still have doubts about being ready to graduate. Both of these were supposed to clear away by the end of May. It’s June, everybody? On second thought, my kitchen is encrusted with flour from the ten gazillion batches...
Dear Editor, A big thank you to all of the Waitsburg Celebration Days volunteers and to all of those who donated to the public art project! We are very close to having the piece, Jeffrey Hill’s “Founding Fathers”, fully funded, but we still need to raise $5,000. Any donations are greatly appreciated! Thanks once again to all of our great community members who continue to keep Waitsburg “One of a Kind”! Randy Hinchliffe City of Waitsburg...
Here at The Times, we love the spring for all the reasons you all do, and for another reason as well: Springtime brings great photo opportunities in the Touchet Valley. We like to keep this newspaper colorful, and that can be tough to do in February. But once the trees turn green and the the flowers are in bloom and people are out enjoying the weather, we put our cameras to work. Events in Waitsburg and Dayton are great fun to photograph. In our last two issues, we've tried to convey the wide...
I am in the process of writing my co-valedictorian’s address. This process is not going as smoothly as I would have hoped. “Valedictorian” is taken from “Valedictory,” which is defined as “a farewell address.” In other words, academic stuff aside, the whole point of being a valedictorian is to deliver a speech at graduation. This fact is not helping. I know from experience that the opening line is the most crucial part of any speech. I won some very important elections at Girls’ State with biza...
The wheat market as revealed by Chicago soft red winter futures is a one-day wonder. Since mid-May, all of the significant price changes have come in single sessions. On May 14, July contracts opened at $4.81½ and closed 33 cents higher at $5.14½. This week, following the three-day weekend, wheat opened at $5.15¼ and closed 22 cents lower at $4.92¾. Every other session for the month has been quiet and small. This is sufficient to exasperate short-term traders, although the profession of trading wheat is a study in exasperation anyway. The tre...
Dear Citizens of Waitsburg, Thank you for supporting our 2015 Waitsburg Celebration Days and celebration of our 150th anniversary of Waitsburg! It was a great turnout for everything. As Mayor of this “one of a kind” city, I was so proud of the weekend, but most of all, thanks to the many, many volunteers that made it happen. I am referring to the Waitsburg Celebration Board and committee members. The committee consists of the following very faithful members: Robbie Johnson serves as vice president, Marianne Newell as secretary, Deanne Joh...
As the end of my high-school career draws closer, people are asking me more and more frequently whether this column will continue once I leave for college. Unfortunately, the demanding coursework awaiting me as a freshman at Whitman will consume most of my free time, and so it will most likely be well-nigh impossible for this piece to continue in its current format. However, I have several ideas for utilizing this space in an entertaining manner well into the future, and I wanted to run them...
[Editors Note: The following history (we’ve edited it slightly) originally appeared in the September 30, 1965 edition of The Times. We bring it back for your enjoyment. Unfortunately, this paper will cost you more than a dime.] 1881 – Washington flour mill enlarged to double present capacity. Single copies of The Times, 10 cents. Wheat market unsteady at 55 cents. Pres. Garfield assassinated. 1882 – W. P. Bruce erects home on Main Street. Wheat selling at 60 cents a bushel. Much of Waitsburg flooded by high waters of Touchet. 1883 – Waitsbu...
I’m getting to be a “short-timer” – At least that’s what my grandmother says. That means, were I to use both my hands and my toes, I could count the school days I have left. That number’s 19 as of Monday – Nineteen days of high school remain! Nineteen mornings of dragging myself out of bed With the fog of sleep still in my brain. Eighteen hurried cold-cereal breakfasts And one student parking-lot brunch Eighteen ‘leventh-hour dashes to reach school on time – ‘Cuz on the last day, what’s the rus...
Those of us lucky enough to call Southeast Washington home know what a special place it is. The verdant Palouse hills producing abundant crops of wheat and peas to feed a hungry world take one’s breath away with their May beauty. The Blue Mountains and the foothills offer unique sporting opportunities for hunters, hikers, bicyclists and nature lovers of all strips. We enjoy an uncrowded and mostly peaceful lifestyle that urbanites envy. We are also home to a lot of honey bees. Go anywhere in the world and say you are from Washington state a...
Dear Editor, On the front page of the April 20, 2015 edition of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, the headline read “4 Area High School Reap Awards.” It stated that Waitsburg High School received the Overall Excellence award from the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. It went on to discuss the 2014 High Progress awards received by three other area schools and explained that “only 10 percent of high schools receive the High Progress award.” What the WWUB article failed to explain was that Waitsburg High School,...
Dear Friends and Neighbors: I wish I had better news to share with you. State lawmakers were supposed to finish their work on April 26 and conclude the 2015 legislative session. Instead, the Legislature adjourned two days early and the governor called for a special session to begin on April 29. This is a disappointing outcome. I am frustrated and I can understand if you are too. This will be the 11th special session in the last 10 years. While there is still a lot of unfinished business, the...
As graduation draws near, the term “future” gets bandied about more and more, and I increasingly find myself wondering what life will hold for me a couple decades down the road. The following scenario, while highly improbable, is ideal: Emma is a high-powered attorney and bestselling author who lives in a nice-but-still-easily-cleanable home in the suburbs of a larger city. She owns three corgis – Scout, Mimi, and Benedict – and is married to a gentle man with a sparkling intellect and a Natio...
OLYMPIA - Rep. Terry Nealey, R-Dayton, and Rep. Maureen Walsh, R-Walla Walla, co-sponsored a House resolution honoring the city of Waitsburg’s 150th anniversary. The resolution was adopted by the full House April 6. “Waitsburg is one of the gems of the 16th District,” said Nealey. “From its people, to its businesses, to its rich history, Waitsburg is a quintessential rural community in our part of the state. I am proud to sponsor this resolution and offer Waitsburg the recognition it deserves.” Waitsburg is the last Washington city to operat...
Roughly a week from now, your mailbox will start to fill up with graduation announcements from the high-school seniors in your life, which means that as you read this, some senior somewhere is busy licking envelopes and hunting down addresses. Depending on how much parental input is offered during the guest list formulation process, preparing invitations for mailing can be fairly time-consuming. The following is a list of tips that I wrote up for my little brother on this topic. I’ve seen his r...
U.S. grain markets, including wheat, corn and soybeans are reflecting some volatility, as they bounce in a 30-40 cent range, but essentially they have no direction. Wheat in Chicago has accomplished nothing since late January this year. Tuesday’s closing price was within two cents of the same level as the first day of February, nearly 3 months back. The world always waits to see if spring weather in the northern hemisphere will create a crop-scare. So far the prime ingredient, moisture, has shown up enough to at least prevent a disaster in m...
