Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1487 - 1511 of 2504
Total Estimated Project Cost - $24,253,911 Bond Levy - $19,955,000 (Remainder to be paid by state matching funds) Duration - 20 years Estimated Property Tax Levy Amount - $2.53 per thousand dollar valuation* Scope of the project: High School Renovation - The Pietrzycki High School building was originally constructed in 1923. The exterior walls of the building will be preserved, but the entire interior of the building will be gutted. - New classrooms will be built, with an average size of 900 square feet. (Current classrooms are between 660 and...
This is my fourth column of the week. The first three shipped into Waitsburg as big boxes of perfectly flat Prom decorating supplies. They were made of white corrugated paper which my classmates and I cut into rectangles and taped together into the proper lengths. Then three of us would kneel in front of one of these lengths, holding big cardboard circles. We passed a hot glue gun on an extension cord from person to person. Each person would squirt a two-inch line of glue, roll their car...
Dear Editor, Hospitals, schools and municipal works are highly visible and important community assets that help to attract and retain families as they are a reflection of community values. Locally elected people oversee the expenses and operations of these local governments. Retaining students by providing services requires funding to perform routine operations and maintenance and then that once-in-a-while infusion of large dollars for major renovations or upgrades. It has been 30 years since the last renovation. The state recognizes the n...
Dear Editor, Once again, there is a small group of people that are working hard to bring our Annual Celebration Days to our city on May 16-18, 2014. Historically, these events replace our Days of Real Sport weekend. The events traditionally highlight what a wonderful little city we are. We welcome visitors and family to share in our many events. And it has proven to be one of the most successful weekends for our businesses in our community. Here's the issues facing these volunteers attempting to pull the weekend together. #1: Volunteers a...
I am writing this letter to encourage the citizens of the Dayton School District to support the Campus Wide Renovation project. As a member of the facility committee that presented the recommendation to the school board, we have reviewed all options extensively and have concluded the time has come to address the needs of our educational facilities. The high school was originally built in 1923 and had some remodeling done in 1984. The K-8 building was erected in the 1950's. The renovation will update outdated mechanical systems and will imp...
Dear Editor, I am writing this letter to encourage voters in the Dayton School District to support the Campus Wide Improvement Plan. The citizens of Columbia County have a strong sense of community and a great appreciation for preserving our historic character. This was evident back in 1910 when Dr. Marcel Pietrzcyki left provisions in his will to provide land to the Dayton School District and to provide funding toward initial construction of the high school. The community has continually exhibited their community pride with reno...
Dear Editor, Mandatory government education (also called public education) is not only collectivist, authoritarian, and unacceptable in a country that claims to be free. It is also inherently inefficient at education: 1. Public schools are not intended to educate -- from the public schools of the past: Prussia, National Socialist Germany, Soviet Russia, Maoist China, the socialist leaning governments of the early 20th century USA (Which forced Native American children into schools and punished them for speaking their own tongue), Bri...
Dear Editor, Having served on the Facilities Committee for the Dayton School District, I can assure the voters of Columbia County that there isn't a question you've asked yourselves or your neighbors about this project that we did not ask ourselves over the months the Facilities Committee met. The committee, made up of business owners, parents of school-age children, community members, government representatives, and school staff, spent months analyzing drawings and layouts, looking at costs, talking to bond companies, comparing levy rates,...
[Editor's note: The following is an edited news release from the office of Washington Governor Jay Inslee, giving his perspective on this year's legislative session.] The 2014 Legislature adjourned late Thursday night, finishing its 60-day session on time and delivering important pieces of Gov. Jay Inslee's health care and education agendas to his desk. The Legislature approved several pieces of legislation and budget items to continue Washington's successful push to improve quality of health care delivered in the state and that will redu...
Dear Editor, Most people, regardless of whether they are retired or still working, are on a fixed income, because wages are not keeping up with what it takes to live. And wages in this area have never been particularly generous. So when private citizens express concern to the Dayton School Board about a 20 million dollar bond to modernize the Dayton school facilities, they are valid in their concerns: The overall cost of the project is beyond the ability of the community to bear. Let's do the math: if the bond passes, the resulting property...
Dear Editor, I am writing this letter to encourage voter support for the Dayton School District Campus Wide Improvement Bond. I have been on the facility committee that has met continually during the last year and feel the committee has effectively concluded the extensive project is needed. The process was painstaking and a great deal of thought and effort went into the planning. The Study and Survey done by engineers and architects identified the repairs that need to be done to the high school building which is 93 years old. The committee...
Jazzy Latin music blared from the patio of some distant cafe as I dolefully chomped on a free sample from Godiva Chocolates. The overcast sky – and the wafting bit of bite on the edge of the breeze – did nothing to improve what seemed at the time like the worst day of my life. I don’t want to talk about Knowledge Bowl State this year. First of all, I’m trying to avoid writing a column about something that another article in this week’s paper might discuss. Second of all, it still hurts....
Before I sat down last week to talk with Representative Terry Nealey about this year's legislative session in Olympia that ended a couple of weeks ago, I got on line to brush up on what happened. The big-city news analysts were not impressed. The Seattle Times accused the legislature of playing "chicken with citizens' safety, money and trust." The Spokesman Review was less harsh, but said of the legislature, "We do wish they'd been more ambitious." The Tacoma News Tribune put it s...
Dear Editor: It is very important that the citizens of Dayton and Columbia County pass this bond to renovate the high school and do parts of the grade school. There are too many problems to describe in a letter as to what needs to be done to bring the school up to present day standards. The last major renovation was done in 1985 and badly needs to be improved. We do not only need this for the students but we also need this for the survival and improvement of our community. Currently, the school has major roof, electrical and other...
The price of wheat is stronger now than at any point since last fall in late October. Many market observers are citing the Ukraine/Crimean crisis as a factor, although the winter wheat crop planted in the Ukraine is in reasonably good shape and there have been no interruptions in export activities. The Crimean deep water port of Sevastopol is not a major export point for Ukrainian wheat, with only a small percentage of their grain moving through that point. Still, the potential for violent disruption of business activities presents an u...
Dear Editor, As a citizen and tax payer I believe our students today and in the future need your help. Our parents, grandparent, great grandparents and community members provided the facilities we needed while we were student, now it is our turn. A recent study and survey conducted by architects and engineers identified three deficiencies related to Dayton's school facilities. These include; Mechanical systems (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical) Safety, health, and security Classroom availability and size A c...
I was hammering away at an essay in Spanish class the other day when half the class suddenly shut down their computers, gathered their books, and filed out the door. At first, I was curious, but then I had a flashback from the previous year's second semester - a handful of kids on the auditorium stage dancing with invisible actors as the teacher read the lines of seven absent classmates. Spring sports, it would seem, are now upon us - along with, perhaps more shockingly, spring itself....
OLYMPIA - Some Washington drivers could see a new fee added to their vehicle- tabtransactions starting next year. Both the Senate and House agreed on a bill that would add a $5 fee for vehicle- registration renewals and purchases and a $12 fee for title transactions through public offices. Unless the bill is vetoed by the governor, a rare occurrence, it will become law. The money generated by the new fees would pay for a third 144-car ferry. Currently, private businesses that offer these services already charge an administrative fee, online...
From Safeco Stadium to the Qwest Field and Exhibition Center in Seattle, lottery revenue has been the winning ticket for various cash-starved state accounts. A proposal in the Legislature would turn lottery proceeds into new classrooms across Washington State. In 2000, voters approved Initiative 728, a measure that directed lottery revenue from the state general fund for K-12 education, including class-size reduction. However in 2009, funds were reallocated into the the state general fund for the 2009-2011 biennium to cover a projected b...
Dear Editor, On March 18, 2014, at the Annual Meeting of the Waitsburg Commercial Club, we will continue our long standing tradition of honoring a person or persons who have gone to extraordinary efforts to help make our community a great place to live and to do business. In addition, we will take time to elect a new slate of officers and board members to lead the economic development organization known as the Waitsburg Commercial Club. The Waitsburg Commercial Club was incorporated in 1903 as a 501C6 economic development nonprofit...
Dear Editor, As a recent resident of Waitsburg I have discovered myself in a position most of you are familiar with - sometimes you have to leave Waitsburg for everyday shopping needs. Surely it's easier and cheaper (gas- wise) to shop here rather than surrounding towns. Sometimes I have to go to Dayton (bigger grocery, pharmacy, restaurants), Walla Walla (more restaurants, even bigger groceries and more pharmacies, plays and concerts), or even the Tri-Cities (Costco & other big box stores). Sometimes it's just a lot less expensive to get...
