Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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Dear Editor, I give my full support to Jeff Jenkins as Columbia County Sheriff. As a population health nurse in this community there is an identified need for collaborating individuals in positions of decision making and policy that will help address the population health needs of our rural health community. There are multiple barriers in serving rural communities ie: outsourced resources, lower socioeconomic status, and an over representation of elderly population. Palliative care/population health have started hosting monthly...
A fake Facebook profile has been created and is interacting on the Facebook public group, Dayton Speak Freely. They are using the name, Tracey Kelley. This person created their page on May 6 of this year. Their profile states they live in Starbuck, WA. They have no FB friends, but follow one business in Dayton. This person made no FB posts until July 19, leading me to believe they were just browsing public posts without commenting until now. This person has started conversations in the FB group by asking about candidates running for local offic...
The primary election voting period ends next Tuesday, August 2nd. It is important to vote in the primary as it will narrow the field for two important positions - County Commissioner in the 3rd District and the16th LD Position 1. The voters in District 3, mostly the western part of the County, will determine which two candidates will be on the November 8th general election ballot. If you’re not registered to vote it isn’t too late - one can register online at SOS.WA.GOV or the county website and in person as late as Tuesday, August 2nd at the...
This is a note of appreciation to the Waitsburg Ambulance crew for saving the life of my friend. On Monday, July 25, I called for an ambulance for a friend who was suffering a cardiac arrest. The crew arrived in minutes and immediately started CPR. Their quick response and training saved his life, as he had not one more minute of time to spare. I am so grateful and thankful they were there. They will forever be my heroes. Sincerely, Patricia Gleason Waitsburg, Wash....
To the editor: Darren is an effective advocate for the valley as he strives to keep our valley culture. He devotes a significant amount of time and effort working in the community through and is there to support our future, the youth of this valley. His experience on several town and county committees, shows he understands how local government works – and doesn’t. He can hit the ground running on day one. He isn’t afraid to seek out new ideas and different perspectives, weighs the alternatives, considers possible outcomes, and develops reaso...
Dear Editor, Living in a small town has its downsides, but it comes with many perks. My family was reminded of this when a shop caught fire at the end of June. Thanks to the quick response from Columbia County Fire District 3 and Columbia-Walla Walla Fire District 2, the damage was minimized to my parents’ shop. Though the shop, a camper, and a vehicle ended up a total loss, no one was hurt, and all the animals were safe. A quick-thinking firefighter went as far as cutting the fence around the chicken coop so that the birds could get out of t...
Dear Editor, Re: “Fun Flag facts for the Fourth: The 4th of July is a popular day to display the flag; here are some common myths debunked,” June 30, 2022 Myth #1: Betsy Ross created the first American flag 1. Although the person who stitched the first Stars and Stripes flag is unknown, the designer is. Scholars now credit Francis Hopkinson as the American flag’s designer. (Source: Leepson, Marc. “Flag: An American Biography.” St. Martin’s Griffin. 2005. p. 33.) 2. The Flag Manufacturers Association of America (FMAA) issued the following T...
To the editor, I would like to acknowledge and applaud the Dayton Memorial Library for their book displays and other readers’ advisory efforts for Pride month. Libraries are for everyone, and I’m happy to see our library recognizing that “everyone” includes members of the LGBTQ community, their families, and their allies. The first Pride march was June 28, 1970. It was held to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. It was common then for police to raid gay bars and beat and arrest the people inside. Trans women and dra...
Last week Neighbors United held a public information meeting about the City of Dayton’s proposed Wastewater Treatment project. The meeting was well attended and representatives from the professionals that had worked on this project over the years gave a background review of the project and the current state of the project. This panel answered audience questions with why or why not certain decisions were made to facilitate the project. These questions were answered to the best of the Wastewater professional’s ability and experience. Alt...
I am writing regarding the new Columbia County Public Health Department director, and concerns that, according to last week’s Letter to the Editor from Shellie McLeod, the new director is unfit for the position. This is apparently because of the new director’s personal stance on vaccination mandates imposed by career politician Jay Inslee upon state and healthcare workers. (As an aside, Inslee, through state emergency powers that he refuses to relinquish after more than two years, effectively runs the state by himself, creating rules and mandat...
To the Editor, I wanted to acknowledge how well the Ice Cream Social held by the new political action committee the Neighbors United for Progress was this last Saturday. Holding it immediately after the parade was a wonderful idea and gave people something further to do after the parade had ended. It was an excellent addition to this year’s activities and should be considered as something to have every year. As a member of a political action committee myself I can appreciate the time effort and energy that went into making this event happen. I...
As of March 1, 2022, the Columbia County Public Health Department has a new director. This director was chosen by the county commissioners over a qualified individual who had been working for the department for 3.5 years and would have loved to apply, but was not made aware while she was on maternity leave that the position was open. Standard procedure for hiring at the department of health is for the board of health to approve both a job description and an advertisement for the position. Once the board approves these things, they are given to...
To the Editor, In the May 19th online edition of the Waitsburg Times, the article titled “Dayton wastewater treatment project stalled again” included three letters that need to be shared to a wider audience. The first was from Cynthia Wall-Fuller, lately of the Washington Department of Ecology, now at the Washington Department of Commerce, to Dayton Mayor Zac Weatherford and the Dayton City Council. There’s a lot to say about the other two letters, but this first one is the one that needs to be addressed most urgently. In it, she warns the c...
To the editor: What is happening to the formerly friendly and welcoming Columbia County? After various new members of our community government were sworn into office last January many beneficial, well-researched and planned projects were halted. Available Port Commission land is no longer being considered as a potential location for a desperately needed, privately run, childcare center. Some of the commissioner’s objections to this project included their own personal opinions on the quality of the private entity that would staff the center a...
To the Editor, The energy and confident singing of the kids in the Waitsburg Elementary School Spring Music Program could have lit the whole town. None of your “Ah, shucks, I’m too shy.” These kids rocked. Two years of being pent up from covid protocols, and they were ready to bust out. But their energy was not random. It was well-channeled into cool choreography (like the kindergarteners throwing juggling scarves as well as kicking and jabbing in “It’s a Hard-Knock Life”). Thanks to the vision, boldness, great choice of tunes, and hours of en...
Since the closure of the Dayton City Pool at the end of the season in 2017, a dedicated group of citizens formed The Friends of the Pool Committee to facilitate the process for the construction and sustainable operation and maintenance of a new swimming pool in Dayton. The vision of the Friends of the Pool is a community where all people have pathways to healthy opportunities. The Friends of the Pool believe this process can only be successful with full community involvement and support. Our goal is to accomplish this through the action plan we...
To the editor: Right here in our beautiful town of Dayton we have what I would consider a blessing: The Blue Mountain Station. Now you may be thinking…the building? And the answer is yes and no. Within this new and attractive building is the BMS Co-Op Market. In the market is a variety of local organic produce, specialty health foods, and locally made artisan products. To keep a long story short, I am the mother of three beautiful little girls and the youngest was born with life threatening food allergies. All grains, nuts, and egg are a h...
To the editor: It seems that the Dayton City Council may have made an error last month when it decided not to approve purchase of two properties to deal with long-standing issues regarding sewage treatment. After many years of study and consideration, no suitable alternatives were discussed or considered at the meeting, and no feasible alternatives may be available. I am aware that all the design work is not finished for these water treatment wetlands, and that this potential solution may not work out after further planning and review....
At their April 12 meeting, the Dayton City Council voted 4-3 to forgo 2 years of work, and about $200,000 to say “no” to purchasing land on which to build a new wastewater treatment plant. After years of research and planning an innovative, economical, and environmentally conscious facility, the majority offered no alternative location or plan. A new wastewater treatment facility was an urgent need when I moved here 11 years ago. It’s been a long and frustrating process for city staff, council, and the public, with many delays and roadblocks al...
Port Director Jennie Dickinson just received recognition from the Dayton Chamber of Commerce as Employee of the Year. Many appreciative community members nominated Ms. Dickinson for this award and were pleased that she was selected to receive it. However, Port Commissioner Seth Bryan seems to want to cast Ms. Dickinson in a negative light whenever the opportunity arises. At a publicly attended Port Commissioners’ workshop on March 23, he said that his understanding of the budget shows the Port operating in the red. At the April 13 Port C...
At the April 12 meeting of the Dayton City Council, the Council members voted against purchasing the property that would have allowed the City to move forward with bringing the wastewater treatment into compliance with Washington State Department of Ecology’s standards. The City has been working to find a resolution for this issue since 2007. That is 14 years of brainstorming, investigations, and research for the best possible solution to bring the City of Dayton into compliance. The Department of Ecology has been patient for 14 years while t...
Several years ago, the City of Dayton was cited by the WA. State Department of Ecology for dumping untreated wastewater into the Touchet River. The city puts 300,000 gallons of effluent into our Touchet River each day. Dayton was not fined because it was making a good faith effort to rectify the problem. The preparatory work for new sewage treatment cost the city over $200,000 prior to the new Council members voting against the project. Now with the “no-vote”, the City may lose the chance to buy the property needed to treat the sewage nat...
Dear Editor, After Dayton City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 12th, I sent a letter to Mayor Weatherford and the council asking the following questions: Is there an alternative plan to bring our city into compliance for wastewater treatment? Will implementing a different solution take longer than continuing with the plan that was in place? How much money has the city spent in developing the plan that was just voted down? When considering the time and money that has been put into the research and planning of this project, what is the advantag...
To the Editor, I am writing to express my support for the building of the trail. I have reviewed the plans and am encouraged by what the engineers and designers have envisioned – and the accommodations that have been made to address the concerns of community members that live along the proposed trail. Dedicated bike and hike trails are so much safer for those of us that at times choose alternative means of transportation. The trail will make it much safer for young and old alike to get about parts of town and the valley. The fact that the b...
To the Editor, I have volunteered and worked in many capacities in Columbia County. In those positions, I have attended many workshops and conferences in other small communities in the Pacific Northwest and have met many community leaders who touted the benefits of recreation in their own communities. They knew the positive impacts. I’ve always dreamed of a Columbia County filled with brown signs directing locals and visitors to hike, bike, fish, swim, camp, etc. We have so much to offer. How does it benefit our community? Studies show that hav...
