Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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Now, with Washington mired in a Congressional impeachment inquiry that’s investigating the dealings of President Donald Trump, that divide has grown ever wider. Americans on all sides express a mixture of anger and frustration that they have been betrayed by their country, by their leaders or by their fellow Americans. That raises a question: Can the nation find its way back to some semblance of civility and reconciliation, or have things gone too far? “Even in down times, there’s always a road back if we give each other the courage to both loo...
To the Editor: First of all, I would like to thank the voters in Dayton, for turning out during our recent elections. Our participation was the third highest in the state. During the local campaigns for Mayor and City Council members, there was an endless amount of false information posted on social media. False accusations, misleading or erroneous information, did not afford the public the necessary and factual information they needed, prior to casting their votes. This demonstrated that social media is not the most reliable source of...
Dear Editor: Thank you so much to all the voters and supporters who helped me along the way to win this election. I couldn’t have done it without you. I’m excited to move forward with serving this community and continuing to work on improving Dayton. Along my campaign trail, I have had the opportunity to speak with many of the residents who live and work here and who have given me insight on what concerns our community. I have been in contact with the various entities that serve the people and continue to fuel our city with great res...
With the cold weather comes an array of options to help those less fortunate. You can start assembling your 12 Days Box, by adding a shelf-stable non-perishable item to your box once a day for 12 days to donate to the Waitsburg Resource Center’s food bank. One can also sit down with your loved ones and do a little holiday charity shopping. Think about what local nonprofit agencies you already support. Do you spend your Friday evenings at the Mythical/Moveable Blue Mountain Blue Grass Jam? Like to go swimming here in Waitsburg? Consider d...
Our state’s economy and way of life hinges on low cost and reliable electricity. Since Grand Coulee and Bonneville dams were completed in the early 1940s, Washington has enjoyed both. We are accustomed to flipping a switch and our lights illuminate. Our state’s electricity supply is abundant and our transmission system is dependable. Washington is heavily reliant on hydroelectric generators----many of which are located in powerhouses on the Columbia and Snake rivers. Only during the severe dro...
Dear Editor: Over the course of the campaign, I’ve canvassed neighborhoods across the county and met with more than 2,200 residents on their front porch. I’ve also held meetings with major employers, institutions (colleges, university, school districts, etc.), governmental agencies, civic organizations and leaders from the business community. Through these conversations, I’ve heard a near-universal desire for expanded economic opportunity across the county. The world of economic development is highly competitive. Our country competes with...
Editor, In an October 13, 2019 Walla Walla Union Bulletin article outlining various candidates in the upcoming election, Dain Nysoe, incumbent candidate for Position 4 on Dayton City Council, had various comments on the proposed Touchet Valley Trail. I encourage you to read the full article for additional context, but among Nysoe’s comments was the following quote: “It’s a new idea, so some have expressed their opposition to the idea, and have either misunderstood the scope of the plan, or are just closed minded to new ideas.” The “scope...
Dear Editor, I was proud to run for Congress last year to stand up for my community. I’m so thankful to all of you who supported me with your donations, your time, and your kind words. I’m reaching out today because there is another important fight on your ballot this November. Initiative 1000/Referendum 88 is our best chance in two decades to end our state’s regressive ban on affirmative action and restore fairness and opportunity to all Washingtonians. As a higher education leader in Spokane, I saw firsthand the benefit that diversity has i...
Dear Editor, Thank you Everett Maroon for a detailed letter to the editor informing readers of the history of police deliberating on providing Narcan to victims of opioid overdoses. This will be instructive and helpful information as Waitsburg moves forward in broadening improved public health services to citizens. Terry Lawhead, Waitsburg...
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Allied Health Workforce Diversity Act, legislation that Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) joined in introducing, overwhelmingly passed the House included in the EMPOWER Health Act of 2019 (H.R. 2781). This legislation will provide funding for colleges and universities to make physical therapy, occupational therapy, audiology, and speech-language pathology programs more accessible to underrepresented communities, including those who are racial or ethnic minorities or from disadvantaged b...
The Times welcomes Letters to the Editor and invites readers to share their ideas, concerns and thoughts on matters of importance on our Opinion Page. Letters to the Editor can be emailed to editor@waitsburgtimes.com, or mailed to The Times at P.O. Box 97, Waitsburg, WA 99361. Letters can also be hand-delivered to our office. Deadline for letters is Tuesday at noon. Letters may be no more than 400 words long. All letters must be signed by the writer(s) using their actual name, and complete...
To the Editor: When Blue Mountain Heart to Heart and other participating sites around the state gave our Narcan to law enforcement units, we did it on the agreement that it could be used both in the field to support laypeople in overdose, or to rescue a fellow officer should such a need arise. More precisely, we expected the medication would be used to reverse overdoses agnostic of whether that person was a law enforcement officer or not. At the time I distributed the naloxone to the Walla...
Imagine tuning into the Sunday morning talk shows and wondering if the politicians and commentators could possibly find something positive to say about one another or the state of affairs in America. Unfortunately, there is a better chance of snowball lasting in a sauna. But suddenly on October 20 there was a surprise: “BREAKING NEWS” moving across the bottom of the screen about an apple developed in Washington State. Television pundits ignored it; however, the internet was stocked with sto...
Dear Editor: Columbia County residents are fortunate to have the services we do through Columbia County Public Transportation. For the past few summers, CCPT has made available free rides for a portion of the summer season by using some of their designated funds in creative ways. What a gift to be so rural and yet forward-thinking about mobility for all of us! An initiative on this season’s Washington state voters ballot could change our local public transit services, and it needs your attention. Washington Initiative 976, “Limits on Motor Veh...
My name is Katie Leid and I am running for re-election to Dayton School Board, position #4. For those of you who are not familiar with me, I grew up in the Touchet Valley, graduated from Waitsburg High School, married my childhood sweetheart, followed and helped him receive his college and advanced degrees, raised two very successful children and completed my education at Washington State University over twenty years ago. We moved back “home” when I accepted the elementary/middle school principal’s position in Dayton in July, 2003. After an ama...
Ballots to vote for the next Mayor of Dayton will be arriving in the mail very soon. If you have not become informed regarding each candidate’s qualifications, I encourage you to do so. Too often in today’s society, elected officials are placed in their positions based on popularity or the likability factor, not based on the person with the best qualifications. Just because a person is your friend doesn’t make them the best person for the job. Dayton residents have three candidates willing to put their names forward for a job often met with...
Dear Editor: Last week’s column (Turn America’s innovators loose on greenhouse gases – Don Brunell) began with a limp denial of the consequences of greenhouse gases and proceeded to use decades old unscientific information from around the world to, as far as I could tell, justify the author’s faulty claim that innovation in America is being stifled by his catch-all word, “government”. On the contrary, America’s entrepreneurs have never been busier at inventing new products as have other global innovators living under other governments....
Assuming that reducing greenhouse gases are an ongoing challenge, we need government policies and the “political will” to turn our nation’s entrepreneurs and researchers lose to take risks and innovate. We must establish reasonable laws and regulations that also protect our environment and our citizens’ health and safety while providing jobs and affordable products—no easy task. Science Daily has published some promising research relating to carbon dioxide. Here are three examples: First, resear...
Hi, my name is Rod Johnson and my wife Lisa and I moved here to Waitsburg back in January. I have been told that in Waitsburg you are still new in town until the 2nd or 3rd generation. So I guess we are really new. Now I was actually born in Dayton, and while we moved away when I was an infant, we moved back when I was a teenager and I was there through my early twenties. Now I'm back and we love it here. We have been warmly welcomed here, and I have to say that the folks around here are super...
Let's take a break from our society's normal crudefest for a brief moment to honor civility. Cokie Roberts epitomized civility. She was no pushover -- far from it. When it was required, she was as hard as nails. In today's nasty society, she sometimes needed to be. But somehow, she maneuvered through all of our disagreements in ways that were entirely agreeable. Yes, I know: By now, you might be tired of hearing about Cokie from her colleagues and buddies. But Cokie's life is a symbol of what...
Dear Editor: I appreciated the side by side editorials in the recent Times and hope readers felt the friction of perspectives. Business pundit Don Brunell applied his predictable economic views to praise two controversial industries, forest management and railroads while heartbroken Swedish climate change spokesperson Greta Thunberg chastised politicians for their longstanding negligence. Brunell declares the success of his highlighted industries but laments their ‘story’ is not better publicized although I am certain that expensive public rel...
By Don C. Brunell Many years ago, a reporter asked George Weyerhaeuser, then CEO of Weyerhaeuser Co., why his company spent so much time and money informing its workers, public officials and people about its business of growing trees and converting those trees into lumber and paper products. His answer was simple. “People need to know what we do and why what we do is important to them.” He believed if people and elected officials understood Weyerhaeuser, they would make thoughtful decisions bas...
Climate activist Greta Thunberg, 16, addressed the U.N.'s Climate Action Summit in New York City on Monday. Here's the full transcript of Thunberg's speech, beginning with her response to a question about the message she has for world leaders. "My message is that we'll be watching you. "This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you! "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with...
I would like to take this opportunity to show my support for Byron Kaczmarski and Dain Nysoe who are both seeking to serve the Dayton City Council for another term. I have served on council as well as the finance committee with both of these men and have found them to be very well informed on the issues. I believe that every decision they made is made with the best interest of the citizens of Dayton in mind. The have had to make many tough decisions and those decisions have been made with thoughtfulness and integrity. For these reasons I will...
In comment to the negative letter in the Dayton Chronicle on 9/11/19 Miss Bailey is qualified for the position of City Planner She was the most qualified out of the several applicants for this job. Also, would the county have hired an unqualified planner? She has proven to the city to be above and beyond excellent in our dealings with her. One of the best planners we’ve had in my 19+ years on the council. She does NOT have big west side ideas like some people are spouting about. She is taking this job very seriously. Sometimes people don’t lik...
