Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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Around the beginning of 2007 I got the harebrained idea of starting a newspaper in Dayton. It was called Blue Mountain News and it came out approximately monthly. Though I always enjoyed writing, I had no background in journalism and really didn't know what I was doing. But with the help of two long-time and very talented staff members, Tanya and Vanessa, we cranked out 51 issues of BMN over exactly five years. We covered news and events throughout the Touchet Valley. It was great fun, but it...
As this year closes out, I wanted to let the citizens know what the city is working on currently, as well as a few items we have planned for next year. Probably the biggest remaining item on the council’s agenda is the possible relocation of city hall. After almost 50 years at our current location, the city is looking to relocate city hall to the former Jehovah’s Witness building next to city shop. The city has an acceptable offer in place, but it will need to be ratified by the city council at the December meeting. This is being considered for...
Christmas is a difficult time for anyone grieving the death of a loved one. It is especially hard when they were slain in the line-of-duty while protecting our country. It hit home again last month when Army sergeants Eric Emond, 39, Brush Prairie, and Leandro Jasso, 25, Leavenworth, were killed in Afghanistan. Both were experienced elite soldiers who served multiple tours in combat zones. Normally, the fallen are remembered on Memorial Day, but thanks to a Maine family and over 800,000 donors and volunteers, more than 1.8 million Christmas...
Dear Editor, On Saturday, Dec. 1, with the Columbia County-Walla Walla County Fire District 2 volunteers and community members, the Waitsburg Resource Center, for the second year, was able to deliver Christmas stockings to children in the City of Waitsburg. Remaining stockings were donated to Santa to deliver to children visiting him at Hometown Christmas. We could not have completed this project without the help of the volunteers, and especially the volunteers at the fire district who, once again, were willing to donate their time on a...
Dear Editor, Just read on page 3 of the 12/5/18 Union Bulletin that after five years of controversy, the “Yakima City Council voted unanimously to follow the will of the people . . .” regarding a project. How many years has the discussion of the Waitsburg Fairgrounds Grandstand been ongoing? In April 2018, the majority of those voting in the city election voted for removal. Thank you Council Member Kevin House for supporting that advisory vote. Rather than support voters and the outcome of the advisory vote, the fate of the grandstand app...
By Don C. Brunell The good news is Washington’s revenues continue to grow and projections for the next couple of years appear promising. That is welcome news, but it is sprinkled with caution about introducing new taxes. Our state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (ERFC) quarterly update shows a whopping 17.3% increase in state income for the current biennium. That welcome announcement comes just in time for Christmas. For background, Washington’s budget is on a two-year cycle. The current...
Dear Editor, I’m part of a group looking into the possibility of establishing a community garden in Waitsburg. Our vision is for an accessible gathering place where people of all ages can come together and enjoy this activity. Right now, the biggest hurdle we face is finding the land to set the project up on. It would be a raised-bed garden, so the quality of the soil isn’t an issue. But we’d need some way of getting water for the plants (a spigot onsite, for example). If you own or know of a piece of land that we might be able to use, pleas...
By Jennie Dickinson, Executive Director, Port of Columbia At a recent public hearing regarding a conditional use permit for a proposed new business locating in Columbia County, two themes kept coming up that have caused the Port district concern. The first one was "How is this business helping the community?" and the second one was "The windmills have done nothing for us." The first statement was in regards to a potential blockchain business locating here. Many in the audience seemed to think...
By Don C. Brunell While massive wildfires are historic, they are more dangerous today. As our population grows, they are a greater threat to communities adjacent to wildlands. This year, with nearly 4.8 million acres already burned in the U.S. and wildfires finally contained in California, is shaping up to continue a trend that has seen the 10 worst fire seasons since 1960 in terms of acres burned, U.S. News reports. AccuWeather predicts the total economic loss to California when everything is...
To: Citizens of Dayton It is that time of the year to present you with the 2019 Budget for the City of Dayton. 2018 went by so fast that I really have to sit and think what we did this past year. Our theme for 2018 was “Building Infrastructure,” and we had a great amount of accomplishments in this area. The biggest project was the street repairs that were completed due to the damage our streets encountered during the freeze of January-February 2017. The city is spending the nearly $1 million that we received from FEMA, the State of Was...
A special thank you to the many friends of John Stellwagen. Our family wishes to thank you for your prayers, your many visits, and your many thoughtful and generous acts of kindness during his illness. John dearly loved this community. Our heartfelt thanks to all of you, The family of John Stellwagon...
One hundred fifty-five years ago, on Nov. 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln delivered a short address at the dedication of a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It became one of the most renowned speeches in American history. In just 271 words, Lincoln reminded a war-weary public why the Union was engaged in and determined to win the Civil War. Here is the entire text of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the...
With colder temperatures and leaves starting to fall, I thought I would provide residents with some information regarding fall activities associated with the city. First, there has been a Washington State Department of Ecology burn ban in effect since January 1, 2007; meaning you cannot burn leaves or branches. The city does not pick up leaves, so please do not rake or blow them into the street as it actually can clog our street sweeper. Instead, residents of the city can dispose of their leaves in the leaf bin at the city shop in either bags...
By Don C. Brunell Shipyard workers in Portland are building the first commercial-scale wave energy buoy which, if it works, could be part of a system providing electricity to communities along our nation’s coastline. Vigor’s shipyard has a $6.5 million contract to construct an 826-ton buoy which can generate 1.25 MW (megawatts) of electricity. Its principle selling point is it generates electricity without CO2 or other greenhouse gas emissions. Vigor estimates each buoy would offset 3,000 ton...
Dear Editor, I am urging you to support Chuck Amerein for Columbia county commissioner. He will be a fresh new face in our county government. While experience is helpful, change is good too. I think we need Chuck. He has many qualities that will make for a good commissioner. Leadership – he commanded soldiers Decision Making – His decisions were life and death decisions Business – He has owned and operated 2 fitness businesses which involves people skills, perseverance and a work ethic. Currently he is a journeyman carpenter as well as an in...
Dear Editor, This current race for Sheriff has been contentious. Not necessarily between the two candidates, but amongst their supporters. Some of the more troubling attacks I’ve seen revolve around the support the deputies have shown for Mark Crider. In one previously published UB letter to the editor, a former sheriff’s deputy wrote about the unprofessionalism of the deputies for voicing their opinion on whom the next Sheriff should be. He stated there was “a great deal of quiet support” for Matt Stroe amongst the “professional” deputies. E...
Dear Editor, As the election is winding down, I would like to personally thank Matt. Being Matt’s pastor, I have had the honor to sit front row to this process from beginning to end with the family. I will always remember the conversation that we had when he felt the call to run for Sheriff. I asked him one simple question: Why? He responded: I feel called to serve. Although he was confident that God was leading him in this direction, he had his concerns. He knew the attacks would come against his character, against his family, against his f...
Dear Editor, I am writing to urge you to support Cathy Loftus Shochet for Columbia County Treasurer. Cathy has all the necessary experience to be the next Treasurer. She has been the Chief Deputy Treasurer for 3 years which makes her extremely well qualified to move up to the Treasurer position. She already knows all the routines and computer systems that are used in the Treasurers’ office so there would a seamless transition to Treasurer. Cathy recently received training in the new systems that will be implemented at the office. She has e...
Dear Editor, As the race for Walla Walla County Sheriff continues, I keep seeing and hearing how the Sheriff’s Office needs to go back to the way it was. Why would some of the citizens of Walla Walla County want the operations of the Sheriff’s Office to go backwards? Even though there have been changes at the Sheriff’s Office throughout the years, the last eight years have seen improvements that help serve the citizens of Walla Walla County better. Deputies have also benefited from this with more training, better equipment, hiring of quali...
Dear Editor, Awesome! I’m writing today to encourage you to support my nephew Dain Nysoe for Columbia County commissioner. Yesterday I was driving around and ended up at the ranch, the home where I grew up. It’s so beautiful here! Everywhere you look there is a panorama of color, blue sky, the mountains: it’s awesome. It’s great to be home: this is where the heart is. Dain grew up here too and he loves it like I do. One of my early memories of Dain is when he was a kid and I was driving wheat truck: he would flag me down, “Stop, stop, sto...
Dear Editor, I personally know three people, owners of businesses on Dayton’s Main Street, who left them—closed them or otherwise got out—to take jobs with public agencies that offered benefits that included health insurance. I also know three others--young, talented employees of Dayton businesses--who left those jobs to take employment with public agencies that offered benefits that included health insurance. And I count three storefronts on Dayton’s Main Street that were occupied by private sector businesses, but after lying empty for som...
Dear Editor, At the AAUW Candidates Forum in Dayton, both of the Columbia County Commissioner candidates appeared to be intelligent, conscientious and likeable citizens. The obvious and most important difference, however, was their level of administrative experience. The County Commissioner position is not a political position - - - it is an administrative position. Commissioners are expected to raise and wisely use funds from a variety of sources, administer a budget of about $15 million annually, manage a lot of county employees and their act...
Dear Editor, In these last few days before Election Day I’ve been thinking about respect. In a recent letter to the Union-Bulletin editor a man wrote that he didn’t think being a fighter pilot would make Mark Crider a better sheriff. Crider served this country for 10 years as a Naval aviator, commanding men & women and managing million-dollar budgets. He obeyed orders from superiors while looking out for the welfare of his troops. That is leadership, and that is what will make him a better sheriff than his opponent. Crider served his country in...
Dear Editor, I support Mark Crider for Walla Walla County Sheriff. I was born in Mexico and came to the United States in 1990 at the age of 10. I have lived in Walla Walla since 1992 and attended Walla Walla public schools; graduating in 1999 from WA-HI. As a legal resident, I served in the Marine Corps for four years and received an honorable discharge. After my enlistment, I worked 6 years for BMAC conducting community outreach work as a neighborhood organizer for Commitment to Community. I’ve worked as an intervention specialist at both E...
Dear Editor, For over two decades, I have watched my husband come home shift after shift, proud of the work he does as a Walla Walla County Sheriff’s deputy. I take seriously his career decisions because they affect his life in a way few outside law enforcement understand. Like the other wives whose husbands daily put their lives on the line for this county, I don’t stand behind my husband in support; I stand alongside him. That is why a group of us came together when we saw that Mark Crider was running for Sheriff and that our husbands wan...
