Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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by Don C. Brunell Christmas is an especially difficult time for anyone grieving for lost loved ones. It is especially painful for America’s military families whose son, daughter, spouse or parent was killed while serving in uniform. Normally, the fallen are remembered on Memorial Day, but thanks to a Maine family and over hundreds of thousand donors and volunteers, more than 1.5 million wreaths were laid on the tombstones of our fallen soldiers, sailors and airmen on December 16. The panoramic v...
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During the holidays, our thoughts naturally turn to giving — not just giving gifts, but donating our time and money to charities, disasters and community programs. We’re reminded that, with all our frailties, we, Americans, are a pretty generous lot. According to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, 88 percent of our households donate to charity. In 2015, our total was more than $375 billion in cash to non-profit organizations. Cash contributions are only part of the story. Man...
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Dear Editor, The Friends of the Library would like to thank the following businesses for their donation for our fundraiser basket to purchase books for the Weller Library: Blue Crystal, Dumas Station, Midway Food Mart, Clarence Stearns, Gary Thomas Lawn Service, Whiskey Canyon, Laht Neppur, Waitsburg Grocery, Blush Salon & Spa. The basket raffle raised $710 to buy books for all ages! Veronica Sandau’s ticket was drawn to win the basket. We also had a recent donation from Jim Walsh of $100 to buy books. Karen Huwe President - Friends of the L...
Dear Editor, On Saturday, December 2, with the Columbia County-Walla Walla County Fire District 2 volunteers and community members, the Waitsburg Resource Center was able to deliver 260 Christmas stockings to children in the City of Waitsburg. The leftover stockings were donated to Santa to deliver at 10 Ton. What a fun day for the children, and for us. But we could not have completed this project without the help of the volunteers, and especially the volunteers at the fire district who were willing to donate their time on a Saturday. Where...
Recently, the Institute for Justice (Institute) determined state licensing barriers for lower-income workers and aspiring entrepreneurs not only hurts people trying to establish themselves in a profession, but annually drives consumer prices up by $203 billion. Washington requires people in 77 jobs, including driving school bus, well-drilling and operating cranes, to be licensed. That means applicants must successfully complete education and training, pass their exams, and pay licensing fees....
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The announced shutdown of the communications paper arm of Georgia Pacific’s Camas pulp and paper mill maybe the harbinger of what’s to come. Consumers are buying less paper, production costs are increasing, and competition is fiercer. GP will lay off as many as 300 workers next year when it shifts production of paper used for printers and copiers elsewhere. The southeastern states will benefit as future pulping centers at its Louisiana facility. People working at paper mills are well paid and...
Dear Editor, Maybe you have been reading in our local paper about the plans being made for our Columbia County Fairgrounds, which includes tearing down one of the large historic buildings, The East GrandStand.This could be just the beginning of removing, piece by piece, our historic fairgrounds.We now have someone working in the area,who has closely inspected the grandstand, and knows what needs to be done to preserve its special significance. He is willing to work with us to do this. There are many other areas of our Fairgrounds that also...
Twenty-five years ago, Business took a beating in Olympia. The swing to the left in the 1992 general election was swift and potent. It drove higher costs to employers and more government regulations. Warning: Today’s political winds are blowing in that same direction. In the 1992 election, Democrats across America scored big wins promising a new health care system and bigger government. Bill Clinton upset George H.W. Bush for president and Congressman Mike Lowry knocked off Republican A...
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Since last Veteran’s Day, Ken Burns’ in-depth documentary on the Vietnam War has aired. It is a powerful reminder of an unpopular war in which many “baby boomers” fought and died. It also prompts memories of the brutal treatment of American POWs and 1,350 who were listed as missing in action after the war ended. Some remain lost today. Among the 571 American prisoners released in the winter of 1973 was U.S Army Maj. Ed Carlson, whose last assignment was senior Army advisor to the Washing...
While Seattle is growing rapidly, our rural areas continue to struggle. They don’t have the corporate giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing creating jobs and economic opportunities. Farms are predominantly family-owned. Today, there is a rejuvenated effort to bring prosperity to Washington’s rural communities. While agriculture is the largest sector, timber, manufacturing, high tech and energy provide opportunities as well. Rural jobs and economic revitalization are national in scope. Wri...
Last month, Seattle Times aerospace reporter Dominic Gates wrote about the similarities and differences between Boeing’s corporate office move to Chicago and Amazon’s plan for a second headquarters. Boeing wanted to leave Seattle in an effort to separate its corporate leadership from manufacturing sites while Amazon, with an unusual strategy, plans to keep its headquarters here but set up a parallel operation elsewhere. Boeing hoped to find a more conservative business climate while Amazon wan...
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Dear Editor, It’s only common sense that the bottom of the Touchet River needs to be cleaned out along with unclogging two of the three bays of the Preston Street Bridge east of town. It creates a potential dam site that will direct the next high water (flood) through the middle of town and west down Highway 124. The new bridge downstream at the north end of Main Street will be of little use. Built on a delta created by the Touchet River and Coppei Creek, Waitsburg has experienced these raging waters before. We deceive ourselves in relying o...
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Dear Editor, President Jimmy Carter stated April 17, 1980; “{4-H} represents unchanging American values in a changing world – values like learning from doing… caring for a community, leadership, integrity. Those things don’t change. And they’re kept alive by young people who are not burdened down with doubt, but have a fresh hope for the future.” I am disappointed in the funding Washington State University has in place to run the 4-H program. A proposed $25-a-year fee for each child is unbelievable in my community of 250 youth, 35 of whom are...
Dear Editor, Recent variations may change the opinion of Ms. Miller (9/28/17 letter) concerning grandstands, as it did mine. At the 9/12/17 Waitsburg Fairgrounds Committee meeting Mr. Nicely stated the grandstands could be made usable for about $40,000. I asked if that was just labor. Mr. Nicely responded that was the total: parts, labor, permits. As a result, it seemed worth a few more months to explore. I was later told Mr. Nicely said the same thing at the September 20 Waitsburg City Council meeting, except he added “for the first p...
Dear Editor, The start of October once again starts a new 4-H year! To promote 4-H in the window competition, two groups came together to display what 4-H is in our community, Home Grown Go Wild 4-H and Swine Swaggers. Check it out and let the 4-H office know if you like it or not! We are competing versus Walla Walla Clubs! Thanks for checking out the display at Ten Ton Press! Timothy Daves, Waitsburg President, Home Grown Go Wild 4-H...
Recently we’ve received a few comments from readers saying they were glad The Times stopped running political columns from the Washington Post Syndicate. Granted, the number of those comments is small – I could count them on one hand – but I’m sure there are others with similar feelings who didn’t get around to sharing them with us. The comments in question generally made the point that these readers didn’t like seeing “liberal” political views published in The Times – to the point that some w...
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