Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 664 - 688 of 2504
If you’re a faithful reader of this newspaper you know that I’ve spent the last few weeks working in the Dayton Chamber of Commerce office while we – the board of directors – recruit a new executive director. (And if you’re not a faithful reader, thanks for checking in anyway.) You’ve also probably noticed that I haven’t been contributing a whole lot of writing to these pages recently. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have a staff that is smart, talented and dedicated enough to put out an exce...
The City of Waitsburg has several items it would like to share with you related to City activities for 2018. First, you probably have noticed that your utility rates went up with the January billing. This increase was approved early in 2017 and covered 2017, 2018 and beyond. Its sole purpose is to cover debt service on loan dollars for improvements to the City’s infrastructure; I will get to those details in a moment. Second, with the cleanup of the Wastewater Treatment Plan (WWTP) area complete, all recycling has been moved to that f...
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To the Editor: Isn’t it funny how, within the mass propaganda campaign to “Vote Yes for Our Kids,” so little is mentioned about how the taxes we are encouraged to regularly, every two years, levy upon ourselves are not predominantly spent on school maintenance and repairs? Four years ago, the Dayton School District floated a (failed) 20-year, $19.9 million construction bond to fix a school they lamented was simply falling apart. In an April 5, 2014 Union Bulletin article by Rachel Alexander, superintendent Doug Johnson brought out, reluc...
Dear Editor, Washington State’s governor appears not to have understood when voters expressed their opinion of a carbon tax at the polls. Governor Inslee continues to press that issue in an interesting manner. Staffer Chris Davis has been working from Africa on that issue for the governor. Working remotely takes on a new meaning. Is Davis still being paid by state taxpayers for working from afar on one of the governor’s pet projects which voters turned down? Also according to the Seattle Times, another Inslee advisor, Reed Schuler, is bei...
Dear Editor, We are writing in support of the upcoming Dayton School District capital projects levy. This levy will replace the current 2017-2018 levy. The primary purpose for this levy is to upgrade the boiler systems for the School District. The boilers for the Elementary and High School buildings are 33 years old and have reached the end of their estimated lifespans. The Ag - Wood Shop boiler is the oldest at 52 years old. The large hot water heater unit is also over 30 years old. The aging equipment continues to have breakdowns and is not...
Dear Editor: It is once again time to for Columbia County residents to give serious thought to Dayton’s school and its infrastructure. A school is just like our own homes; it has buildings and systems that need constant care and do not last forever. Heating equipment gets old, fails, and requires expensive repairs. Water heaters fail and must be replaced. Dayton School District is facing issues like these right now. A large water heater/heat exchanger unit is over 30 years old and its reliability is a concern. Three heating boilers need to be r...
Thanks to Terry Jacoy for his vote against entering into an agreement with the Corps of Engineers to fund a study of Waitsburg’s flooding by the Touchet River and Coppei Creek. Councilman Jacoy’s dissent of this study shows someone is thinking with open eyes that such knowledge is at the exclusion of wisdom. Waitsburg’s $225,000.00 share in a $550,000.00 package would go a long ways in lessening this city’s flood damage in order to clean out and deepen the river bottom in and beyond city boundaries. Doing what is needed, not “studyi...
By Don C. Brunell Our parents drilled into our heads that saying “please” and “thank you” were not only part of everyday life, but were essential to operating a successful business. They are the basic ingredients of “Good Manners.” For more than 30 years, our family owned and operated the garbage collection business for Walkerville, a small incorporated Montana city north of Butte. It was part-time operation, which required about 8 hours a week. In the early 1950s, our family posted a $100 bond...
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By Don C. Brunell Curbside recycling bins are packed with cardboard shipping boxes from Christmas online shopping. The uptick in consumer shipments is not only good news for the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx and UPS, but our nation’s papermakers. According to Mastercard Spending Pulse, U.S. year-end holiday retail sales rose nearly five percent compared to the same period last year while online purchases shot up more than 18 percent. USA Today reported “despite thousands of store closings this yea...
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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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