Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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Dear Editor, Regarding the movement to dissolve the library, there’s a lot of information that isn’t being represented accurately and in its entirety. To start, I keep hearing that “after a yearlong battle, a petition to dissolve the library was the only option left,” and yet public records show the first book challenge happened in September 2022, and the first signature on the petition was in February 2023. That is not a “yearlong battle.” Furthermore, many individuals were told that this petition was to specifically address several inappropri...
One does not admire the person who attends the Community Picnic and spits in the spaghetti sauce. It reminds us of the pesky kid we all knew who would play Monopoly until it was clear that winning was not a possibility for him, and who would violently upend the board sending the game pieces tumbling to the ground and run home, crying. The Dayton Library opened in October of 1937, the same year as San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and Mount Hood’s Timberline Lodge. For 86 years, thousands of Columbia County men, women, boys, and girls have mad...
Dear Editor, Our library is a very important resource for us. Personally, the library is our only computer and our only copy machine. My daughter walks to our library at least twice per week. She checks out DVDs and books very often. Her favorite books are ones about knitting and crochet because she makes gifts for people. We don’t have a car. So, we do everything locally. Every week my daughter uses the computer at the library to check e-mail and print off the songs we sing for church. I help lead the worship at our church and need the c...
To the Waitsburg School District voters, My name is Tia Hays. I am running for Waitsburg School Board member because I love our community and want to support the kids in our district. I have 3 children in our district currently; a 1st grader, a 6th grader and a sophomore in high school. I have a vested interest in the quality of our kids’ education and school experience. My top priority is to help provide a superior learning environment not only for my children but for all children in our district. I stand for cooperation and transparency b...
On a recent morning, in the interest of journalistic research, I typed the words “gender curious books for kids” into the Google search box on my phone. The first listing that came up was for a site called littlefeminist.com, which included the following article: “The 17 Best Children’s Books About Gender Identity and Expression.” The second listing was for readbrightly.com: “7 Books That Teach Kids About the Fluidity of Gender and the Importance of Acceptance.” The third listing was for paren...
Editor, I am very concerned over the unrest with the Columbia County Rural Library District and the petition to dissolve the rural library district. Our library serves many people in our community of all ages. I do realize that there is an issue with some of the books and what age level they have been accessible to. It is certainly cause for concern, but abandoning the library is a drastic measure and would leave a very large hole in our community. The library offers the ability to make copies, access to computers, books, movies, early educatio...
Can this really be happening? I’m talking about the petition to close our beloved, free public library. Are there better ways to solve our differences than to go to extremes? Why would we want to emulate dictators in other countries who suppress their people’s freedoms? Because of the first amendment, we are free, and we need to stay free. There are ways to work out our differences, Do we change the locks on our doors and kick our children out of the house because we have a disagreement or we don’t like the color of their hair? Do we poiso...
To the editor: I would like to address the proposed dissolution of the Columbia County Rural Library District. It is only from a privileged place that one could say a library is unnecessary, and it is a narrow view that only sees a building with books. The library keeps a homeless person warm, safe, and off the streets. The library helps parents and their children meet others so they aren’t so lonely. The library offers entertainment to those who can’t afford to go to the movies, buy DVDs, or streaming services. The library welcomes str...
To the editor, A common behavior of physical or emotional abusers is they don’t take responsibility for their actions. They make comments like “He/she made me do it.” In their mind, it’s OK to attack because the victim did something they didn’t like. An abuser blames everyone else for their own misbehavior. They have a choice to do something besides attacking another person. They chose to give into their own anger and ignore self-control. At one library board meeting, when decisions were made that didn’t agree with, the dissolve the library spo...
For the past year, I have kept my distance from the growing brouhaha over the library. However, with such a valuable community resource now in jeopardy, I can no longer sit on the sidelines. While I’m eager to address the rumors, misinformation, and made up facts being spread throughout the county, I first wish to provide some historical perspective. I led the successful campaign to form the Columbia County Rural Library District (CCRLD). I then served on the board of trustees for 14 years. I am passionate about libraries and their vital role i...
Editor, Let’s take a step back and look at how we can enhance the lives of our families and neighbors. How do our actions benefit our community? What are our motives? Are they self-serving or good for humanity? What resources in this community enrich the lives of you and your neighbors? What resources are we lacking? At a recent city council meeting, the topic of growing the tax base came up. Do we have the resources to draw new businesses and residents to our community? What would you look for if you were looking for a small thriving c...
To the Editor As we stood in the front yard looking at a fleet of fire trucks and water trucks from three counties this afternoon, I was filled with deep gratitude and admiration for the crews that showed up to stamp out the wheat fire that had, just minutes before, come within 50 yards of my house. Jake Adams – Captain of the volunteer Columbia Walla Walla Fire District #2 stationed in Waitsburg, was first on the scene, along with my neighbor farmer and friend, Bill Frazier. The wheat fire t...
To the Editor At the June 26th library board meeting, it became clear that most people in the audience want to keep our public library. Not everyone agreed on how it would be run, but they didn’t want to lose the library. They want our community to come together again as friends and neighbors. If the library is defunded in the Nov. election, the library and Delany building would immediately be closed. The buildings would belong to the City of Dayton, who does not have a budget to support the site. All the printed contents of the library w...
To our community, What has happened to reaching out to those with differing viewpoints in a friendly and respectful manner to discuss opposing issues? The vile name-calling which cast aspersions on the soon-to-be former director of the library is unconscionable. Where is the goodness in the people of this community? We talk about protecting children, yet your behavior is nothing that we would want children to be exposed to. Please reconsider your actions and take the high road as members of this community. If you don’t like the books in the l...
Shame on You For those in our community who have spread lies and misinformation about our library director should be ashamed of themselves. If there was even a thread of evidence to your lies, you had every right to report them to law enforcement. I believe your vitriol is more of a threat to your children, grandchildren and our beloved community. And to those who have signed the petition to close our cherished library, ask yourself how this will help the children of Columbia County. These children will not even be able to vote on this matter....
Dear Editor: As I have mentioned before, don’t let “their” opinion be yours. Take time to visit the library, talk to Todd, the director, and see how much the library has to offer. In a recent conversation with a friend, they mentioned the library having pornography, but in the same conversation, they admitted to not having been to the library or talked to Todd. In my opinion, moving a book is not about keeping our children safe but more about control. Keeping our children safe is a whole lot more than moving a book or closing a library that...
As a business owner and just a person trying to make ends meet every month, I’m always looking for value. It makes me happy to feel I’ve gotten my money’s worth. How about you? Businesses that pay the Waitsburg Commercial Club annual dues expect something in return. As a business owner, I know I do. Since becoming an active board member and now as the club’s president, I’ve been asked what exactly Commercial Club does?” A few weeks back, I compiled a list of the club’s programs that help benefit the Waitsburg business community. It was publishe...
Business owners of Waitsburg! My name is Judy Bennett, and I am the new President of Waitsburg Commercial Club. I want to thank you for voting for me, and to tell you a little about how I intend to serve you and your enterprise this year. Under my guidance, Waitsburg Commercial Club will commit to the following: Digital and analog support of your events and promotions Fostering economic development through relationships with regional Chambers of Commerce, Waitsburg Business Park, Visit Walla Walla, Small Business Resource Center, Port of Walla...
To the Editor: I was disappointed as I read the article in last week’s edition addressing the controversy over the Dayton Public Library. I had hoped that at least local journalists still held to the principle of fair & balanced reporting. That article was anything but fair and balanced in my opinion. I don’t completely dispute the points made by the library director concerning free speech & availability of information, but more the way the parent(s) who are petitioning were characterized. It does not appear that anyone even contacted Jes...
Thank you sincerely for your expression of sympathy & kindness. It is deeply appreciated & will be remembered alwaysby the family of Betty Ann Fletcher...
Dear Editor, A mental health crisis, just like a physical health crisis, can be devastating for individuals, families, and communities. Over the last year, it is my understanding that our county contracted with Comprehensive Healthcare to provide crisis response/care. Our community’s current approach to crisis care has led to delays and denial of services that create undue burdens on the individual, our law enforcement emergency department, and our justice system. The current approach to Crisis Healthcare must be transformed, and I am requestin...
Substance abuse disorders pose a heavy societal burden, endangering individuals and families and sapping resources from healthcare and multi-disciplinary systems. It tears through communities impacting everyone. Historically most strategies for addressing substance use disorders have centered on punishment; we have known for decades that addiction is a medical condition, a treatable brain disorder, not a character flaw or a form of social deviance. The rising number of drug overdose deaths and the changing legal status of drugs pose new challen...
Dear Editor, Regarding efforts to defund the library, I question if the real reason is that “they” think the library has more reserves than needed, therefore, no more tax money should go to fund it? If that is the reason, then, in my opinion, the library board and the public should request a meeting with County Treasurer Carla Rowe. Have a conversation about expense versus income. Perhaps the portion of the property tax the library receives might be lowered, reducing reserves. I don’t know, but if I had a concern in that area, I’d ask questio...
To the Editor; Wow! Someone wants to defund and close the library. This is the best evidence yet of the necessity of the library in this community. Libraries are places of knowledge - and information we cannot always find within our families. Libraries have become a place of technology, making computers, fax machines, and scanners available to those without the resources to personally own this technology. If you’ve applied for a job in the last couple of decades, you know applications are completed and sent online. So are government p...
To the editor, I don’t discuss politics any more in situations where there will be nothing but an impasse and an argument. Call it avoiding the “elephant in the room” (or donkey, as the case may be), there are more important issues than complaining about things. Even the weather is a worthier topic of discussion because it affects us directly, and we can decide whether to throw a tarp or grab a lighter jacket. Einstein once said, “A problem cannot be solved at the level at which it originates.” I’m an average mathematician, but I get his sta...
