Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 193 - 217 of 2504
Dear Editor, After Dayton City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 12th, I sent a letter to Mayor Weatherford and the council asking the following questions: Is there an alternative plan to bring our city into compliance for wastewater treatment? Will implementing a different solution take longer than continuing with the plan that was in place? How much money has the city spent in developing the plan that was just voted down? When considering the time and money that has been put into the research and planning of this project, what is the advantag...
To the Editor, I am writing to express my support for the building of the trail. I have reviewed the plans and am encouraged by what the engineers and designers have envisioned – and the accommodations that have been made to address the concerns of community members that live along the proposed trail. Dedicated bike and hike trails are so much safer for those of us that at times choose alternative means of transportation. The trail will make it much safer for young and old alike to get about parts of town and the valley. The fact that the b...
To the Editor, I have volunteered and worked in many capacities in Columbia County. In those positions, I have attended many workshops and conferences in other small communities in the Pacific Northwest and have met many community leaders who touted the benefits of recreation in their own communities. They knew the positive impacts. I’ve always dreamed of a Columbia County filled with brown signs directing locals and visitors to hike, bike, fish, swim, camp, etc. We have so much to offer. How does it benefit our community? Studies show that hav...
To the Editor, What is freedom? It is defined as ‘the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action’ - For most of us it means the right and privilege to live our lives OUR WAY without others telling us what we can or cannot do. And if we do that without causing harm to others, that is exactly what should be happening in our community. However, it feels less and less free as we deal with the consequences of recent elections. We have ideology driven elected officials that hold a world view that isn’t based on freedom, yet t...
To the editor, Countless hours have been spent by numerous Touchet Valley Trail supporters and the Stakeholder Committee in work on the planning process of the Touchet Valley Trail. That planning process included much time spent evaluating any community concerns and wishes and incorporating as many ideas as possible into the Trail plan. The investment of hours, time and money was made because of the proven economic and health benefits of a trail. Small, rural downtowns survive on the largesse and support of their community and residents...
As a former educator, I am very concerned about the conflict regarding the Proposed Daycare Center. Of course, there is a need for one or more day care centers with over 340 children under the age of 8 within our community. The Port’s mission statement says its responsibility is, “to maximize public resources and private investment, create jobs, provide infrastructure, and maintain and improve the economic vitality of Columbia County and its communities”. The Port Commissioners are not doing their job with obstructing the proposal as it is ob...
To the Editor and the Public, Columbia County Commissioner, Chuck Amerein, continues to show his hypocrisy with public statements. The cases in point are fear, government overreach, and indoctrination. Several weeks ago, Commissioner Amerein stated in a commissioner's meeting that The Club (a nonprofit afterschool program for kids in our community) was not worthy of public funds, in his opinion, because they do not show sufficient patriotism by flying the American flag. The money being requested was from the Juvenile Justice Fund, which is not...
The Henze Family has three generations of Columbia-Walla Walla County Fire District 2 firefighters. Dane Henze is a volunteer firefighter/EMT for our local department, following in the footsteps of his late grandfather Carl Henze and (now retired) uncle Neil Henze. Dane’s cousin Samantha (Henze) Shafer also served in Waitsburg. We love our department. Seeing a lack of “sufficient volunteer base” in our town is heartbreaking, and I’m thankful for Beka Compton’s call-to-action story in last week’s edition. Our volunteer firefighters are heroes....
Letter to the Editor: Per the question of whether a daycare facility might be sited at Port of Columbia land, Commissioners Watts and Bryan resisted the idea that such a facility is suitable for a site more appropriately reserved for more traditional business development. That is a reasonable discussion, although there are many of us who see a daycare facility as providing not only jobs at the facility, but more importantly allowing single parents and working couples to stay in the local work force. However, it was clear from his public...
Dear Waitsburg, We are all grieving for the people of Ukraine. What can we do? Individually? As a community? Along with so many of you, we in the Christian Church and the Presbyterian Church have been asking ourselves this. Our churches have determined a particular focus to our giving. This is being guided by our connection to the Monfort family. Phil and Jeanetta’s daughter and son in law, Sarah and Alister Torrens, along with their children, Saphira and Thaddaeus, have for years been in ministry in Kyiv. (They are now out of the country.) M...
Dear Editor As if the attack on Ukraine by Russia hasn’t been immoral enough, the violation of the cease-fire in the independent area of Donetsk where 260,000 civilians are trying to escape through Volnovaksha or Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, has been criminal. Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, has remained in Ukraine with his wife and two kids. He may have been a stand-up comic and played the president of his country in a comic series (before he became the democratically actual president of his country), but he has proven to be no joke. Putin bla...
To the Editor, In response to Chuck Amerin’s comments at the school board meeting published in February 24, 2022 TheTimes, I would like to propose some thoughts. I think it is presumptuous to think that people/children were only wearing masks out of fear. They are wearing masks to prevent illness, in consideration for themselves and others, and because that was the mandate. In regard to suggesting that this was telling children “You shouldn’t be smart, you shouldn’t think critically, you just do what you’re told,” well some of that is part of...
Dear Editor In the last two weeks, I have read two articles in The Times quoting Columbia County Commissioner Chuck Amerein, each of them a complete contradiction to the other. In the first article, “Commissioners approve $5,000 grant to The Club” printed Feb. 17,2022, Commissioner Amerein seems to suggest that funding could be withheld from this organization because they do not show sufficient patriotism by flying the American flag. He did not address the fact that The Club is a private non-profit organization providing a much-needed ser...
Dear Editor Regarding the February 9th meeting of the Commissioners of the Port of Columbia, as reported by Justin Jaech in the Waitsburg Times, “Port Commissioners Delay Decision on Childcare Proposal.” The purpose of the Port is to “work to create an environment that is attractive to business and industry. The Port of Columbia serves as the lead Economic Development agency for Columbia County, and uses infrastructure development, real estate management, transportation, small business assistance, and community outreach to create such an enviro...
To the Editor; In a recent County Commissioner’s meeting The Club requested a grant of $5,000. The Club is an organization that is filling a need in the community – they are teaching social and emotional learning, personal responsibility, and positive relationships with peers and adults, among other things. As an additional requirement of this grant being approved Mr. Amerein wants them to fly the flag – as he puts it, “What we are talking about right now, today, is the donation of public funds, from a public that feels a certain way about p...
Dear Waitsburg School District families and community: On behalf of the Waitsburg School Board of Directors and our entire school staff, I want to thank you for your unfailing support in ensuring our community’s children have the education and resources they deserve. With the passage of our district’s 2022 Educational Programs & Operations replacement levy, we will be able to continue to provide vital programming over the next two years for our students that basic education funding from the state does not cover. These essential programs fun...
Dear Editor, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to friends, The Times, Ten Ton Coffee, The Royal Block, and to The Times readership who inspire my writing habit. Your support through the release of my first book, Wingshooting the Palouse, has been humbling. The signing event hosted by The Royal Block last week will not likely be topped. I appreciate being a part of this community and all you do to make it great! Bradly A. Trumbo Dayton, Wash....
Reader Question: The very first thing I read each week upon receipt of the WT is 'Pioneer Portraits'. I always find it interesting and sometimes humorous. My curiosity was piqued with the 2-5-1897 report of Miss Cynthia Russell, committed to the insane asylum due to reading 'so many trashy novels'. Whatever became of Miss Russell? Or the family? As one suspected of occasionally reading a trashy novel or two, I'm curious as to the outcome of this sad event. Many thanks for publishing the always...
Character assassination? Let’s examine what character assassination looks like. During the last campaign, followers of your conservative group used images of me in the Sheriff’s Office to depict me as rummaging through the desks of deputies and stealing. This was deliberate and calculated. It was so egregious that our Sheriff and our Prosecuting Attorney had to issue a community wide statement correcting the attack on me. It was done to show me in a less than honest light, to attack my reputation and character. So please, spare me the whi...
Letter to Editor When recruiting new businesses or new community members, it is important to have several critical tools in your economic development toolbox; for Waitsburg Commercial Club, one of the tools that make Waitsburg a great place to work and live is our award-winning school district. On February 8, a Replacement Levy is on the ballot to maintain school programs and services that are not covered by state funding. This is not a new tax; it will replace the existing tax of approximately $3.50 per thousand dollar property assessed...
Dear Editor: In response to Vicki Zoller’s letter to ‘The Times’ on January 6, 2022... I was disheartened to see that mudslinging and character assassination were used to undermine Commissioner Charles Amerein’s posture regarding the broadband project. I heard Commissioner Amerein’s position statement on that, and it is apparent to me that Ms. Zoller is not being forthright in her depiction of it. Missing were statements made by Commissioner Amerein regarding the source of funding for said project, i.e....CARES act/ARPA funds. Commissio...
Letter to the Editor - I am writing to say THANK YOU to the two Columbia County Commissioners, Marty Hall, and Ryan Rundell, who stood up for their community now and for the future, by voting yes to provide money for the broadband project in our county. The launch of this project is critical to our community. Commissioners Hall and Rundell understand that. They see the importance of the project, and they see the future that so many in the community can see. So, again, thank you for resolving this prior to the year’s end. I am disappointed b...
Letter to the Editor - I am writing in support of our Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Joe Helm has created a strong team of Deputies that choose to serve and protect our county. THANK YOU ALL! It’s always easy to boo and hiss from the cheap seats. It’s always easy to hide behind a keyboard and post inflammatory statements or outright lies to social media. It’s easy to cherry pick incidents and use those random incidents to display law enforcement in a bad light. I rarely see those same people sharing all the positive deeds perform...
Dear Editor, Thanks to all those folks who helped clear and then reconstruct safe access to the library from the rear of the building. Fanny Weller originally donated the Bruce House for a City library, and is now remembered in the sculpture with children out front of the current library. I’m sure she would have appreciated their efforts. Sincerely, Roger Hevel...
Dear Editor: Each Thanksgiving it is important to pause and reflect on all that we have to be grateful for. Especially over the last nearly two years of COVID, we at the UW School of Medicine-Gonzaga University Health Partnership appreciate and are very thankful for the physicians and healthcare workers in Waitsburg, Dayton, Clarkston, and Pomeroy, who, despite unprecedented stress and hardship, continued to train our medical students. We desperately need more high-quality, well-trained physicians and we simply could not do it without the...
