Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 401 - 425 of 625
Editor, In an October 13, 2019 Walla Walla Union Bulletin article outlining various candidates in the upcoming election, Dain Nysoe, incumbent candidate for Position 4 on Dayton City Council, had various comments on the proposed Touchet Valley Trail. I encourage you to read the full article for additional context, but among Nysoe’s comments was the following quote: “It’s a new idea, so some have expressed their opposition to the idea, and have either misunderstood the scope of the plan, or are just closed minded to new ideas.” The “scope...
Dear Editor, I was proud to run for Congress last year to stand up for my community. I’m so thankful to all of you who supported me with your donations, your time, and your kind words. I’m reaching out today because there is another important fight on your ballot this November. Initiative 1000/Referendum 88 is our best chance in two decades to end our state’s regressive ban on affirmative action and restore fairness and opportunity to all Washingtonians. As a higher education leader in Spokane, I saw firsthand the benefit that diversity has i...
Dear Editor, Thank you Everett Maroon for a detailed letter to the editor informing readers of the history of police deliberating on providing Narcan to victims of opioid overdoses. This will be instructive and helpful information as Waitsburg moves forward in broadening improved public health services to citizens. Terry Lawhead, Waitsburg...
My name is Katie Leid and I am running for re-election to Dayton School Board, position #4. For those of you who are not familiar with me, I grew up in the Touchet Valley, graduated from Waitsburg High School, married my childhood sweetheart, followed and helped him receive his college and advanced degrees, raised two very successful children and completed my education at Washington State University over twenty years ago. We moved back “home” when I accepted the elementary/middle school principal’s position in Dayton in July, 2003. After an ama...
Ballots to vote for the next Mayor of Dayton will be arriving in the mail very soon. If you have not become informed regarding each candidate’s qualifications, I encourage you to do so. Too often in today’s society, elected officials are placed in their positions based on popularity or the likability factor, not based on the person with the best qualifications. Just because a person is your friend doesn’t make them the best person for the job. Dayton residents have three candidates willing to put their names forward for a job often met with...
Dear Editor: Last week’s column (Turn America’s innovators loose on greenhouse gases – Don Brunell) began with a limp denial of the consequences of greenhouse gases and proceeded to use decades old unscientific information from around the world to, as far as I could tell, justify the author’s faulty claim that innovation in America is being stifled by his catch-all word, “government”. On the contrary, America’s entrepreneurs have never been busier at inventing new products as have other global innovators living under other governments....
Hi, my name is Rod Johnson and my wife Lisa and I moved here to Waitsburg back in January. I have been told that in Waitsburg you are still new in town until the 2nd or 3rd generation. So I guess we are really new. Now I was actually born in Dayton, and while we moved away when I was an infant, we moved back when I was a teenager and I was there through my early twenties. Now I'm back and we love it here. We have been warmly welcomed here, and I have to say that the folks around here are super...
Dear Editor: I appreciated the side by side editorials in the recent Times and hope readers felt the friction of perspectives. Business pundit Don Brunell applied his predictable economic views to praise two controversial industries, forest management and railroads while heartbroken Swedish climate change spokesperson Greta Thunberg chastised politicians for their longstanding negligence. Brunell declares the success of his highlighted industries but laments their ‘story’ is not better publicized although I am certain that expensive public rel...
I would like to take this opportunity to show my support for Byron Kaczmarski and Dain Nysoe who are both seeking to serve the Dayton City Council for another term. I have served on council as well as the finance committee with both of these men and have found them to be very well informed on the issues. I believe that every decision they made is made with the best interest of the citizens of Dayton in mind. The have had to make many tough decisions and those decisions have been made with thoughtfulness and integrity. For these reasons I will...
Dear Editor and Waitsburg City Leaders, There are many arguments for keeping City Hall where it is, and the same can be said for moving to the former Jehovah’s Witness location. Most for keeping the current location deal with historical issues/opinions rather than practical ones, though this would not be the first time City Hall has been re-located. One of the arguments against moving has been the risk of another flood. My guess is adequate storage of records could be found to keep them safe in the event of another major flood. If there is a n...
Dear Editor: In response to the Letter to the Editor submitted by Melissa Bryan and Caitlyn Robins regarding the Dayton Chamber of Commerce board, I would like to share my experience and what I have observed. Melissa Bryan was, by far, the most difficult chamber director in over 28 years. Working for Bette Lou Crothers (Chamber Board Member), we have taken on many extra duties during All Wheels Weekend and the months preceding. These duties include stuffing packets, stamping, folding, selling shirts/merchandise/raffle tickets, and helping with...
Dear Editor, Waitsburg is called, “One of a Kind”, and from the turnout of volunteers for this year’s Traffic Safety Coalition/the Department of Walla Walla County Community Health Bicycle Rodeo, I couldn’t agree more. Except this year we were joined by many other groups in the area. Volunteers included: The Bicycle Barn, The Christian Motorcycle Association Bikers in Prayer, The Waitsburg Resource Center (Food Bank), The Waitsburg Christian and Presbyterian churches, State Patrol Officer Grandstaff, the Waitsburg School District, parents...
Dear Times Staff, Please note the change of address as of August 1. I am writing to tell you how much I am enjoying the newspaper since you have taken it over. What a great job you are doing. The layout is beautiful, and the content is so thoughtful. There is a wonderful energy to the paper now which is reflective of the people that live in the area. My family had a real presence on Main Street and in the area when we lived there. My mom and dad had the TV/electronics shop in the Plaza, the first cable TV to people. The speakers on top of the...
Dear Editor, Saturday June 8th, I was in Waitsburg for a memorial service at the Catholic Church. I parked behind the church in front of the Richardson’s home. After the service, I was walking to my car and noticed 3 dogs, a Labrador, a German Shepherd, & a Pit Bull, in the fenced yard across the street at 270 W 6th Street. They started barking and running along the fence. I was ignoring them but wanted to be aware of them as well. The pit bull was at the side of the house and started running toward the fence, but instead of stopping, the d...
Waitsburg High School National Honor Society Advisor Liv Leid shared this recently received email from the American Red Cross, regarding the recent NHS blood drive with The Times readers. Dear National Honor Society, Thank you for coordinating the Monday, April 29, 2019 blood drive. We are very pleased with the drive overall, and the willingness of the donors to share this life saving gift. The efforts of the Waitsburg Community have always been greatly appreciated and their support of the community blood program will go a long way toward...
Dear Editor, The April 17, 2019 now deceased shooter in Lewiston, Idaho was in Idaho from Washington under the terms of an interstate compact, because he had numerous previous felony convictions. Dispatchers noted Cook had recently been hospitalized on a mental hold but had left against doctor’s wishes and made threats to law enforcement. Cook was prohibited from owning a firearm and had a number of criminal convictions, many involving violence. He was convicted in October 2016 of unlawful possession of a firearm and sentenced to one to two y...
Dear Editor, I hope the voters that elected Senator Maureen Walsh are paying attention to her behavior in the Washington Legislative chamber. Lawmakers are expected to be well informed about current issues. Senator Walsh presents a confused understanding of the nursing profession and how healthcare is organized in Washington State. Erik Jonas, RN...
Dear Editor, This is being written in support of our latest Assistant Librarian Shakira Bye, who was recently fired from the job on a serious accusation and for which there is no evidence. We have been told that her dismissal is the ninth such in the last four years. People are asking, why have so many have been let go. These are expensive personnel hirings, and terminations are so damaging. Most of these workers were not given cause. Of course none is required in WA and apparently, none of them really complained, quietly letting it go and...
Dear Editor, Can it be! 30 years flood again? They are predicting cold weather into mid-March. At that time of the year there will be no gradual warmup und the temperature will turn to the 70s overnight. The mountains are full of snow along with all the farmland, add a week of rain, a chinook in the mountains - instant flood. Are you prepared? Is the city prepared? Hope so! Thirty years ago there were three breakouts on the Coppei. FEMA fixed two and I told them about the third above me, but they said they didn’t have the money to fix it. W...
Dear Editor, I am writing to thank Waitsburg residents for sharing the true meaning of Christmas with children in need this past holiday season. Because of the generosity of donors in Waitsburg and across the United States, Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, collected more than 8.8 million shoeboxes in 2018. Combined with those collected from partnering countries in 2018, the ministry is now sending more than 10.6 million shoebox gifts to children suffering from poverty, natural disasters, war, disease and famine. These...
Dear Editor, Has anyone noticed the paradox Waitsburg City Council proposes? It appears ridiculous to me for the City to consider abandoning its offices and functions at its present site in order to relocate to the “Kingdom Hall” the Jehovah Witnesses have put up for sale. Now Council is fussing over what to do about vacant commercial buildings on Main Street. To move City Hall to a location adjacent to the park and swimming pool directly places our local government in a known flood path. Recall that the JW’s building received signi...
Thanks to the Wildhorse Foundation, The Club in Dayton has an improved kitchen. A $13,095 grant from Wildhorse Foundation awarded in December provided for a new floor, new stainless-steel dish washing sinks, wall repairs and a home style cooking range. These improvements will allow the Columbia County Health District to provide cooking classes to members this spring. Thanks to our responsive contractors, the improvements were made during the holiday break so that club programming was not affected. This is the second grant provided to The Club...
Dear Editor: According to 2017 FBI Crime in the United States (https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-11.xls) the following murders were committed by the means listed: 15,129—Total murder victims 7,032—Handguns 1,591—Knives or cutting instruments 692—Personal weapons (hands, fists, feet, etc.) 467—Blunt objects (clubs, hammers, etc.) 403—Rifles 264—Shotguns Recently-passed Initiative 1639 placed great emphasis on so-called “semi-automatic assault rifles” yet murders committed...
Dear Editor: The theme of the December 27 City Council discussion about the Parks and Rec Committee and the preservation or demolishing of the Fairground’s grandstands seems to be spiraling down to a silo view of Waitsburg events and continuing program of work. We have an event, Waitsburg Celebration Days, that has been successfully implemented and been a benefit to promoting Waitsburg and Waitsburg businesses that seems to be overlooked in a determination to save the grandstands. Waitsburg Celebration Days is utilized as a promotional tool y...
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...
