Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 426 - 450 of 625
Dear Editor, Just read on page 3 of the 12/5/18 Union Bulletin that after five years of controversy, the “Yakima City Council voted unanimously to follow the will of the people . . .” regarding a project. How many years has the discussion of the Waitsburg Fairgrounds Grandstand been ongoing? In April 2018, the majority of those voting in the city election voted for removal. Thank you Council Member Kevin House for supporting that advisory vote. Rather than support voters and the outcome of the advisory vote, the fate of the grandstand app...
A special thank you to the many friends of John Stellwagen. Our family wishes to thank you for your prayers, your many visits, and your many thoughtful and generous acts of kindness during his illness. John dearly loved this community. Our heartfelt thanks to all of you, The family of John Stellwagon...
Dear Editor, I am urging you to support Chuck Amerein for Columbia county commissioner. He will be a fresh new face in our county government. While experience is helpful, change is good too. I think we need Chuck. He has many qualities that will make for a good commissioner. Leadership – he commanded soldiers Decision Making – His decisions were life and death decisions Business – He has owned and operated 2 fitness businesses which involves people skills, perseverance and a work ethic. Currently he is a journeyman carpenter as well as an in...
Dear Editor, This current race for Sheriff has been contentious. Not necessarily between the two candidates, but amongst their supporters. Some of the more troubling attacks I’ve seen revolve around the support the deputies have shown for Mark Crider. In one previously published UB letter to the editor, a former sheriff’s deputy wrote about the unprofessionalism of the deputies for voicing their opinion on whom the next Sheriff should be. He stated there was “a great deal of quiet support” for Matt Stroe amongst the “professional” deputies. E...
Dear Editor, As the election is winding down, I would like to personally thank Matt. Being Matt’s pastor, I have had the honor to sit front row to this process from beginning to end with the family. I will always remember the conversation that we had when he felt the call to run for Sheriff. I asked him one simple question: Why? He responded: I feel called to serve. Although he was confident that God was leading him in this direction, he had his concerns. He knew the attacks would come against his character, against his family, against his f...
Dear Editor, I am writing to urge you to support Cathy Loftus Shochet for Columbia County Treasurer. Cathy has all the necessary experience to be the next Treasurer. She has been the Chief Deputy Treasurer for 3 years which makes her extremely well qualified to move up to the Treasurer position. She already knows all the routines and computer systems that are used in the Treasurers’ office so there would a seamless transition to Treasurer. Cathy recently received training in the new systems that will be implemented at the office. She has e...
Dear Editor, As the race for Walla Walla County Sheriff continues, I keep seeing and hearing how the Sheriff’s Office needs to go back to the way it was. Why would some of the citizens of Walla Walla County want the operations of the Sheriff’s Office to go backwards? Even though there have been changes at the Sheriff’s Office throughout the years, the last eight years have seen improvements that help serve the citizens of Walla Walla County better. Deputies have also benefited from this with more training, better equipment, hiring of quali...
Dear Editor, Awesome! I’m writing today to encourage you to support my nephew Dain Nysoe for Columbia County commissioner. Yesterday I was driving around and ended up at the ranch, the home where I grew up. It’s so beautiful here! Everywhere you look there is a panorama of color, blue sky, the mountains: it’s awesome. It’s great to be home: this is where the heart is. Dain grew up here too and he loves it like I do. One of my early memories of Dain is when he was a kid and I was driving wheat truck: he would flag me down, “Stop, stop, sto...
Dear Editor, I personally know three people, owners of businesses on Dayton’s Main Street, who left them—closed them or otherwise got out—to take jobs with public agencies that offered benefits that included health insurance. I also know three others--young, talented employees of Dayton businesses--who left those jobs to take employment with public agencies that offered benefits that included health insurance. And I count three storefronts on Dayton’s Main Street that were occupied by private sector businesses, but after lying empty for som...
Dear Editor, At the AAUW Candidates Forum in Dayton, both of the Columbia County Commissioner candidates appeared to be intelligent, conscientious and likeable citizens. The obvious and most important difference, however, was their level of administrative experience. The County Commissioner position is not a political position - - - it is an administrative position. Commissioners are expected to raise and wisely use funds from a variety of sources, administer a budget of about $15 million annually, manage a lot of county employees and their act...
Dear Editor, In these last few days before Election Day I’ve been thinking about respect. In a recent letter to the Union-Bulletin editor a man wrote that he didn’t think being a fighter pilot would make Mark Crider a better sheriff. Crider served this country for 10 years as a Naval aviator, commanding men & women and managing million-dollar budgets. He obeyed orders from superiors while looking out for the welfare of his troops. That is leadership, and that is what will make him a better sheriff than his opponent. Crider served his country in...
Dear Editor, I support Mark Crider for Walla Walla County Sheriff. I was born in Mexico and came to the United States in 1990 at the age of 10. I have lived in Walla Walla since 1992 and attended Walla Walla public schools; graduating in 1999 from WA-HI. As a legal resident, I served in the Marine Corps for four years and received an honorable discharge. After my enlistment, I worked 6 years for BMAC conducting community outreach work as a neighborhood organizer for Commitment to Community. I’ve worked as an intervention specialist at both E...
Dear Editor, For over two decades, I have watched my husband come home shift after shift, proud of the work he does as a Walla Walla County Sheriff’s deputy. I take seriously his career decisions because they affect his life in a way few outside law enforcement understand. Like the other wives whose husbands daily put their lives on the line for this county, I don’t stand behind my husband in support; I stand alongside him. That is why a group of us came together when we saw that Mark Crider was running for Sheriff and that our husbands wan...
Dear Editor, This election year we do not have an incumbent running for County Sheriff. This means that we have an open seat race, and that equates into an opportunity for the citizens of Walla Walla County. It means that it is an opportune time to change direction if needed, to improve and to strengthen what already is functional. To accomplish any of the above, a candidate must have a working knowledge of the needs, challenges and issues that have transpired in our local community. It will take a sense of history to know what needs to be...
Dear Editor, Sixteenth Legislative District Candidate Rebecca Francik, teacher and librarian, served on Pasco City Council: 1996-2017. She was: Mayor Pro Tem for more than 10 years; elected to the City Council five times as a nonpartisan. As a city council member, she worked for these projects: developing farm circles within Pasco’s urban growth boundary with the Department of Natural Resources; developing the Rivershore plan with the Port of Pasco; remodeling the Pasco Library and opening the West Pasco branch; expanding water and sewer s...
Dear Editor, In the present political climate, it is easy to become partisan and blindly vote for our chosen party. However, the work of a county commissioner is not driven by partisan ideology. Instead, professional experience, expertise, and the proven ability to listen and communicate are what create a strong commissioner. Dain Nysoe is the strongest candidate for Columbia County Commissioner. He has an educational background in economics and public administration, and he has taught business administration at the college level. He has...
Dear Editor, I have known Cathy McMorris Rodgers for much of my life, as my father, Perry Dozier, worked with Cathy when he was State officer for Washington Association of Wheat Growers, and later as Walla Walla County Commissioner. She is a leader that I have looked up to becoming one day. Her knowledge, attention to detail, innovation, and leadership make her the reasons why the 5th district needs her. When it comes to being an advocate for education, Cathy is the leader of the charge. I was fortunate to interact with her when I was a leader...
Dear Editor, It’s not just showing up to events to introduce yourself to just a few at community events, but rather it is complete community involvement in youth activities, church, community service, and school events that make an individual have a keen awareness of their community. Matt Stroe is that person. After raising my family in this community, I understand the importance of what Matt says: “It takes a village to raise a child.” Matt has involved himself on every level of community connection, and that is why he understands best the c...
Dear Editor, I consider both of the candidates for Walla Walla County Sheriff to be friends of my family. Anyone who believes either candidate is steering any supporter to lead a negative campaign does not know these men. Both men are good guys with good hearts. Because of the aforementioned friendships, it’s uncomfortable to publicly endorse one of the candidates. However, as a Deputy’s wife, I understand the tremendous responsibility on the person who ultimately will become Sheriff. If I take emotion out of this process, then it is clear to...
Dear Editor, We live in dangerous times. Law enforcement is a much more challenging profession than it used to be. When I got out of the Navy and began my first day at the Walla Walla Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 1, 1976, I was issued a Smith & Wesson Model 10 civil defense pistol and sent off to work the fair. By the time I retired 37 1/2 years later, our whole world had changed. The technology, legal constraints, and violence in society are daunting. As of Oct. 4, 41 U.S. law enforcement officers have been killed in 2018. There is no room l...
Dear Editor, As an elected official or department head, you are not only a leader of your department, but you also set the tone of the employees within your department. As a past Walla Walla County Commissioner, I have worked closely with all (12) elected officials and numerous department heads on all aspects ranging from budgets, union negotiations to employee issues. Just as in contract negotiations or budgetary issues, emotions can become heated. This election of Walla Walla County Sheriff has demonstrated this same atmosphere. As a Whitman...
Dear Editor, I am writing to urge voters in Columbia County to support Dain Nysoe in the race for county commissioner (District 3). I met Dain and his wife shortly after we moved here 10 years ago. I know him to be a man of honesty and utmost integrity. Dain has deep roots in this community and his family farming experience puts him in a position to understand and support the needs of our local farmers. He also has life experiences outside the area, including military service and multiple positions of leadership in other communities. He showed...
Dear Editor, The general election is just around the corner. The ballots will be mailed out on October 19th, so we will be receiving them in our mailboxes soon. Much has been said about both candidates for Sheriff; much has been discussed on social media. I’m the type of person who checks for himself and only uses what people say to start my fact checking. I had the luxury of being in on the interview process when the position of Undersheriff was selected. I heard from all the candidates, and Mark Crider’s honesty, dedication, training, abi...
Dear Editor, If you live in Columbia County’s 3rd district, you may have had the opportunity to meet Dain Nysoe as he and his wife, Claudia go door to door speaking to voters. Dain doesn’t do this just to talk you into voting for him, but because he genuinely wants to know what issues Columbia County cares about. He knows that talking to voters is the only way to enact change that matters to us when he’s in office. It’s easy to feel voiceless in our government, but Dain recognizes that he will be the voice in county government for all the con...
Dear Editor, I am endorsing Skyler Rude for 16th District State Representative and urging you to vote for him in November. For the past four years, Skyler Rude has served as a legislative assistant in both the House and Senate for Senator Maureen Walsh. During his tenure, he has had the opportunity to familiarize himself with the people and issues facing the 16th district and the state of Washington. I have had numerous opportunities to work with Skyler the past four years. He is dedicated to serving the citizens of the 16th district. I...
