Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 5583
DAYTON – The Columbia Port Commissioners met at 5 p.m. on November 13, 2024, at the port’s conference room. Commissioners Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, Mike Spring, and the Executive Director, Jennie Dickinson, were present. Gerry Kaiser spoke during public comment, asking the commissioners to direct Dickinson and her staff to pursue state and federal grants to repair the port’s rail system. He said the federal government has given $150 million to nine municipalities in the state of Washington for rail improvements. Dickinson presented the month...
WASHINGTON — Every day, internet thieves make millions of attempts to take advantage of consumers online. Banks and other financial institutions warn their customers to be constantly aware of scams. They offer information on their websites and online help for customers who get unsolicited or confusing calls or emails from their banks. Three of the most common scams used by cybercriminals during the holidays are: Package Delivery Scams – An estimated three billion packages were shipped last holiday season. Package delivery is an opportunity for...
DAYTON - The Dayton Historic Depot Museum announced the return of the Holiday Market at the Depot during the town-wide Christmas Kick-Off event on Friday, November 29, and Saturday, November 30. This annual market will showcase handcrafted goods from local artisans and vendors, offering unique holiday gifts and treats for visitors of all ages. The Market at the Depot will feature local vendors offering handcrafted gifts, many priced under $40, making it the perfect opportunity for holiday...
WAITSBURG - The Waitsburg School District held its Veterans' Day program led by Music Director Elizabeth Arebalos-Jagelski on November 7, 2024. Interim Superintendent Dr. Carol Clarke opened the program, followed by students singing the Star-Spangled Banner during the Presentation of Flags. Student Body President Cedar Stegall gave a reading of the history of Veterans Day. Veterans, family, and community members enjoyed music performed by students under Jagelski's direction and a guest speaker...
Park and Recreation Pool levies in Prescott and Columbia CountyOLYMPIA, WA — The polls in Washington state closed at 8 p.m. on November 5. Updated results are available for : Columbia County at www.columbiaco.com/616/2024-General-Election, Walla Walla County Election Results are available at https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20240806/wallawalla/ Washington State, including all county results, are posted at https://results.vote.wa.gov/results/20241105/default.htm. Voters can check to see that their ballot has been processed for the election at...
DAYTON - The Liberty Theater and TVAC Productions will present "Fiddler on the Roof" premiering on November 14 and running through December 7, 2024. The musical is based on "Tevye and his Daughters" and other stories by Sholem Aleichem. Tevye, a poor dairyman in the village of Anatevka, tries to maintain his Jewish religious and cultural traditions as outside influences encroach upon his family's lives. With the help of a colorful and tight-knit Jewish community, Tevye tries to protect his five...
WALLA WALLA: The Walla Walla County Public Works crew was recognized by the American Public Works Association at its annual Night of Excellence Awards event on October 10. The crew received the Chapter Hero's Award from the APWA 's Washington chapter. Walla Walla's Lead Foreman, Tom White, and Administrative Services Supervisor, Amy Paolino, brought the city's public work crew's efforts to find a cost-effective, long-term solution to gravel road and pavement maintenance to the APWA's state...
WAITSBURG - Preston Hall Middle School held its Fall Sports, PRIDE, and Attendance Awards assembly on Thursday, October 24. The 2024 Cardinal Volleyball and football teams were introduced at the assembly and received recognition certificates. Many students received certificates for great attendance of 90% and excellence in attendance with 99% in September. and Alex Zuniga. PRIDE Awards for September: Preparedness Sixth Grade-Wyatt Parish, Seventh Grade-Flynn Richardson, Eighth grade-Sasha...
OLYMPIA — After unknown persons set off incendiary devices in several ballot boxes in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, last week, Washington voters are reminded to use the ballot tracker at https://voter.votewa.gov. The state website allows voters to register, check their registration data, and track their ballots. Ballots for the general election were mailed on Friday, October 18. Anyone who has not received their ballot can go to https://voter.votewa.gov to verify if and where a ballot was mailed. Walla Walla County voters s...
WAITSBURG - Waitsburg High School held homecoming activities during Spirt Week from October 14 – through 18. The 2025 seniors added some new class competition events for this year. The week started with America Day on Monday, and students and staff wore red, white, and blue. At the afternoon assembly, one student from each grade (9-12) donned a blowup costume and competed in a dance. Sophomore Trace Nesje was the winner, performing as an oversized alien. Junior Blake Benavides was a chicken, f...
WAITSBURG — At its meeting on October 16, the Waitsburg City Council voted unanimously to tear down the grandstands, announcer booth, and timing towers at the Waitsburg Fairgrounds. The council found the structures to be surplus and a safety hazard with no value to the city. Weller Public Library Supervisor Sarah Roberts presented an update to the council on the library. She said the interior has been repainted, material checkouts and foot traffic are up from past years, and money has been raised for programs, including the summer reading p...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met in the high school library at 6:30 p.m. on October 16, 2024. School Board Chair Jeffrey McCowen, board members Zac Fabian, Ryan Paulson, Superintendent Jeremy Wheatley, and Business Manager Jana Eaton were present. School board member Aneesha Dieu attended online, and Grant Griffin was absent. The board passed the consent agenda, which, among other things, approved hiring a Middle School Head Boys Basketball coach, accepting a donation of $450 for football helmets from Char and Michael Campbell, and r...
DAYTON — The Port of Columbia Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5 p.m. on October 9, 2024. Port Commissioners Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, Mike Spring, and Executive Director Jennie Dickinson were present. During public comment, Blue Mountain Action Council’s CEO, Danielle Garbe Reser, said she had hoped to be closing on the Knoblock Apartments property the next day; however, the deal fell through. The property’s owners had refused a two-month extension the Washington State Housing Finance Commission required to complete the fundi...
DAYTON — Mayor Roger Trump called the Dayton City Council to order at 6 p.m. on October 9, 2024. Trump and council members Teeny McMunn, Michael Smith, Kyle Anderson, James Su’euga, Laura Aukerman, Joann Patras, and Shannon McMillen were present at City Hall. Dayton resident Theresa Eier addressed the city’s contract renewal negotiations for law enforcement services with the county. She provided the council members with a detailed document with resources on the topic, which may encourage citizen participation. Sheriff Helm thanked local citiz...
WAITSBURG - The Plaza Theater, originally named The Neace Theater, was built in 1929. "The plaza is an especially fun place to hold our bluegrass concert event," said Touchet Valley Acoustic Music Project founder Kate Hockersmith. "It has great charm, acoustics and the history of the building is close to the history of bluegrass music which became popular with "Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys" in the early 1930s." This year, TVAMP brings BooGrass to the Plaza Theater on Sunday, October 27 at...
DAYTON — The Columbia County Parks and Recreation Pool District will host a town hall meeting to present and discuss the proposed excess levy on the November 2024 ballot. The public meeting will be held at the Dayton Multipurpose Room at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, October 16, 2024. The Parks and Rec commissioners encourage community members to come and learn first-hand about the proposed excess levy, ask questions, and have an open conversation about the pool district’s needs, goals, and pri...
DAYTON—The Dayton School Board met for a study session at the high school library at 6:30 p.m. on October 2, 2024. School Board Chair Jeffrey McCowen, board members Grant Griffin, Zac Fabian, Ryan Paulson, Aneesha Dieu, Superintendent Jeremy Wheatley, and Business Manager Jana Eaton were in attendance. The agenda consisted of two primary items: an introduction to the Policy Governance model and a WSSDA Board Self-Evaluation. Rick Maloney, a partner at Policy Governance Associates, presented how the Dieu asked Maloney why some districts that i...
WAITSBURG - The Weller Public Library has received an exhibit box from the Burke Museum at the University of Washington in Seattle. The museum loans Burke Boxes to libraries, classrooms, and families and contains museum-quality items highlighting the natural world and Washington's cultural heritage. The Waitsburg library has received the Burke Box on fish from the museum's life sciences collection. The box contains 15 specimen jars with fish, fish models, skeletons, scales, bones, and other...
WAITSBURG - The late Jim Hansen and his wife, Geraine, custom-harvested wheat and raised Black Angus on their family farm on the South Fork Coppei Creek from 1947 until the sale of the cropland in 2009. They harvested over 14,000 acres a summer for themselves and others in the area. Their enterprise employed 20 to 25 crew members each summer. Daughter Cheryl returned to the family home in 2017 to take care of Geraine. Honoring her family's history, Hansen renovated the property to create...
WAITSBURG — The Waitsburg School Board met at the elementary school library on September 19, 2024. Board Chair Stephanie Cole, directors Christy House, Charlie Barron, Abby Grende, and Interim Superintendent Carol Clarke were present. After Carol Clarke was sworn in as Interim Superintendent, Cole introduced Cedar Stengal as the student school board representative. Clarke gave the athletic director’s report, reporting on participation numbers for fall sports. HS football has 20 students, MS football has 12, and cheer has 14. High school vol...
DAYTON — The Dayton School Board met in the high school library at 6:30 p.m. on September 18, 2024. School Board Chair Jeffrey McCowen, board members Grant Griffin, Zac Fabian, Ryan Paulson, Superintendent Jeremy Wheatley, and Business Manager Jana Eaton were present. Aneesha Dieu attended online. The board approved the consent agenda, which included some administrative items and a recommendation to approve the donation of school supplies from the College Place Walmart. The ASB Treasurer, Tristan Rennaker, presented the ASB Report to the b...
WAITSBURG - Four teachers have joined the Waitsburg School District for the 2024-25 school year. Westin Wallace and Kim Hamann teach in the high school, Kimberly McNarland teaches physical education K-12, and Donovan Romero is a teacher at Preston Hall. Wallace graduated high school in the farming town of Toledo, Washington. He said he was proud that his father and grandfather still work on the family farm, like many families in Waitsburg. After high school, Wallace attended South Puget Sound Co...
WAITSBURG-Scouting is about kids, family, and community. Waitsburg and its surrounding area, including Dayton and Prescott, are fortunate to be the home of Scout Troop 337. Scoutmaster Justin Stegall, Assistant Scoutmaster Tim Hollingsworth, and Troop 337's committee members Jon Roberts, Sarah Roberts, Paul Mantz-Powers, and Brandi Hollingsworth have run the troop since restarting it in the spring of 2023. On Monday, September 30, 2024, the troop will host a Court of Honor ceremony and an Open...
WAITSBURG-The Waitsburg Commercial Club and Waitsburg Town Hall will host a Candidate Forum on Wednesday, September 25. The club invited all state and Walla Walla County candidates in the November 2024 election to participate. Before the forum begins, attendees will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with the candidates from 6:45 to 7:15 p.m. Virginia Romine and Joy Marie Smith will moderate this year's forum. At the time of publication, the following candidates have agreed to participate:...
DAYTON- Mayor Roger Trump called the Dayton City Council meeting to order at 6 p.m. on September 10, 2024. Trump and council members Teeny McMunn, Michael Smith, Kyle Anderson, James Su’euga, and Shannon McMillen were present at City Hall. City Council members Laura Aukerman and Joann Patras were absent. During the first public coamment period, Dayton resident Theresa Eier spoke on concerns over the city’s contract negotiations with Columbia County for policing services by the sheriff department. Sheriff departments in Washington state are mor...
