Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 2512 - 2536 of 5637
DAYTON--Patricia Sacha, Blue Mountain Station Marketing Manager has announced new plans for daily lunches at the market. "Our goal is to have soup, salad and sandwiches, and there may be occasional special items," said Sacha. "We'll use as much local ingredients as we can." Mary's Candy's and Catering had been providing lunches to the market, but they have closed their business. A new group of volunteers will be working out of the commercial kitchen at BMS to provide lunches during the days the...
WAITSBURG -- Council Members KC Kuykendall, Terry Jacoy, Kevin House, Jim Romine, Kate Hockersmith and Mayor Marty Dunn were all present. The maintenance needs of the city’s fire-hydrant system were discussed. While no action was taken, it was noted that the water line would eventually need to be upsized and the hydrants replaced in order to ensure that engines don’t use up water faster than the hydrants can produce it. A payment order for work on the Main Street Bridge was approved una...
WAITSBURG -- "A-W-A-N-A! I'm gonna build my life God's way!" chanted the autotuned voices of children over Waitsburg Christian Church's loudspeakers. On July 17, a small crowd of community members listened in the pews, tapping their toes or following along with the lyrics on a projector screen. If Naomi Long gets her way, that song will blast through the church's sanctuary every Thursday night, and the crowd will be a lot bigger – and a lot younger. Long and her husband, David, are hoping to b...
DAYTON— At their July 18 meeting, the Dayton School Board adopted the district’s 2018-19 budget, which was based on a conservative estimate for student enrollment for next year of 394. At that meeting, Business Manager Paula Moisio said the district is on track to end the 2017-18 schoolyear with close to $400,000, which will be “depleted considerably” due to a $223,501 budget deficit for next year. Moisio said, “We will definitely be tightening up our belts, in every area we can. Then it will be open to ‘wait and see,’ until we get to mid-year....
LYONS FERRY – The sixth annual Swim the Snake event will be held at Lyons Ferry Marina and Lyons Ferry State Park on Aug, 11, beginning at 11 a.m. In addition to the non-competitive open-water swim, the event will also include a two-stage, competitive (or non-competitive) relay, paddling in a kayak or paddle-board. Participants will go from Lyons Ferry Marina to Lyons Ferry State Park, across Lake Bryan on the Snake River. Upon arrival at Lyons Ferry State Park, paddlers can enter the water or tag-team with their “paired swimmer” and swim back...
DAYTON--Dan and Ginny Butler have announced a name change for Dayton’s new after school program, from “Boys & Girls Club of Dayton,” to “The Club.” They said they are taking the “best practices” of Boys and Girls Clubs into the daily operations and moving forward, which will allow for added flexibility to act immediately on community interests for the local youth. “The Boys and Girls Club of Spokane has helped by advising us to this date,” the Butlers said. “While our intent has always been to be a Boys and Girls Club in Dayton, we feel to...
OLYMPIA – Waitsburg City Councilmember KC Kuykendall breathed a sigh of satisfaction in April when the Washington State Public Works Board approved 12 jurisdictions for approximately $6 million in low-interest pre-construction loans for 2018. This is the first time in five years the board has had state funds to issue loans. Now the City is hopeful that the Taggart Road Project will be among those projects first in line for subsequent approvals. Kuykendall, who serves on the Board of Directors f...
DAYTON--The Columbia County Commissioners have placed an immediate six-month emergency moratorium on new marijuana production, processing and sales in the county. The moratorium will give the County Planning Commission time to address deficiencies within the Columbia County Code, according to Planning Director Meagan Bailey, speaking at the regular commissioners’ meeting on Monday. A public hearing on June 28 regarding a request from Walla Walla resident Meri Bush for a conditional use permit to open and operate the county’s first grow fac...
DAYTON—At the regular meeting of the Dayton City Council on July 11, the council approved the following: Resolution No. 1345, Certifying that the city meets the requirements to apply and accept a public works assistance account low-interest loan for wastewater treatment facility land acquisition for up to $1 million. Repayment of the loan will be built into the rate structure, which could be spread over as little as five years, or up to 20 years, said City Administrator Trina Cole. Cole said that if no land is found for the treatment plant the...
STARBUCK-When Steve and Teri Klonz, of Seven K's Enterprises, took over as concessionaires at Lyons Ferry Marina KOA last year, Wally and Joanne Knouf were the work campers for the Klonz's predecessors, Jim and Angela McArthur, who were retiring. The Knoufs were then hired by Seven K's Enterprises to manage the day to day operations of the facilities. Steve Knouf said that he and Teri had an early opening this year, and it has been busy so far. "It's a whole new experience. We're still learning...
STARBUCK-Phil Farmer, CEO of Columbia Straw Supply, said he and business partner, CFO Ben Rankin, were brought in on the straw supply side of Columbia Pulp's business by its CEO, John Begley, four years ago. Farmer said the principals knew, early on, there could be a logistical nightmare for rounding up 500,000 bales of straw each year, having it delivered to the scale, storing it, moving it around, and turning it into a continuous feed for the pulp mill. "The intent in creating Columbia Straw w...
As a bread maker, I've never given much thought to what types of wheat make what kind of flour. My use of baking flour consists of going to the store and getting all-purpose flour and occasionally, venturing out to whole wheat flour. My knowledge of wheat was simply watching the hills go from green to gold. Until last year, I did not know how the wheat got into the grain elevators, visualizing some huge vacuum that took it from the truck to those large cylinders. The business side of me...
By Scott Yates Scott Yates is the director of communications and producer relations for the Washington Grain Commission Eastern Washington's warm days and cool nights allow farmers to grow five of the six classes of wheat raised in the United States: Soft white, hard red winter, hard red spring, hard white and durum. The only class not grown in Washington is soft red winter, a type of wheat mainly found east of the Mississippi River. The predominant wheat class grown in Washington – about 77% o...
Last year, when I talked to ladies about harvest and cooking, I missed Barbara Cockburn Danforth, as she was not available. Her daughter, Susie Payne, shared that her mom was brought up in the days of mules pulling the harvest equipment, so I was looking forward to hearing about those times. As one who didn't live through those times, I'm always impressed at how much work they did and how little they complained. Barbara told me her folks (Jack and Ada Cockburn) moved to Waitsburg in 1928, and...
POMEROY--The Columbia Pulp Pilot Plant, located at the Port of Garfield in Pomeroy, is a hub of activity. "It's busy here, which is good. It's what we want," said Kyler Lovgren, maintenance manager at the plant. Lovgren said that about 20 people are currently working at the pilot plant. "It's moving fast. A couple of months ago we had hardly any equipment, and now it looks like this," he said pointing to all of the workers and complicated machinery. So far, Lovgren said, there have been no...
DAYTON-The Dayton School Board has approved Superintendent Doug Johnson's recommendation of Kristina Brown for Dayton Middle and High School Principal. "Kristina has a strong desire to support teachers as they seek instruction strategies...I believe Kristina will be a strong member of our school team," said Johnson. Board President Dan Butler said Brown was one of a field of 10 candidates for the position. He said three candidates were interviewed, with two advancing to the final interviews on...
WAITSBURG – Waitsburg Planning Commission Chair Karen Gregutt reminded City Council members at their June 20 regular council meeting that a full review of the city's comprehensive plan and development regulations is just around the corner. She said the commission is hoping for strong public participation throughout the process. "It's a very extensive effort. We need people to roll up their sleeves and participate in order to have a very proactive, citizen-based and robust advisory committee," G...
DAYTON – The Dayton Historical Depot Society’s annual Evening at the Depot Auction will be held on August 4, with a social hour and music by Bobby K and Mike McQuary on the Depot’s courtyard at 6 p. m. The live auction will begin at 7 p. m. McDonald Zaring Insurance is providing wine by Dumas Station, microbrew by Chief Springs Fire and Irons, and hors d’oeuvres catered by Grassroot Gourmet. This year’s major auction package is five nights at a Samish Island private waterfront vacation home, for up to six adults in three bedrooms, and with...
By Clint Atteberry, Columbia County Planning and Building Dept. DAYTON -- Sight distance standards help provide safety for vehicles entering roadways from side roads, driveways, parking lots and alleys. Vegetation should be pruned and trimmed for visibility first, and tree health and aesthetics second. Vegetation that obstructs motorist and/or pedestrian view of traffic signs or signals, or obstructs a public facility, should also be trimmed. It is the duty of the property owner of the abutting property to keep the trees on, or overhanging the...
WAITSBURG – After 20 years as a member of the Waitsburg School Board, Dr. Randy Pearson has stepped down, leaving a vacant seat which the district is trying to fill. The reason for his resignation? Pretty simple, he says: "I don't reside in the school district anymore, so I can't legally be on the board. Otherwise, I'd probably still be there." "It is bittersweet," he added. "We love Waitsburg, and we have a lot of friends here. I grew up here, and I raised all my kids here, and it's a bitterswe...
DAYTON-The Columbia County Sheriff's Office has a new deputy in the making. Since he was hired on July 1, 32-year-old Caesar Rivera said he has been getting to know the ropes. "It feels good," he said. "I'm trying to remember names." Rivera is a 2002 graduate of Pasco High School and attended Columbia Basin College in 2005-06. When he was a student at CBC, his uncle, Jesse Romero, who is a Pasco Police Dept. detective, suggested he try a career in law enforcement. Rivera said after a ride along...
DAYTON – The annual Dayton High School Alumni Weekend is coming up on July 20 and 21. Several classes will be holding reunions that weekend, along with the traditional parade on Saturday morning, and many other activities. Longtime DHS Alumni Association members Dell and Phil Groom will serve as parade marshals. The Alumni Association is also giving special recognition to Dayton native Eulalie Schreck, who will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of her 1938 DHS graduation. The Alumni Association has announced some important changes from its p...
