Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 306
DAYTON—The Dayton School Board met for its regular meeting at 6:03 p.m., July 20, 2022. School board members Zac Fabian, Grant Griffen, Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Korinda Wallace, and Superintendent Rich Stewart were present at the auditorium. Aneesha Dieu attended on Zoom. The regular meeting followed a budget hearing held at 5 p.m. The board began the meeting by approving the Consent Agenda. During the public comment period, Jeremy Trump, a parent, and member of the Dayton-Waitsburg Athletic Combine Committee spoke. “Thank you for the opp...
DAYTON--Diane McKinley, representing the Advisory Committee for the Friends of the Community Pool, was a special guest at the Dayton City Council meeting last week. The Advisory Committee is seeking a resolution from the council to place a proposition on the November ballot asking voters to approve the formation of a nonfunded county-wide Metropolitan Park and Recreation District. If the proposition is approved, grants will be sought to build the pool, and the District will then ask voters to...
DAYTON--Jim Su'euga was appointed to Position 2 on the Dayton City Council at last week's regular meeting. He applied for the city council position to serve the community. Su'euga said he would be a good steward of community resources and act with integrity. Su'euga told the council that his method of handling conflict and controversy is to "talk it out" without being confrontational, polarizing, or divisive. His top priorities for the community are moving forward with the wastewater treatment...
DAYTON – The Columbia Port Commissioners held their regular meeting at 5:00 p.m., July 13, 2022, at the Port of Columbia and on Zoom. Port Executive Director Jennie Dickinson attended remotely using Zoom. Members of the public attended using Zoom and in person. The Commissioners approved the last meeting minutes, budget report, and vouchers. Dickinson reported on port properties. She said the non-profit Southeast Washington Alliance for Health would rent two suites at the Cameron Street Coworking, and Columbia River Detailing is moving into 521...
The Port of Columbia County and tenants of Dayton's Blue Mountain Station held its annual Foodstock event on Saturday, July 16. Port manager Tracy Clark, with the help of administrative assistant Kelly Hinds, took the lead in organizing the event this year. The set-up and tear-down of the stage, tents, and seating areas are done with the help of friends, family, and BMS tenants. Local handyman Tim Bren makes himself invaluable each year by delivering, setting up, and taking down the towering wat...
DAYTON-The Dayton High School Alumni Association gathered in Dayton over the weekend, celebrating their first official reunion since 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the gatherings. Betty Ann and Cecil Fletcher were this year's Alumni Parade Marshalls. "We pick somebody active in the community, and who are alumni and active within our group, and who actively promote Dayton and our community," said Tammy Ketterman, DHS Alumni Association Secretary. "Both (Betty Ann and Cecil) are alumni and...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met at 6:08 p.m. on Wednesday, July 06, 2022, in the High School Auditorium and on Zoom. The meeting was delayed for eight minutes because of technical problems with Zoom. All board members were present except for Grant Griffin. Rich Stewart was in attendance for the first time as part-time interim superintendent. The newly hired secondary principal, Guinevere Joyce, was not present. Stewart discussed developing a three to five-year plan to construct a budget that reflects the priorities of the school d...
DAYTON – The Dayton School District held a special board meeting on Wednesday, June 29, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. in the Dayton High School Auditorium and on Zoom. For the first hour, the board held a joint meeting with the Waitsburg School Board to discuss the DW Combine. The combined school boards discussed ten items that were previously identified as issues that required further clarification. The two boards agreed to change policy to require principals, or their designates, to attend the monthly C...
DAYTON—The Hospital Board of Commissioners has given the nod to hospital administrators to have Hallway II at the Booker Rest Home evaluated for turning it into a childcare and early learning facility, as proposed by CCHS CEO Shane McGuire at last week’s board meeting. Hallway II at the rest home is the wing closest to the Touchet River and Rock Hill. It will be empty later this year when many nursing home residents go to live in the new assisted living facility. McGuire said he was walking aro...
They had a dream that they worked together to fulfill – and they did. Twenty-nine years ago, Ed Harri (who grew up in Dayton) and his wife Pat launched the Wenaha Gallery at 219 East Main Street. The couple, who both loved art, decided to share that love with Ed’s hometown by opening up an art and framing gallery in 1993. Though the Harri’s lived in Salem, OR, they hired excellent associates who kept in daily contact with them. Ed and Pat also drove regularly from Oregon to Washington to be in the gallery in person and connect with their clien...
DAYTON—The Dayton City Council met on June 14, 2022, for a regular meeting. All council members were present in the meeting room. Many residents filled all available seats, and as many as 25 logged in on Zoom. Multiple public comments were heard, with the majority focused on the wastewater treatment project. All but one speaker, Kathy Berg, were residents of Dayton. Berg, a former Dayton City Councilmember now living in Walla Walla, encouraged current members to attend training and get i...
WAITSBURG/DAYTON—The Waitsburg and Dayton School boards met on June 1, 2022, for a joint meeting to discuss details surrounding the future of the DW Athletics Combine. The loosely followed agenda included discipline, middle school athletics, finances, and future joint board meetings. On the topic of discipline, Dayton School Superintendent Guy Strot and Waitsburg Superintendent Mark Pickel suggested the secondary principals handle disciplinary issues with the combine athletes. This would r...
DAYTON—Residents, business owners, and concerned neighbors gathered at Dayton High School last Wednesday, seeking clarification on the status of the city’s wastewater project. Concerns were raised after the Dayton City Council twice voted against a purchase that was one of the critical steps towards solving the city’s wastewater issue after a decade of planning. “What happens next?” was on everyone’s mind at the June 2 town hall gathering. Cynthia Wall-Fuller, Washington State Department...
DAYTON- The Dayton School Board held a work session meeting at 6 p.m., June 1, 2022, in the high school auditorium and Zoom. All members of the Dayton School Board were present in the auditorium, Aneesha Dieu, Zac Fabian, Grant Griffen, Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Korinda Wallace, Madison Richardson (Student Representative), and Superintendent Guy Strot. The consent agenda included the resignation of M.S. math teacher Brenda Henderson and the hiring of Martin Surridge as an HS English teacher, Pam Nolan Beasley as the elementary STEM teacher, and...
DAYTON- A dedicated group of swimming and water safety enthusiasts are asking for help as planning for a new swimming pool in Dayton enters a critical phase. The Friends of the Pool (Friends) has contracted with Schemata Workshop, Seattle (architects), and Ballard King & Associates LTD, Highlands Ranch, CO (recreational facility planning and operation consultants). The firms will assist with data collection, development of a community assessment, and designs for a new facility. They will also...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board held its regular meeting at 6 p.m., May 18, 2022. All Board members, Aneesha Dieu, Zac Fabian, Grant Griffen, Jeffry McCowen, and Korinda Wallace, were present in the high school auditorium, Superintendent Guy Strot and student representative Madison Richardson. Members of the public attended in person and on Zoom. The board approved the consent agenda, including hiring two elementary teachers, Angela Kenney and Amanda Wade. It also included the retirement of the high school science teacher, Doug Yenney. Dr. C...
DAYTON-The committee on the task force looking into developing a childcare facility and early learning center in Dayton will provide the public with an opportunity to learn more at a meeting on Monday, May 23 at 6 p.m. at the Columbia County Fairgrounds Pavilion. Former State Representative Terry Nealy will moderate the seven-member panel. Childcare will be provided. "There appears to be a lot of misinformation out there, including this is government-run daycare, that hospital district taxes...
DAYTON- The Port of Columbia held its regular meeting at 5 p.m., May 11, 2022. All commissioners were present, Genie Crowe, Johnny Watts, and Seth Bryan. Port Director Jennie Dickinson was also present in person. Members of the public attended both in person and on Zoom. The meeting began with a presentation on affordable housing in Columbia County by Community Council representatives Catherine Veninga, Rachel Elfenbein, and Laura Prado. The presenters used the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) definition for affordable h...
Land purchase voted down in split city council vote. DAYTON- The Dayton City Council held a regular meeting at 6 p.m., May 10, 2022. Mayor Zac Weatherford and council members Misty Yost, Teeny McMunn, Dain Nysoe, Kyle Anderson, and Tyler (Tiger) Dieu were present at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church parish hall, while Laura Aukerman attended on Zoom. The city council voted unanimously to authorize the mayor to sign an annual membership for $35 with the Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington (MRSC). MRSC is a nonprofit organization o...
DAYTON- The Dayton School Board convened a special board meeting at 7 p.m., May 9, 2022. The meeting was held in the Dayton High School auditorium and on Zoom. All school board members were present in person, Aneesha Dieu, Zac Fabian, Grant Griffen, Jeffrey McCowen, and Korinda Wallace. The superintendent, Guy Strot, was also present. The first agenda item was the superintendent/principal search. Strot said two paths were open to the board, either hire a permanent Superintendent/Principal or hire an interim one-year Superintendent/Principal. Th...
DAYTON – The Dayton City Council held a work session meeting at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, in person and on Zoom. All councilmembers were present; Laura Aukerman, Misty Yost, Teeny McMunn, Dain Nysoe, Kyle Anderson, and Tyler (Tiger) Dieu were present in-person, as was Mayor Zac Weatherford. The purpose of the meeting was for the council and City to work on a strategy to move forward on the City’s sewage treatment plant. Weatherford wanted to emphasize that the project was not dead after the council’s vote not to purchase the recommen...
The Columbia County Commissioners held a regular meeting on May 2, 2022. All commissioners were present for the meeting. The current Public Works Director, Amber Phinney reported that the county received its first $6,000 allotment from FEMA after waiting for more than two years. Phinney added the next allotment should be awarded next month for $93,000. Phinney commended Kellie Steinhoff for her work filing for the allotments and added that Steinhoff is working on paperwork for a third allotment. County Engineer Jeremy Weiland gave a brief updat...
Hidden in Plain Sight program scheduled for May. DAYTON – The Dayton School Board held their regular meeting at 6 PM, April 20, 2022, in the High School Auditorium and on Zoom. All members of the board were present in the auditorium, Aneesha Dieu, Zac Fabian, Grant Griffen, Korinda Wallace, and Chair Jeffrey McCowen. Madison Richardson, the student representative, and Superintendent Guy Strot were also present in the auditorium. Only a few members of the public were present in the auditorium, and fewer than ten were listening in on Zoom. The b...
DAYTON – A caboose on an active railroad track is not something most of us have seen in a very long time. Likely, most people under forty have never seen one. Few people have probably seen a caboose emblazoned with large block letters, "WARNING! REMOTE CONTROL." At Dayton's Caboose Park, visitors can see a yellow Union Pacific caboose up close. With its distinctive cupola, it is a great example of the cars once widely used. From the 1830s, cabooses were used to provide shelter for the crews o...
The Dayton Chamber of Commerce held its annual Community Choice Awards Banquet on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Each year, the public submits nominations for exceptional citizen, employee, business, and youth. This year, the Chamber added two categories to recognize, Start-up Business and Non-Profit of the year. A selection committee, made up of the Chamber Board and community members, selected the winners. Though this year's banquet remained small, the Chamber didn't want to miss an opportunity...
