Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 305
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board held its regular meeting on November 16, 2022. Members of the school board were present, Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Grant Griffen, Korinda Wallace, Aneesha Dieu, and Zac Fabian. Also present were Superintendent Rich Stewart and Business Manager Jana Eaton. Resident Jeff Milsten offered the following proposed resolution to the Board: “All teachers in Dayton Schools are encouraged to always teach factually, always teach truthfully and without bias. This includes teaching the reality that Jesus Christ is the most inf...
DAYTON-This weekend is the 2022 Christmas Kickoff in Dayton, Wash. Every year, the community comes out and proves that it is the town that still believes. Preparations started with volunteers who created the Festival of Trees in the historic building at 219 E. Main Street. Organizations and groups have been working on their lighted floats for the parade up Main Street on Friday, November 25, at 6:00 p.m. After the parade, sing along with the choir at the tree lighting in front of Elk Drug,...
DAYTON- The Dayton City Council held a regular meeting on October 11, 2022. Mayor Zac Weatherford and council members Teeny McMunn, James Su’euga, Kyle Anderson, Laura Aukerman, Dain Nysoe, and Tiger Dieu were present at City Hall. Shannon McMillen was absent. County Commissioner Ryan Rundell gave the emergency management report and announced the new director, Tina Bobbit, who will begin on December 1, 2022. Sheriff Helm joined the meeting on Zoom. He informed the Council of his department’s programs involving the school district, inc...
DAYTON – The Port of Columbia Commissioners held its regular meeting November 10, 2022, at the Port’s conference room and on Zoom. Commissioners Genie Crowe, Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, and Executive Director Jennie Dickinson were present. Members of the public attended using Zoom and in person. In the public comment portion of the meeting, Melissa Bryan requested an update on the status of 214 E. Main, the former Woody’s Bar & Grill. An update was given later in the Director’s report. The Port Director introduced Abbi Russell and Sarah Sieloff f...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board held a work session meeting at 6:30 p.m., November 2, 2022, at the Dayton High School library. All school board members Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Grant Griffen, Korinda Wallace, Zac Fabian, and Aneesha Dieu, were present. Also present was Interim Superintendent Rich Stewart. The work session’s agenda did not allow for public comment. K-12 Dean Hannelee Farrell briefed the board members on the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program, which the district has implemented. PBIS focuses on con...
DAYTON-When the Hospital District commissioners met last week, they heard from Columbia County Health System CEO Shane McGuire about substantial operational losses for Washington State hospitals in 2022, as well as other issues impacting hospitals. He shared some statistics: A 2022 survey of 97% of hospital beds across the state by the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) revealed a total loss of $1.75 billion in the first six months of 2022, of which $1.2 billion was in operations. The...
DAYTON – The Columbia Port Commissioners held a special meeting on October 26, 2022, to complete three agenda items postponed from the regular meeting on October 12. Commissioners Genie Crowe, Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, and Executive Director Jennie Dickinson were in attendance. Members of the public attended using Zoom and in person. The meeting opened with a public comment period. Resident Jerry Kaiser objected to the suggestion by Bryan and Watts not to include a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) increase for the Port employees in this y...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board held a workshop meeting on October 19, 2022, in the High School library. All members of the school board were present, Chair Jeffrey McCowen, Grant Griffen, Korinda Wallace, Aneesha Dieu, and Zac Fabian. Also present were Superintendent Rich Stewart and Business Manager Jana Eaton. During the general public comment period, resident and pastor Jeff Milsten said that though the school allows comparative religion instruction, he felt education ignores facts. He said, “the most influential person in the world, hands...
DAYTON—Columbia County’s Election Supervisor, Cathy Abel, said there are many checks and balances to ensure election integrity in the county, from the time an election ballot leaves the voter to when it is certified by the state. Ballots have prepaid postage and are returned through the mail or at ballot drop boxes. Abel hopes that if people vote by mail, it will be sooner, rather than later. Votes will be tabulated and counted if postmarked by election day or dropped off by 8 p.m. on the day...
DAYTON—Last week, voters in Columbia County received a mailer produced by the Columbia County Conservatives. The local political group asked voters to vote against Proposition 1, which would create a Joint Metropolitan Park District (JMPD) to fund and operate a new pool for the county. They also requested voters choose CCC endorsed candidates for the JMPD board of commissioners in case the proposition is approved. Members of The Friends of the Dayton Pool, who have spent the last few years surveying residents, raising money, and developing d...
DAYTON – The Port of Columbia Commissioners held their regular meeting on October 12, 2022, at the Port of Columbia conference room and on Zoom. Present for the meeting were Commissioners Genie Crowe, Seth Bryan, Johnny Watts, and the Executive Director, Jennie Dickinson. Members of the public attended using Zoom and in person. The meeting focused on budget discussions, as the board must complete and approve next year’s budget by the end of November. Bryan objected to taking the legally allowed one percent increase to the Port’s tax levy limit...
DAYTON- The Dayton City Council held its regular meeting on October 11, 2022. Mayor Zac Weatherford and council members Shannon McMillen, Teeny McMunn, James Su’euga, Kyle Anderson, Laura Aukerman, Dain Nysoe, and Tiger Dieu were present at City Hall. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance, as was decided at the last meeting. During the first public comment period, a citizen asked about the status of promised flood mitigation efforts planned by the city. Weatherford said he has been unable to schedule a meeting with U.S. Army Corps o...
DAYTON-The Dayton chapter of the American Association of University Women held a Candidates' Forum on October 5, to allow voters in Columbia County to hear from and ask questions of candidates for local races. Candidates for Columbia County Sheriff, Columbia County Commissioner from District 3, and the Joint Metropolitan Park District attended the event at The Liberty Theater in Dayton. Columbia County Commissioner District 3 Columbia County Commissioner Charles Amerein is seeking reelection to...
DAYTON-The Dayton Branch of the American Association of University Women will hold a Candidates Forum at the Liberty Theater on Wednesday, Oct. 5, from 7 to 9:30 p.m. The public is advised to arrive at 6:30 p.m. in the theater foyer, where they can fill out question cards for the candidates before the Forum begins. The completed questions cards will be the only opportunity for members of the audience to ask questins of the candidates. A "Meet and Greet" session will follow the Forum. The Forum will be presented in two parts this year. Part one...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met for their regular meeting at 6 p.m., September 21, 2022. Present in the high school library were board members Zac Fabian, Jeffrey McCowen, Korinda Wallace, Grant Griffen, and Superintendent Rich Stewart. Aneesha Dieu arrived about 20 minutes into the meeting. Participation was also available on Zoom. Grace Trump gave the ASB report, including a summary of Homecoming activities. In his report, Combine Athletic Director Sam Korslund said thirty-six girls are participating in high school volleyball. All are c...
DAYTON- The Dayton City Council held its regular meeting at 6 p.m. on September 13, 2022. Mayor Zac Weatherford and council members Shannon McMillen, Teeny McMunn, James Su’euga, Kyle Anderson, Laura Aukerman, and Tiger Dieu were present at City Hall; Dain Nysoe was absent. The Interim 911 Director and Dispatch Supervisor, Desirae Lockard, gave a brief report, including an update on the 911 phone system, which will have an upgrade on September 20, 2022. She said 911 calls might be redirected to Walla Walla for up to six hours that day. With t...
COLUMBIA COUNTY-Virginia Schmidt is the ever-capable Clerk of the Board for the Board of Columbia County Commissioners (BOCC), in that position for a year and a half. Here is what this reporter learned by picking her brain last week and by following up with various department heads. Chris Mills, Columbia County's Assessor, has announced her last day with the County on Sept. 30. She has been with the County for over thirty years, first as the Chief Deputy Clerk in the Assessor's Office and the...
DAYTON – The Dayton School Board met for its regular meeting on September 7, 2022. Present in the high school auditorium were board members Zac Fabian, Jeffrey McCowen, Korinda Wallace, and Superintendent Rich Stewart. Grant Griffen did not attend, and Aneesha Dieu arrived during the “Character Strong” presentation. Participation was also available on Zoom. The Board approved the Consent Agenda, hiring Cole Kenney and Elizabeth Sutton as Elementary Paraprofessionals and Jeremy Trump as a volunteer Middle School Football coach. There were no pu...
Meet Touchet Valley Golf Course's new pro on Saturday, August 27 DAYTON-The Dayton Valley Golf course has a new golf pro. Tyler Huff brings his experience working with novices to experts, golf pros, and college players to Dayton. Over the past five years, Huff has been a teaching professional and a nationally recognized club fitter at the Reserve Golf & Vineyards in Hillsboro, Oregon. He has taught top Pacific Northwest players, including Spencer Tibets and most of the former division-one...
DAYTON—The Friends of the Pool (FotP) and the Focus Advisory Group seek volunteers to serve on the proposed Columbia County Metropolitan Park District. The proposed district would be a new, unfunded taxing district to support the construction, maintenance, and operation of a new aquatic facility and other recreational facilities in Dayton and Columbia County. Five volunteers from the community are needed to make up the Park District Board of Commissioners. The Board will initially guide the management of the new district, complete contracts f...
DAYTON— Comments made at the August Columbia County Rural Library Board of Trustees meeting has left many in the community unsettled. During the public comment period elected officials County Commissioner Chuck Amerien and Dayton City Councilmember Laura Aukerman joined others to challenge the board and ask for certain books to be removed from the library’s collection. Since the meeting, comments on social media, including the Facebook page “Dayton (WA) Uncesnsored”, have been critical and often generating anger directed at the library board a...
DAYTON—Columbia County Sheriff Joe Helm spoke at length in his report to the Dayton City Council last week. Most notably, he reported about traffic stops and criticism he has received from some who say there have been way too many. Since January 1, the road deputies have made 748 traffic stops. Helm said the stops are not only for safety reasons but also to prevent crime and drugs from entering the community. According to the sheriff, Columbia County is a major drug route from the west coast t...
DAYTON-On Monday, Columbia County Health System CEO Shane McGuire led The Times on a tour of one of the four cottages at Rivers Walk Assisted Living. The nearly completed cottage we toured was the "Palouse," which will soon house the memory care residents currently living at the Booker Rest Home. The new buildings provide all the same safety requirements but are quieter, brighter, and feels more homelike. "Palouse" has ten spacious and airy apartments. There are nine single occupancy rooms, and...
DAYTON-Shere Kan, Mowgli, and Baloo will take center stage at the Liberty Theater this weekend, in Dayton. Missoula Children's Theatre is back with their summer production of "The Jungle Book." The Missoula Children's Theater (MCT) visits all 50 States, five Canadian Provinces, and 16 different countries. With the exception of 2020, the Missoula Children's Theater has visited Dayton each summer for a week-long production of their choosing for many years. This year, a record-breaking amount of...
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...
