Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 1887
DAYTON—On Sunday, November 22, the Columbia County Public Health Department reported sixteen new positive cases of COVID-19; two cases are associated with Dayton schools. Dayton schools were closed on Monday, and the Dayton School District board of directors met Monday evening to discuss next steps. It was decided to move to distance learning on Tuesday and re-evaluate the situation over the holiday weekend, as more data becomes available. On Monday, November 23, there were 26 tests pending r...
DAYTON—An employee working in the Booker Rest Home tested positive for COVID-19 last week, which led to mandatory testing of all staff and all residents on Friday, November 20, and again the following Monday. Columbia County Health System CEO Shane McGuire said the recent uptick of positive cases in the community would place an additional strain on the ability to protect nursing home residents and other vulnerable populations. On Sunday, the Columbia County Public Health reported 16 positive c...
DAYTON-Civil Deputy Tim Quigg has hit a major milestone at the Columbia County Sheriff's Office. On November 21, Quigg celebrated four decades of service, with no plans to retire anytime soon. Quigg took his first steps towards a long law enforcement career in March of 1980. He attended Washington State University, where he majored in journalism and minored in English, with aspirations of becoming a teacher or a writer. He was working as a clerk at Freddie's Food Mart in Dayton while putting...
DAYTON—A new five-year Interlocal Agreement (ILA) with the County for Law Enforcement, Dispatch, and District Court services was the main topic of discussion at the Dayton City Council meeting last Thursday. According to the ILA terms, the City will pay the County an additional $200,000 for those services, beginning on Jan. 1, 2021, with rates adjusted annually. The total amount paid to the County will be roughly half of the City’s $1.2 million Current Expense Budget. Because of the inc...
DAYTON—Columbia County and the City of Dayton have reached an agreement regarding the terms of an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) for Law Enforcement services, Emergency Management/Dispatch services, and District Court services, which the County provides to the City. County and City officials, and their legal representatives, spent all day last Thursday working out the details. The meeting was presided over by Walla Walla Attorney Michael S. Mitchell. Last year the County requested a substantial rais...
DAYTON—After several years of wrangling with Medicaid managed care organizations for underpayments to the Hospital District, Molina Healthcare has come through with a substantial payment. CCHS CEO Shane McGuire told the hospital board of commissioners, at the end of October, about a $524,000 payment to the Health System from Molina Healthcare. Kudos go to Cheryl Skiffington, the District’s Revenue Cycle Coordinator, and Wendy Wilkins, who has been contracted to negotiate and maintain payer con...
DAYTON— In March of 2018, Columbia County, the City of Dayton, and the Town of Starbuck entered into interlocal agreements for the 2019 Regional Comprehensive Plan Update, with Columbia County taking the lead. The County Planning Department was recently notified about being selected to receive an Award for Excellence in Planning in the 2020 Washington State Awards Program from the Planning Association of Washington (PAW) and the American Planning Association. The letter reads: “The jury was imp...
DAYTON-Coldwell Banker Walla Walla has donated $800 to The Club for operating costs. A check was presented by local realtors Benedicte and Loic Carbonnier. "On behalf of The Club, I wish to extend our sincerest thanks to Coldwell Banker Walla Walla for their generous financial support. Community partners like Coldwell Banker are critical to our ability to provide important programs to the youth of the Touchet Valley." said Jim Pearson, The Club's Director....
DAYTON—There are six new cases of COVID-19 since Tuesday, October 29, as reported by Public Health Administrator Martha Lanman to the County Board of Health on Monday. She said the six cases in Columbia County are from two different sources and are unrelated. There were 13 tests performed over the weekend. Lanman said she and Dayton School District Superintendent Guy Strot have agreed to allow in-person instruction at school to proceed. “We feel like the kids are safer in school,” she said....
DAYTON-Columbia County Emergency Management Director Ashley Strickland usually devotes ninety percent of his working time to the E911 Dispatch Center and the remaining ten percent to emergency management. That went out the window during the first six months of the year. He found himself spending only ten percent of his time with the Dispatch center, and the other ninety percent in emergency management, all because of the February flood and the COVID-19 pandemic. "The county has a responsibility...
DAYTON—Only the top seven applicants out of a field of thirty have been chosen to receive funding from the Washington State Public Works Board for their broadband projects. The Port of Columbia was not among them, having ranked in the middle of the field at number twelve by the board last Friday. “What this shows is there is a huge need for better broadband service and not enough funding to go around,” The Port’s Executive Director Jennie Dickinson said Dickinson said the Port’s applicati...
DAYTON-Since he was hired in Dec. 2018 as the Columbia County Engineer and Public Works Director, Charles Eaton finds himself wearing more hats than ever. His responsibilities include multiple departments within the Public Works Department. Operations is responsible for county road maintenance. Engineering is responsible for designing or improving projects, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) services responsible for mapping, and Equipment Replacement and Rental (ER&R) responsible for...
DAYTON—County Treasurer Carla Rowe presented the third-quarter financial statement to the Board of Columbia County Commissioners last week. She provided them with the following predictions based on various sources, including the Dept. of Revenue, the Municipal Research and Services Center, and webinars regarding banking environments, investment bond market, and government publications. Financial recovery from the COVID-19 impact to counties is not expected to occur until the latter part of n...
DAYTON—Dayton School District Superintendent Guy Strot talked about some loosening of school sports restrictions by the state when the Dayton School District Board of Directors met in a work session last week. The state has decided to allow summer athletic conditioning from Sept. 27 to Nov. 27, he said. A typical summer season is for a team to have 20 organized practices in the months of June and July. With that in mind, he and Mark Pickel, Waitsburg School District Superintendent, and Martha La...
Funding Proposal on the November Ballot DAYTON—In cooperation with the City of Dayton and the Town of Starbuck, the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) formed the Columbia County Flood Control Zone District on June 17, 2019, with resolution 2019-34, pursuant to RCW 86.15. Per RCW 86.15.020, the district may be formed in two ways: 1) A resolution by the BOCC; or 2) A petition by the citizens. Columbia County’s Flood Control Zone District (FCZD) was created to establish a county-wide response to the growing threat of flooding. The mission is...
DAYTON—Columbia County Hospital System (CCHS) CEO Shane McGuire is concerned about how the Flood of 2020, COVID-19, wildfires, and the smoke from them, is impacting the emotional health of CCHS employees and people throughout the local community. He shared those concerns with the Hospital District board of commissioners at their meeting in September. “We are experiencing a mental health crisis in our community and state,” he said. “In our own community, we have seen an uptick in suicide attempt...
Landowner participation is crucial COLUMBIA COUNTY-Columbia County is in the beginning stages of gathering the data required to determine if the Voluntary Stewardship Program has met its initial goals and benchmarks. With the five-year report due January 2020, the Columbia County VSP hopes the county deems the program a success. The VSP is an optional, non-regulatory alternative that allows area stakeholders to develop and implement work plans to protect critical areas while promoting agricultur...
DAYTON—Despite economic challenges, building activity in Columbia County and neighboring jurisdictions is going strong, according to Columbia County Planning Manager Dena Martin. In her department update to the Board of County Commissioners at the end of September, Martin reported that despite a temporary spring construction shut-down due to COVID 19, all jurisdictions served by the County have already met 2020 projected annual permit revenues. “This is especially encouraging because there hav...
Thursday morning, I met up with my friend and local businesswoman, Regina, to have breakfast at Locally Nourished in Dayton. As soon as I drove up and parked in front of this café, I felt welcomed by the beautiful greenery forming an arch over the doorway. Walking in, I was struck with the casual and elegant design of the dining room. The menu and menu boards are clear and easily read from a distance. There is a display case with the daily specials and staples promising fresh seasonal treats...
Stubble and Clouds, 2020. A beautiful fall landscape, photographed from Middle Waitsburg Road by local photographer and accomplished home chef, Bill Rodgers....
DAYTON-The Columbia County Public Health Administrator shared information about COVID-19 at last week's meeting of the Board of County Commissioners, and it was mostly positive. Martha Lanman said the last time anybody in the community tested positive for COVID-19 was on Sept. 2, and that person has since recovered. The schools are open for in-person learning, Personal Protective Equipment supplies are stable, and a strong collaborative partnership has developed between the Health Department, em...
DAYTON—Shane Laib is leasing the building at 262 East Main Street for use as an indoor marketplace. For the past several months, he has been busy with painting, installing new carpet and lighting, and creating individual spaces for vendors when the marketplace opens in October. Vendors were displaced when VS Mainstreet, a vintage/antique mall at 245 East Main Street, closed its doors earlier this year, and some of them will be moving to the Main Street Marketplace. “All of the vendors still des...
DAYTON-Librarian Kristie Korslund said Dayton Memorial Library staff attended a conference on Space Planning Progress last November. They learned about traffic flow and how to maximize patron enthusiasm for library collections. When patrons are finally allowed back inside the Dayton Memorial Library, they will be pleased to see what has taken place since the building closed in March because of COVID-19. The library board and staff have moved forward with making upgrades on the main floor level...
DAYTON-Kim Clark, General Manager of Bluewood Ski Resort, said the forecast is for a "good, strong snowfall all winter long," and he is keeping his fingers crossed. Clark said the goal for the upcoming ski season is normal operations with as few disruptions as possible. "We know there is a huge pent up demand out there, as shown by our spring season pass sales. We're excited about the season ahead and can't wait to welcome guests back up to their hometown ski area." Bluewood Ski resort is part o...
DAYTON-Dayton is becoming a magnet for people who are attracted to the rural lifestyle. Dayton Chamber of Commerce Manager Molly Weatherill-Tate said a couple from Colorado recently moved to Dayton, and a man from western Oregon is thinking about moving to Dayton when he retires. Another family moved to Dayton sooner than they had planned to, because of the COVID-19 situation, and she has sent relocation packages as far away as Missouri, California, and Texas. "People generally seem to be...
