Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 176 - 200 of 1893
DAYTON—It could be the middle of August before a solid plan for reopening Dayton schools can be presented to the community. At last week’s school board meeting Superintendent, Doug Johnson said he and incoming school superintendent Guy Strot have been participating in many online meetings, including a meeting with neighboring school district superintendents about that topic. The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction has released instructions for reopening schools throughout the sta...
DAYTON—Both city parks and the Dayton City Hall are now open to the public since the county has moved to Phase 3 of the governor’s plan to reopen Washington State. Mayor Zac Weatherford said social distancing regulations are still in place. “We are still practicing social distancing and protecting ourselves as best we can,” he told the Dayton City Council at their regular meeting last week. Weatherford ‘s report included an update from the public works department. He said the City crew has...
DAYTON-People shopping at the Blue Mountain Station Co-op market have been able to find some of the items they couldn't find at retail grocery stores, because of hoarding by panic-stricken shoppers reacting to the coronavirus pandemic. Market Manager Valerie Mudry said there were no impacts or disruption to their supply chain, largely because all products at the market are locally sourced. People are now consistently buying their meat, produce, dairy, and eggs from the Co-op, she said. Business...
DAYTON—Tom Dingus, owner of Dingus/Zarecor & Associates, Certified Public Accountants, presented the 2019 Basic Financial Statements, and Independent Auditor’s Reports to the Hospital District Board of Commissioners at a special meeting last week. 2019 Financial audit Dingus said the 2019 financial audit went smoothly. “Half the hospitals in your group are doing better and half are doing worse,” he pointed out. He said the Hospital District has the resources to pay its obligations, as they be...
DAYTON—At the Port of Columbia Commissioners meeting last week, the Touchet Valley Trail Steering Committee presented a draft trail concept plan, along with a recommendation to allow its use by Anderson/Perry & Associates, as they continue to study the feasibility of the trail and work on the preliminary design. Eighteen stakeholders on the steering committee signed the letter of recommendation and 12 people on the committee spoke about how organizations they represent support the project, a...
DAYTON—Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman and Governor Jay Inslee have approved Columbia County to move forward to Phase 3. Individual Phase 3 business sectors can reopen only after the state publishes its guidelines for the specific sector. Individual business is only allowed to reopen after it can implement those guidelines. Dr. Wiesman retains the right to revoke the approval and Governor Inslee retains the right to reimpose restrictions under his authority. Phase 3 went i...
DAYTON-New businesses opening in Dayton, despite the coronavirus slow-down, is a testament to a community that will step up and help each other. It also says a lot about the pluck and determination of three entrepreneurs who are opening or have just opened businesses in town The new owners of the Weinhard Hotel, at 229 East Main Street, are open to hotel traffic and have opened their new cafe, Jacob's Public House. "I love people, food, and hospitality," said Christina Dingman, who along with he...
DAYTON—CEO Shane McGuire told the Hospital District Board of Commissioners he is now cautiously optimistic about Columbia County Health System finances. “2020 won’t put us out of business and we are ready for fall,” he told them, at their regular board meeting in May. The CARES Act set aside one billion in aid from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services for hospitals and health systems to weather the COVID-19 challenge, and the CCHS has been allocated around 4.4 million dollars, he said. McGuire said an initial award in the amount of $654...
We had hoped to receive some guidance from the state, Governor and State Superintendent of Schools, regarding returning to school next fall yesterday. What we received instead was a note explaining they are still working on guidance and are waiting for information from the Department of Health and other agencies. They hope to share information with all school districts by the end of the week. While this is disappointing, it is also a message illustrating the many complex pieces returning to school will bring and the desire to provide best...
DAYTON-Dayton High School's Class of 2020 graduated last Saturday. Like graduation ceremonies across the nation, Dayton's ceremony looked a lot different than in years past. Due to pandemic-related restrictions, only graduates and family were able to attend the ceremony. Dayton High School provided a live-streamed feed on Facebook for the community to enjoy. The stream is still available to watch on the Dayton Secondary Facebook page. Graduation celebrations started Saturday afternoon with a...
DAYTON-Rancher Marty Hall will face incumbent Commissioner Mike Talbott, for Position 2 on the Board of County Commissioners in the November general election. "I want to do what I can to keep Columbia County a good place to live, to do business in, and to attract more families with good living wage jobs," Hall said. Hall said the most important issue facing the county is the budget shortfall because of damages to county from the recent flood, and from the consequences of the COVID-19 challenge,...
Valedictorian Kylee Laughlin Salutatorian Kira Boggs 2020 Graduates: Marissa Barzo McKenzie Dobbs Jurnee Griffen Emma Houdak Alex Jenkins David Lewis Kiya McCaw Carlos Norris Lillian Patterson Quinton Rapoza Sergio Rivera Tayven Seney Elise Steinhoff Josiah White...
DAYTON-At the May 13 Port Commission meeting, Executive Director Dickinson expressed a desire for people to follow all the social distancing guidelines set forth by in the Governor's Phased Approach to Reopening Business and Modifying Social Distancing Guidelines, so the county can move from Phase II into Phase III more quickly. "For the most part it is going fine, she said. "I'm proud of our businesses and our community." Dickinson said the Lyons Ferry Marina Concessionaires are making great...
DAYTON— The Dayton School Board met Wednesday, May 20 at 6:00 pm via Zoom virtual meeting. All board members were present. During the meeting, the board discussed budget information, the high school graduation ceremony, and the upcoming school year among other items. Elementary principal Doug Johnson reported that Dayton Elementary staff and teachers are continuing to improve their online learning models. Mr. Johnson said that a scheduling committee has been formed for the sole purpose of p...
DAYTON-Vic Bottomly is a private practice attorney in Clarkston, Wash., focusing on Criminal and Civil Law for Asotin, Garfield and Columbia Counties. Bottomly said he never before set out to be a judge because he has been happy in his 27-year- career as a trial lawyer. But over the past several years the Superior Courts in the three counties have struggled with an increasing caseload and lack of resources. The courts have also had to "trudge" along without a sitting judge for over a year,...
DAYTON-Quality time together, learning from each other, the need for flexibility, and the importance of staying positive are common themes for parents and children as they navigate the new normal of virtual school instruction. Allicia Stapleton normally has her hands full during the school year as a full time cook in the Dayton School District cafeteria. Since schools closed on March 16, she finds her hands are still full helping run the District's food pick-up and delivery program, serving...
DAYTON-A hundred years ago it was a common practice to quarantine soldiers returning from war zones against diseases like yellow fever Private Wesley Dodge, 1st Regiment of Washington Infantry Volunteers, Company F, was quarantined in this 13 x 13 cabin when he returned home to Dayton from the Spanish American War in 1898. The cabin, built in the Dodge family backyard, met basic recommended quarantine practices. It was "discovered" behind a two-story home on West Richmond Street and donated to...
DAYTON— In her report to the Dayton City Council, City Administrator Trina Cole said the Army Corps of Engineers has been in touch with the city about the levee system rehabilitation. Because it is a federally classified levee system, costs are covered at 100 percent. However, there are caveats for the city to provide easement information, along with some other legal requirements, Cole said. Approximately, 2,000 lineal feet, in multiple locations, on both the right and left banks of the levee a...
This past week, Washington Future Farmers of America recognized FFA members who received their State FFA degrees. Five members from Dayton received the certification. The State FFA Degree is the highest degree awarded at the state level, and award recipients must fill out an application that details their SAE (Supervised Agriculture Experience Project), describes their active involvement in the FFA, and demonstrates their committment to community service. Achieving this award are Kira Boggs,...
DAYTON—Columbia County is one of five counties in Washington that has been approved to move from Phase I to Phase II of Governor Jay Inslee’s Phased Approach for Reopening Washington Plan. Eligible businesses on the list for Phase II may open only after the state publishes its guidelines for that specific sector. The state is working to complete the guidelines and will publish each of them as they are finalized. Individual businesses are allowed to reopen when they have the ability to imp...
When the Times last wrote about the Liberty Theater in Dayton, we described the efforts and planning that went into the staging of their celebratory 20th anniversary variety show. Set to open on Friday, March 20, 2020, the event was sadly derailed by the coronavirus. The program was to feature favorite musical numbers from the Touchet Valley Arts Center's live theater productions over the past 20 years and was being directed by Peggy and Cara James. Since that time, theater staff and board have...
DAYTON—Most of us are acquainted with the five stages of grief, which are; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, and most of us have experienced grief, firsthand, through the loss of a job, the loss of financial security, the end of an important relationship, or through the death of a loved one. Can the feelings we are experiencing about the reality of COVID-19 be thought of as a grief reaction? Chrisann Christensen, the Clinical Director at Blue Mountain Counseling thinks so, a...
DAYTON—Columbia County Health System officials are working to shore up the system’s finances, which have been negatively impacted due to preparations required for a possible COVID-19 surge. There has been a loss of revenue from a decrease in clinic visits and fewer inpatient and outpatient therapies that depend on lab tests, x rays and other imaging services. In spite of that, CCHS Controller Tom Meyers had some good news to report to the Hospital District Board of Commissioners in April. He...
DAYTON-Judy Jones an advisor from the Walla Walla Small Business Development Center met with Port of Columbia Director, Jennie Dickinson and local business owners in a Town Hall meeting on April 21. The purpose was to provide strategies to help business owners "survive and thrive" during the nonessential business shutdown, due to the COVID-19 challenge. Jones said the time is now for small business owners to take a hard look at some strategies for staying afloat. She said the most important...
DAYTON-Employees of the Columbia County Health System are being assisted with their childcare needs thanks to a $12,500 award from Innovia Foundation, according to The Club's manager Jim Pearson. Pearson said The Club, the Columbia County Health System, and the Dayton School District have coordinated the childcare program. Between twelve and fifteen youth, ages two through eleven, are being served by the program, which is located in the Dayton School District facilities. The Club's Program...
