Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 83 - 107 of 1887
DAYTON—The COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Columbia County Fairgrounds is working well. However, only 110 doses will be administered this week, according to Stephanie Carpenter. Carpenter is the Columbia County Health System Chief Operating Officer and is in charge of the Columbia County Hospital District vaccination plan. Carpenter said Dayton General Hospital Pharmacy Manager Cheryl Pell requested 400 doses of the vaccine for use this week but only received 100 doses. There are ten doses l...
DAYTON—County finances have “definitely” been affected by the flood and COVID-19, said County Commissioner Ryan Rundell, following an update on fourth-quarter finances from County Treasurer Carla Rowe last week. “As Carla said, because we are a bare-bones taxed county, we have been less affected by COVID-19 than some counties who rely on extra taxes, like an entertainment tax, with large venues, and the like. However, the flood coupled with COVID-19 has done visible damage to the county and its...
COLUMBIA COUNTY—The Board of Columbia County Commissioners has gone on record to let Washington State Governor Jay Inslee know they are displeased with the COVID-19 Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery plan. The Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery plan is using a regional approach for a phased recovery. The state has designated eight regions, with Columbia County part of the South-Central Region, Kittitas, Yakima, Walla Walla, Benton, and Franklin counties. All eight regions start...
DAYTON—2020 was a busy year for staff inside the Columbia County Planning and Building Department, primarily due to the Feb. flood. Work has continued apace, despite the COVID-19 slowdown. Planning Manager Dena Martin provided a synopsis for the county commissioners at their meeting last week. The Planning and Building department oversees county land use, zoning, comprehensive plan updates, and environmental uses. The department also provides building services for Columbia County, the City of Da...
DAYTON-The Dayton School District kicked off the second semester of the school year on Jan. 21. Report cards will be mailed home for middle and high school students on Jan. 27 and for elementary school students on Jan. 26. Dayton School District Superintendent Guy Strot provided an update about the elementary school at the school board meeting last week. He reported challenges were keeping some elementary classrooms open during the two weeks after Christmas break because some of the staff were...
DAYTON-Columbia County Sheriff Joe Helm's overarching goal is to get back to the fundamental basics of law enforcement; through proper staffing, handling calls appropriately, providing deputies with the proper equipment, and establishing a good relationship between his office and members of the community. When Helm took office on Jan. 1, 2019, he began to implement his goals and ideas and was well into it, early in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and social distancing guidelines began...
DAYTON—On Dec. 16, Columbia County Health System CEO Shane McGuire provided the hospital board of commissioners with an update on projects designed to improve the hospital’s ability to treat COVID-19 patients, as previously reported in The Times on Dec. 10. McGuire presented the commissioners with “firm” cost estimates for four of the five projects. The Medical Vacuum project, Medical Air project, and the Medical Gas projects came in close to, or below, budget. The new hospital generat... Full story
DAYTON-On Dec. 29, Dayton General Hospital Pharmacy Manager Cheryl Pell administered the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to DGH employee Mike Paris, kicking off vaccinations for essential health care workers and first responders, according to Phase 1A guidelines from the Washington State Department of Health. Pell said 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine were received at the hospital pharmacy on Dec. 23, followed by another 100 doses on Dec. 28. She said each vial of the vaccine contains ten... Full story
DAYTON—The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine has arrived in Columbia County. The Columbia County Health System (CCHS) has received 300 doses. At this time, CCHS has started giving immunizations to healthcare workers and first-responders, and will advance to Phase 1B when given guidance to do so by the Washington State Department of Health (DOH). Columbia County Public Health will be organizing a list of interested individuals who would like the vaccination and fit into Phase 1B, which is currently d...
DAYTON—The Columbia County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) met on Dec. 21 to adopt various budgets, sign the ILA with the City of Dayton for Law and Justice, Dispatch, and Court services, and hire an attorney for the Indigent Defense contract. During the meeting, the BOCC adopted a 24 million budget for 2021, including a 2-percent cost of living adjustment for county employees. The BOCC also signed the five-year contract agreement with the City of Dayton for Law and Justice, Dispatch, and Court s...
DAYTON-The Columbia County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has announced that Cindy L. Horowitz will be joining the office as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney on January 1, 2021. Horowitz has served as an Assistant District Prosecuting Attorney from the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office in New York. Since 2017, she has served in the Domestic Violence and Appeals divisions of that office. Before working as an ADA in Brooklyn, Horowitz was a securities regulations attorney and an attorney for the...
DAYTON—Dr. Kyle Terry, Medical Chief of Staff at Dayton General Hospital, touched briefly on vaccine distribution and safety protocols for patients and staff when he spoke to the hospital board of commissioners on Dec. 17. Terry said COVID-19 vaccines would be distributed according to population numbers. With 2-percent of the national population, the state of Washington State will receive 2-percent of the vaccine. He thought Walla Walla County would receive the first distribution of the Pfizer v... Full story
DAYTON—The Port of Columbia held the annual Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) stakeholders’ meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 16. The forum gives community stakeholders a chance to discuss projects they are involved in and provide input into the five and ten-year CEDS project list. Each year, at the end of the meeting, stakeholders are asked to prioritize economic development projects for the community. Fifty-seven stakeholders attended last week’s CEDS meeting and voted for the proje... Full story
DAYTON-The Washington State Department of Health expects to receive and distribute 62,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to 17 sites across 13 counties, beginning this week. According to DOH, the state should receive another 222,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, and 183,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine, by the end of Dec., with regular shipments beginning in Jan. About 190 organizations across the state are enrolled as COVID-19 vaccine providers. The majority of enrolled facilities are hosp...
Emergency repairs only, in 2021 DAYTON—The Board of County Commissioners approved and adopted several resolutions presented by the Public Works Director Chuck Eaton at their December 11 meeting. Resolutions include the County Arterial Preservation Program, the Annual Construction Program, The Capital Facility Plan, and the 2021-26 Six-year Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP). Eaton said 31 projects, a higher number than usual, are listed on the TIP. The increased number of projects is due to d...
Budget includes water/sewer utility rate increases DAYTON—The Dayton City Council adopted the 2021 City Budget at their meeting on Tuesday, Dec.1, and Mayor Zac Weatherford presented the following: Built into the Budget are proposed water and sewer utility rate increases for all service types. The average residential customer will see an increase in their utility bill of $10.65 each month. Weatherford said the City Council delayed an increase in these rates in 2020 in exchange for deferring c...
DAYTON—The 2020-21 season at Bluewood opens the weekend of Dec. 11-13 as the winter sports area welcomes skiers and snowboarders to the mountain. As of Monday, Dec.7, there are 24 inches of snow at the base and 24 inches at the summit. On Friday, opening day, the first chair will be at 9 a.m. Throughout the weekend, hours of operation are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, with the Skyline Express, Triple Nickel, and Easy Rider conveyor lifts all scheduled to be spinning. “We’re super excited to welcome everyone back up on the mountain,” says Kim Clar...
DAYTON—WSU Extension Agent Paul Carter is retiring, effective Jan. 4, after over fifteen years of service to Columbia County. Carter came to Dayton in April 2005, as a 52-year-old college graduate, from southern Indiana. He said he was looking for an Extension position somewhere in the west. He found that opportunity in Columbia County. “For me, it could not have turned out better, one of my passions is farming, and this position has given me the opportunity to be very close to that occupation a...
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...
