Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 777 - 801 of 1893
DAYTON – The federal Health Care Authority has made 1.2 billion dollars available to promote Medicaid transformation projects over the next five years. Nine counties in the HCA’s Greater Columbia Region, including Columbia County, stand to benefit, according to Martha Lanman, the County Public Health Administrator who serves on the leadership committee. The Greater Columbia Region was originally sponsoring eight projects and Lanman picked “5,2,1,0,” which is a Chronic Disease/Wellness project that targets diabetes prevention in children. “5,2,1...
Last week Rick Nicely (l) and Beau Sabin (r) of Pillars of Society Woodworks LLC, worked on the roof of the 1898 log cabin that is being reassembled at the Smith Hollow Schoolhouse Museum, for the Blue Mountain Heritage Society....
The Dayton City Council approved the following at their August 30 meeting: An Inter-local agreement with Columbia County for Temporary Planning Services for the city. An Inter-local agreement with Columbia County to share costs of a Flood Control Zone District Consultant. A separation package agreement with former City Planning Director Karen Scharer. A promulgation agreement with Columbia County and the Town of Starbuck adopting the 2017 Columbia County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan as the official guiding document in the event of a...
DAYTON-We all know fair treats aren't healthy eats. For instance, one funnel cake contains a whopping 760 calories, with 50 gm of fat. Add the strawberry topping and you have a sugar high you may not recover from. And one 500 calorie corn dog contains half of your daily allotment of sodium and 20 gm of fat. But doubly-rewarding, guilt-free indulgence can be yours if you purchase your fair treats from local fraternal organizations, such as the Dayton Lions Club, Kiwanis, and 4-H, where nothing...
DAYTON – Lauralee Northcott, of Winthrop, Idaho, will demonstrate her basket making skills in a demonstration at the Wenaha Gallery in Dayton on Sept. 16 from 1-4 p.m. Free refreshments will be provided by Savonnah Henderson, the gallery's framer, who is also a professional chef. Basket weaving is just one of Northcott's may skills. The now-retired public school teacher spent 30 years as a wilderness horseback trail guide,pack cook and motivational speaker. She is also professional singer and m...
COLUMBIA COUNTY - At their August meeting, Port commissioners heard from Lyons Ferry Marina KOA managers Jim and Angela McArthur about their plans to sell the business at the marina. The McArthurs told the commissioners they will leave at the end of the 2017 season, and they are sorry to leave, because they see a lot of potential for growth, with the news about the Columbia Pulp mill. The McArthur's have recommended to the Port that a personal friend, Steve Klonz, take over from them. Klonz is...
DAYTON--The Columbia County commissioners continue to look at additional ways to streamline departments and budgets. At last week’s regular meeting of the BOCC, Commissioner Norm Passmore said talks are underway to create one county-wide maintenance department. The county does not plan to replace Parks and Recreation Manager Roger Trump when he retires at the end of 2017, so money for his wages and benefits would go directed to the newly created maintenance department, according to Passmore. H...
Shannon Kinsella, Principal Engineer from Reid Middleton, Inc., provided several different design options for moorages, docks, boat launches, walkways, tent sites, RV spots, etc. at a Port-sponsored public hearing, at the Lyons Ferry Marina restaurant last week. A new master facility plan will help the Port in seeking funds toward updating and modernizing the aging infrastructure at the marina. The marina was constructed in the early 1970s....
DAYTON-Dayton natives, Carlos "Charlie" Oribio, and Sebastiana Radebaugh, are now working alongside Shakira Bye and Vicki Zoller, Head Librarian Dusty Waltner, and pages Don Fulbright and Andrew Price, at the Dayton Memorial Library. Dusty Waltner said Oribio learns quickly, has a lot of enthusiasm and has good customer skills. "His last employer said he is the ideal employee," she said. Oribio said he was happy to be working at the same library he spent many happy hours in as a youth. While in...
DAYTON-Steve Martin has a new job title. He is now the Executive Coordinator for the Governor's Salmon Recovery Office. Martin said he started his new job on Aug. 1, and he is currently traveling back and forth from his office in Olympia to, his home in Dayton. "I have no plans to move. I am deeply rooted in our community," said Martin, whose wife Jody and twin daughters are at home in Dayton. Martin said he will be "mostly on the road", as he has been tasked with building relationships with...
The much anticipated return of Family Story Time and Dinner begins on Tues., Sept. 5. This event will be ongoing on the first Tuesday of each month, at 6 p.m., through December. Book Chat, the “Not a Book Club Book Club,” returns on Sat., Sept. 16, at 6:00 p.m. We are looking forward to hearing what everybody has been reading, all summer. Plus, there is ALWAYS PIE!! The Friends of the Library meeting is at 4 p.m. on Wed., Sept. 20. Robot Club will meet on Sept. 22 from 3:15 – 4:30 p.m. Micah and Me Children’s Music Show, a dance party for tod...
DAYTON--The Washington state legislature recently approved a four-year, 7.3 billion education package to satisfy a Supreme Court ruling requiring the state to fully fund basic education. The burden of basic teacher salaries will now be shifted to the state from local districts and salaries will be paid depending on regional housing costs. The amount set aside from the package for 2018-19 biennium is $1.8 billion. Details about how funds will be disbursed and what the rules are, are being...
Campground 3 and Deer Lake Access road will be closed longer than anticipated as work has just begun on Rainbow Lake. Culbert Construction of Pasco has been awarded the project to deepen the lake so it can be reconfigured. The goal is to open up more flood plain for the Tucannon River, improve water quality to the Tucannon Hatchery, and to improve fishing in the lake. The project is part of the 2014 W. T. Wooten Floodplain Management Plan....
DAYTON— The final estimate from FEMA for the cost of repairing city roads damaged by winter snow and ice has come in at roughly $1,034,700.00, said City Administrator Trina Cole, at last week’s city council meeting. “FEMA provides 75% of the funding. The state authorized that portion of their capital improvement budget; they will provide 12.5%, and the city is obligated for 12.5%,” she said. “The money is in the bank,” she added. “As soon as we finish design and put it out for bid, we can go to construction.” Construction will take place early...
Plea Changes: -Benjamin Glen Smith, 34, Dayton; charged with rape of a child in the third degree, two counts of first-degree child molestation, two counts of second-degree child molestation, and two counts of third-degree child molestation. Court records state Smith did not want to go to trial and changed his plea to guilty on all counts, refusing the state’s offer for settlement. Following a pre-sentence investigation, he is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 6. Smith, a former Washington State Penitentiary correctional officer, is being h...
DAYTON - Eleven-year-old Elsie Mann has had a fun summer filled with new experiences while representing Columbia County as the 2017 Jackpot Rodeo Queen. Mann, daughter of Jeni Richie and Chris Mann, said she is excited to be in the arena during Dayton's Jackpot Rodeo on Sat., Sept. 9. While many of her summer experiences – such as speaking in front of crowds – have been new, riding in the Columbia County Fairgrounds arena is not. Mann began competing in leadline barrel racing when she was jus...
COLUMBIA COUNTY – Every year, the weekend after Labor Day brings about a sense of joy for those both young and old in Columbia County. A weekend full of fun awaits as kids get a day off school and a chance to make money on the livestock they have been raising for the previous months. Of course, this is the Columbia County Fair. Another fixture of the fair each year, in addition to the livestock showing's and demolition derby, are the presiding Fair Hostesses, which are chosen by the Columbia C...
DAYTON—There will be something for everyone at the 2017 Columbia County Fair, which takes place this year on Sept. 8-10. Step right up and see if you have what it takes to win Freddie’s games! Freddie Prez is bringing games and contests to the fair, including the chance to win $10,000 in a Frisbee contest. Catch Freddie Prez roaming the Midway on Friday from 3-4:30 p.m., from 5:30-6 p.m., and from 7-9:30 p.m. On Saturday, Prez will be on the Midway from 3-3:30 p.m., and from 5:30-6 p.m., and...
Eighteen-year-old Josh Camacho was LifeFlighted from the Middlepoint Trail area in Columbia County when he was knocked unconscious after falling while attempting to climb a rock wall on Tues., Aug. 22. Camancho, of the Walla Walla area, was hiking with his girlfriend and father, according to a Columbia County Sheriff's Office press release. The group hiked two to three miles off the trail when Camancho decided to try and climb the wall. Comancho lost consciousness for a short time and sustained...
DAYTON – Excavation began in earnest this week at the site of Columbia Pulp's new straw pulp plant, about five miles west of Starbuck. Crews from Pacific Civil and Infrastructure, the general contractor for the new plant, moved equipment onto the site on Monday and began moving dirt. Nearly four years after Columbia Pulp first announced plans for its new plant, funding finally closed on Aug. 9, on both the equity and bond financing for the project. The Washington Economic Development Finance A...
DAYTON – Dayton resident and State Farm Insurance agent Bette Lou Crothers is doing what she can to support Dan and Ginny Butler in their quest to organize a Boys & Girls Club in Dayton. Now she needs community support to win $25,000 toward the cause. Crothers entered the Boys & Girls Club project in the State Farm Neighborhood Assist national grant competition in June. State Farm reviewed and scored the 2,000 submissions, narrowing it down to 200 finalists. The Boys & Girls Club made the cut. T...
DAYTON – The Missoula Children's Theatre (MCT), the nation's largest touring children's theatre, has once again partnering with the Liberty Theater to bring a week-long summer camp to our community, and a fabulous play to the Liberty stage. MCT has been touring for more than 40 years, sending team members to nearly 1,200 communities from Montana to Japan. These teams arrive in towns with a set, lights, costumes, props and make-up; just about everything they need to put on a play. The one t...
Dayton – Beau Sabin and Rick Nicely of Pillars of Society Woodworks, LLC have been tasked with moving a small log cabin from its current site in the backyard of a home on W. Richmond St., to its new location at the Smith Hollow School House Museum, and with its reconstruction. The cabin was unbuilt, beginning with the last piece added when it was first built. The pieces are being numbered, and photographed, before they are moved. "The more pictures, the more documentation, the better," said S...
DAYTON—With no immediate plan to replace Planning Director Karen Scharer, who is no longer employed by the city, and with the news that Columbia Pulp is moving forward with its development plans, local officials have been scrambling to put together a seamless plan for providing planning and building services, in the county, and in the city. On Aug. 9, County Planning Director Kim Lyonnaise told the county commissioners that his office is much busier than usual. He said that one day he yelled out of his office, to Greg Abramson and Meagan B...
At last week’s meeting the Columbia County Board of Commissioners signed agreements between the county and the U.S. Geologic Survey Department, and between the county and the Department of Natural Resources for high resolution lidar topographic mapping of the county, that will take place in the fall of 2017. Public Works Director Andrew Woods told the commissioners, “FEMA is on board for flood maps. The DNR is on board for slopes and rockslides. The USDS wants the maps, and the Corps will hap...
