Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
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OLYMPIA-As summer heats up, the Washington State Parks Boating Program urges boaters and paddlers to adhere to safe practices on the water, including wearing a life jacket at all times. In the last 30 days, 25 recreational boating accidents and five fatalities have occurred across the state. "We are asking all boat and paddle-craft owners and operators to help reduce fatalities and injuries on the water," said Rob Sendak. "Boaters need to take personal responsibility for their safety as well as...
This was the fifth of the Botany in the Blues series of workshops since the first outing in 2018. Mr. Doyle also led a botanical excursion to Zumwalt Prairie in 2019 for the Blue Mountain Land Trust. Both of this year's workshops included an online instructional session several days before each of the field trips. Additional sessions of the popular Botany in the Blues workshops are anticipated in 2021....
DAYTON-Dayton Lions Club members Glen Mendel, Jim Neace, Terry Hoon, Dave Elkins and John Bailey took a break from scraping and painting some of the bleachers and dugouts at the high school athletic field. This week they are painting the dugouts near the Booker Rest Home Annex with help from the Dayton School District who provided the paint, rollers and brushes....
DAYTON—The Port of Columbia will once again serve as the conduit for grant funds for Columbia County businesses that have suffered financial harm due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four different funding sources have provided or promised a total of $229,639 in financial aid to be allocated through a grant program coordinated by the Port. “The first grant program we coordinated helped 25 local businesses with grants totaling more than $154,138,” stated Jennie Dickinson, executive director of the Port of Columbia. “But it’s not enough. We’ve been gett...
WALLA WALLA—On Sunday, July 30, the Washington Department of Ecology announced water restrictions for many Touchet River basin irrigators beginning as early as this week. DOE’s Regional Watermaster Eric Hartwig is planning to call or visit junior water rights holders to inform them of the curtailment order, and he will follow up with status updates throughout the season. The Touchet River is running about 50 cubic feet per second near its mid-section, and under 20 cubic feet per second at its confluence with the Walla Walla River. The enduring...
DAYTON—Columbia County Public Health released the following announcement on Monday, August 3, regarding its first confirmed COVID-19 related death: The individual was male and over the age of 50. He tested positive for the virus on July 27, and passed away in a Spokane hospital. As a small community, we are saddened by the passing of this individual and our thoughts and condolences go out to the family. Columbia County Public Health is collaborating with Columbia County Health Systems, Dayton School District, and other businesses to insure h...
DAYTON—On Monday, July 20, the Columbia County Commissioners considered whether to place an advisory ballot before voters in November to assess the people’s interest in becoming part of the State of Liberty. Earlier in July, they were approached by a Liberty State representative, urging them to do so. During a work session on Monday of last week, the commissioners decided not to proceed with that. Commissioner Ryan Rundell said he cast his vote as more of a “not yet” vote rather than a straight...
WALLA WALLA—A free Wi-Fi connection is now available for visitors to the new Plaza on First Avenue between Main and Alder streets. PocketiNet is providing the Wi-Fi hotspot via its downtown Walla Walla Fiber backbone. It offers high-speed internet access to all visitors as they enjoy the Plaza environment. Visitors can access the Plaza’s free hotspot by connecting their device(s) to “PocketiNet Free Hotspot.” Each device (laptop, tablet, phone, etc.) logged in can enjoy two hours of internet connection per day on the hotspot. It is active...
DAYTON—School clothes will be available free of charge on Sunday, August 16 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sponsored by the Seventh Day Adventist Church-Community Service Center, this event takes place in the parking lot at 1525 4th Street in Dayton. Call for more information regarding possible COVID-19 mandated closures (509) 382-4020....
Firefighters from a Umatilla National Forest Type 6 engine dig up and quench remaining hot spots along the line of the Matlock Fire. The lightning-caused fire burned 85 acres in the Umatilla National Forest, 13.5 miles northwest of Ukiah, Oregon, it is now 95% contained. Some hazards and fire traffic remain in the area of the Matlock Fire, so to protect public and firefighter safety, the public is asked to avoid the fire area. A road closure map can be viewed on the Matlock Fire InciWeb site at...
PRESCOTT—New Prescott School Superintendent Justin Bradford is inviting the community to meet with him to share their concerns, hopes, and vision for the Prescott School District. On Wednesday, August 12 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Mr. Bradford will be available to meet with at the Prescott School Library. The library is located at 207 South A Street in Prescott. A second opportunity to meet the Superintendent will be on Friday, August 14 from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the Vista Hermosa Community Center, located at 1111 Fishhook Park Road. Please note: V...
Find detailed, accurate COVID-19 activity levels in our counties and our state here: Walla Walla County Health Department lists new, confirmed, recovered, and active cases in isolation daily at 5 p.m. at this link: https://www.co.walla-walla.wa.us/government/health_department/index.php The site also lists confirmed cases by community, gender, and age. Columbia County lists positive cases in-county and out of county (for those who contracted the virus in the county but live in another county), recovered cases in county and out, as well as...
WALLA WALLA—Would you like to receive County emergency notifications directly to your cell phone? Walla Walla County Emergency Management has added a new feature to its Citizen Alert emergency notification system from Everbridge to make it even easier to sign up for Alerts, Advisories, and Community Messages. Residents can text their Walla Walla County zip code to 888777 and receive real-time alerts and advisories directly from emergency management and other local agencies. There is no charge for registering, but standard text messaging rates w...
WALLA WALLA—The Blue Mountain Land Trust is introducing their new Botany in the Blues series, co-sponsored by the Washington Native Plant Society. The conservation organization will facilitate a “close-up” look at the plant diversity of our local Blue Mountains. Two options available: Join in on Wednesday, August 5th, at 7 p.m. for an online introduction to the local plant life found in our Blue Mountains accompanied by Emil’s Botany Booklet. Take this online session by itself and hit the tra...
WAITSBURG—The City of Waitsburg passed a $5.00 per user per month increase in utilities for the remainder of the year, then an additional $5.00 per month per user starting in January of 2021 to be used to help fund flood control improvements and repairs in and around the City of Waitsburg. Without an active flood control district, the City has limited funding options for flood control expenses. The City Council considered a variety of options, including a general property tax increase or a property tax bond before settling on the utility tax i...
WAITSBURG—The Weller Public Library will be offering activities for area youth in lieu of the summer reading program. Supplies will be available for pickup in the library foyer. This week, the library will be holding a coloring contest with prizes for the participants. There will be a dropbox at the library for completed pages, and children must put their names on their coloring page to get a prize. The projects will be: July 30- Coloring Contest August 6: Dinosaur Dig August 13: DIY Kite K...
DAYTON—The Columbia County Rural Library District board has announced the resignation of Library Director Dusty Waltner, who has accepted another job, effective July 31. Board Chair Karin Spann said because of uncertainties concerning COVID-19, and possible budget shortfalls, the decision has been made to appoint Kristie Korslund as Interim Director, for six months. As an employee at the library, Korslund has been involved in the library’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. “This will get us through budgeting at year-end when we hopef...
OLYMPIA—The Washington State Coronavirus Response Joint Information Center reported on a new Center for Disease Control (CDC) report that emphasizes that COVID-19 can cause prolonged illness, including in younger people. The CDC released on Friday, July 24, findings from a telephone survey that indicates more than one-third of people diagnosed with COVID-19 who did not need hospitalization, had not returned to their usual state of health within two to three weeks of being tested. Among those b...
WAITSBURG—Matt and Krystal Wyatt Helping Hands of Waitsburg just announced a plan to clean up Preston Park this Saturday, August 1st, at 9 a.m. Lend a helping hand to clean up all sandbags that were left to help with the flood and remove the reminders of the devastation that affected over 60 homes in our community. We can also help out our City of Waitsburg workers who are doing a fantastic job with a high workload. With enough trucks and workers, the task will go very quickly. Needed: • Trucks to load sandbags • Masked workers with glove...
OLYMPIA—The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) released the latest statewide situation report on Friday, July 17, which shows that Washington State as a whole is in an explosive situation. Transmission continues to increase or accelerate across most of Washington state. All indicators of the extent of viral spread are higher than last week, except for Yakima County. In both eastern and western Washington, cases are increasing fastest among 20-29-year-olds and are also growing in both younger and older age groups around them. There is n...
WALLA WALLA—The public is invited to attend the Walla Walla District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, change-of-command ceremony set for 10 a.m. on Friday, July 24. The ceremony will be live-streamed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/yPcI4jURgIY. Lt. Col. Richard T. Childers will assume command of the District from departing Commander Lt. Col. Christian N. Dietz, who commanded the Walla Walla District for two years and is moving on to serve as Chief of Engineering Plans and Operations and Deputy Engineer for Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM) at C...
OLYMPIA—Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler extended his emergency order requiring health insurers to cover telehealth and copays for testing. On Friday, July 17, Kreidler directed all state-regulated health insurers to make additional coverage changes to help consumers during the coronavirus pandemic. The orders are in effect until August 16 and include coverage for treatments and testing necessary during the current pandemic. Health insurers must continue coverage for telehealth service, and visits to drive-up testing sites are to be b...
Julia Leavitt has been promoted to Sherwood Trust’s Program Director, announced Sherwood Trust CEO Brian Hunt. Leavitt joined Sherwood Trust in November 2019 as Program Manager. As Program Director, Leavitt has responsibility for Sherwood Trust’s programming and education, including the Nonprofit and Community Learning Center, the annual Community Leadership program, and ongoing communications that support the Walla Walla Valley’s essential nonprofit sector. Leavitt also works to help support the Trust’s local grantmaking programs. “Sherwo...
DAYTON—Columbia County Public Health Director Martha Lanman has reported one new positive case of COVID-19, over the past weekend, in a woman under the age of 50. To date, 339 people have been tested for the virus in Columbia County. A woman in her 60s tested positive in March and has since recovered. Seven people related to one household who tested positive have also recovered. A man under the age of 50 has tested positive on July 9 and is recovering at home. Two tests are pending. There h...
OLYMPIA—The Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) today approved $2,005,000 in low-interest loans and $1,170,000 in grants for economic development, public infrastructure development and economic feasibility studies targeting business growth, job creation and broadband development in eight rural communities across the state. Projects awarded funding are in the following counties: Walla Walla County received funding for two projects: $50,000 grant to the City of College Place for a planning study for the city-owned F...
