BRIEFS

JANUARY BILL SHOWS SURCHARGE WAITSBURG - The city of Waitsburg would like to let the citizens know the fuel surcharge approved as a part of the new solid waste agreement with Basin Disposal will be present on the utility bills that will be arriving in January. For more information about your bill, call 509-337-6371.

LOCALS RUN TRI CITIES RACE TRI CITIES - Waitsburger Joanna Lanning and her daughter, Marci Jo (a former W-P cross country and track athlete) participate in the Cable Bridge Run in Pasco each December. It's the largest annual race in the Tri-Cities, this year drawing over 2,000 participants. It features a 1-mile run; a 5K and a 10k. Marci Jo and Joanna ran the 5k. This year, the pair was joined at the race by two of WP cross country athletes Seth Deal (a junior) and Emily Adams (7th grade); along with Emily's mom, Ann Adams. They all did the 5k. There were 1,515 runners in the 5K, the biggest race of the day and Deal came in third overall with a time of 17:42 and he was second in his age group, 13-19 years, with 90 runners. Emily Adams was the fifth woman in with a time of 22:02. She was also first in her age group, 1-12, with 70 runners.

CHRISTIAN WOMEN'S LUNCHEON DAYTON - The Christian Women's Connection (CWC) Luncheon will be held at the Youth Building at the fairgrounds in Dayton on Wednesday, Jan. 11 from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. The cost is $10 and will be catered by Dayton General Hospital. The speaker/special feature for this month is Cathy Rasley, the energetic owner of the unique Hot Mama's Espresso in Walla Walla. She has been a cheer coach for 17 years at Walla Walla High School and has worked as a special education teacher's assistant. Paige Wood will sweeten the air with her music. She is a 14-year-old homeschooler living in Waitsburg, who keeps busy with a multitude of activities. Please RSVP and childcare is provided. Call Judy Jackson at 399-2005 to reserve your lunch and also to let her know if you need a babysitter for the luncheon. Please honor your reservation; "gift" it to a friend, or call Judy by noon on Friday, Jan. 6 to cancel if your plans change; otherwise, we are obligated to pay for your meal if you are unable to attend.

PIONEERS SCHOLARSHIP WALLA WALLA - The Walla Walla Chapter No. 12 of the Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington annually offers a $500 scholarship to students in local schools. The deadline for those interested in applying is May 15, 2012. To qualify, an applicant must be a descendant of a person who established residence in Washington prior to 1871, Oregon prior to 1853, Idaho prior to 1864 and Montana, west of the crest of the Rocky Montana, prior to 1864. In addition to this, the applicant must be a resident of Walla Walla County, Dayton, Wash., or Milton-Freewater, Ore. Please contact your school counselor for an application packet, or address your request to Scholarship Chairman DPW, No. 12, Francis Ave., Walla Walla.

ARMY CORPS AWARDED WALLA WALLA - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Walla Walla District Contracting Division set records during fiscal year 2011 in the number and value of contracting actions executed, leading to two national-level awards for contracting excellence. Tracy Wickham, the district's construction and architectural engineering contracting branch chief and Walla Walla resident, earned the Corps' 2011 Excellence in Contracting, Mission Execution Award. He obligated more than $60 million of the district's overall total of about $114.5 million in contracts awarded during 2011, a budget cycle common to many federal agencies which spans October 2010 through September 2011. In addition, the Walla Walla District earned the Corps of Engineers "Head of Contracting Activity's (HCA's) Award for Excellence in Contracting - Best Small Business Office" during FY 2011.

CAMPFIRE USA GETS CHECK WALLA WALLA -- The Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce awarded a check for $870 to Camp Fire USA from ornament sales at the Annual Awards Banquet. The Chamber's 129th Annual Awards Banquet was held on Nov. 30 at the Marcus Whitman Hotel & Conference Center. Camp Fire USA and the Chamber teamed up in adding another element to the Awards Banquet this year. The children from Camp Fires various programs hand decorated 200 ornaments that were sold at the auction. Some of the ornaments contained valuable prizes that a few lucky winners went home with.

FIRST THURSDAY CONCERT WALLA WALLA -- The First Thursday concert, Jan. 5, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 323 Catherine Street, Walla Walla, from 12:15 to 12:50 p.m., will feature music performed by Debra Bakland (formerly Richter) of Canadian University College, LaCombe, Alberta, playing piano; Amy Dodds of Whitman College, violin, and Lyn Ritz of Walla Walla University, violin and viola. The music of Mozart, Beach, Clarke and Tchaikovsky will be on the program. The performers have asked that contributions be given to the Red Cross. Bring a friend, your lunch and enjoy the music. For more information contact Tanya at 529-1083.