KEN GRAHAM: FROM THE PUBLISHER

Yes, that’s right. Don’t let the near-triple-digit temperatures fool you; summer vacation is over.

Kids in Dayton and Prescott are back in school already, and Waitsburg’s kids will hit the books next week.

Every year at about this time, newspapers everywhere write optimistically about the excitement of the upcoming new school year. They also give a stern warning to all of us drivers: “Watch out for kids!”

Let me add my voice that. Our kids are a grade older, but they’re still kids. And they’re now gathering in one place once again.

(And kids, for goodness sake, watch out for cars! Us drivers are getting older too.)

Let’s also give a warm welcome back to the hardworking adults who work in our schools and help our kids learn. From the superintendents and principals, to the teachers, and right on down to the cooks in the kitchen. The people working in our local schools are dedicated to helping our kids grow into mature, hardworking adults, just like they are.

These people could work in other jobs where they could build things with tools that don’t talk back and misbehave. But they’ve chosen instead to put up with the challenges of kids and parents and co-workers, because being around kids and watching them grow and mature gives them great satisfaction.

The rest of us should take a lesson from our school staff and try to set a great example for our kids. After all, they’re watching us, whether we know it or not.

---

And back to school means back to the gridiron. Those awesome Huskies are starting their new season this weekend. So is that other team, the Cougars. (I can’t help it, I went to Washington, so cut me a break.)

The Cougars host Montana State Saturday night, and the Huskies travel to New Jersey to take on Rutgers on Friday night.

It promises to be a great college football season this year in the northwest. Both of those teams are ranked in the top 25 in the nation to start the season – Washington at number eight, and Washington State at 24.

These two teams also field two of the top quarterbacks in the country in Luke Falk (WSU) and Jake Browning (UW). The Apple Cup will certainly be another thriller.

The Seattle Seahawks finish their preseason schedule this week with a game against the Oakland Raiders Thursday night in Oakland. The Seahawks go on the road to start the regular season, traveling to Green Bay to take on the Packers. The Packers are always one of their toughest opponents.

Here in the Touchet Valley, the Dayton-Waitsburg football team, otherwise known as Valley Football, hits the field for the first time Friday night in Waitsburg, taking on Mac Hi.

DW had a great run last year, winning the Eastern Washington Athletic Conference championship and making it deep into the state playoffs.

All of the starters from that team are gone, but coach Troy Larsen and his staff are working with a very competitive bunch of kids, and they’re looking forward to another winning season.

I talked to Larsen earlier this week, and you can read a lot more about our conversation in our sports section a few pages over.

Both schools feature excellent volleyball teams this year. And Dayton will field a soccer team, while Waitsburg will field a (small) cross country team.

We will provide lots of coverage of all of our local teams in action this fall of couse, but we encourage our readers to go out and catch a lot of the action in person.

Hopefully the Dayton-Waitsburg combine will have an official mascot by this time next year, but until then: Go Bulldogs! Go Cardinals! And Go DW Combine Football Team!