The Waitsburg Times year in review

2020 isn't necessarily a year we want to look back at too closely just yet. There was no shortage of bleak headlines, it's true, but this year also proved how well the Touchet Valley bands together in adversity.

Most viewed stories on Waitsburgtimes.com by month

❏ January 1884 Local racer signs deal with racing company

❏ February 4266 Waitsburg homes and farms underwater

❏ March 3486 Inslee announces statewide social gathering restrictions

❏ April 1477 Walla Walla County COVID-19 cases doubled in the past week

❏ May 1719 New democratic candidate for the 16th Legislative District, p2

❏ June 1983 Two new restaurants and a fuel mart in Dayton

❏ July 1636 COVID-19 rapid testing available locally

❏ August 1316 Progress made on the Rattlesnake Fire in the Pomeroy Ranger District

❏ September 2376 Columbia-Walla Walla Fire District 2 announces new fire chief

❏ October 1300 Field burns are seasonal sight

❏ November 1190 Weinhard Cafe to close in December

❏ December 1110 Kathryn Witherington: Walla Walla's 12th Man

Honorable mentions

Other popular stories that earned the most clicks were the Focus on Volunteerism series and comfort food recipes for shrimp fried rice and bread pudding. Despite the flood, fires, viral outbreaks, and the toilet paper famine, Waitsburg Schools managed to celebrate the Class of 2020 in a big way. Banners were printed for each graduate, and a gallery drive was organized with a route that snaked all through Waitsburg to celebrate them safely.

Top 4 FB engagements

This year proves that Facebook visitors connect most with visual content. The devastating effects of a wildfire on the town of Malden as photographed by Whitman County Sheriff drone reached 9k, received 1.3k clicks, and had 523 comments and reactions. That post was the fourth most popular. Beyond that, our readers, like most internet users, click on cute animals. The three bears in the tub up on Jaspar Mountain reached 10.2k, with 755 clicks and 1k interactions.

The bears only trailed the leggy moose on the loose spotted running through Waitsburg by a few thousand views; 14.5k reached, 908 clicks, and 968 comments.

Sadly, Waitsburg's audience swelled immensely when the Touchet River Flooded US-12, with that post reaching 63.3k, 11.3k clicks and 48 reactions making it the single most popular by far. Access to real-time information about an area's struggles increases visibility and relief.

In September, the Blessing Box at the Waitsburg Christian Church was vandalized, and without hesitation, volunteers made repairs, and within hours the non-perishable donations were replenished.

As The Times moves into 2021, we are grateful for our community of readers who support us, contribute, and push us to work harder in publishing a truly local newspaper.

Thank you Waitsburg, Dayton, Starbuck, Walla Walla, and to a much lesser extent, Burbank.

Happy New Year!