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Blue Mountain Christian School Presents 4th Annual Dinner Theater Fundraiser

Be sure not to miss "Down to Earth", this year's dinner theater production and fund raiser for the Blue Mountain Christian School. The play will be presented April 17th, 18th and 19th at the Columbia County Fairgrounds Pavilion.

"Down to Earth", written by Bettye Knapp and directed by Dayton resident Peggy James, tells the story of two full-fledged angels and one "one-winged apprentice" who descend to earth to pick up two elderly souls whose time has come. The apprentice has a knack for making people fall in love, and much mischief ensues.

An auction and other fundraising opportunities will be held before each live stage performance. On Friday and Saturday, dinner will be served from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., with the play beginning at 7:00 p.m. On Sunday, a dessert buffet will be provided from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., with the final performance of the play beginning at 4:00 p.m.

April 17th, 18th & 19th at the Columbia County Fairgrounds Pavilion.

 

Friday's dinner will be herbed turkey breast with all the trimmings, served 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Live production at 7:00 p.m.

 

Saturday's dinner will be baron of beef, served 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Live production at 7:00 p.m.

 

Dessert buffet will be provided Sunday from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Live production at 4:00 p.m.

Tickets $20 per person.

 

Tickets available at:
Dingle's of Dayton; Bank of America, Dayton Branch; Dayton Mercantile; Walla Walla Sew & Vac & Spas; Todd Bauman State Farm, Walla Walla; Simpson Spine & Sport, Milton-Freewater; Darral's Natural Foods/Valley Produce, College Place.

 

Or place an order for tickets online at www.daytonbmcs.org. The transaction goes through the PayPal shopping cart process and tickets will be mailed following completion of the transaction.

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Walla Walla Symphony Presents "Northern Lights" Concert April 21

Works by composers from the "Northern Lights" countries of Norway and Finland will be featured at the Walla Walla Symphony's concert on Tuesday, April 21 at 7:30 at Cordiner Hall. Internationally known pianist Michael Lewin performs Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg's Piano Concerto in A Minor with the Symphony under the baton of Maestro Yaacov Bergman, who also conducts Finnish composer Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 3 in C Major, Op. 52 and Polish composer Witold Lutoslawski's Mala Suite (Little Suite).

Pianist Michael Lewin performed with the Walla Walla Symphony in 1987, 1989 and 1999 and was a visiting professor at Whitman College in the late ‘80s. Deeply committed to guiding and nurturing gifted young pianists, he is one of America's most sought-after teachers. He is on the Piano Faculty of The Boston Conservatory, where he maintains a select studio of prize-winning students and is the Artistic Director of the Piano Masters Series. A native of New York, he studied at the Juilliard School. His teachers included Leon Fleisher, Irwin Freundlich, Adele Marcus, and Yvonne Lefébure. For more information, please visit his website at www.michaellewin.com .

Wine sponsor for the evening is Cadaretta Winery. Season sponsor is The Kinsman Foundation. All seating for the concert is reserved. Tickets for the concert are available online at www.wwsymphony.org, by calling the Symphony office at 509-529-8020, or at the Symphony office at 26 E. Main, Suite 201. Tickets are also available at the door.

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General

Dayton School Superintendent Candidates Narrowed to Three

In late march, the Dayton School Board conducted personal interviews with five candidates for the school superintendent position. Following those interviews, three semifinalists were selected for more in-depth interviews in April. Susan Bell from Omak, Douglas Johnson from Odessa and Bill Woodford from Alaska are the three semifinalists.

The candidate who is chosen will replace current superintendent Rich Stewart, who will leave at the end of this school year.

On the evening of April 9th, a meeting will be held to allow members of the public to meet the three candidates and ask questions. The meeting will be held on-campus, but a final place and time had not been announced as the paper went to press. On the 9th and 10th the school board will also conduct on-campus interactions between staff and the three candidates. The board will then select one finalist for further review prior to a final Board decision later in April.

"I was very surprised and pleased that we had 19 applicants for this position," says school board chair Steve Martin. "The people I talked to all said that they saw Dayton and our schools as places they'd really like to work and live."

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Walla Walla Kennel Club Dog Show Coming in April

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Walla Walla Kennel Club, which is holding its annual Dog Show April 25th and 26th. The show will be at the Walla Walla County Fairgrounds, starting at 8:00 a.m. each morning. The general public is welcome to attend – admission is free, but parking requires a small fee.

Most of the 195 breeds recognized by the American Kennel Club will be represented, and the show is conducted in accordance with AKC rules. Dogs are shown by Professional Handlers as well as Breeder-Owner-Handlers and Owner-Handlers.

Supplies such as leashes, collars and shampoo can be purchased on-site from vendors during the show. Lunch is available as well.

Sandy Hawks of Dayton is the current President of the Walla Walla Kennel Club. "There will be 7 rings set up, all running continuously throughout the morning," she says. "This is a good place to learn about the pros and cons of each breed. Which dog is kid-friendly, needs lots or little exercise, which needs lots of room to run, which is a great apartment or small-yard breed."
People interested in purchasing an AKC purebred puppy are encouraged to ask show participants, says Hawks. "An exhibitor can point the general public toward reputable breeders."

The Walla Walla Kennel Club was inducted as an AKC club in 1940. They have monthly meetings and the public is welcome to attend. For more information about the Walla Walla Kennel Club and its 75th Anniversary dog show, go to www.wwkc.org.

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Weller Public Library in Waitsburg

In our feature story about libraries in the March issue of Blue Mountain News, we neglected to mention Waitsburg's Weller Library. The Weller Public Library has been providing service for the citizens of Waitsburg since the 1930s. The library is open 10 hours a week under the direction of Jan Cronkhite. Because the City of Waitsburg funds the library and does not have a contract with the Walla Walla County Library District or Walla Walla Public Library, residents of Waitsburg who want access to WALNET library resources must pay a non-resident fee of $135.

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Tumac Takes On STIHL Products

Tumac Machinery and Outdoor has announced that it has begun offering the STIHL product line at their Melrose Street location in Eastgate. STIHL products will also be available through Tumac's store in Dayton.
"STIHL is a natural fit for Tumac as a complement to our highly regarded John Deere line of small tractors and lawn mowers," says Tim Larkin, CEO of Tumac.
STIHL products are sold and repaired through a network of nearly 8,000 dealers in the United States. These dealers are trained by STIHL, Inc. extensively on the products and the features that they offer. For more information on all of the products offered by Tumac, go to www.tumac.biz.

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Dayton Elementary and Middle School Speech Contest

The public is invited to attend the 26th annual local competition of the Blue Mountain Speech Contest. The competition will be held at the Liberty Theater Wednesday, April 8, at 6:30 p.m. There is no admission charge.
Several Dayton Elementary School third graders will give "exhibition" speeches to begin the evening. Then, about 25 students in grades 4 through 8 will participate in the judged portion of the speech contest.
The participants must choose one of three categories: Oral interpretation of poetry or prose, a famous speech from real life, fiction or drama, or self expression of the contestant's own writing. Contestants will be judged, and students with the top three performances from each grade will qualify to participate in the regional competition of the Blue Mountain Speech Contest, to be held in May in Waitsburg.
For more information, contact Dayton Elementary School at (509) 382-2507.

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Spring Work Day at Lyons Ferry Park

In preparation for the opening of the summer season, workers are needed for a spring cleanup day at Lyons Ferry Park on Saturday, April 18th from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided.

Work to be done includes tree and shrub trimming, raking and yard cleanup. Participants are asked to bring work gloves and yard tools such as rakes, shovels, clippers, etc.

The park is located eight miles northwest of Starbuck on Highway 261. Interested participants are asked to sign up so a lunch count can be obtained. Please call (509) 399-8020.

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Salmon Recovery Habitat Tours

The Snake River Salmon Recovery Board will host two Habitat Project Accomplishment Tours for the public on April 21st and 22nd. Participants will learn what has been done in the Walla Walla and Lower Snake River watersheds to protect and restore salmon habitat. Over 240 projects have been completed since 2000 and another 100 projects are in progress.

arration will be provided by Project Implementers and SRSRB staff.
The Walla Walla Watershed tour will depart from the WWCC Walla Walla campus parking lot at 9:00 a.m. on the 21st. The Lower Snake River Watershed tour will originate at the Clarkston campus of WWCC at 9:00 a.m. on the 22nd.

Participants should wear appropriate outdoor clothing as the tours will proceed rain or shine and some field walks are planned. Registration is strongly encouraged so that meals and transportation can be planned accordingly. The tours are completely free of charge.

For more information or to register, contact Kris Buelow at kris@snakeriverboard.org or Anne Chapman at (509) 382-4115.

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Free IMPACT! Classes in Dayton

The Walla Walla Community College IMPACT! Life Transitions Program plans to offer free classes in Dayton for men and women who want to enter the workforce or participate in education/training programs to become self-sufficient. The Dayton class, which is sponsored in part by the Columbia County Rural Library District, is scheduled to run April 13 through May 7. Students will meet Monday through Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Dayton Memorial Library.

The class will cover identification and application of personal assets and strengths; time/stress/money management; essential workplace skills; employment/training resources and opportunities; effective job search strategies; and a plan of action. The program also provides a variety of personalized support services to help participants to become successful. Students who complete the course will receive three credits from WWCC.

A minimum registration of six students is required for the class to proceed as planned. Please register by calling the Dayton Memorial Library at (509) 382-4131 or visit the library at 111 S. 3rd Street. More information can also be obtained by calling Deana York at (509) 524-5166.

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BMHS Spring Bingo Night

The Blue Mountain Heritage Society is sponsoring a special Spring Bingo Family Fun Night Saturday, April 4th from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Dayton Elementary School multipurpose room. The event is a fundraiser for the Columbia County Veteran's Memorial and the Palus Museum.

Hard cards are $1.00 each, and blackout flimsies are fifty cents. Donate a canned food item and receive a free flimsie – limit 3 per person. Hams and prizes will be awarded for each game. Special blackout prizes will also be awarded:

•Wild Horse Pendleton Getaway
•Two half hogs, cut and wrapped
•One quarter beef, cut and wrapped
•A Tri-Cities Getaway
•A Waitsburg Getaway, including Bluewood passes

Hamburgers, hot dogs, drinks and desserts will be for sale. Come enjoy the fun and help raise money for the new Veteran's Memorial that will soon be constructed at the corner of Fourth and Main Streets in Dayton.

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Related Articles

News

• "Early Columbia County Schools" at the Depot Museum by Brittany Briggs
• Blue Mountain Christian School Presents 4th Annual DInner Theater Fundraiser
• Dayton's West End to Get Boost from Stimulus Funds by Ken Graham

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