News Briefs
- Citizens' Academy Begins in February
Columbia County Farm Bureau Considers Merger Options
Grant Provides Two Public Computers for Libary
Leadership Change at Blue Mountain Counseling
Liberty Theater and Dayton Schools Present Community Education Program
Prescott School Levy on February Ballot
Variety Show Auditions in January
Will You MIss These When They're Gone?
Columbia County Farm Bureau Considers Merger Options
The Board of Directors of Columbia County Farm Bureau, Inc. has agreed to enter discussions with AgLink, Inc., a farm cooperative headquartered in Reardon, WA, about a possible purchase of CCFB by AgLink.
Board Chair Earle Marvin says that the Board has examined a number of options to keep CCFB operating in the face of a lack of local profitability. Marvin says that economic conditions, combined with stricter lending criteria at banks, have made it very difficult for CCFB to continue operating as an independent cooperative.
After weighing a number of options, the Board chose to begin discussions with AgLink because a proposal from AgLink came nearest to achieving its two most important goals: protection of members’ equity and continuation of a viable locally-controlled cooperative.
CCFB General Manager Joe Bush says that acquisition of CCFB by AgLink would allow CCFB to operate with almost no changes to current services and no loss of employees. Representatives from CCFB would hold seats on the AgLink board, assuring a good measure of local control over operations in Columbia County.
Further details of progress and negotiations with AgLink will be made available in January. A formal vote of members of CCFB will be held at its Annual Meeting on February 27th. Prior to that meeting, Board members will provide information and answer questions for all CCFB voting members. For more information, contact Joe Bush at (509) 382-4743.
Will You Miss These When They’re Gone?
Anyone who has been involved in community or social activities in Dayton in the last three decades probably has fond (or not-so-fond) memories of sitting in couches and chairs like these. This furniture was installed in the Delany Building (next to the Dayton Memorial Library) when it first opened in the mid 1970s.
The Friends of the Dayton Memorial Library hope to purchase new furniture for the Delany Room in 2010. The Friends will hold an open house and fundraiser on January 30th from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Live entertainment and refreshments will be provided. A silent auction will be held and gifts and pledges are encouraged.
For more information about fundraising for the new furniture, or to make a donation, call the Friends President, Ruth Janes, at (509) 382-4138. Donations can be mailed to the Friends of the Dayton Memorial Library at P.O. Box 74, Dayton. Anyone donating $100 or more can have their name placed on a plaque.
Liberty Theater and Dayton Schools Present Community Education Program
A new series of community education courses will be held in Dayton in January through March. Subjects range from western literature and computer spreadsheets to tap dancing and fly tying. Most of the courses are from one to four sessions and will be held either at the Liberty Theater or at the Dayton High School. Courses will be held on weekday evenings or on Saturdays.
Courses will include the following:
Cake Decorating
Card Making
Fly Tying
Introduction to Real Estate
Basic Personal Lines of Insurance
Compost 101
Memoir Writing
New Western Literature
Excel Fundamentals
Paper Making
Beginning Acting
Introduction to Tap Dancing
The Art of 35mm Film Presentation
Sewing and Costume Basics
Film Studies: The Documentary
The Community Education program is a joint effort by the Dayton Public Schools and the Liberty Theater. Costs for the courses range from $8 to $60. For more information and an enrollment form, stop by the Liberty Theater or the Dayton Schools administration office. Or call (509) 382-1380.
Citizens’ Academy Begins in February
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office will offer its 2010 session of the popular Citizens’ Academy beginning in February. The program consists of two-hour presentations one night each week for 17 weeks.
As part of the program, students will tour the Sheriff’s Office, the Communications Center, the Columbia County Jail and the Walla Walla Juvenile Justice Center. Class presentation topics will include crime scene investigations, traffic collision investigations, drug enforcement, crime prevention, 9-1-1 public education and domestic violence. Students will also be able to ride along with a deputy while on patrol, responding to calls and observing how they are handled.
Previous sessions of the Citizens’ Academy have been a great success, with fifty people graduating. Enrollment for the upcoming Academy class is on a first come first serve basis. Enrollment forms are available at the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, in the lower level of the Court House at 341 E. Main St. in Dayton, or by contacting Academy Coordinator Tim Quigg at (509) 382-2518.
Leadership Change at Blue Mountain Counseling
Dayton resident Ken Roughton, who has been the Director of Blue Mountain Counseling in Dayton since its formation in 2004, has been hired by the Greater Columbia Regional Support Network (RSN) in Tri-Cities as its new Director. Roughton will take over January 1st. The Greater Columbia RSN is a state agency that oversees mental health services through agencies in several counties in southeastern Washington, including Blue Mountain Counseling.
The Blue Mountain Counseling Board of Directors has named Dimita Warren as Interim Director to replace Roughton, beginning in January. Warren is currently BMC’s Assistant Director and Business Manager. The Board has begun the process of hiring a permanent replacement for Roughton.
Blue Mountain Counseling serves Columbia County residents, offering programs in mental health, chemical dependency and developmental disabilities counseling. The agency also provides transitional mental health housing as well as 24 hour Crisis Response Services.
Variety Show Auditions in January
The theme for this year’s Variety Show at the Liberty Theater will be “Love”. Director Bev Startin says that the show will feature songs about “falling in love, falling out of love and trouble with love.”
Auditions for the Variety Show will be held at the theater on January 4th, 6th and 7th from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. Rehearsals are Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, beginning January 25th.
Five shows will be performed this year, on Wednesday, March 10th, Friday, March 12th, two shows on Saturday, March 13th and one on Sunday, March 14th.
For more information, or for an audition appointment, contact Bev Startin at (509) 382-4093 (before 8:30 p.m.) or email talent@webmail.bmi.net. The Variety Show is a presentation of the Touchet Valley Arts Council.
Prescott School Levy on February Ballot
A two-year replacement Maintenance and Operations levy will be on the ballot for voters in the Prescott School District in February. If the measure is successful, the District will receive $585,000 in each of 2011 and 2012. The current M&O levy is providing the District with $470,000 each in 2009 and 2010.
Prescott School Superintendent Dr. Carolyn Marsh says that severe cuts in school funding by the State of Washington have made it necessary for the District to significantly increase the levy request. “We’re facing $200,000 in annual state funding reductions,” she says. Even with the levy passage, Marsh says the School District will be facing a reduced budget for the next few years.
If the upcoming levy measure passes, the expected levy rate for property owners in the Prescott School District will be $2.60 per thousand dollar valuation in 2011 and 2012.
Grant Provides Two Public Computers for Library
The Friends of the Dayton Memorial Library received a $3,000 grant from the Blue Mountain Community Foundation for the purchase of two public-use computers for the library. The new computers feature wide flat-screen monitors and the Windows 7 operating system.
“The Library District is very pleased to now offer a total of six public-use computers thanks to the Friends of the Library and BMCF,” says Columbia County Rural Library District Director Janet Lyon. She expects the new computers to significantly reduce the time people have to wait to use the library’s public computers. As of the end of November, the total number of individual computer sessions for 2009 was 4,686.