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Waitsburg Mourns Loss of Waits Mill

Early on the morning of Sunday, September 6th, residents of Waitsburg awoke to a multi-alarm fire, with the historic Waits Mill engulfed in flames. The cause of the fire is unknown, and the structure was completely destroyed. The original mill, sitting north of town across the Touchet River, was built in 1865. The mill was added onto several times and operated continuously until 1957. The City of Waitsburg owned the structure and plans were underway to restore it. In October, 2008, our junior intern, David Frame, took several beautiful photos of the mill, including the one at top.

(Photos below by Ken Graham)

 

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P.C. Solutions Opens Dayton Main Street Office

Yara & Scott Underwood with son, Dominic

Scott and Yara Underwood have moved their computer repair and sales business from their home to a new home in Dayton at 202 E. Main Street – the former location of Hugs, Gifts and Collectibles.

Scott started PC Solutions in April, 2007. The business not only repairs and upgrades computers, but also sells and installs PCs, networking systems, and anti-virus and other software. Yara manages the PC Solutions office, while Scott spends much of his time on-site with clients.

Scott and Yara have a nine-month-old son, Dominic. "It was time to separate work from home," says Scott, of the move downtown. "We were very happy to find a nice spot where we can meet clients and also have plenty of room for our equipment and inventory."

PC Solutions is open 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Thursday and, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Friday. They can be reached by phone at (509) 382-1030 or online at www.pcscomputerguy.com.

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Grant Awarded for Cemetery Records Database

The Columbia County Rural Library District (CCRLD) has received a 2009 Washington Rural Heritage Grant of $6,144 for a project called "Cemeteries throughout Columbia County". The project will allow CCRLD to work with the Blue Mountain Heritage Society and the City of Dayton to digitize cemetery records from the Dayton City Cemetery and various county cemeteries. These include Bundy Hollow, Covello, Highland, Huntsville, Marengo, Pioneer, Smith Hollow, Starbuck and Turner cemeteries.

The project will also include photographs of some of the headstones from the 1800s to early 1900s – including possible photographs of pioneer families who lived and are buried in Columbia County – as well as original death records of pioneer families.

CCRLD is inviting anyone who has an original photograph or death certificate of a pioneer family, and is willing to include it in the digitization project, to contact Janet Lyon at (509) 382-4131 or email jlyon@daytonwa.net.The cemetery records project began in September and is projected to be completed by July 31, 2010.

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Auditor Requests Address Updates

In Columbia County, this year's general election ballots will be mailed from the County Auditor's office on October 14, 2009. Completed ballots must be returned to the Courthouse, or postmarked, no later than Election Day, November 3rd. The initial ballot count will take place November 3rd.

Ballots mailed to voters who have moved and not updated their voter registration will not automatically be forwarded. Voters whose registration address has changed should contact the auditor's office at (509) 382-4541 prior to October 14th, to provide corrected address information. Also, voters who will be out of town for the election should provide a "snowbird" address to the auditor. Further, if students would like their ballots mailed directly to them, the Auditor's office would greatly appreciate a current school address.

County Auditor Sharon Richter notes that ballots returned to her office are charged full first-class postage, and must be re-mailed with additional first-class postage. "Incorrect addresses are very costly for the county," she says, "so we urge voters to be responsible and keep their addresses updated."

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Campaign Helps Prevent Underage Drug and Alcohol Abuse

Joe Huether plans to spend a lot of time at the Dayton Schools in coming months, talking with students about the importance of avoiding drug and alcohol abuse. Huether is Columbia County's Prevention Coordinator, employed by Blue Mountain Counseling in Dayton.

"We're working to increase awareness among kids and their parents of the dangers of substance abuse and show them ways to prevent it," says Huether. He says the curriculum he's using has been proven to work through extensive research.

The two-part prevention campaign, includes not only presentations to kids in the schools, but also a media campaign. Huether is visiting media outlets in the area, asking them to help get the word out, and placing ads with anti-abuse messages aimed at kids and parents.

The "Did You Know?" campaign includes positive messages, such as "Did You Know?: Most Teens are Alcohol Free" and negative messages like "Did You Know?: About 100,000 people in the U.S. die each year because of alcohol."
Funds to support the prevention program are provided by the state to Columbia County, which contracts with Blue Mountain Counseling.

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Blue Mountain Station Land Purchase Approved

During their regular September meeting, Port of Columbia Commissioners ratified the purchase of about 28 acres of land west of Dayton for the Port's Blue Mountain Station project. The land is located west of Wagon Road, between Highway 12 and the Blue Mountain Railroad tracks. The property is currently owned by Delbert and Kay Bell.

Purchase of the land was made possible by a $1 million financial package the Port was granted in July from the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB), for property acquisition and infrastructure development. The funding includes a $200,000 grant and an $800,000 interest-free loan.

The Port hopes to close on purchase of the property by October 31st, pending a cultural resources assessment and an environmental review, to be conducted in early October.

According to Port Manager Jennie Dickinson, several properties along Highway 12 west of Dayton were considered, before the final selection was made. A major factor in the final property choice was the availability of utility services from the city of Dayton.
Dickinson says the Port hopes to begin work on infrastructure installation at the site in the spring of 2010. The Port has also begun seeking additional funding for the project, including applying for a $500,000 grant from the state Public Works Board.
Blue Mountain Station is envisioned as a sustainable food processing Business Park. The Port's business plan for Blue Mountain Station calls for recruitment of artisan natural, organic and sustainable producers of food products, hopefully using at least some locally grown agricultural products.

More information on Blue Mountain Station is available at www.bluemountainstation.com, or by calling the Port of Columbia at (509) 382-2577.

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Dayton Historic Home Tours

The annual Dayton Historic Home Tours, sponsored by the Dayton Historical Depot Society, will be held Sunday, October 11th, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. The cost is $10 per person, with all proceeds benefiting the Dayton Historic Depot. This year's Home Tours will feature three Victorian homes, an Arts & Crafts bungalow, and the Boldman House Museum, a beautifully restored Queen Anne Victorian Home.

The Tours start at the Dayton Depot, 222 E. Commercial St., where tickets may be purchased and a copy of the Tour guidebook and locator map may be picked up. Participants set their own direction and pace, and docents and homeowners will welcome them at each house.

The Boldman House and garden have both been completely renovated and reflect the styles and tastes of America in the early 1900s. On display extensively throughout the house will be many antique and vintage personal items from the Boldman family.
The three Victorian homes have been beautifully renovated and decorated to reflect the charm of that era. The Arts & Crafts bungalow has had a recent extensive renovation and it is now a large, 2-story vacation rental house, completely furnished in the style of the period.

Tickets for the Tours can be purchased in advance by phone using a credit card, or at the Depot. For more information about the Dayton Historic Home Tours, call the Depot at (509) 382-2026 or email info@daytonhistoricdepot.org.

2009 Home Tours