Dayton Chronicle - Your Hometown News Source

The year 2020 started as most any other year then, for both Columbia County and the nation, went off the rails.

If February, conditions were right for a flood event which devastated county roads, some properties and did millions of dollars of damage to the county and region.

Then came snippets of information about a potentially deadly virus from China, and by March, schools and most businesses were shut down.

It was a tumultuous year and one which won’t be soon forgotten.

Here we recount the events, week by week, from 2020, continued from the January 14 edition, due to space constraints.

MARCH

26). Breakfast and lunch were made available for pick up on Monday, March 23, 2020, the first day for the program open to all children 0-18 years old since the school closure on March 18. The program will continue through the spring-break dates and until April 24.

The count of coronavirus infections in Columbia County remains at one, and the individual who contracted the disease has recovered and is off quarantine as of the Dayton Chronicle’s press deadline Tuesday, according to Martha Lanman, administrator of the Public Health Department.

Jay Takhar, owner of The General Store, and Karen Lockard, of The General Store, reported to have served 17 children this past week until the school lunch program got up and running.

Dayton Community hunkers down amid the Coronavirus outbreak. The recent State of Emergency Declaration called by President Trump due to the Coronavirus outbreak and the precautionary proclamation that followed by Governor Jay Inslee, schools are closed, many business are closed and events are cancelled.

The Columbia County Rural Library Board of Trustee’s Chairperson Tanya Patton was presented with a certificate of appreciation form the Columbia County Commissioners, for her 14-year service on the Library Board and her leadership in incorporating the local library in the Rural District.

The recent flood of 2020 set the tone for this new decade with one happy ending. During the flood on February 6, Clark and Shannon Simpfendrefer’s back yard filled with the Patit Creek and Touchet River covering their fish pond. When the waters receded four of the Koi fish were swept into the river channel. Valarie Benavides’s children Quinn, Claudia and Blake Benavides, while playing in the now tame Patit Creek, spotted a pretty fish and caught it with their net. Posting it on face book was identified as Little Boy Blue and returned to The Simpfenderfers.

APRIL

2). Dayton General Grappling with supply shortages; Gov. Inslee authorized $2 million for rural hospitals. Columbia County Health System CEO Shane McGuire expressed need for better state and federal funding during this crisis because CCHS is already overtaxed financially.

XO Alambic ceased production of whisky and brandy to distill antiseptic ethanol-based sanitizer, which is in short supply in the United States.

The Washington Federal Foundation recently awarded Project Timothy of Dayton a grant of $1,500, to help people in need in Columbia County. The funds will help with utilities, food vouchers and transportation for those members in the community in need.

Columbia Pulp, LLC is converting wheat straw unto cellulose fiber for the paper and paper converting industries. This is a major initiative that not only provides an alternative to wood pulp but also helps reduce negative impacts to our watersheds.

9). School closed for remainder of school year, all high school sports schedules canceled. Along with the remaining academic school year, Dayton-Waitsburg Combined Athletics for the spring seasons of golf, track and field, fast-pitch softball and baseball have all been canceled by decree from the Washington Interscholastic Athletics Association (WIAA), according to DW Athletic Director Nicki Luper.

Columbia Pulp executes a temporary order to suspend manufacturing activities at the local plant on March 28. The cease and desist normal business, except “essential activity has halted many vender supplying the plant as well.

A 32-year-old Dayton man was sentenced last week for two counts of rape of a child and one count of child molestation after pleading guilty on March 30, 2020. Jose Guadalupe Flores Hernandez was sentenced April 2 in Columbia County Superior Court to 18 years to life.

16). I Representative Bill Jenkin: Pandemic has become political1 Inequities in Governor Jay Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” proclamation are troubling, says Rep. Bill Jenkin (r-Prosser), who visited here Tuesday.

City of Dayton seeking community input on Main Street trees. Public Comment on Draft Main Street Tree Inventory and Management Plan due April 16.

Columbia County Public Transportation has implemented a temporary service to help members of the community cope with the COVID-19 pandemic by delivering grocery orders from Dayton Mercantile to local residents free of change, according to David Ocampo, General Manager of CCPT.

Crowe vacates Port Seat, The Port of Columbia Board of Commissioners is seeking interested candidates to fill the District No. 3 position vacated by Fred Crowe, who has served over five years.

The Club receives donation. Michael Haight and Cathy Lee-Haight have generously donated $10,000 to The Club.

-To be continued next week