Burbank Community Library

Here’s a digest of Burbank and Wallula news items from the last few weeks:

• The Union-Bulletin reported [subscription required]: “The trial for a man who allegedly was growing more than 200 marijuana plants in his Burbank residence last spring has been postponed in Superior Court. Douglas H. Brown, 58, of 158 Ray Blvd., now is set for trial Jan. 13 and 14.” [November 25]
• The Union-Bulletin reported [subscription only] that “Ty A. Cornwell, 25, 110 N. Columbia Way, Wallula, was charged Nov. 30 with first-degree theft. Cornwell is accused of wrongfully obtaining or exerting unauthorized control over iron railroad plates, bars and spikes between Nov. 19 and 20.” [December 2]
• The Tri-City Herald’s AtomicTown.com ran a story about a karaoke contest going on Tuesday nights at the Out & About nightclub in downtown Pasco. It included this mention: “Jessica Flores, 25, of Burbank, is another singer who knows her stuff. Wearing red spiky heels with her hair splashed with a purple hue, she fit the rock star mode. She also engaged the crowd by strolling through the room as she belted out Melissa Etheridge’s rock tune Your Little Secret. Flores said she has plans to make a stab at trying out for American Idol next year.” [December 3]
• The Union-Bulletin ran a story [subscription required] entitled A COLD SEARCH FOR AN ELUSIVE BALD EAGLE ALONG THE COLUMBIA PROVES FRUITLESS. In it, author Don Davis noted: “It’s about time for the regal birds (in looks, if not in character) to arrive at Charbonneau Park, above Ice Harbor Dam; Columbia Park, in Kennewick; Hood Park, west of Burbank on the Snake River; the Burbank area ponds; and along the Columbia from Wallula Gap westward.” So keep an eye out! [December 16]
• The Union-Bulletin also reported [subscription required] that a Kennewick man was jailed in connection with a staged robbery of the Burbank Sun Mart last April. Aaron R. Weissenberger, 36, had been convicted by a jury of second-degree theft on November 3. [December 8]
• The Tri-City Herald reported: “Three new buses are to begin ferrying passengers next month on the Grape Line between Pasco and Walla Walla, thanks to $1.9 million in federal stimulus money. Grape Line, through a partnership between the Washington Department of Transportation and Greyhound, runs three roundtrips daily between the cities. The service, which began in November 2007, picks up passengers in Touchet, Wallula, Burbank and College Place and in the two cities. A one-way trip from Walla Walla to Pasco or from Pasco to Walla Walla costs $6.50 and takes a little less than two hours, according to the Grape Line website.” The Union-Bulletin’s coverage [subscription required] is here. [December 17 & 18]
• KNDU reported (including video) that froken turkeys were delivered to several area food banks — including one in Burbank — as part of a Hanford food drive (now in its 24th year). [December 18]

I haven’t updated this blog for three weeks because I was away on vacation and then back at the library catching up on what I’d missed. So I’m going to combine several different Burbank and Wallula news items (some new, some older) into one post. Here goes:

• A Burbank woman is being sought on a counterfeiting charge for “trying to pass a fake $50 bill at a Kennewick store.” [October 13]
• KIMATV out of Yakima did a story (including video) about the record-breaking marijuana busts in Burbank this year. [October 14]
• A new carbon sequestration study at Boise Inc. in Wallula got coverage in the Tri-City Herald (here on October 14) and the Union-Bulletin (here on October 13 and here on October 14).
• Here’s some coverage of the upcoming Port of Walla Walla election from the Tri-City Herald (here from October 15) and the Union-Bulletin (here from October 19).
• The Herald ran a story entitled LAURA GRANT DEFENDS TRANSPORTATION PROJECT VOTES that discusses the candidate’s votes related to the Highway 12 project. [October 23]
• For those who missed it, the McNary Wildlife Refuge Environmental Education Center had its grand opening on October 7. Coverage (including video) by KNDU.
• Burbank resident Kurt Clemmens shares his views on education in general and the Kennewick School District (where he has taught high school English for 26 years) in particular in this Letter to the Herald. [October 25]
• Four people were injured in a crash at Wallula Junction on Sunday, October 25. The Herald’s coverage is here and the UB’s is here.
• The Herald ran a story (including a photo gallery) entitled RICHLAND SISTERS TELL THE DEAD’S TALES which describes the work of two Richland women who’ve “spent the past five years searching out remote cemeteries to document and photograph the grave markers.” The article includes the following: “But then there are those quirky grave markers that make the sisters smile. Such as for the man buried in Wallula whose marker declares: ‘I told you I was sick.’” [October 25]

Sorry for the long hiatus. Regular posting will resume this week.

It’s been a few days since I’ve been able to update this blog, so I’m going to combine several different Burbank and Wallula news items into one post. Here goes:

• “Officials say it now appears a reported robbery at the Burbank Sun Mart in April was a setup staged by a man previously apprehended and a man who was working as a clerk at the convenience store.” Here’s coverage from the Herald and the U-B.
• Four people were injured in a Wallula Junction crash on Tuesday, August 11.
• “Columbia (Burbank) High School class of 1999’s 10-year reunion is from noon to 4 p.m. Aug 15. For more information, contact meshayle via email at justus3mae@hotmail.com.”
• The Three Rivers Children’s Museum has found a new home.
• Here are updates on the 16th Legislative District race from the Herald and the U-B.
• The Walla Walla Public Library hosted an Early Learning Fair on Saturday, August 8.
• The McNary Wildlife Refuge hosted a demonstration of calling and retrieving waterfowl on Saturday, August 8. The event was sponsored by Ducks Unlimited.
• The public is invited to comment on the McNary-Lake Wallula Shoreline Management Plan (pdf).

Here’s a micro-example of how a seemingly straightforward event can be reported very differently by different news sources. Last Sunday (July 12), a fire started near Wallula Junction at around 7 p.m., probably due to lightning from that evening’s thunderstorm. At some point, Highway 12 was closed due to the fire. The earliest report I’ve found is this one from KNDO-KNDU which was reported on Sunday evening and updated Monday morning. Here it is in its entirety:

WILDFIRE BURNING NEAR WALLULA JUNCTION

WALLULA, Wash. — Firefighters are still on the scene of a wildfire near Wallula Junction. Crews say lighting may have sparked the blaze around 7:00 p.m. Sunday.

Heavy winds and steep terrain made the flames hard to control. Firefighters say up to 500 aces [sic] may have burned, and the fire was about 50-percent contained as of 10:30 p.m. Saturday night. One structured was threatened, but crews have been able to protect it so far.

The Department of Transportation closed down Highway 12 from Wallula Junction to Game Department Road for a period of time.

The KNDO-KNDU coverage seems hastily assembled, and it probably was (given that the fire had just started a couple of hours prior). Acres is mis-spelled as “aces” and Sunday night is referred to as Saturday night, but these errors are limited to the written report on KNDU’s website and were not made in the actual TV broadcast (the 30 seconds of video coverage is also available on the KNDU website). It’s not unreasonable, though, to expect that those errors would have been corrected in the Monday morning “update”. All in all, KNDU is probably also the least accurate of the three sources I’ve found, since it diverges significantly from the other two, but who knows?

To read more, click here

From the Tri-City Herald / June 27, 2009

UNION PACIFIC UPGRADING TRACKS BETWEEN TRI-CITIES, WALLULA
By Pratik Joshi, Herald staff writer

… The company recently started a program to replace old, worn ties on its industrial rail line that serves local industries.

The 20-mile track — between the Tri-Cities and Wallula — is being upgraded at the cost of $2.8 million, said Zoe Richmond, company spokeswoman for the western region.

… The project continues through the end of September.

See the full article here.

From the Tri-City Herald / June 21, 2009

RAILEX ROLLING OUT GROWTH PLANS
By Pratik Joshi, Herald staff writer

WALLULA – At a time when the rail freight industry is under the threat of becoming derailed by a down economy, Railex is adding tracks for growth.

The company, often touted as a rolling warehouse, says it has revolutionized shipping and the distribution of goods across the East and West Coasts with its five-day delivery guarantee since it began offering service between Wallula and Rotterdam, N.Y. in 2006.

Recently, Railex’s Wallula facility was approved as a bonded wine warehouse, and Railex’s Delano, Calif., terminal which opened last year – started a second weekly train service to the company terminal in Rotterdam.

At least 45 percent of the 210,000-square-foot Wallula facility is being used as a bonded wine warehouse, said Jim Kleist, vice president Northwest region for Railex.

See the full article here.

(This is an aerial view of the Wallula facility.)

From the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin / June 5, 2009

STORM THUMPS AREA; CROPS OK
By Alfred Diaz of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

WALLA WALLA – An unusual path from the southeast is why Thursday’s storms descended on the Valley fast and furiously.

National Weather Service Meteorologist John Mittelstadt said the typical southwesterly storm pattern usually allows storms to descend on the Columbia Basin at a more gradual pace. But Thursday’s afternoon and evening storms were caused by cold air fronts coming directly over the Blues and clashing with warmer air in the Basin.

Wind gusts at Walla Walla Regional Airport peaked at around 43 mph, rainfall averaged around .5 to 1.5 inches and some smaller hail was reported, Mittelstadt said.

Damage to agricultural crops so far looks to be minor. Hay growers in Wallula and Burbank said their first cuttings — often the most expensive to lose — were mostly finished, and remaining stands look good, said Drex Gauntt, president of the Washington State Hay Growers Association and a Walla Walla County farmer.

See the full article here.

From the Tri-City Herald / June 1, 2009

WALLULA DAD AND HIS PASCO SONS BACK FROM 12,000-MILE MOTORCYCLE ODYSSEY
By John Trumbo, Herald staff writer

Riding a motorcycle 12,200 miles in 56 days is tough, but making it climb 800 feet higher than Mount Rainier is pushing the limit.

By the time they reached the end of the road May 4, Wallula resident Chuck Glessner and his sons Nathan and Jonathan, both of Pasco, had ridden through Mexico, Central America and South America to nearly the tip of the continent – 15 countries in all.

See the full article here and a photo gallery here.

From the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin / May 31, 2009

WALLA WALLA COUNTY TO SHIP [sic] SEAL ROADS FROM MONDAY THROUGH JULY

The Walla Walla County Road Department chip seal season starts Monday and runs through July. There may be delays of 5 to 15 minutes.

Here is a list of the more frequently traveled roads that will be chip sealed this year: town of Burbank, town of Wallula, Campbell Road, Hussey Road, Last Chance Road, Valley Chapel Road and French Town Road.

For a list of all roads to be chip sealed, go to
www.co.walla-walla.wa.us/Departments/PWD/maint.html.

This work schedule (pdf) seems a bit more useful than the link in the article.

From the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin / May 27, 2009

IN SEARCH OF BIRDS
by Don Davis

Audubon Washington celebrated a new section of The Great Washington State Birding Trail’s Sun and Sage Loop in the Walla Walla area over the weekend of May 15-17. …… The Walla Walla section of the Central Washington Sun and Sage Loop roughly covers from Madame Dorion Park at Wallula Junction to Bennington Lake. …… On the recent weekend, the visitors enjoyed a varied agenda:

* birding at some of the newest sites in the Sun and Sage Loop of the Great Washington State Birding Trail with master birders and local Blue Mountain Audubon Chapter experts; ……

* learning about the geologic history of the area from noted Whitman professor Bob Carson, who made an evening presentation describing lava-flow and flood impacts on the natural history of the area and an in-the-field presentation at Wallula Gap Saturday morning.

See the full article here.

Please note that Professor Carson will be discussing his book Where the Great River Bends: A natural and human history of the Columbia at Wallula at the Burbank Library later this summer. Stay tuned for details.

Update: The Tri-City Herald has this article about “the creation of the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail” in its Friday (May 29) edition:

TRAIL TO TRACK PATH OF ICE AGE FLOODS
By John Trumbo, Herald staff writer

RICHLAND – Some 12,000 years after the flood waters crashed over Dry Falls and carved through the Wallula Gap, about 40 people gathered at the base of Badger Mountain in Richland on Wednesday to celebrate the creation of the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail.