Remote Surveillance Trailer in Walla Walla, WA

The Brief

• Walla Walla Public Schools cut the ribbon on the brand-new Blue Devil Stadium, completing the final project funded by the community's capital levy

• The modernized facility features upgraded turf, seating, lighting, accessibility features, and safety improvements for players and fans

• All levy projects were completed on schedule and on budget, with the new stadium designed to serve both students and the wider community

WALLA WALLA, Wash. — Walla Walla Public Schools celebrated a significant milestone Tuesday with the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the brand-new Blue Devil Stadium, marking the completion of the final project funded by the community's capital levy.

The modernized facility represents a comprehensive upgrade from the turf field to the grandstands, with district leaders emphasizing that its design serves both students and the broader Walla Walla community. The project enhanced everything from accessibility features to lighting while improving safety and comfort for players and fans.

"Just making sure our community enjoys these facilities and not just our students. We really wanted to make sure we repaid our community just by being able to enjoy concerts, choir, athletics in any way we possibly can," said Ben Gauyan, superintendent of Walla Walla Public Schools.

The upgrades extend beyond aesthetics to performance and safety standards. The new playing surface meets NFL safety requirements, providing expanded opportunities for various groups to use the facility.

"The surface that we put in has been tested and is safe for the NFL. It gives us more opportunities so that more groups can use it. We really restricted our team's use when we were in the grass," said Chris Ferenz, athletic director at Walla Walla High School.

Students and athletes have expressed enthusiasm about the enhanced facility's impact on team dynamics and competition atmosphere. The improvements are expected to improve the game-day experience while enabling athletes to train and compete at higher levels.

"I think it brings our team together a little more. It makes us more excited to play the sport. It makes other teams more excited to play here as well as our coaching staff, who love it, and it brings out our community," said Lucy Billingsley, a Walla Walla soccer player.

District officials highlighted that all levy projects, including Blue Devil Stadium, were completed on schedule and within budget. They credit this success to strong community support and careful planning throughout the construction process.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony included public tours of the new facility, giving community members their first close look at the completed work. The stadium will host not just sports events but also band performances, graduations, and community events.

With the first games approaching, fans at Walla Walla High School are preparing to break in their new home field. The facility officially opens as the Blue Devils gear up for the upcoming season, providing a modern venue that serves the school district and community for years to come.

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WALLA WALLA –

The Walla Walla basin is a complex watershed that crosses the border between Oregon and Washington. Its rivers and streams connect the two states, but the watershed is chronically short on water and struggles to meet the needs of local communities. Watershed restoration and water management projects are increasingly important to the basin and those efforts will soon receive new support from both Washington and Oregon.

The Washington Department of Ecology is awarding $1.46 million in grants to 10 projects that address long-standing challenges like meeting water demands, managing floodplains, and restoring habitat. In addition, Oregon’s recently signed House Bill 5006 provides a further $2.5 million to fund water projects in the basin.

“This investment underscores the power and value of collaboration to tackle difficult water supply challenges and build climate resilient ecosystems,” said Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller. “By joining forces across state lines and partnering with local communities, we can strengthen water reliability, restore habitats, and manage our floodplains for the long term.”

The work to bolster water supplies and improve habitat and floodplain management in the Walla Walla River Basin is a collaborative effort between Washington, Oregon, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), and an advisory committee representing agriculture, environmental interests, recreation and quality of life, economic development, and local governments.

“We’re extremely pleased by the strong support we’ve seen for our work in the Walla Walla, despite the difficult budget conditions in both states this year. To ensure these precious dollars go as far as possible, Washington’s funding will be complemented by matching funds from Oregon,” Anton Chiono, CTUIR Habitat Conservation Project leader, said. “Together, these investments will be tremendously important to both our ongoing planning work, as well as our implementation of critical projects to improve water conditions for fish, farms, and people. This a great example of what we can accomplish by working together.”

Chris Kowitz, North Central regional manager for the Oregon Department of Water Resources, explained that the combined investment in the Walla Walla basin by both states underscores the significant progress that has been made over the past few years.

“With the support of many basin partners, the two states and the CTUIR have been able to leverage funding to make meaningful progress on implementation of the Walla Walla Basin Watershed Strategy,” Kowitz said. “The state of Oregon is committed to working with our colleagues in Washington on policy and infrastructure needs over the next biennium and beyond.”

Annie Byerley, Walla Walla County Conservation District Manager, explained how the funding will allow the conservation district to contact landowners that may not be familiar with the conservation district or the Walla Walla Basin Watershed Strategy.

“The more opportunities we have to share water quantity concerns and information about the Walla Walla Basin Watershed Strategy with the community, the more the needle moves on conserving this resource,” Byerley said. “Many community members likely don’t realize the impact that they could have on water conservation. Water conservation is a basin wide problem, and it will take basin wide approach to address the problem.”

All of the projects that received funding were identified as priorities in the Walla Walla Basin Watershed Strategy. The sponsors and projects receiving grant funds in 2025 from Ecology include:

WALLA WALLA –

The Washington Department of Ecology issued a $738,000 penalty to Stillwater Holdings LLC, Wine Country Store LLC, and Ben Kleban, for a 2023 gasoline spill at a downtown Chevron in Walla Walla. In addition, the LLCs have been ordered to pay $4.1 million in cost recovery for the spill response and pollution mitigation expenses. The spill caused nearly 2,500 gallons of fuel to contaminate groundwater and led to an emergency evacuation for parts of the city’s downtown business district.

On Sept. 14, 2023, the Marcus Whitman Hotel in downtown Walla Walla was evacuated due to gasoline odors. Air quality testing identified potentially harmful vapors and gasoline in the basement of the hotel, and in two nearby buildings. Due to the severity of the vapors and risk of explosion, the public was evacuated from the area, roads were closed, and businesses were shut down.

A complex and lengthy investigation confirmed that the gasoline pooling in sumps of adjacent buildings matched the fuel from the Chevron’s underground storage tank.

Under Washington law, Stillwater Holdings LLC, Wine Country Store LLC, and Ben Kleban are responsible for stopping a release, cleaning up any contamination, and covering the state’s related costs. Ecology took over the cleanup after the responsible party’s insurance was exhausted. While some response actions were completed, the cleanup was not fully carried out. Because of that, the state spent more than $4.1 million treating and removing contaminated water from basement sumps and operating vapor mitigation systems to ensure the safety of the community.

“For nearly two years, our focus has been on protecting people, preventing fuel from migrating to Mill Creek, and getting nearby businesses safely back in operation,” said Brook Beeler, Ecology’s Eastern Region director. “This was a major spill that will take years to fully clean up. This is a necessary step for the state to hold those responsible for the spill accountable and try to recover costs spent on the response.”

Prior to Ecology discovering the release the station’s routine inventory checks showed fuel shortages. Because leak detection alarms did not trigger and follow-up testing over the next two and a half months did not confirm a release, the spill was not identified until gasoline was discovered in nearby buildings.

Under federal and state laws, polluters are responsible for responding to and cleaning up a spill, including reimbursing state agencies for any of their costs incurred in responding to the spill. This penalty is for spilling oil into waters of the state and failure to immediately notify the Washington Emergency Management Division of the spill.

Stillwater Holdings LLC, Wine and Country Store LLC, and Ben Kleban have 30 days to pay the penalty or appeal to the Pollution Control Hearings Board. The LLCs also have 30 days to pay the cost recovery or file an application for financial relief with Ecology.

Walla Walla High School's girls swim team dominated its final regular-season dual meet Thursday, Oct. 9, as the Blue Devils topped Hermiston in each of their 11 events for a 135-35 win during Washington Interscholastic Activities Association District 6 Mid-Columbia Conference action downtown on the Whitman College campus at its indoor pool.

The Blue Devils came away with their win-loss record in duals finishing at 7-2, which the 10-team league placed third.

Thursday served as a turning point for the Blue Devils with their attention transition to postseason competition. The MCC Championships, scheduled for Oct. 18, would bring them back downtown.

All but two of the events Blue Devils won Thursday also came on the overall leaderboards while Dayton's Kylie Whealey, who has trained with and often competed alongside the Wa-Hi program, placed first in both the 200-yard freestyle and the 500 free. The meet also included three more MCC teams with Chiawana, Pasco and Sageview over from Tri-Cities.

Blue Devils teammates Eliana Isenhower and Violette Schindler each were in on four of their overall wins, included two relays. Victory in the 4x50 freestyle featured them with both Isabel Kirtley and Cienna Lyon.

Isenhower topped both the 100 butterfly and the 100 breaststroke. She also joined Kirtley in winning the 4x50 medley with Quincy Boggs and Halah Fairbanks.

Schindler won both the 200 individual medley and the 100 freestyle. She also joined Lyon for a first-place finish in the 4x100 free with teammates Madelyn Smith and Olivia Thayne.

The Blue Devils chalked up two more overall wins with Smith taking both the 50 freestyle and the 100 backstroke.

Victory in the Hermiston dual came with Wa-Hi having also cashed three more relays, each placed second in their respective event, as well as individuals among the top five finishers. Wa-Hi had teammates Gianna Goff, Siobhan Ryle, Josefine Fitts, Kaylee Debolt and Ayla Cohen also in on their scoring spree.

UMATILLA 7, McLOUGHLIN 6 — The Pioneers (2-4 overall), out of Milton-Freewater, came away still winless in Oregon School Activities Association Clas 3A Special District 6 after they had gone to halftime already trailing 7-0 before Dallen Duncan pulled them to within one during the third quarter when his scoring run from the Umatilla 2-yard line capped their eight-play, 88-yard on the road.

An extra point by Umatilla, back in the second quarter, would be the difference as the Viking denied Mac-Hi on its bid for a 2-point conversion after the Duncan touchdown. He ended up rushing for 87 yards while adding another 32 on four receptions, and Masyn Lindsey gave them three more catches for 37 yards as quarterback Randall Montgomery also ate up 55 yards on the ground.

WA-HI 3, CHIAWANA 1 — The first-place Blue Devils continued their storm through MCC matches, lifting their record to 3-0 as they prevailed in four sets with scores of 25-14, 25-11, 19-25 and 25-15 in Tri-Cities.

McLOUGHLIN 3, RIVERSIDE 1 — Emily Arroyo served nine aces for the third-place Pioneers (4-3) as they won 25-19, 25-23, 13-25, 25-9 with Miley Rhoads having scored five kills and five aces while Maddie Stiefel added five kills and an ace with Brynlee Miller having contributed four kills alongside Abi Perkins chalking up three aces, a kills and five assists at Eastern Oregon League action they hosted in Milton-Freewater.

COLLEGE PLACE 3, KIONA-BENTON 0 — Daisy Rivas served eight aces and made nine digs as the fourth-place Hawks (6-5) made short work of their WIAA District 5 South Central Athletics Conference match with a 25-14, 25-13, 25-14 sweep including Ava Long on six kills and two aces while teammates Layla Tonn and Josie Van Dyke each added five kills alongside Abi Knowles making 12 assists and nine digs as well as three aces and two kills in Benton City.

"The girls knew they needed to focus tonight, because teams are so close in the standings that every point matters and every win matters even more," said Hawks coach Angie Potts, whose team also had Evie Anothy scoring three kills while teammates Evelyn Pineda and Chloe Teske joined Aela Bryant contributing two apiece. "There were moments when we struggled with ball control, but the girls were able to refocus and get the job done."

LIBERTY CHRISTIAN 3, DeSALES 0 — The fifth-place Irish (5-5), out of Walla Walla, suffered a WIAA District 6 Southeast 1B Conference Grape Division setback in Tri-Cities.

WESTON-McEWEN 3, HEPPNER 0 — The second-place TigerScots (5-2), out of Athena, came away with a 26-24, 27-25, 26-24 sweep at an Oregon School Activities Association Class 2A Blue Mountain Conference showdown on the road.

SUNNYSIDE CHRISTIAN 3, TOUCHET 0 — The eighth-place Redhawks (1-10) struggled at Grape action on the road.

St. JOHN-ENDICOTT 3, WAITSBURG 0 — The winless Cardinals fell 25-12, 25-18, 25-6 at an SE1B Wheat Division clash in St. John.

GARFIELD-PALOUSE 3, DAYTON 0 — The sixth-place Bulldogs (4-6) fell 25-15, 25-10, 25-8 at a Wheat setback in their gym.

POMEROY 3, COLTON 0 — Sadie Klaveano scored six kills and six aces for the third-place Pirates (8-2) as they topped Wheat action 25-6, 25-11, 25-5 with Olivia Cooper serving another four aces while Hollie Van Vogt had three kills and eight assists in their gym.

WA-HI 3, HERMISTON 0 — Jenna Abbey put the seventh-place Blue Devils (2-3) up 1-0 during the 42nd minute when she broke a scoreless stalemate at an MCC showdown on their campus pitch.

The Blue Devils when doubled their lead during the 53rd minutes with Laney Hand scoring off an assist from Maya Sifuentes-Reyes before Korinne Hayes would set up Molly Babbitt to lift the match out of reach late in the second half.

Wa-Hi played shutout defense with goalie Anneliese Triebwasser fresh off the WIAA including her among its Athlete of the Week selections.

COLLEGE PLACE 11, KIONA-BENTON 3 — The sixth-place Hawks (4-6-1) ended up with teammates Charley Amick and Paige Moore each having scored four goals as they dominated SCAC action, having gone to halftime already up 6-2 in Benton City.

"I’m super proud of them for putting the efforts in," said Hawks coach Russell Carder, whose team also featured teammates Gracelynn Tonn and Payton Moore joining Brooklyn Tucker in scoring goals.

The Blue Devils have been booked to host a Monday, Oct. 13, district championship quarterfinal with Deer Park High, of the Greater Spokane League, at Walla Walla's Murr Sports Park, kitty corner to their Abbott Road campus. Action is scheduled to get underway at 4 p.m. with the first pitch.

Districts goes on through the week with the Blue Devils needing at least two wins to put themselves in a state championship tournament, Oct. 24-25 in Yakima at Kiwanis Fields.

WA-HI 13-16, PASCO 2-0 — Emily Meliah finished the night having produced six hits, including a triple and a double, in her six at-bats as the second-place Blue Devils (12-4) dominated an MCC doubleheader in Tri-Cities.

The Blue Devils jumped ahead in each game, scoring in the top of its first inning, and never trailed. They would end up having tallied 28 hits on their way to finishing the opener after its fifth, due to a mercy rule brough about by their double-digit lead, before the nightcap stopped before its fifth with another rout.

MAC-HI in QUINCY, WASHINGTON — Keely De La Cruz led Pioneers running Live Nation Invitational at the Gorge with the varsity field of 220 placing her 70th as she completed their five-kilometer event in 24 minutes and 39.77 seconds after Timberlake's Lola Eggleston had won at 19:29.6 while the 21-team standings placed Mac-Hi 19th.

The Pioneers next had Jimena Diaz Ceballos finishing 127th with her 27:26.34 and then Isabella Martinez (206th) and Ximena Gomez-Andrade (217th).

WESTON-McEWEN, in ATHENA — Evelyn Hodgson paced TigerScots at their Atina Wilawiixt Long Run as she finished the 5K with a 19:22.62.

The TigerScots also next had Stella Wolf running a 25:39.87, Alethea Bond at 25:53.69, Ashlyn Hoehna 26:02.17 and Santina Venti 29:52.77.

MAC-HI in QUINCY — David Barnhart led Pioneers in their Live Nation Invitational at the Gorge 5K as a field of 81 runners placed him 16th upon his finishing a 19:00.63 that was less than three minutes off the lead while the 12-team standings placed Mac-Hi ninth.

The Pioneers next had Fermin Mendoza Rodriguez placed 64th with his 22:14.96 as well as Timon Foochayaptittinant (74th) and Christian Sandoval (81st) while another 5K event, with 175 entries, featured Mac-Hi's Alfredo Hernandez running a 19:22.04 that placed him 80th. The 26-team standings ranked them 22nd with Damian Newbern finishing 149th, Alex Arroyo-Guzman 161st.

WESTON-McEWEN, in ATHENA — Arden Shaul paced TigerScots at their Atina Wilawiixt Long Run 5K with his 16:28.92.

The TigerScots also had Tristan Weseman running an 18:49.76, Aidan Aldrich 23:36.98, Hunter Bissonette 28:18.71.

Fueled by his love of the Old West and Western films, owner Skyler Rude began his stagecoach service business, the Walla Walla Coach Company, in early May 2025.

Rude said he first started driving wagons and stagecoaches about five years ago. His close friend and business partner, Daryl Hopson, helped him learn the ropes of driving and takes care of the two Percheron horses that power each ride.

The horses, Johnny and June, named after the famous singers, lead the stagecoach through Walla Walla and have prior experience pulling wagons and stagecoaches in Montana.

“(Johnny and June are) used to this. They've been pulling the stagecoach in Montana for years, and so, it's a whole setup that they're comfortable with, and everything's level around here too,” Rude said.

The Walla Walla Coach Company mainly operates through reservations and is available for hourly rentals. Rude said stagecoach services are available for any occasion, and he recommends interested parties to contact him for planning out stagecoach rentals.

While rentals are customizable, the service is only available within the Walla Walla Valley, including southside wineries, downtown Walla Walla and Walla Walla neighborhoods. This is because the horses need proper breaks and care.

So far, Rude has driven groups to dinners, events and winery tours. The red stagecoach can comfortably seat eight people and is noted for its suspension system, which helps absorb bumps and other rough terrain for riders.

Rude also encourages his customers to dress in Western gear and embrace the Western spirit. When driving the stagecoach, Rude is often seen with a cowboy hat, bandana and boots.

“I want to make — for other people that love stagecoaches as much as I do — I want to make their dreams come true,” he said.

A goal Rude has for his business is to provide picnic services, where riders can be taken up into the Blue Mountains and enjoy a meal with a view.

Rude's love of Western culture, stagecoaches and films can be traced back to his childhood, when he took a trip to the National Historic Oregon Trail Interpretive Center in Baker City. This fascination even led to Rude’s grandfather building a half-sized covered wagon, which he said was pulled around their backyard “at least 10,000 times.”

For the last four years, Rude has also participated in wagon shows, which have allowed him to grow his skills in driving covered wagons and working with horses.

“There'll be a group of maybe 20 wagons and 150 riders that go out and drive wagons in the mountains for a week,” he said.

Currently, Rude is driving a leased stagecoach from Montana, which became available earlier this year. The two horses, Johnny and June, are also leased from the same company and, along with the stagecoach, will return to Montana after October.

“I've been driving other vehicles for quite some time, and there's not a whole lot of difference between the stagecoach and other horse-drawn vehicles,” Rude said.