Welcome to Dayton
The newly formed Dayton Garden Club, led by Kathleen Bennett, planted a new tree in Courthouse Square Park in downtown Dayton this month. The tree was decorated for Dayton’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting, held this year on December 12th. The sequoia was donated by Francisco Galaviz to the Garden Club. The formation of the Club reinstates a long standing Dayton Garden Club tradition in this small town, dating back to the 1940s and perhaps further.
Dayton won a “grand slam” at the Oregon Main Street conference on October 3rd and 4th, 2012, winning four awards for its revitalization efforts!
The Dayton Community Development Association won an “Outstanding Design Program” award for its facade improvement effort downtown. The city of Dayton received a “Special Project” award for its redevelopment of the old Masonic Lodge into the Palmer Creek Lodge Community Center. DCDA Program Coordinator Kelly Haverkate was named “Transforming Downtown Coordinator of the Year”, and Ann-Marie Anderson and John Collins won “Volunteer Couple of the Year” for their volunteer efforts with the DCDA.
The awards were presented at the Excellence in Downtown Revitalization Awards Ceremony, Oct. 3, 2012 in Corvallis, during the annual Oregon Main Street Conference.
The News Register has a nice write-up about the awards.
The first community meeting was held this past Wednesday, August 8 for the purpose of discussing the future direction & development of the city of Dayton. Hosted by the Dayton Community Development Association and the City of Dayton, the process is being facilitated by Ernie Munch, a professional planner and architect with years of experience in community planning. This was the first meeting of a 20 week program to set the course for Dayton’s future development.
If you weren’t able to attend the meeting, you can still provide feedback until August 17 through the attached form!
Dayton Forward Questionnaire in English
Adelante Dayton Cuestionario en Español
Print them, fill them in, scan & email them back to Ernie Munch or Jonathan Mosteiro at: dayton@ermunch.com. You can also mail them to the DCDA at PO BOX 237 Dayton, 97114, or drop them off at City Hall.
A steamboat is back in town. A set of mural art panels depicting scenes from Dayton’s past and present have been installed on Ferry Street in downtown Dayton. The panels, a project of the Dayton Community Development Association, feature scenes honoring Dayton’s heritage and agriculture including one of the steamboats that used to navigate the Yamhill River to land in Dayton.
The murals were painted on 4 by 6 foot panels by artist Kev Kohler in his studio in Dallas. They were installed with the help of community volunteers in July 2012 along with a “Welcome to Dayton” sign hand painted by McMinnville sign painter Mitch Horning. The art offers a vivid glimpse of Dayton’s heritage to residents and visitors and an additional reason to visit Dayton’s historic downtown.
The project became a reality because of a generous award from the Yamhill County Cultural Coalition. Donations from Western AG Improvement and Carleton Hart Architecture and smaller private donations from local community members were also instrumental in bringing the project to fruition, as was in-kind support by volunteers Jason Aust of the Blockhouse Café in Dayton, Scott Spink and other local volunteers.
The Yamhill County Cultural Coalition is an Oregon non-profit organization funded by the Oregon Cultural Trust and private donations. YCCC’s mission is to increase cultural resources and opportunities in Yamhill County. For more information, please visit www.yamhillcountyculture.org.
The Dayton Community Development Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focusing primarily on the revitalization of the downtown Dayton area, and is made up of community members and businesses who volunteer their time. For more information, visit www.daytonoregon.org.
The downtown cafe and its “Kickin Burger” received some positive press recently, getting a 4.5 star rating from the food reviewers of the Visitors Guide to Yamhill and Polk Counties. The reviewers commented:
“Like it hot? This burger really is kickin’ with pepperjack cheese, kickin’ sauce and grilled jalepenos piled on the hand-pressed local Turley Farms beef patty. Turn it down a notch by asking the friendly staff to leave off the peppers. The writing is on the wall about this place—literally. One of the giant 18-foot high walls is covered, well as high as customers can reach anyway, with signatures and messages from happy guests. The other wall is reserved for autographs from those who have performed on the stage at the front of the restaurant next to the picture windows that face the historic Blockhouse.”
Check out the Kickin Burger and the rest of the menu at the Block House Cafe, located at 302 Ferry Street.
