News bites for Oct. 19, 2023
A dollhouse built by construction students at the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center burns as part of an exercise for CBTECH fire science students.
COURTESY PHOTO/GCFD 5
EPHRATA — Amateur radio enthusiasts in Grant County took part in a Simulated Emergency Test on Oct. 7, according to a statement from the Grant county Sheriff’s Office.
The test, in which 13 Ephrata-area stations participated, was intended to assess amateur radio communications capabilities in the county, the statement said. The test involved contacting nine communities across central Washington by amateur radio, including Othello, George, Wenatchee, Moses Lake and Soap Lake. Teamwork among radio operators led to communication with the State Emergency Operations Center at Camp Murray south of Tacoma, the statement said.
MOSES LAKE — Grant County Fire District 5 firefighters assisted fire science students at Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center in “burning down the house” Tuesday morning, according to a statement from GCFD 5.
The exercise involved setting fire to small simulated “dollhouses” built by CBTECH construction students, the statement said. The simulation helped students understand fire behavior, reading smoke and the effects of fire suppression and ventilation.
All 11 students in the program have been accepted as cadets with the fire district, the announcement added.
OTHELLO — A Warden man will serve at least three years in prison for his role in a shooting in Othello, according to a statement by the Othello Police Department.
Joel Sergio Gonzalez, 21, pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree assault, with a firearm enhancement, according to the statement. Gonzalez was sentenced to 39 months in prison, at least 36 of which must be served because of the enhancement.
On Aug. 18, OPD officers responded to a report of shots fired in the 1000 block of East Cedar Street, according to a previous statement by the OPD. Moses Lake Police officers located the suspects, later identified as Gonzalez and Cristina Perez, 35, of Othello, and arrested the two after a high-risk traffic stop. Gonzalez and Perez were booked into Franklin County Jail.
Nobody was harmed in the shooting or the arrest, the OPD wrote.