Legals for January, 6 2026

Legals for January, 7 2026

Legals for January, 5 2026

Legals for January, 2 2026

Legals for January, 8 2026

Ballots coming Jan. 21 for Wahluke EP&O levy election

MATTAWA — Ballots will be mailed to Wahluke School District voters Jan. 21 for a special election to decide the fate of a four-year educational programs and operations levy. If it’s approved, the levy would replace the four-year levy approved by voters in 2022. The levy rate would remain unchanged.

Energy critical in 2026 WA Legislative Session, Ybarra says

QUINCY — While there will be a lot going on during the 2026 Washington Legislative session, 13th District Representative Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, said energy is going to be one of the biggest topics. It’s going to be a tough subject because there are tough decisions ahead, he said.

Gas prices drop again, but remain high in WA

MOSES LAKE — Lower fuel prices continued this week, with Grant and Adams counties, Washington and national average fuel prices dropping from last week’s prices.

Karlene Grace Utter

1946 – 2025

Kay, a loving and generous-hearted soul, lifted off Dec. 27. She was born Karlene Rutherford to Grace (Reinbold) of Davenport, Washington and L.W. Rutherford of Britannia Beach, British Columbia. In Yakima, Kay grew up in an apple orchard with her brother Ron and graduated from West Valley High. Kay furthered her education with a BS from Pacific Lutheran University, followed by medical technology studies at Tacoma General Hospital where she met husband Gary Utter. Married in 1968, Kay and Gary went on to have many adventures moving and traveling across the United States, building three homes, and renovating eight in four states.

GCFD 7 expands EMS, training programs

SOAP LAKE — As part of a concerted effort to improve emergency medical services, Grant County Fire District 7 has announced significant expansions to its coverage and operational capabilities. Under the leadership of Chief Erick Brittain, the district is now providing Intermediate Life Support in addition to its existing services, a move that is expected to greatly benefit the community it serves, said Brittain.

Bad debt, charity care expenses rising at local medical facilities

MOSES LAKE — For everyone in healthcare, from patients to hospitals to medical professionals, the challenge is who pays the bill. Sometimes the answer is that some or all of the bill doesn’t get paid, and the hospital or clinic has to absorb the costs. Janette Townsend, chief financial officer at Confluence Health, and Alex Town, chief administrative officer at Samaritan Healthcare, said it’s becoming a bigger problem. “Both bad debt and charity care have gone up in the last few years,” Townsend wrote in response to questions from the Columbia Basin Herald. “Bad debt has increased 214% and charity care has increased 63% from 2023 to 2025.”

Big Sky Now: FCS Championship preview Bobcats v. Redbirds

The FCS National Championship is finally here, and the Big Sky Now panel breaks down everything surrounding Montana State vs Illinois State in Nashville on Monday, January 5th, 2026.

Multiple BBCC students earn scholarships in 2025

MOSES LAKE — Big Bend Community College students earned a number of scholarships during 2025, which assisted them as they continued through their careers at Big Bend and as they transferred on to four-year universities.

Janet Ingrid (Olesen) Huff

Jan. 18, 1934 — Dec. 26, 2025

Janet Ingrid (Olesen) Huff, 91, was born Jan. 18, 1934, in Sunnyside, Washington, on the Porter Ranch, where her parents were tenant farmers. Janet was the youngest of three sisters born to Danish immigrant parents Morris and Ingrid Olesen. In 1938, the family moved to their own small farm in Sunnyside where Janet lived until college. She graduated as valedictorian of her high school class and earned scholarships to attend the University of Washington (UW). She graduated Cum Laude from UW with a teaching degree, earning the College of Education’s Top Senior award. Janet met George Robinson Huff in 1954 while both were attending UW. They were married on Dec. 17, 1955, in Seattle, and moved to Othello, Washington in March 1957 where she began her teaching career and George began his law practice. Janet taught kindergarten for 18 years followed by 10 more years instructing second-graders.

Big Sky Now: How the Bobcats outlasted the Redbirds in an overtime thriller for the FCS National Championship

Host Luke Schmit is joined by Daily Inter Lake sports reporter Jon Allen to immediately break down Montana State’s FCS National Championship victory over Illinois State in Nashville on Monday night.

Big Sky Now: FCS championship coverage from Nashville

Montana State is one win away from an FCS national championship, and Big Sky Now is on the ground in Nashville.

Quincy 2026 budget includes streets, QPlex projects

QUINCY — The city of Quincy will operate on a budget of about $148.3 million for 2026. That includes money for street projects along 13th Avenue Southwest and M Street Northeast, the design and construction of a fieldhouse and other improvements in Lauzier Park and funding through sales tax for affordable housing assistance.

Ephrata Fire Department reflects on 2025

Increase in calls, new equipment and future EMS funding challenges

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Fire Department experienced a busy year in 2025, responding to a total of 513 calls for service. Fire Chief Jeremy Burns provided an overview of these calls, revealing that approximately 65% were related to Emergency Medical Services, while only 10% were actual fire calls. The remaining 25% fell into various categories such as fire alarms, elevator rescues and hazardous conditions. “The bulk of our responses still falls right in that close to 70% category of EMS calls, which is where we’ve been training for years,” Burns said. In comparison to previous years, Burns indicated that call volume saw a slight increase. The department previously contracted with American Medical Response ambulance services, during which their call load averaged around 550 calls. After switching to Lifeline ambulance services in July 2023, Ephrata witnessed a reduction of almost 100 calls for service, primarily due to differences in the types of calls each service handled.

Soap Lake Events Committee to meet

SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Community and Senior Center will host its second meeting for the newly formed Events Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 5 p.m. This initiative aims to revitalize community engagement through family-friendly events. “We really want to focus on family-friendly and all ages events for our community,” volunteer Genevieve Gray said. The committee was created in response to community members expressing their desire to restart events that had previously been successful in bringing people together. Gray said it’s important for community involvement in the committee.

WA COLLEGE SPORTS SCHEDULE: Jan. 8-15, 2026

MOSES LAKE — College sports are back in full swing following the holidays as teams prepare to find a spot in the postseason. Check out where your favorite teams are playing this week.