Bruce Johnstone

"Enjoy every minute. I can still remember the night Matthew was born. I brought him home, rocked him to sleep, and went to bed. I woke up the next day and I was fifty. Life happens fast." - Bruce Johnstone

Bruce Eugene Kehret

1938 — 2025

Bruce Eugene Kehret, age 87, passed away on Sunday, September 21, 2025, at Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata, Washington. He was born March 4, 1938, in Austin, Minnesota and was the third son to Carl and Matilda Kehret.

Mark Vientos' three-run homer delights kids, leads Mets to 7-3 win over Mariners

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) — Mark Vientos hit a three-run homer to the delight of hundreds of cheering 12-year-olds and sent the New York Mets to a 7-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday night in the Major League Baseball Little League Classic. Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh boosted his major league home run lead with his 47th of the season in the seventh.

Bonnie Corinne Bennett

November 12, 1939 – March 3, 2025

Bonnie Corinne Bennett, 85, a longtime Ephrata resident, passed away at Summer Wood Alzheimer's Special Care facility in Moses Lake, Washington on Monday March 3, 2025. She will be missed by all who loved her. She was born in Great Falls, Montana on Nov. 12, 1939, to Fred Auren Hatt and Berth Viola (Bailey) Hatt. Mrs. Bennett was a home maker, worked in the chore service with the elderly, providing care, meals, and getting them to and from appointments. Mrs. Bennett and her husband were married Aug. 25, 1965, in Las Vegas, Nevada and moved to Ephrata, Washington in 1974 to be closer to family.

Pledge leader

Ephrata girl leads Pledge of Allegiance for past two years

EPHRATA — Summer Rocheleau, an Ephrata resident, has been leading the Pledge of Allegiance at council meetings for over two years. After she finished leading the council in the pledge, Wednesday night, she was recognized by Mayor Bruce Reim, along with the entire council for her public service.

Legals for March, 17 2025

Derryck Wagner

1951 — 2025

Derryck Edward Wagner, born November 26, 1951, in North Dakota, passed away on September 26, 2025, at the age of 73. A proud Navy Vietnam Veteran and longtime resident of Moses Lake, Washington, Derryck lived with grit, curiosity and a heart big enough to carry his family and passions through every chapter of his life.

Grant Co. primary election ballots set after filing last week

EPHRATA — All three open seats on the Quincy City Council will be on the primary ballot, along with the Grand Coulee mayor’s job and one seat on the Soap Lake School Board. The mayors of Ephrata and Quincy will also face challengers. Candidate filing for the 2025 election was last week.

EPHRATA MAYOR: Oliver vs. Reim

EPHRATA – Two candidates are running for the job of Ephrata Mayor, Steve Oliver and incumbent Bruce Reim. Both were sent identical questions, with a 150-word limit.

Legals for March, 24 2025

EPHRATA MAYOR Q&A: Bruce Reim

EPHRATA – Incumbent Ephrata Mayor Bruce Reim is running for reelection on the November ballot against challenger Steve Oliver. Both Reim and Oliver were concurrently presented with the questions below and given identical deadlines and word count restrictions for their answers. Reim’s responses are below. Both submitted their responses in a timely manner.

3 council members renew oaths of office in Ephrata

EPHRATA — Three Ephrata City Council Members were sworn in Wednesday evening after winning their respective races. Mayor Bruce Reim administered oaths of office to Matt Moore, Kathleen Harris and Phil Borck during council’s regular meeting.

Mavs girls and boys finish second and third at districts

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks boys and girls tennis teams finished their season at the district tournament over the weekend. The boys team tied with Davis for third in the rankings while the girls team finished second overall. “We did have a lot of really good tennis played on Thursday,” said Coach Jay Dickinson. “The fact that our two singles boys, Cesar Portillo and Caleb Stanberry, came up one match short but played some of their best tennis of the year was really fun to watch.” The girls had brought Elise Miles, Madi McDonald, and Belize Orton for singles and Kiley Thomas and Kalei Bruce, Claire Thompson and Abbie O’Neil, and Selah Loomis and Kamaile Bruce to play for doubles.

Oliver voted in as Ephrata mayor-elect

EPHRATA — The initial Nov. 4 ballot count shows Steve Oliver winning the Ephrata Mayoral election with 630 votes, or nearly 55% of the vote. Incumbent Bruce Reim had 516 votes, or about 45% of the vote. The election will be certified on Nov. 20.

Rage play first tournament of season

MOSES LAKE — Last weekend, the Washington Rage 18U (2-3) traveled to Carlon Park for their first softball tournament of the summer season. According to head coach Bob Richardson, they are a young team but were able to build chemistry over the course of the weekend. “Saturday was rough,” Richardson said. “We lost all three games, but being able to come out Sunday and flip it. We started to gel a little bit in the third game, played a little better than we had the first two games.” On Saturday, the Rage played three games and lost each of them. In the first two games, they combined for nine errors, according to Richardson. He said the main issue that plagued the team was their youth and inexperience with each other.

Deanna Jean Cuthbertson ‘Mimi’ Hirz

April 12, 1939 — June 11, 2025

Deanna Jean Cuthbertson Hirz, “Mimi”, a beloved resident of Moses Lake, Washington, passed away peacefully at her home, surrounded by family, on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. She was 86 years old. A joyous reunion with Ned took place on this day, which was also their 65th wedding anniversary. Born on April 12, 1939, in Klamath Falls, Oregon, Deanna was the daughter of Frederick Cuthbertson and Lenora Brown. Her family moved to Medford, Oregon when she was six months old, where she grew up. A graduate of Medford High School, Deanna embraced life with enthusiasm. She loved participating in school plays, she was a spirited majorette and cheerleader in the Bliss Band, and she lent her beautiful voice to the girls' choir. Deanna became a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1954 at the age of 15. Even at age 12, before joining the church, she declared to her mother and aunt her intention to work on their family tree. Little did she know this spark would ignite one of her life's greatest callings. Beginning in 1959, Deanna dedicated her life to genealogy, meticulously indexing tens of thousands of names and passionately helping countless others discover their own family heritage. She joyfully served in many church capacities, including Stake Young Women's President and Counselor, Relief Society President, Primary President, teacher, compassionate service leader and chorister. She loved working with the youth.

OTHELLO SCHOOL DISTRICT DIRECTOR DISTRICT 3: Juan 'Jerry' Garcia

OTHELLO – Juan “Jerry” Garcia, born and raised in Othello, is running for Director of District 3 on the Othello School Board. He said that this decision comes from his goal to give back to the community that shaped him into the man he is today. “When I was younger, we never had in my generation a student representative as far as I know and this is pretty exciting,” said Garcia. “I’m open to hearing what the kids have to say because they will say things that we would never even consider because they are in that position directly.”

Building permits for Feb. 21, 2025

Unincorporated Grant County Jan. 25-31 Jourdon Collis, 12900 block of Road A.5 NW, manufactured home, no valuation given. Lopez Design LLC, 400 block of Southwest River Drive, Quincy, new residence, $700,786.56. Bruce Preston Construction Inc., 13000 block of North Frontage Road East, Moses Lake, shop, $1,098,103.45. DGR Homes LLC, 700 block of Southwest Bryce Place, Mattawa, manufactured home, no valuation given. Victor and Julia A. Sinchuk., 200 block of Southeast Pelican Drive, Moses Lake, new residence, $561,037.32. Matthew Adams, 4000 block of Northeast Orchard Drive, Moses Lake, new residence, $1,051,392.58.

Ephrata looks back at ‘24, plans for ‘25

EPHRATA — The City of Ephrata experienced significant growth and development during 2024, according to Mayor Bruce Reim. In 2025, city officials are optimistic about continuing momentum.

BASIN EVENTS Oct. 24-Nov. 1

COLUMBIA BASIN — Halloween is next weekend, and there are events galore, both scary and not. Here are some things to check out.