Ron PuFahl

Oct. 9, 1951 – Dec. 1, 2025

When asked how he was doing, Ron's answer was always the same: “Better than Most.” It wasn't just a phrase, it was how he lived. Throughout life Ron chose humor, connection, optimism and gratitude. Ron PuFahl – a deeply loved husband, dad, papa, brother, son-in-law, uncle, brother-in-law and friend to all who knew him – passed away Dec. 1, 2025, after a courageous battle with cancer. Born to William and Lina (Montreuil) PuFahl on Oct. 9, 1951, Ron lived a mischievous childhood in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. He grew up in the big pink house across the street from the convent. There were so many things for kids to do in the ’50s and ’60s, and Ron tried them all, including many shenanigans with his brother and cousin. Ron attended St. Thomas Elementary and I.H.M. Catholic Academy, graduating in 1970.

Ephrata School District music director performing in 2026 Pasadena Rose Parade

EPHRATA — Columbia Ridge Elementary Music Director Alicia Keegan has been selected to participate in the 2026 Pasadena Rose Parade as part of the Band Directors Marching Band. This ensemble will comprise 350 band directors from across the United States, marching along a 5.5-mile route on January 1, 2026.

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: In appreciation of educators ...

An experience I recently had with a school district, quite honestly, has left me gob-smacked a bit. I am in awe of the teachers and administrators at school districts throughout the region and what they have to deal with. Let me get back to the beginning, though. Journalists often cover a wide variety of topics and are constantly looking for ideas for stories that will matter to readers. As such, when we hear of events of interest, we sometimes ask to attend so we can either cover it, or, as in this case, learn how to cover a topic better.

Rita Joan Frey

Nov. 7, 1936 – Nov. 22, 2025

Rita Joan Frey (Sternhagen), 89, passed away peacefully on Nov. 22, surrounded by her loving family. Born on Nov. 7, 1936, in Glasgow, Montana, she was the youngest of seven children born to Joseph P. Sternhagen and Mary Catherine Sternhagen (Carignan). Rita lived a life marked by resilience, warmth, and quiet strength.

Quincy EP&O levy to go to voters

QUINCY — Quincy School District voters will be asked to accept or reject a four-year educational programs and operations levy in a special election in February. If it’s approved, it would replace the levy approved by voters in 2022. District superintendent Nik Bergman said money raised through the levy accounts for about 16% of the district’s budget. “The state doesn’t fully fund a lot of programs,” Bergman said. “It’s used to fund our highly capable (program) and STEAM enrichment. Some of it is used to fund special education, early learning, the arts, music. We have a music program that is just flourishing right now, and I can connect that to the community support of the levy.”

Herseth named CWU volleyball head coach, Andaya named deputy AD

ELLENSBURG – Lauren Herseth, Associate Head Volleyball Coach for Central Washington University, has been named the next head coach of the Wildcats following the transition of current Head Coach Mario Andaya into the Deputy Athletics Director position, CWU director of Athletics Dennis Francois announced on Monday. “I am honored to be stepping into this new role, with an extremely fun and talented roster,” said Herseth. “I can’t thank Dennis and Mario enough for investing in and preparing me for this moment. I love this program and I am committed to carrying on the legacy of CWU volleyball.” Herseth's collegiate volleyball career began at Central, competing for the Wildcats from 2011-2014. During her four-year playing career, Herseth helped the program reach three NCAA appearances and finished ranked in the top ten in program history for both sets and matches played. A team captain, she was also a three-time GNAC All-Academic selection while majoring in Physical Education and School Health. Herseth was heavily involved in CWU Athletics, serving three years as SAAC President, and also competed on the Wildcats' women's basketball team during the 2013–2014 season.

Huskies fall at home against Sageview

OTHELLO – The Othello Huskies basketball team took their first loss in the season, falling 63-83 at home to the Sageview Lobos (Pasco). The Huskies now look to learn from this loss as they begin Central Washington Athletic Conference play this weekend. “We knew this was going to be a good game,” said Othello senior Syrus Ruiz. “We knew these guys had some talent on their team, but I feel like we really didn’t execute.” Othello started strong getting a nine-point lead over Sageview, but the Lobos came back after making threes to tie the game. Huskies’ senior Quade Gonzalez would respond with one of his own, but the Lobos pulled ahead, ending the quarter 12-15.

Big Sky Now: FCS playoff shake up, Montana surges and NDSU falls

Big Sky Now shares a full breakdown of the second round of the FCS playoffs and a deep dive into the biggest headlines shaping the Big Sky Conference.

Word wizards

MLCA students take high honors in vocabulary competition

MOSES LAKE — These students know how to use their words. Forty-two thousand, four hundred thirty-eight of them, in fact. MLCA recently competed in the Vocabulary.com Vocabulary Bowl, and students demonstrated mastery of 42,438 words in a David-and-Goliath battle against schools with vastly larger teams. “We were competing against hundreds, if not thousands of schools,” said Moses Lake Christian Academy English teacher Hannah Pease. “We finished seventh in the nation, out of every size school, even schools with over a thousand kids.” MLCA, with fewer than 200 students in all grades, has been the top school in Washington for two years running in the Vocabulary.com Vocabulary Bowl, and this fall season placed second in the U.S. and Canada among schools with fewer than 500 students. The competition circled the globe with 966,716 participants, according to the website, from 20 countries.

Legals for December, 10 2025

Merle Jay Royer

September 14, 1929 – December 9, 2025

Merle Jay Royer, 96, of Quincy, Washington, passed away peacefully on Dec. 9, 2025, surrounded by family. Born Sept. 14, 1929, near Industry, Illinois, Merle grew up in Illinois and Colorado before making Quincy his lifelong home. Merle met the love of his life, Wilma Whitbeck, at a small church gathering in Quincy, and they married in 1957. Together they raised four children and built a life centered on faith, family and community. A farmer at heart, Merle stepped into a new season of life when health concerns required him to work out of the sun. With Wilma and family, he faithfully operated Coast to Coast Hardware, later Royer’s True Value, for 38 years. Merle was known for his work ethic, generosity, and the way he treated every customer with dignity and care.

ML Pals Club hosting fundraiser at Crumbl ahead of basketball season

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Pals Club is set to hold a fundraiser at Crumbl Cookies Thursday, Dec. 18, from 4 to 7 p.m. The proceeds will go to support the upcoming unified basketball and soccer seasons. “This is our third one with Crumbl and the kids love it,” said Sarah White, Mavs Assistant Coach for Unified Sports. “It’s fun. Who doesn’t love cookies?”

Add Sprinkles of joy to your life

MOSES LAKE – Sprinkles, a four-month-old mixed breed pup is looking fur her forever home. She promises to be the bestest and most sweetest girl for anyone who takes her home. She loves people, pets and long walks. If she seems like the kind of sweetness you want to add into your life, visit GrantCountyAnimalOutreach.org and fill out her application. If you can’t adopt right now but you would like to help a local shelter, visit the website and click “donate.”

UW to play Boise State in LA Bowl

MOSES LAKE – The University of Washington Huskies football team (8-4) will be heading to face the Boise State Broncos (9-4) in Los Angeles this weekend at the L.A. Bowl hosted by Gronk. The game will take place at SoFi Studium Saturday with kick off at 5 p.m. “We are excited about the opportunity,” said Huskies Head Coach Jedd Fisch in a press conference. “Spent yesterday and the day before game planning for Boise once we saw the game end Friday evening and we know we’ve got a really good team that we’ve got to deal with... We know we’ve got our work cut out for us.” UW enters the bowl game after falling in their regular season home finale against the University of Oregon 14-16. The Huskies defense held the Ducks to just one touchdown through three quarters, but the Ducks made four field goals in that time and held the Huskies to a single touchdown. Both teams scored a touchdown in the final quarter

COLUMN: College football playoff selection was a mess

It’s not a normal day in December if college football teams are not throwing their hands in the air after being left out of the college football playoff. This year the drama surrounded what the playoff committee should do about Miami, Alabama and Notre Dame. After conference championship weekend, it ended up being Miami and Bama getting the nod and the Fighting Irish being left out. While I agree that the committee got it wrong, what has been more disappointing to see is Notre Dame and other schools reactions to playing in bowl games and not in the playoffs. ND was one of nine schools declining the invitation to play a bowl game this season. Moreso in the Fighting Irish’s case, this mentality around not playing in a bowl game shows a quitter's attitude because you did not do what you needed to do to make the playoffs.

Mavs fall at home to Ferris

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks basketball team fell 45-60 in their home opener against a tough Ferris team Friday evening. The Mavs hope to bounce back from this loss as they prepare for their first games of league play. “We’ve got our third game in four days, so a little bit tired and I thought we found energy at times, but we’ve got to be consistent with that,” said Mavs Head Coach Matt Strophy.

UW faces Furman in NCAA Semifinals

MOSES LAKE – The University of Washington Huskies soccer team (14-6-2) will be making their second College Cup appearance in five years on Friday when they face No. 16 Furman in the NCAA semifinals. The Huskies will kick off at 3 p.m. UW enters the semifinal round after defeating No. 4 Maryland 3-1 last Friday. Maryland got on the board first in the game scoring a corning kick in the 19th minute, but the Huskies were ready to respond. In the 38th minute, Huskies player Richie Aman sent a corner kick that found the head of Osato Enabulele to tie the game at one at the end of the half.

Mavs start winter swim and dive

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake High School Mavericks boys swim and dive team began their season last Thursday with a home meet against Eastmont, Eisenhower, Wenatchee, West Valley, Sunnyside and Davis. Mavs Head Coach Tony Preston said the meet was a great way to get the season started. “I thought it went really well,” said Preston. “This was a non-scored meet so we couldn’t really see how we stacked up there, but between us and Wenatchee we’re two pretty deep teams.” The meet consisted of five swim events and a diving event with the Mavs seeing multiple athletes making top ten placements in each. In the 50-yard Freestyle, Mathew Molitor took third with 23.30, Lennox Leeder took fourth with 23.32, Sam O’Shea took fifth with 23.34, Sam Molitor tied for eighth with 23.85 and Josiah Wallace took tenth with 23.89.

Mavs lose in close game against Ferris

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Mavericks played in a close matchup against fellow 4A team in the Ferris Saxons but fell 63-64. The two teams fought hard through all four quarters, but ultimately the Mavs would come just short of a victory. “It was a tough game, real close from the start all the way to the finish,” said Mavs Head Coach Craig Groth. “Both teams played well and it just came down to they just made a couple more plays down the stretch than we did.”

Broncos win in competitive game against the Cougars

WARDEN — The Warden Cougars (0-3) fell to the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague/Washtucna Broncos (1-1) 58-45 Saturday. Despite the loss, Head Coach Emily Cox said this game showed how far they’ve come in the last year. “I thought the girls overall did really well,” Cox said. “They came to play, they worked hard and really were trying to clean up and do our fundamentals better. I felt like (in) this game they did better.” The Cougars started strong in the first quarter by taking a 13-9 lead. However, the Broncos responded in the second to go into halftime with a 29-25 lead over Warden. In the second half, the Cougars hung close with LRS but ultimately the game escaped them in the fourth quarter and the Broncos took the win.