More rain for Cascades, high winds for Columbia Basin this week

LEAVENWORTH — A second strong winter storm is projected to hit Washington this week, bringing heavy rains back to areas that were hard-hit by rain and flooding last week. Steve Bodnar, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Spokane, said rain is forecast to start Monday, but won’t last as long.

Skyview Dental opens new clinic

MOSES LAKE — The new Skyview Dental clinic is open. “It’s been under planning for about two and a half years,” said Dr. Calvin Despain at the clinic’s ribbon-cutting Friday. “We broke ground in March of this year and then just finished up and started seeing patients a couple of weeks ago.” The 6,000-square-foot clinic features 10 treatment rooms with brand new equipment, arranged in an open, airy space that allows Despain and his staff to move around easily between patients. “It’s built around patient comfort, Despain said. “We’ve got the most advanced equipment and dental chairs that are available … We do same-day crowns. We have 3D printing where we can get dentures made faster. We have our 3D X-rays … We have our little special surgery rooms (where) we can have a nice private place for people to be who have longer procedures.”

Plan early for dementia care

MOSES LAKE — Having dementia can seem like the end of everything. But in some ways, it’s only the beginning. “The most important thing (for) people with dementia is planning for the future,” said Dr. A. Carroll Hayman, a Seattle physician who specializes in Alzheimer’s and other dementias, at a symposium in Pasco in October. “In fact, if we can do an early diagnosis that gives people an opportunity to plan (and) also allows the patient themselves to be involved in some of that planning. If we wait too long they can’t say what they want anymore, then we’re just sort of guessing what they wanted rather than involving them.” As much as we might wish otherwise, dementia isn’t going to go away, and it isn’t going to be cured. How long it could last varies widely from one patient to the next. The patient will have medical, legal and social needs to work out, and they can’t do it alone. Starting early is key, Hayman said.

Use common sense when warming up with a space heater

MOSES LAKE — Winter weather has come to the Basin, which means a lot of people will be looking for ways to keep warm. Space heaters can be a useful, portable way to heat up a room, but you have to be careful with them and the fire risks they present. “Maintain space between the heater and any combustible object: clothes, blankets, anything that could catch fire,” said Moses Lake firefighter Seth Ellis. One in six residential fires on average are caused by heating equipment, according to the National Fire Prevention Association. Of those, about a third are caused by space heaters, but those fires result in 88% of civilian deaths and 80% of civilian injuries from heating-related fires. The number of fires caused by heaters has dropped from more than 70,000 annually to about 40,000, largely due to safety features like switches to shut the device off when it tips over.

Wildcats stay perfect after weekend sweep

ELLENSBURG — The Central Washington Wildcats are off to a 6-0 start to their regular season after their sweep last weekend over San Francisco State Gators and University of Mary Marauders. With a new group of players leading this season, Head Coach Randi Richardson said she feels great about where the team is at. “We're learning a lot about ourselves every game we step out onto the floor as it truly is a really new group playing with each other,” Richardson said. “We're trying to find that camaraderie out on the floor and that unity at times, especially on the offensive side of the ball, but we are finding ways to win and compete in the moment and get the job done.”

Legals for December, 17 2025

Public opinion sought on Grant PUD rate proposals

EPHRATA — Grant County PUD customers are invited to give their opinions about electrical rates for 2026 and beyond at a public hearing at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the PUD’s main office, 30 C St. SW, Ephrata. It’s the start of a two-week public comment period on the new rate proposal.

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.

Steven L. Gilbert

1958 – 2025

Steven L. Gilbert, devoted husband and father, passed away peacefully on November 23, 2025. Steve lived heroically with the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s for 18 years, but it never daunted his loving spirit and sense of humor. Steve was a gentle giant and leaves a legacy of strength during trial, humor in hard times and an enduring love of God, family and ice cream.

Grant PUD: New rate policy looks forward, not back

EPHRATA — Customers designated as core customers will be first in line for the lowest Grant County Public Utility District rates, according to a new rate policy unanimously approved by PUD commissioners Tuesday. Ty Ehrman, senior vice president of retail operations, said there will be less emphasis on the cost of actually providing service to customers, a process he called unbundling. “That is meant to support the premise (that) growth pays for growth. And most of our growth has ended up being in the industrial sector,” Ehrman said. “We want to make sure that we’re not unduly burdening our core customers with those higher-cost sources of power. And most of the growth (in demand) is actually occurring elsewhere.”

High winds forecast Tuesday and Wednesday

MOSES LAKE — While the heavy rain, heavy snow and flooding is expected to stay north of the Columbia Basin, the Basin won’t escape the storms forecast to roll through the region this week. According to the National Weather Service, it’s going to get pretty windy. “We do have a very busy week ahead of us,” said Antoinette Serrato, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Spokane.

Eggers, Grossman lead Eagles to Big Sky-Summit League sweep

VERMILLION, S. Dakota — The fourth quarter is where the excitement is for Eastern Washington women's basketball as they complete another comeback. Eastern defeated South Dakota 67-63 on Saturday afternoon to go 2-0 in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge. The Eagles improve to 5-4 on the season, while USD falls to 8-2.

Groff transferred back to permanent power

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake School District announced Groff Elementary repairs are going well, with a focus on electrical grounding and related systems. The school has successfully transitioned Groff’s electrical service back to permanent power from the Grant County Public Utility District. It had been transferred to a special line to ensure any problems with the facility did not cause a power outage in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Washington state faces two-front challenge to meet future energy demand

(The Center Square) – As Washington state invests in the electrification of its public transportation fleet while preparing for a ban on privately owned new gasoline-powered vehicles in 2035, regional energy stakeholders are addressing the practical issues of having the transmission lines necessary to meet demand.

Warriors fall short in home opener

MATTAWA — The Wahluke Warriors (0-1) were defeated 67-43 by the Tri-Cities Prep Jaguars Tuesday in their return to the hardwood. Wahluke Head Coach Anfernee Cortez said some of the loss may be attributed to first-game jitters. “We started too flat and just kind of dug ourselves into a hole early. Against a team like Tri-Cities Prep, it’s tough to catch up at that point,” Cortez said. A slow start by the Warriors allowed Tri-Cities Prep to take hold of the momentum early and build a commanding lead. In the first half, the Warriors struggled to knock down shots and attack the rim. The Jaguars carried their momentum into the second half to run away with the game. Wahluke had a stronger second-half showing, but Cortez said it was not enough to get back in the game.

Bills begin streaming in ahead of WA’s 2026 legislative session

Washington lawmakers are warming up for a sprint.

Republicans prepare for 'train wreck' as Democrats eye new taxes to fill $2B gap

(The Center Square) – House and Senate Republicans say they have a “front row seat to a train wreck” next month as the Legislature prepares to fill a $2 billion state deficit with more taxes amid record spending.

Weather forecast for Thanksgiving week 2025

Weather forecast for Thanksgiving week 2025

GCSO Sgt. McDonnell helps empower rural resident

SOAP LAKE — After a postal worker discovered a note asking for help inside a rural Soap Lake mailbox Wednesday, the worker called the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. Sgt. Jason McDonnell answered the call and checked on the person who lived at the home, according to GCSO Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman.

Sheriff talks crime, enforcement at Mattawa town hall

MATTAWA — Grant County Sheriff Joey Kriete held a town hall meeting at Wahluke High School Dec. 9, discussing law enforcement issues affecting Mattawa and Desert Aire. “You're going to probably hear me say a million times. We can't do this alone,” Kriete told the attendees. “We have to have our communities out here to help us and share information with us and give us ideas. We get a ton of new and great ideas from the community.”