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Women combine talents to open businesses in shared space
MOSES LAKE — Three woman-owned businesses held a ribbon-cutting and grand opening at their new location in Moses Lake Thursday. The office at 815 W. Third Ave. holds an accounting firm, a massage service and a waxing room. “We’re a one-stop shop,” Mandy Schuh said. Schuh is the owner and founder of both Pillar Rock Accounting and Seventh Sense Serenity massage service. As Pillar Rock, she and her assistant Esmeralda Sanchez handle after-the-fact bookkeeping: general bookkeeping, payroll processing and bank and credit card reconciliation. That’s the business people see when they walk in the front door. In a quiet, gently-lit room in the back of the office, Schuh massage services, including Swedish, intraoral massage, myofascial, reflexology and the Japanese technique called Reiki.
GCSO Crime Reduction Team makes strides in community safety
EPHRATA — In an effort to increase proactive law enforcement, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office established a Crime Reduction Team, which has been effective since its inception in 2024, according to Sheriff Joey Kriete. The CRT, led by Supervisor Sgt. Jason Ball, alongside Deputies Ben Smithson and Adam Davis, was created to tackle rural thefts and other crime issues affecting Grant County residents. Kriete explained the reason behind establishing the CRT.
Grant PUD seeks rate input
EPHRATA — Grant County Public Utility District customers have until Dec. 23 to submit their comments on proposed rate hikes that would go into effect in April 2026. Comments can be submitted at Grant PUD: Commission Meetings. Customers commenting at the last PUD commission meeting of 2025 said higher rates are going to be a challenge. Commissioner Terry Pyle said the PUD is facing challenges too.
Lions boys dominate at home against the Devils
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions boys played at home against the Wilson Creek Devils Thursday where they earned a 68-29 victory over their Central Washington B League rival. “It was a lot of trying to push the ball up the court, trying to get really good shots and the boys were really unselfish with the ball,” said Lions Head Coach Emerson Ferguson. “I really like how they were moving the ball and getting good open shots at the basket.”
Lions best Devils in girls rivalry matchup
MOSES LAKE —The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions (4-0) hosted the Wilson Creek Devils (4-1) on Thursday, where the Lions earned a 50-28 victory. The two teams both face a tough week following their matchup before going into winter break.
Mavericks wrestling sweep Eastmont at home
MOSES LAKE — On Thursday, the Mavericks boys and girls wrestling were each victorious over the Eastmont Wildcats. The Boys won 47-36, while the girls won 77-3 to start their season off strong with a league win. “It's early in the season, but to be able to come out and have success, and pretty much every match was, was a big win for us, especially being a mostly young team,” Girls Head Coach Tony Lee said. “Those are ones we definitely circle on the calendar. We want to make sure we're having success at our league duels.” The girls team were dominant in their matchup against Eastmont, only losing one match. Lee said they knew Hayden Morris’ match was going to be tough since she and her opponent were state competitor's last season.
Mavericks fend off Panthers in close home win
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (3-2) held off the Wenatchee Panthers in a competitive 46-43 win at home Friday. After the hard-fought win, Mavs Head Coach Matt Strophy complimented the Panthers for the challenge they gave Moses Lake. “They work super hard. They made us earn everything we got, and hopefully we did the same to them. I like the energy on both sides, so I'm just glad we came out on top with (Breanna Bischoff) knocking down those two free throws to kind of ice that game. That was really sweet,” Strophy said.
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.”
BASIN EVENTS: Dec. 12-20
COLUMBIA BASIN — It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas out there, and there are holiday goings-on galore in the Basin. Here are a few things to make your spirits bright:
Eagles defense leads them to first regular season win
SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles (1-1) earned a dominant 62-24 win at home over the Cascade Christian Academy Wolverines. Head Coach Leonard Lundgren said he was proud to see everyone get involved. “It feels really good. The best part about the win is everybody on the team scored a point tonight. That's the first time I've ever had a team where everybody on the bench has scored a point,” Lundgren said.
Ephrata town hall highlights local growth
EPHRATA — On Wednesday night, leaders of several Ephrata agencies gathered at the Ephrata High School Performing Arts Center to give updates to the community on various projects. There were presentations from the school district, both the mayor and mayor-elect, the Port of Ephrata, Columbia Basin Hospital, Grant Public Utility District and Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
Eagles boys fall short at home
SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles (0-2) fell short 57-37 at home to the Cascade Christian Academy Wolverines. Head Coach Mingo Scott called the result a game of two stories. “When we were able to run our offense and get into stuff, we made positive runs and were able to score as a team. When we couldn't get into our offense, guys went one-on-one too much, and that led to turnovers and runs going the opposite direction,” Scott said. The Eagles fell behind early after a fast start by the Wolverines. CCA jumped out to a 17-2 lead before Scott called a timeout to help his players reset. From there, they were able to run their system to eventually tie the game 36-36 in the third quarter. However, after a player sprained his ankle, the Eagles scoring run stopped and the Wolverines pulled away in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Ephrata Council passes $35.6 million budget for 2026
EPHRATA — The Ephrata City Council has officially passed its budget for the 2026 fiscal year, amounting to a total of about $35,600,000. The ordinance was approved during a council meeting held on Dec. 3.
Moses Lake Police Department logs for Dec. 11, 2025
The reports below were provided by the Moses Lake Police Department. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Ephrata prepares for winter weather
EPHRATA — As colder temperatures and the promise of snow settle over Ephrata, city officials urge residents to familiarize themselves with local snow removal policies and the critical role they play in ensuring safe roadways. Ray Towry, the City Administrator, emphasized the city’s commitment to effective snow management, developed collaboratively with input from community stakeholders including the Chamber of Commerce, City Council, local businesses and the Ephrata School District. Once snowfall reaches at least two inches, the city’s four-person Street Department will initiate plowing operations. Crews typically begin work before 4:00 AM, often enduring shifts lasting 16 to 18 hours during significant weather events. “We strive to balance safety with the efficient use of taxpayer dollars,” Towry said. “Plowing happens mostly overnight, and it’s crucial we handle this as effectively as possible.”
Options for responding to challenging times at annual WSTFA meeting
WENATCHEE — The last couple of years have been a bumpy ride in the orchard, and it didn’t matter if it was an apple, cherry or pear orchard. Organizers of the annual meeting of the Washington State Tree Fruit Association asked its speakers and panelists to talk about where the industry has been and where it’s going. It was the 121st annual meeting, so the industry has been through profitable years and lean years before. Industry veteran Welcome Sauer said the process of adjustment hurts, but that growers have always made the adjustment. “I think we’ll see some pain in the short term,” Sauer said. “We’ll see some replacement of old, less productive orchards that produce a lower percentage of fruit in the money zone being replaced, either by bare land or by orchards that have access to high-quality new genetics.”
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.”
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.
Cougars compete in big meets to start season
WARDEN – The Warden Cougars wrestling team competed in their first wrestling tournaments of the season with the girls heading to Liberty High School for the Lady Lancer Invitational and the boys heading to the Ocosta Tournament at Ocosta High School. “I thought we had a really good weekend; it was the first time we took a trip like that, (a) six hour bus ride,” said Cougars Boys Head Coach Johnny Hernandez. The boys had nine scorers on the weekend with seven of those making top four placements, he said. Overall, the team finished third at Ocosta and were only four points away from taking first place.
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.