Weather for the week of May 28, 2024

Weather for the week of May 28, 2024

Class of 2024 to say goodbye to high school

MOSES LAKE — The class of 2024 throughout the Columbia Basin closes out an eventful high school career with graduation ceremonies over the next two weeks at area high schools.

Legals for May, 28 2024

Knights fall to Overlake in 1A title match

RENTON – A late goal allowed No. 4 seed Overlake to defeat No. 3 Royal in Saturday’s 1A boys soccer state title game in Renton, with the Owls saving a Royal penalty kick in second-half stoppage time to seal the 1-0 victory.

MLSD budget woes continue

District may borrow from capital fund to make payroll

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake School District has found another issue as it works to untangle accounting and budget errors that have put the district in a financial chokehold. Board members, administrators and staff from Education Services District 171 are prioritizing getting a clear picture of the district’s finances and dealing with 2023-34 school year challenges before tackling the 2024-25 budget.

Shirley Timm

May 18, 1940 — Feb. 15, 2023

Shirley Timm, 83 at time of death, of Moses Lake, passed away at her daughter’s home in Alabama on Feb. 15, 2023. She was born Shirley Marx on May 18, 1940, in Dickinson, North Dakota, where she was raised and graduated.

Box score roundup for May 24, 2024

COLUMBIA BASIN – Box scores for baseball, boys soccer and softball games from May 24. Box scores for weekend games will be compiled and published in the Wednesday, May 29 edition of the Columbia Basin Herald.

Eligible WA students to get summer meal cards

(The Center Square) – More than 500,000 Washington state children will receive new EBT cards for summer meals. The Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program called SUN Bucks was approved by the federal government in 2022, but this is the first year each participating state has access to the funds.

Sign-up for MCBONES Coyote Canyon Mammoth Site tours starts June 1

KENNEWICK – According to a May 17 announcement from the MCBONES Research Center Foundation, sign-ups for public and group tours at the Coyote Canyon Mammoth Site, a dig site in Kennewick, begin June 1. Reservations can be made for June through October.

Olympic National Park ranks fourth in KURU Footwear top ten hiking list

MOSES LAKE – According to a May 22 statement from KURU Footwear, the organization conducted an analysis of all 63 U.S. National Parks to identify the top ten for hiking based on factors such as number of trails, trail length, average trail rating and park crowd levels.

Work on Vantage Bridge expands to seven days per week May 31

MOSES LAKE — It being a holiday weekend - and bringing with it a lot of traffic - most road projects will be taking a break for Memorial Day, with many resuming Tuesday.

ESD 105 Superintendent reflects on service district’s operations, goals

YAKIMA – Serving four counties, including Kittitas, Yakima and portions of Klickitat and Grant County, Washington’s Educational Service District 105 provides support for 25 school districts – including Royal School District and Wahluke School District – and more than 66,000 students. ESD 105 Superintendent Kevin Chase explained his perspective on the basic purpose of an ESD.

Moses Lake Rotary gives out $75,000 in scholarships at awards banquet

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Rotary Club gave out $75,000 in scholarships during Tuesday evening’s Rotary Scholarship Foundation Awards Banquet, held at Pillar Rock Grill in Moses Lake, bringing the total of Moses Lake Rotary’s scholarship awards since 1980 to $950,000. The ceremony began with a few words from a former Rotary Club scholarship recipient, Elena Bewick...

Knights open state playoffs with win over Klahowya

RICHLAND – No. 8 seed Royal opened up the 1A State Softball Tournament with a win against No. 9 Klahowya on Thursday, defeating the Eagles 10-0 at Columbia Playfields in Richland. “I think the girls were confident and really meshing well after four games on Saturday at districts,” Royal Head Coach Lisa Lawrence said. “They came in aggressive and ready to play.” The Knights picked up 11 hits in the win, led by senior Raegan Wardenaar, junior Lily Delarosa, sophomore Taylor Webb and junior Adalynn Andersen, who all had two hits.

ECBID breaks ground on EL 86.4 irrigation system

OTHELLO – The East Columbia Basin Irrigation District was joined by landowners, key partners and elected officials for a groundbreaking ceremony on the EL 86.4 system Monday, according to a Tuesday announcement from the ECBID. Construction on the system began immediately after the event. The EL 86.4 is an irrigation water delivery system for the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program. According to the announcement, the project will reduce the current normalized cost for landowners in the affected area. Tom Tebb, Director of the Office of Columbia River for the Washington Department of Ecology, attended the groundbreaking ceremony and commented on the project in the announcement.

Legals for May, 24 2024

Moses Lake School Board hears from concerned community

MOSES LAKE — Decisions on a modified educational plan for the Moses Lake School District could be coming later today, although they may be delayed. Moses Lake School Board members have scheduled a workshop for 3 p.m. for further discussion on proposed spending and staff reductions for the 2024-25 school year. The discussions follow the rejection of the district’s educational programs and operations levy and the discovery of an accounting error. As of May 11, staff from the North Central Education Service District estimated that MLSD would have to reduce its 2024-25 budget by about $20 million. About 100 staff members, both teachers and support staff, could lose their jobs, and among other things, the district’s entire extracurricular activities program could be reduced or eliminated for 2024-25.

Six Basin squads reach state softball tournaments

COLUMBIA BASIN – It all comes down to this; six Basin softball teams qualified for their respective state softball tournaments, with games being hosted in Richland, Selah and Yakima beginning Thursday afternoon. Read along for a look at where teams were seeded in their brackets as well as a look at first-round matchups.

Moses Lake’s Villegas signs with University of Idaho Spirit Squad

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake Senior Kamaya Villegas signed her letter of intent Wednesday in the Moses Lake High School gym to join the University of Idaho’s Vandal Spirit Squad as part of both the university’s Vandal Gems dance and Vandal Cheer teams. “I'm feeling pumped up,” Villegas said before the signing. “I'm excited.” Villegas said her choice of UI was influenced both by the university’s dance and cheer programs and by the school itself. “I looked into it and, I don't know, I just wanted to try out for some dance teams and I kind of liked Moscow too,” she said. “And I like the campus and everything, so I was like, why not try out here? And I did. It was between going into the military or doing this or going somewhere far and dancing.”

Lupe (Mitzi) Cruz

Sept. 25, 1936 – May 22, 2024

Lupe (Mitzi) Cruz, 87, passed away on Wednesday, May 22 at 12:35 a.m. peacefully, with her loving family at her side. She was born September 25, 1936, in Fairmont City, Illinois. As a child she went to school in Cle Elum. She then moved to Yakima until she married Henry Zarate Sr. Later in life she married Pedro Serrano. Lupe is survived by her brothers Johnny Cruz (Jane) and Dennis Barbeau; sisters Mary (Linga) Vielmas (Jose), Josephine Manley, and Patricia Brogan; daughters Mary (Baby) Zarate, Margie Rodriguez (Carlos) and Kathy Zarate (Eddie); grandchildren Tom Zarate (Celinda), Shawna Garcia, Melissa Nimley (Sateah), Christina Garcia, Jason Zarate (Gina), Channel Enriquez (Clarence), Chalissa Badley, Kathleen Badley, Jessica Hayworth and Blake McDougall; 18 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandchild. She is preceded in death by her parents Toribio and Martha Cruz; her brothers William (Memo) Cruz, Jack Cruz Jr. and Frank Cruz; her sisters Mary Lou Cruz, Sally Cruz and Ruth Cruz; her son Henry Zarate, Jr. and her first husband Henry Zarate, Sr.