Lions triumph at home over Eagles

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Christian Academy/Christian Covenant School Lions volleyball team earned a 3-0 home win over the Soap Lake Eagles Tuesday evening. The Lions are now 6-3 overall, and the Eagles are 3-3.

Jacks overcome Tigers in OT

QUINCY – On Tuesday, the Jacks (6-3-1) overcame the Ephrata Tigers (3-3-2) in penalty kicks to secure a 1-0 victory. The Jacks goalkeeper Aylen Garcia came up big for her team in the penalty kicks at the end of the game.

Mavs earn home win over Ike

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Mavericks volleyball team (4-3) got back on track with a 3-1 home win over Eisenhower Tuesday night. “I think this just gave us some confidence back and just made us realize that this is how we should be playing every game,” said Mavs player Madison Witwer. “I think we came out thinking that we refined some things that we’ve been wanting to work on.”

Columbia Basin Hospital reintroduces $30 million bond proposal

EPHRATA — Columbia Basin Hospital is once again submitting to the community a $30 million bond proposition aimed at expanding its facilities and services. The bond will go before voters in the November general election. The bond was rejected during the primary election, with around 46% of voters in favor. It aims to address pressing infrastructure needs and enhance health services within the community, according to Administrator Rosalinda Kibby. “We are a public hospital district which means that our only chance to fund a project this big. We can afford smaller projects like $10 million, $5 million or projects of that size. We just did the emergency department remodel for less than $5 million,” Kibby said. “But when it comes to adding a new building, that will need to be done with public help.”

Washington’s minimum wage to top $17 in 2026

OLYMPIA — Washington state’s minimum wage will surpass $17 per hour in 2026. It will rise 2.8% to $17.13 per hour, starting Jan. 1, the state Department of Labor and Industries announced Tuesday. The current $16.66 per-hour wage already leads the nation, though California and parts of New York are close at $16.50. The federal minimum wage is set at $7.25. The cities of Seattle, Bellingham, Burien, Everett, Renton, SeaTac and Tukwila all set minimum wages higher than the state. As does unincorporated King County. Advocates in Lynnwood are looking to join that list, as they gather support for a ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage to $20.24 per hour there.

Oct. 1 brings new taxes for Washington businesses and consumers

(The Center Square) – A new slate of taxes goes into effect on Wednesday. The changes were passed as part of the 2025-27 biennial budget package, which lawmakers approved in May, and are projected to generate billions in revenue.

Mavs compete at Mukilteo Invitational

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks’ girls swim and dive team traveled to Cascade High School to compete in the Mukilteo Invitational on Saturday where they earned fourteenth overall out of the 31 teams. “It went good – that’s the pool where we go back for our state competition in November, so it was getting some of the girls used to it that have never been there. And for other people that have been there, they get a chance to compete against some of the top swimmers in the state in probably the fastest pool in the state,” said Mavs head coach Tony Preston. The top finish for the Mavs came in the 100-yard freestyle event, where senior Bria Bodenman earned seventh place with a final time of 57.16. Dallie Cobb earned twenty-third in the event with a final time of 59.90 and twenty-second in the 50 Freestyle event.

Samaritan Hospital opening scheduled for March 2026

MOSES LAKE — The projected opening day for the new Samaritan Hospital is about six months away. “We expect that we would get the temporary certificate of occupancy Dec. 12,” said Samaritan Chief Executive Officer Theresa Sullivan. “And then the first patients March 7, 2026.” Construction has reached the stage of painting walls, installing doors, finishing installing lights and starting to install equipment. Crews were putting together some of the imaging equipment Tuesday morning.

UMANI Festival hosts second lucha wrestling show

MOSES LAKE — On Saturday, Columbia Basin Allied Art and Northwest Pro Wrestling hosted the Lucha and Lowriders Wrestling show at the Youth Dynamics building. It was the UMANI festival’s second time hosting the wrestling show. CBAA Executive Director Shawn Cardwell called Saturday’s event a dream. “I thought the crowd was amazing,” Cardwell said. “We had papas bringing their daughters and grandchildren. It’s a dream for any presenter to have a crowd like that, to work with performers like that, and to be hosted by venues like (Youth Dynamics). It was so good all around.” This year’s show was held indoors, unlike last year when it was held outside on Division Street, Cardwell said. Holding the event indoors made it more family-friendly, she said. Fans packed into front of the event space. Ahead of them on the basketball court was a ring with a blue mat, ropes taped yellow, white and blue, and a black curtain lining the outside of the ring.

Zolman retires from Quincy hospital commission after 20 years

QUINCY — Randy Zolman said he didn’t know much about the job when he joined the Quincy Valley Medical Center commission in 2005. “I had no idea,” he said. “I thought it would be interesting.” Zolman resigned earlier this month after 20 years as a QVMC commissioner; his term would have ended in December. Ronald Huxtable is running unopposed for the position and was appointed to the QVMC commission at its Sept. 22 meeting.

FIRE REPORT: Sept. 30, 2025

MOSES LAKE — Over the weekend, there was growth of around 28,000 acres burning in Washington. As of Monday afternoon, there were nearly 167,000 acres burning across the state. The two fires that saw the most growth are both located outside of Wenatchee.

Port of Ephrata to host aerial applicators fly-in

EPHRATA — The Port of Ephrata will serve as the venue for the third annual fly-in pancake breakfast, hosted by the Association of Washington Aerial Applicators, on Saturday, Oct. 4. This event is set to showcase the role aerial applicators play in Washington’s agricultural industry while offering community members an engaging opportunity to learn about low-level aviation. The pancake breakfast will kick off at 8 a.m. and is priced at $20 per person, with children under 10 eating free. The event is open to the public at no charge, said Dave Lanman, executive director of the Port of Ephrata

Charity golf raises funds for Alzheimer's awareness

WARDEN – On Saturday, Karisti Cox held the third annual “Dude! Where’s my Cart!?” charity golf tournament. The tournament aims to put a fun and educational spin on raising awareness for Alzheimer’s, she said. “The fundraising is all designed to go towards the Alzheimer's Association, and, more specifically, to the Columbia Basin Walk to End Alzheimer's, but ultimately, it all goes to the same place,” she said.

Merlin D. Jones

Jan. 12, 1948 — Sept. 26, 2025

Merlin Daniel Jones, 77, passed away Friday, Sept. 26, 2025, at Othello Care. He was born Jan. 12, 1948, in Ephrata, Washington to Clifford and Evelyn Salkield Jones of Mae Valley. He went to school in Moses Lake until he joined the Army in 1966. He was in transportation in Germany which gave him the opportunity to travel much in that country which he grew to love. He served in Vietnam then return to Germany where he met and married Suse Knoedler in 1972. He was transferred to the U.S. about 1975 and retired from the Army in 1981. He moved back to Moses Lake. He retired from Basic American Potato around 2013 due to advancing Parkinson’s.

Local legislators to present at Ephrata City Council

EPHRATA – The Ephrata City Council is set to host an open house featuring a state senator and two state representatives, all local Republicans, on Oct. 1.

Quincy-area fire burns 350 acres

QUINCY — A fire in an area difficult to access about 11 miles north of Quincy Thursday eventually grew to about 350 acres and required crews to remain on the scene overnight. The fire was reported about noon Thursday and Bob Horst, assistant chief for Grant County Fire District 3, said the scene is near GCFD 3’s boundary.

Moses Lake parks plan includes new Longview park

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake city officials want to make some changes to Sinkiuse Square and build a new park in the Longview neighborhood. Those were the projects included in the city’s capital projects improvement plan for parks.

Construction debris solutions available

MOSES LAKE — There’s a lot of construction going on in the Basin right now, and sometimes it can get a little messy. A construction site generates a lot significant amount of trash, and when the wind picks up, it sometimes of trash, and when the wind picks up, sometimes it ends up in the neighbors’ yards. There’s a way to deal with that, said City of Moses Lake Building Inspector Will Mumma.

ROAD REPORT: Construction season winding down

MOSES LAKE — Fall is officially here – chilly mornings, shorter days, pumpkin spice lattes, all the things. With fall’s arrival, the end of road construction season is in sight, but there are still projects underway throughout the Columbia Basin.

NCW Library renovations progress regionally

EPHRATA – The North Central Washington Library District is making strides towards the remodeling of several public library facilities across the region, but delays in the Ephrata Library renovations have raised questions about the timeline of future projects. The project, according to Supervising Librarian Aaron Loeffelbein, was supposed to start at the beginning of 2026. However, the district is now expecting a start date closer to March or April of 2026.