30 years: Downtown Moses Lake Association celebrates pearl anniversary

MOSES LAKE – Music, shoppers, bean bag tossers and fun took over downtown Moses Lake near Sinkiuse Square on Saturday as the Downtown Moses Lake Association celebrated three decades of serving the community – an anniversary ordinarily symbolized with a pearl if it were a marriage. “It went well,” said DMLA Executive Director Rosenda Henley. “It was a good turnout for being a first event.” ...

LETTER: Honoring the 'Grant County Journal'

Dear Editor, This is to salute the service the Grant County Journal provided Ephrata residents over the years. As a former reporter for The Herald who covered the county seat, it's still hard to admit how many times Randy Bracht scooped me on stories. I always felt I had to work a lot harder just to keep up. It seemed like every morning we'd say hello as we made the rounds to the jail, courts, and other government offices...

Lower Crab Creek fire out, others still burning

BEVERLY — A wildfire that blazed up east of Beverly over the weekend is out, according to Grant County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Kyle Foreman. The fire consumed about 65 acres, according to Neil Vargas, assistant chief for Grant County Fire District 10, which responded to the blaze. There were no injuries, Vargas added. No further information was available Monday afternoon, as Bureau of Land Management personnel were on the scene and no report had been made yet...

Legals for June, 27 2023

FIBERED UP: Grant Co. fiber expansion nears finish line

EPHRATA — A decades-long project to provide fiber optic cable, and fiber access, to most Grant County locations is almost done. Terry McKenzie, senior manager of wholesale fiber for the Grant County PUD, said the buildout is scheduled for completion in 2024. “We’re about 90-ish (percent) complete with the project customer base, with the customer count,” McKenzie said. “We’re about 60-ish (percent) complete on miles. The very last year and a half is going to be a lot of miles, getting very little customers, because we waited to do the rural (areas) at the end.” ...

News Bites for June 26, 2023

News briefs from first responder agencies across Grant and Adams counties.

Grant Co. seeking new library board member

EPHRATA - The Grant County Commissioners Office announced Thursday they are seeking an interested citizen of Grant County to serve on the North Central Washington Libraries Board of Trustees, preferably one with a variety of skill sets...

Eastern Washington wineries earn awards

OLYMPIA - Nearly 80 wineries located throughout Eastern Washington won numerous medals at the 2023 Washington Wine Awards, according to an announcement from the organizers of the event, which was held in April...

Soap Lake council passes 6-year Transpo Plan.

SOAP LAKE - The Soap Lake City Council unanimously passed a motion Wednesday to update and amend the city’s Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan. With the motion passed, the Council will now submit the plan to the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board...

MLK Committee celebrates Juneteenth

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Martin Luther King Jr. Committee commemorated a milestone in American history with a Juneteenth celebration June 17 at McCosh Park. The festivities included dancing, music, poetry, exhibits and games. “(Juneteenth) recognizes the contribution and struggles of African Americans in the United States, and it commemorates the end of slavery and the beginning of a new era of freedom,” wrote Miranda Bridges, vice president of the Moses Lake MLK Committee, said via email. “Juneteenth also serves as a reminder of the ongoing fight for racial equality and justice. It is a time for reflections, education and celebration of African American culture and history.” ...

Wilson Creek hosts bluegrass gathering

WILSON CREEK — Bluegrass in the Park is set to start today at Wilson Creek City Park. The inaugural event is set to bring music and visitors to one of Grant County’s smallest towns. “I've been listening to bluegrass my whole life,” said the event’s organizer Shirley Billings, whose family band plays on their porch every year for the crowd at the Little Big Show. “My whole family plays bluegrass. And I just wanted to kind of get something for the community going. So I just invited all the people that I know and they’ll come and camp and jam.” ...

Inner space

The Place at Knolls Vista puts new homes in the heart of Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — Most of the time, new housing developments crop up on the edge of town. But The Place at Knolls Vista, one of two CAD Homes projects in Moses Lake, is smack in the middle of one of the oldest neighborhoods in town. “It's a lot more difficult, because you're not working with nice big squares,” said CAD Homes owner Drew Scott. The development is located at the northwest end of West Pine Drive. There are 27 lots under development now, Scott said, and four more coming, for a total of 31. Most of it is in the excavation stages, although two houses that face onto Grape Drive are on their way to completion.

Legals for June, 23 2023

George council OKs chickens, tables park district

GEORGE — Pavement, parks and poultry were among the topics of discussion at the George City Council meeting Tuesday. The first order of business was bids for street improvements to North Washington Way and East Montmorency Boulevard. The low bidder was Wheeler Excavation, which City Attorney Chuck Zimmerman pointed out had performed street improvements on South Washington Way. The council voted to award the contract to Wheeler for just less than $1.2 million...

Indian apple, pea and lentil tariffs to be lifted

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tariffs imposed on American apples, peas and lentils by the Republic of India in 2018 will be lifted within 90 days. Lifting of the tariffs was announced Thursday, during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Washington D.C. “It’s a happy day when things go right,” said Kim Schrier (D-Washington), who represents the state’s Eighth Congressional District, which includes Chelan County and a small portion of Douglas County...

Ephrata council discusses city services to new jail

EPHRATA — Water and sewer service, land use and the new Grant County Jail were subjects of discussion by the Ephrata City Council at the regular meeting Wednesday. Council members approved an ordinance allowing the city to provide water and sewer services to the new facility...

Rage teams find success on the field

SELAH – Four Washington Rage fastpitch softball teams competed at the Summer Warm Up tournament in Selah over the weekend, with three of the four teams notching top-three finishes. The 10U Rage placed third, one of the 12U teams placed third and the 14U Rage took second in their respective age brackets...

Lawrence (Larry) Lee Tracy

Larry Tracy, 79, passed away at home on June 14, 2023. A lifelong resident of Moses Lake, he loved his family, friends, animals – especially cats – practicing law, music, driving and collecting antiques and artifacts. Lawrence Lee Tracy was born in Iowa on March 10, 1944, to Dr. Harold and Gladys Tracy in Iowa. He was the oldest of their seven children, followed 17 months later by his brother Ron. After their dad returned from service in Okinawa, the family moved to Eastern Washington in 1946 where he finished his residency in Spokane, then to LaCrosse, Washington. Their sister Barbara was born during those years. By 1949 they moved to Moses Lake, where they remained and the rest of the Tracy siblings were born. Larry was the quintessential big brother of the family.

Law enforcement records for June 22, 2023

The reports below were provided by the sheriff’s office or police department indicated. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law...

Commentary: Snake River Whac-A-Mole needs to stop

To supporters of the four Lower Snake River dams, the latest news that President Biden continues to pursue dam breaching is not shocking, but surprising, considering the growing shortfall in electricity predicted in the western states and his desire to dramatically reduce carbon emissions. Biden’s March 21 announcement started another “Whac-A-Mole” game to determine the dams’ future. The news was reported in a Wall Street Journal commentary by Faith Bottum titled “Biden’s fishy plan to breach the Snake River dams.” She wrote that Biden is determined to bring “healthy and abundant salmon runs back to the Colorado River system.” (He really meant the Columbia River.)