JoAnna Jean Thompson

April 29, 1931 – Oct. 27, 2025

JoAnna, 94, passed away peacefully on Oct. 27, 2025, in Moses Lake, Washington. She was born on April 29, 1931, in Nampa, Idaho to Earl and Elda Arzt, though everyone remembers her loving stepfather Orval Lyle as her dad. She married Clinton (Bud) Thompson on Nov. 12, 1949, in Colville, Washington. They moved to Odessa, Washington in 1953 and became part-owners of Empire Electric with Bud as an electrician and JoAnna the bookkeeper. She also kept busy being a homemaker, florist, caterer and decorator extraordinaire. JoAnna was a member of the Heritage Church and their women’s group, helping with countless church dinners, receptions and funerals.

Lions defeat Eagles to extend win streak to five

MOSES LAKE — On Friday, the Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian Lions (7-2) defeated the Soap Lake Eagles (2-6) 53-8 at home. Lions Head Coach Josh Kast said while the offense started hot, he was pleased with how the defense played as well.

Tigers win in OT over Grandview

EPHRATA – The Ephrata Tigers (6-3) earned an impressive 26-20 win over Grandview in overtime during their senior night game on Friday. This win helped the Tigers secure their position in the postseason as they compete in the district tournament this weekend. “What we tried to talk about all week was that we needed to treat the game like a playoff game,” said Tigers Head Coach Patrick Mitchell.

Knights defeated in semifinal, hope still alive for state play

NACHES — The Royal Knights (13-4) were defeated 3-0 by the Naches Valley Rangers in the semifinal of the 1A district tournament Saturday. The Rangers captured momentum early and did not let it go.

Sam Darnold leads Seahawks to easy 38-14 win over Commanders, who lose Jayden Daniels to arm injury

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) — Sam Darnold was in the type of groove a quarterback rarely experiences. Then someone told him about it. “Someone at halftime said to me that I hadn't thrown an incompletion,” Darnold said. “So I think he's to blame for throwing an incompletion in the second half.”

Soap Lake council makes allegations against mayor

SOAP LAKE — On Oct. 15, at the regular council meeting, several Soap Lake City Council members made allegations against Mayor Peter Sharp of unlawful recording in city buildings, including the Soap Lake Police Station, Soap Lake City Hall and the Soap Lake Tourism Center, sending an inappropriate email to city staff and misuse of city credit cards.

Important community elections to be decided tomorrow

EPHRATA — A $30 million bond proposal for Columbia Basin Hospital, a $3.55 million bond request for the Othello Community Pool, levy lid lift proposals for Mattawa Community Medical Clinic and Adams County Fire District 5 are among the issues on the Nov. 4 general election ballot. Ballots must be returned by Nov. 4, either through the mail or a drop box, and mailed ballots must have a Nov. 4 postmark or earlier to be counted.

Legals for November, 3 2025

Knights shutout win secures undefeated regular season

ROYAL – On Thursday, the Knights (9-0) football squad followed up the soccer game prior to it with a 76-0 win over the Wapato Wolves. Head Coach Wiley Allred said his players did their jobs to finish the regular season undefeated.

Local offices to be decided on Nov. 4 ballot

EPHRATA — Voters will be selecting people to fill a variety of local elected positions in Grant and Adams counties in tomorrow’s general election, everything from school boards to hospital district commissions to city councils. Most candidates are running unopposed, but some races attracted multiple candidates.

Huskies seize victory over Jacks

OTHELLO – The Othello Huskies (8-1) earned a 63-0 win to end off the regular season during their senior night on Thursday against the Quincy Jackrabbits (1-8). The Huskies now prepare to head into the postseason following their victory.

‘Puffs’

QHS play celebrates magical background characters

QUINCY — Some people are born to save the world. And some are born to, well, sit next to those heroes in class. “It’s really about the underdogs,” said director Haliey Weber. “They don’t want fortune or fame. They don’t care to be super smart or brave or cunning. They just are really loyal and they care about the people they care about.” The world of “Puffs” will look familiar, but don’t be fooled. Sure, there’s a boarding school with four houses – the Braves, the Smarts, the Snakes and the Puffs – and a dark lord, and messages delivered by owl and lots of wizardy classes, but “Puffs” is not to be confused with the more famous story. Rather, it tells the story of Wayne (Sawyer Golay), Megan (Jasmine Vasquez-Navarro) and Oliver (Jerrod Miller), who happen to be in the background while all that is going on. Wayne is a math-loving nerd who wasn’t born to wizardry but is trying to catch up, Megan is a would-be goth girl who resents being a Puff, and Oliver is an orphan raised by his uncle. Together, the three navigate the pitfalls of learning magic, as well as competing in a tournament, battling a giant snake and resisting the Death Buddies, one of whom is Megan’s mom. All while living in the shadow of the great young wizards of the other story.

BASIN EVENTS Oct. 31-Nov. 30

COLUMBIA BASIN — As we move out of the spooky season and into the holidays, here are a few things to check out this month.

Halloween events around the Basin

COLUMBIA BASIN — Still looking for something to do today? Here are some Halloween activities for young and old:

Wildcats host final home game in ranked matchup

ELLENSBURG – The Central Washington University Football Team (7-1) welcomes the 16th-ranked Angelo State Rams (6-2) for a Saturday evening matchup that could impact the playoff outlook for both teams, according to a statement from CWU athletics.

Huskies best Toppenish in first round of districts

OTHELLO – The Othello Huskies volleyball team (8-9) won 3-0 over Toppenish in the first round of the Central Washington Athletic Conference District 5 tournament Wednesday evening. This win moves the team to the next round of district play on Saturday.

USApple acts as industry advocate in Washington DC

WASHINGTON DC — Where there is information, there is misinformation, and one of the jobs of USApple is to combat misinformation that’s out there. Jim Bair, president and chief executive officer, cited the case of an applesauce recall over concerns about elevated levels of lead. “It was a cinnamon-flavored applesauce; the lead was coming from the cinnamon,” Bair said. “In fact, the applesauce was imported, as was the cinnamon. It wasn’t even a U.S. product. But consumers, all they hear is ‘applesauce is bad.’ So we try to provide information to make that messaging something that’s useful to the consumer,” Bair said. USApple is supported by growers, packers, processors and other groups in the apple industry to advocate for industry interests at the federal level, as well as working to provide accurate information about apples and apple production.

Ephrata Food Bank faces growing needs amid uncertainty

EPHRATA – As local food banks brace for potential increases in demand, Phyllis Fuglie, Director of the Ephrata Food Bank, is reaching out to the community for assistance. Fuglie outlined the pressing needs of the food bank as it strives to serve families amid changing federal support for low-income households.

OTHELLO SCHOOL DISTRICT DIRECTOR POS. 3: Fought vs. Garcia

OTHELLO – There are two candidates running for the Othello School District Director District 3 position this year which are Birdie Fought and Juan “Jerry” Garcia. Both candidates were given the questions below and given identical deadlines and word count restrictions for their answers.

Cougars XC Heads North for WCC Championships

SPOKANE — Cougar Cross Country heads 90 minutes north to Spokane for the West Coast Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday, November 1.