A cup of joe and a classic car with the MLPD

MOSES LAKE — For Rob Roemer, the reasons for being out in the parking lot across from the Moses Lake Civic Center at 8 a.m. on a Saturday were self explanatory. “Who doesn’t like coffee and donuts?” he said. Roemer stood next to the open hood of his 1971 Plymouth Valiant Scamp, which he’s cleaned up and kept in fairly good condition. It’s one of several cars displayed by members of the Classic Car Club of Moses Lake (including a 1948 Kaiser) and the Diverse Society Car Club as part of a Moses Lake Police Department’s Cops, Cars and Coffee fundraiser for the BlueBridge Program, which allows individual police officers to help people in need of everything from a meal to a place to stay. It was a bring-your-coffee event, with The Favored Farmhouse — located just on the other side of the alley from the civic center parking lot — donating a portion of the proceeds from every cup of coffee sold Saturday morning to help the program, according to MLPD Chief Kevin Fuhr, with the MLPD also accepting donations to help with the program. “That's what today is all about,” Fuhr said.

Grant Co. seeks tourism funding applicants

EPHRATA - The Grant County Lodging Tax Advisory Committee announced in a press release that they are seeking grant applicants for qualifying tourism-promotion campaigns for events only. The application period is open from October 3 through 21. The release states applications must be received in the County Commissioners Office no later than 5 p.m., on Oct. 21. Postmark for mailed in applications must be prior to 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 21. Late applications will not be accepted.

“It just seemed like the right thing to do”

CB Tech teacher and ex-MLPD chief on detaining suspect

MOSES LAKE — Dave Ruffin does not teach his law enforcement students at the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center to do what he did on Wednesday when he detained a male suspect believed to have a gun in the school’s parking lot. “Absolutely not,” Ruffin said. “We don’t teach civilians to intervene in short, dangerous situations. But you know, it just seemed like the right thing to do.” A former Moses Lake Police Chief who teaches law enforcement at CB Tech, Ruffin responded on Wednesday when two students reported they were threatened by a man with a gun who had been driving white Mercedes in the CB Tech parking lot. The school went into lockdown and Ruffin said he instructed staff to call 911 while he went out to look for the suspect, later identified as Leonel Balderas-Mondragon, 22, who had apparently come to campus to pick up relative.

Gonzaga men’s XC reaches No. 12

SPOKANE — Gonzaga's men's cross country enters this week's U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) Coaches' Poll ranked the highest ever in program history, coming in at No. 12 after a strong outing at the Cowboy Jamboree over the weekend in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Zag men finished 10th overall with 245 points en route to beating six ranked teams in the most competitive meet so far in the NCAA this season. Yacine Guermali led the way for Gonzaga with a 15th place individual finish in a time of 23 minutes, 42.6 seconds over the 8,000 meter course on the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course.

Fish & Wildlife plans prescribed burns for Eastern Washington

SPOKANE- Annual prescribed fires on lands managed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in eastern Washington are scheduled to start in October as conditions allow, according to a department press release. “These areas slated for prescribed fire in eastern Washington include only portions of wildlife areas, leaving thousands more acres available for public access,” said Matt Eberlein, Prescribed Fire Manager at WDFW, in the release. “In the long-term, the work will preserve ecosystems and continue to provide access to public lands.”

Homeowner shot in burglary, two men sought

MOSES LAKE — Grant County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public’s help in a Sunday morning burglary-shooting, according to a statement from the GCSO. GCSO deputies and Moses Lake Police Department officers answered a call at about 6 a.m. at a house in the 12000 block of Road 4 Northeast, according to the statement. The occupants of the home told officers that two men had entered the home, shot the homeowner and fled, taking several of the victim’s firearms with them.

Wildcats travel to New Mexico

PORTALES, N.M. — Coming off of a bye week, the Central Washington University football team travels to Eastern New Mexico University for a battle against the Greyhounds on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Wildcats enter the matchup with a 2-1, 2-0 record. Their last action came on the road at Simon Fraser on Sept. 17 as the team captured a 40-7 win. CWU is averaging 28 points per game while holding opposing offenses to under 19 points per game. Quincy Glasper continues to lead the team through the air with 34 completions for 556 yards and three touchdowns through three games played.

Retired MLPD chief detains suspect at CB Tech

MOSES LAKE — A former Moses Lake police chief on Wednesday detained a man who made threats to students at the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center, according to a statement from the Moses Lake Police Department. Retired Police Chief Dave Ruffin, who teaches law enforcement at CB Tech, detained Leonel Balderas-Mondragon, 22, at around 2 p.m. on Wednesday after two students reported to staff they had been threatened in the school’s parking lot by a man with a gun, the MLPD statement said. As CB Tech went into lockdown, Ruffin walked into the parking lot and detained Balderas-Mondragon until MLPD officers arrived, the statement said.

A decade of heroes

Buddy Walk spotlights people with Down syndrome and their families

MOSES LAKE — The Centennial Amphitheater at McCosh Park was brimming with joy Saturday as the Down Syndrome Society of Grant County held its 10th annual Buddy Walk. “Watching the kids, it’s just so exciting and fun to see them out here enjoying themselves,” said Denise Ketola, one of the event’s organizers and the mother of a 19-year-old with Down syndrome. The event celebrated its first decade this year, and the commemorative T-shirts reflected that, with confetti incorporated into the design. The crowd also sang “Happy Birthday” to the Buddy Walk...

Law enforcement reports for Sept. 29

The reports below were provided by the respective law enforcement agencies as noted. Suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law...

Legals for September, 29 2022

REC announces new CEO

OSLO — REC Silicon announced that Kurtis Levens has been named the new company’s chief executive officer. Levens, previously the company’s senior vice president and general manager of electronic grade polysilicon and silicon gasses, replaced James May II, who was named interim CEO in November following the retirement of Tore Torvund, according to an REC press release...

Moses Lake resident makes SCC honor roll

SPOKANE - Leticia Garcia of Moses Lake has earned a place on the Spokane Community College Honor Roll for Summer Quarter 2022, according to a release by the college. To make the SCC honor roll, students must earn a GPA of 3.0 or above.

EWU’s Martin earns Offensive Player of the Week

CHENEY – After leading Eastern Washington women's soccer to a 2-0 record, Gillian Martin is the Big Sky offensive Player of the Week as announced by the conference Wednesday. This is Martin's first career Player of the Week honor. Martin recorded two goals this past week that pushed Eastern to the top of the table in the Big Sky...

Gonzaga men’s soccer defeats St. Thomas

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gonzaga men's soccer team went on the road to St. Thomas and came out with a 3-2 win over the Tommies. This marked the second-straight year the two teams have played each other, and Gonzaga claimed both wins over St. Thomas. The Zags got on the board first in the 29th minute. The Bulldogs were awarded a corner kick and Wylie Trujillo had a short pass to Demitirus Kigeya, who then quickly passed it back to Trujillo. Trujillo made a long cross into the box and Diego Domenech headed the ball in for his first career goal as a Zag...

Washington fire update for Sept. 28

WASHINGTON STATE - There are seven large fires in Washington according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center as of Sept. 27. The site defines a large fire as any wildland fire in timber 100 acres or greater, and 300 acres or greater in grasslands/rangelands, or has an Incident Management Team assigned to it...

Sainsbury fills Ephrata School Board position

EPHRATA - The Ephrata School Board Monday night unanimously selected Josh Sainsbury to fill the board’s vacant position. “We are happy to have Josh, employed as a public servant, be willing to do more for his community by serving on the school board,” said Anita Waller, Ephrata School Board Vice President in a release by the district. “We look forward to working with him.” The release states Sainsbury replaces Alain Black who stepped down in August to accept the varsity girls basketball head coaching position at Ephrata High School...

Cox appointed interim Soap Lake city administrator

SOAP LAKE - Soap Lake Police Chief Ryan Cox will be appointed at the next city council meeting as the Interim City Administrator for Soap Lake. “In reality, this is more of a city manager, a manager of projects, not really an administrator over everybody,” said Cox. Cox explained that while in other cities it could be considered a conflict of interest to have the police chief also be the city administrator, the City of Soap Lake is set up in a way that it is not. He further stated that he is already handling a lot of duties of the administrator since the city’s previous administrator departed at the end of June to pursue another position elsewhere...

Waterfight!

First responders get soaked for Special Olympics fundraiser

MOSES LAKE — Renae Stott and her 3-year-old son Emmett came a long way to squirt water at an Othello Police officer Friday. “We wanted to see some police cars, get them wet,” she said as her son filled a large squirt gun. “We were hoping to see some fire trucks but we might have to come back later.” Residents of Othello, the Stotts stood in the parking lot of the Staples on North Stratford Road in Moses Lake while OPD Officer Tyson Cox stood atop a lift, his uniform soaking wet. Emmett squealed with delight as he charged the lift, squirting Cox as Cox returned the favor. “It’s for a good cause,” Cox said between squirt gun assaults. “It’s something that I’ve always had a passion to help out with.” ...

Pheasant Fruit Stand open near Soap Lake

SOAP LAKE - Pheasant Fruit Stand is open for the season with several types of apples to enjoy.