Easter egg hunts scheduled throughout the Basin this weekend

COLUMBIA BASIN — The Easter Bunny will be working overtime this weekend, with Easter egg hunts across the Basin Friday and Saturday.

Two Lewis-McChord pilots taken to hospital after crash

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. (AP) — An Army helicopter crashed at a military base in Washington state during a routine training exercise Monday night, sending the two pilots to a hospital.

A little kindness

Red Rock parapro doesn’t let childhood cancer get in his way

ROYAL CITY — One of the scariest words in the English language is cancer. Brain cancer is doubly frightening and having it settle in during childhood is a triple whammy. That’s what Jackson Noftle, a paraprofessional at Red Rock Elementary School, has been dealing with for 24 years.

A pot of yum

Greenpoint Technologies chili cookoff showcases the variations on a traditional dish

MOSES LAKE — “What doesn’t kill you can turn your kidneys into a cinder brick.” That’s how Gary Neu, principal engineer at Greenpoint Technologies, summed up the tasty, yet sometimes powerful, dish known as chili.

GCAO egg hunt fills Blue Heron Park

MOSES LAKE — Grant County Animal Outreach got a jump – or a hop – on the holiday by holding its Easter egg hunt last weekend. “We knew a lot of our staff and the people that were going to be helping us were going to be gone this weekend having Easter with their own families, so that's why we chose to do it the weekend before,” said Kar Vanerstrom, vice president of GCAO.

DNR announces controlled burns

OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Natural Resources announced eight prescribed burns throughout the state Monday. The eight separate burns will occur over the spring and cover up to 2,580 acres of state trust land.

Knights defeat College Place 5-1

ROYAL CITY – Three first-half goals against College Place were enough to push the Knights over the Eagles in Saturday’s South Central Athletic Conference (East) matchup, with Royal going on to win 5-1.

Two Basin schools win state drill championships

YAKIMA — Two Columbia Basin dance teams brought home titles from the WIAA Dance/Drill State Championships over the weekend.

Weather for the week of March 25, 2024

Weather for the week of March 25, 2024

STUDIO BASIN: Speech and drama, Sila Nanotechnologies and all-star basketball

MOSES LAKE — An update on a new Moses Lake business and Moses Lake High School drama and speech participants coming home with state hardware were among the topics on the March 22 edition of the Studio Basin podcast.

'It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience'

Mavericks baseball team practices at T-Mobile Park

MOSES LAKE – Practices during a season can be grueling and repetitive, especially when you’re in the same routine for a three-month span. Well, that routine changed for the Moses Lake baseball team last weekend; the team held a practice at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, the home of the Seattle Mariners.

Four Columbia Basin teams compete at state dance and drill

YAKIMA — Dance teams from Moses Lake, Quincy, Othello and Royal school districts were among the teams competing in state competition Friday and Saturday at the Yakima Sundome.

‘Jaku Mumor’

Ghanaian multi-media performance heads to Moses Lake April 27

MOSES LAKE — The multi-media performance event “Jaku Mumor,” created and led by artist Okaidja Afroso, will be making its way to Moses Lake through the Columbia Basin Allied Arts. The performance will be held April 27 at Big Bend Community College’s Wallenstien Theater at 7 p.m. Afroso is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and traditional dancer from Ghana, West Africa, according to his website. “I've presented him to Allied Arts selection committees a couple of times over the years, and it's never seemed to fit,” said CBAA Executive Director Shawn Cardwell. “‘Jaku Mumor’ is a very new project that he has been creating since the world opened up again after COVID, and he's been back and forth to Ghana a few times, meeting and working with artists there. Artists are coming from Ghana for this tour to perform with him. He's worked with videographers, fashion designers, he's worked with dancers, vocalists, musicians, to tell the story of the Ghanaian Ga-Dangme fishermen.”

Tigers split doubleheader with East Valley

EPHRATA – The Tigers split Friday’s doubleheader against East Valley (Yakima) first falling 2-1 before responding with an 8-4 win over the Red Devils. “Our guys don’t stop fighting,” Ephrata coach David Tempel said. “Every pitch, they’re in it. We did some great things with our short game today, played some small ball when we had to. The guys never quit fighting, and that’s what they’re known for.”

Ephrata schools select new assistant superintendent

EPHRATA – Ephrata High School Principal Aaron Cummings has been named the district’s new assistant superintendent, according to a press release from the district. The selection comes as Assistant Superintendent Ken Murray looks to assume the role of interim superintendent for the 2024-25 school year.

Othello student wins $1,000 for Hiawatha art supplies

OTHELLO – Othello resident and fifth-grader at Hiawatha Elementary School Logan Hampton was selected as one of 40 national winners for his popsicle stick art as part of the Popsicle brand’s Stick with Art! contest, providing $1,000 to the winners’ school to purchase art supplies.

WSU offers help removing diseased cherry trees

PULLMAN — Orcharders with infected fruit trees may qualify for help with the cost of removing them, according to an announcement from the Washington State University Extension.

DIAMOND RECAP: Basin teams in full swing

COLUMBIA BASIN – Baseball and softball season is now in full swing across the Columbia Basin, as local squads have been competing in non-league contests to prepare for their respective conference seasons. Read along for a look at how teams have fared through the early weeks of the season.

Cougar bats come alive to sweep Seattle U

PULLMAN – All nine Washington State starters recorded a hit as the Cougars finished off a two-game sweep with a 10-3 win over Seattle U at Bailey-Brayton Field Wednesday afternoon.

Law enforcement logs for March 22, 2024

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. Ephrata PD March 13 Report of a vehicle stolen in the 400 block of Basin Street Northwest. Report of a vehicle damaged overnight in the 200 block of E Street Southwest. Report of a residential burglary in the 1200 block of D Street Southwest. A welder was stolen from inside the garage. Report of a two-vehicle collision on SR 282. Vehicle 1 passed vehicle 2 westbound but did not allow enough time to get back into the westbound lane and struck vehicle 2, smashing the driver’s side window and damaging the mirror. Vehicle 1 continued and was contacted by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. Vehicle 2’s driver and a passenger sustained minor injuries.