News Bites for July 13, 2023

A collection of news bits from around the Columbia Basin.

Lighthouse Café

Nonprofit coffee spot looks to help youth find the right path

OTHELLO — Lighthouse Café, a nonprofit organization in Othello, has been serving coffee, baked goods, and outreach programs geared toward Othello youth and other community members for more than a year and half now. Samuel Garza, senior pastor at Bethel Assembly of God – which funded the purchase and operation of Lighthouse Café – spoke about why he wanted to start the business in the first place...

Food truck park site may move

Moses Lake City Council rejects widely different bids for project.

MOSES LAKE — A proposed community food truck park may be relocated following the rejection of bids for the project by the Moses Lake City Council Tuesday. Interim City Manager Kevin Fuhr, who also serves as police chief, told council members relocating the project might help reduce the costs...

Baird Springs fire calming, others burn statewide

CRESCENT BAR — Evacuation warnings were downgraded Wednesday morning to Level 1 for the Crescent Bar and Trinidad communities just north of Quincy, according to a statement from Southeast Washington Incident Management Team 1, which is in charge of firefighting efforts...

PRO RECAP: All-Star breaks and free agency

SEATTLE – From the MLB’s All-Star Week to signing new players, Washington’s professional teams have been busy over the previous week. Read along for an update on the Mariners, Storm and Kraken...

Regional spikes

BBCC to host volleyball camp later this month

MOSES LAKE — The Big Bend volleyball program will host a camp later this month, allowing youth, middle and high school volleyball players the chance to learn from Viking players and coaches over a three-day span. Alexa Moser, head volleyball coach at Big Bend, said the camp had always been put on by her predecessor, Michael De Hoog...

Tribal youth aid pollinators with WSU Extension-improved seed bombs

PULLMAN - Two summers ago, prairies burned as towns on the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation filled with smoke from the 54-square-mile Chuweah Creek Fire...

Beckie's on 1st Ave.

Boutique celebrates the one-year anniversary of store moving

EPHRATA – Beckie Lewis is the proud owner of Beckie’s on First and The Kids Kloset on First Avenue in Ephrata where they sell a variety of clothing and other items. This year they celebrate the one year anniversary of moving the store into the new building.

Summerfest success

Changes in annual celebration build up local tradition

ROYAL CITY — Between 1,500 and 2,000 people braved the hot weather in Royal City Friday and Saturday for Summerfest 2023, according to Summerfest Committee Chairman Jonathan Cox. “There was a good amount of people there throughout the whole event,” Coix said. “I think there was a little bit for everybody, meaning we get a different crowd out multiple times. Different people come to different events.” ...

WSU study shows sharp rise in severe, alcohol-related liver injury during pandemic

SEATTLE — A boom in alcohol sales during the pandemic appears to have had dire consequences for some as hospital admissions for alcohol-related hepatitis, a life-threatening liver inflammation, increased dramatically, according to a study of national hospitalization data. Researchers found increasing cases of alcohol-related liver illness from 2016 through 2020, but the rise was particularly pronounced the year COVID-19 arrived in the U.S. in 2020, which saw a 12.4% increase over 2019 levels. It was worse in younger patients, ages 18 to 44, a group that had a nearly 20% jump in hospital admissions for alcohol-related hepatitis. The consequences were also more severe as in-hospital deaths increased by 24.6% in 2020 compared to 2019. While the problem has been noted anecdotally and in regional studies, these findings show the growing problem on a national scale, said Dr. Kris Kowdley, professor at Washington State University’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine and senior author of the study published in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences.

Washington sports schedule July 12-18

COLUMBIA BASIN – Check out this week’s Washington sports schedule, featuring local, regional and statewide sporting events.

WA college, high school players selected in MLB Draft

SEATTLE – Players from colleges and high schools across the state were selected in the 2023 MLB Draft, with the Washington Huskies leading the way with seven players drafted at the MLB Draft in Seattle.

Warden wrestling raises over $10k at golf tournament

WARDEN – After beginning the Please Hit Straight tournament last year, Warden Wrestling returned to the course last weekend and raised more than $10,000 for the Cougar wrestling program.

FIRE UPDATE: Baird Springs fire near Crescent Bar prompts evacuation

QUINCY — The Baird Springs fire north of Crescent Bar continues to blaze away, but it’s not spreading, according to Grant County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Kyle Foreman. He said a proactive evacuation was implemented in the area to protect residents. “We were erring on the side of safety,” he said. “It was going to be safer for them and safer for firefighters if we could evacuate Crescent Bar. We proactively evacuated them rather than wait for conditions to worsen, since there's only one road out of Crescent Bar.” ...

New Othello police chief wants to continue 'path of success'

OTHELLO — Dave Rehaume said the Othello Police Department is going in a positive direction, and he wants to continue and enhance that. Rehaume was hired as OPD chief last week. Rehaume, a 34-year veteran with the OPD, started as a patrol officer. He was hired for the interim job in May, replacing retiring chief Phil Schenck, and hired for the permanent position July 3. He had been assistant chief for eight years prior to being hired as chief...

Sustainable jet fuel developer, Twelve, breaks ground in Grant County

MOSES LAKE — Production could begin by spring 2024 at a facility designed to reuse carbon dioxide and water to produce other products, in this instance jet fuel. Governor Jay Inslee joined the founders of Twelve at a groundbreaking ceremony for the facility on Wheeler Road in Moses Lake Tuesday. “The technology breaks apart (carbon dioxide) and water and then recombines the elements to make more useful products, such as jet fuel. Jet fuel is totally made of carbon and hydrogen, so we get the carbon from CO2, and the hydrogen from water, and that allows you to make jet fuel that can be used in any aircraft today, but without using oil,” said Twelve Cofounder and CEO Nicholas Flanders said.

WSU veterinarians help dog walk again

PULLMAN - He still has a slight wobble in his back legs that his owner Tony McBride says makes him, at times, look like a “drunken sailor.” But Noodles, a 7-year-old dachshund-schnauzer mix, can walk and even give chase to the occasional squirrel or cat. That was all in question just three years ago when he arrived at Washington State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital with an injury that had left him paralyzed in his back legs...

FRESH NEWS: Variety of bait seeing success

Fishing update from MarDon Resort

MARDON - The current water level on the Potholes Reservoir is 1,036.80 feet – dropping another 1.80 feet this week. The water temperature is in the mid-70s on the main reservoir. The water temps in the sand dunes are in the mid-80s.

George Edward Counsell

George Edward Counsell, 82, a longtime Moses Lake resident, passed away Wednesday, July 5, 2023, after a short battle with cancer. George was the first-born son of Ed and Lillian Counsell on Nov. 1, 1940, and raised in LaGrande, Oregon on a cattle ranch. He loved living on Happy Valley Ranch driving tractors, putting up hay, herding cattle and riding horses exploring local mountains and streams with his brothers. He attended a little country grade school just down the road and LaGrande High School. He was an active member of FFA and played an alto saxophone in the high school band. He graduated in 1958. He joined the U.S. Air Force in September 1959 and served until September 1963. He was stationed at San Antonio, Texas; Chanute, Illinois; Roswell, New Mexico and Larson Air Force Base in Moses Lake. He was an airman 1st class, assistant crew chief and jet mechanic on a KC 135. He served temporary duty in Fairbanks, Alaska and Hickman AFB in Hawaii.

Fire report for July 11, 2023

MOSES LAKE — Basin fire crews were kept busy over the weekend, with a couple of sizable brush fires that fortunately involved no injuries or structure damage, according to Grant County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Kyle Foreman.