Broncos cross country ready to compete

RITZVILLE – As the 2025 cross country season begins, the Lind/Ritzville Broncos are ready to learn. Head Coach Christina Heater said her team is a bit bigger than last year. “We're a pretty small team. Last year we had two seniors graduate, but I knew it would be growing for this year, because we had a number of eighth graders who would be freshmen,” Heater said.

ACH Warriors playing with a chip on their shoulder

COULEE CITY — This season, the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors volleyball team will be looking to bounce back. Head Coach Katie Walsh said the team feels they fell short of what they wanted to accomplish last year. “Definitely a feeling of disappointment at the end of last season, not getting where we hoped to get. I think we didn’t perform as well as we could have. I think it’s different if you’re playing at your peak when you need to and you come up short, but we just didn’t perform like we knew we could, and so that was a bummer,” Walsh said. Last season, the Warriors finished 12-12. They graduated their only senior, Emma Whitaker, last season and return an experienced roster this season, Walsh said. She said the team was frustrated with last season’s ending.

Knights cross country ready to work

ROYAL CITY – For the Knights cross country team, it’s about more than getting to the finish line. Head Coach Ben Orth said it's about becoming your best self. “It's a competition amongst other teams, but the challenge is to be the best version of ourselves as we can be, and that's just the beauty of what cross country really is,” he said. “Every kid has to realize that challenge and be consistent, be disciplined, and put in the work and feed their bodies with good nutrition and get good sleep and all those things that help us make those incremental improvements.”

WAHLUKE SCHOOL DISTRICT DIRECTOR: Candidates Q&A

MATTAWA – There are two candidates running for the Wahluke School District Director District 5 position. The candidates are Elia Mendoza and board president and incumbent Luke Jenne.

Simple sounds: George Bluegrass Festival to feature homemade music and players

GEORGE — There’s something very user-friendly about bluegrass music. “If you know three chords and have a capo, you can play with any group of musicians that are playing bluegrass,” said Terry Enyeart of Steelhead, one of the bands slated to perform at the George Bluegrass Festival Sept. 15-21. A capo, he explained, is a device you can put on the neck of a stringed instrument to change keys easily. “(Bluegrass) is usually based on two or three chords, and if you know even the basics of guitar or mandolin, you can sit there and strum along and be part of the music.”

SOAP LAKE SCHOOL DISTRICT POS. 5 Q&A: Leavell vs. Novik

SOAP LAKE – There are two candidates running for the Soap Lake School District Director position 5 role. The candidates are Rebecca Leavell and Mark Novick. Both candidates were given the questions below and given identical deadlines and word count restrictions for their answers.

Huskies head to Dallas for Texas Three-Step

SEATTLE - The Huskies are headed for Texas this week and their first top-25 test as 11th-ranked SMU plays host to the DoubleTree Invitational in Dallas. The Huskies take on the Mustangs this Thursday, Sept. 4, live on ACC Network at 5 p.m. Pacific time. After that, the Huskies (1-2) will stay at SMU to face Stony Brook on Friday at 2 p.m. and Northern Iowa on Saturday at 9 a.m.

COLUMN: Huskies enter Big Ten strong

The first weekend of college football is in the books. Fans were treated to highly competitive matchups like Ohio State versus Texas, Miami versus Notre Dame or LSU versus Clemson. While each of those top matchups delivered on their hype, I was also paying attention to another situation.

BASIN EVENTS

COLUMBIA BASIN — This is a busy week in the Basin, with a fair, community festivals, art, live music and more. Here are some things to check out:

Donald I. Temple Jr.

Donald I. Temple, Jr., 80, passed away Aug. 30, 2025. Don was born in 1945 to Ellen (Fortner) and Donald I. Temple in Seattle, Washington. Don married his high school sweetheart, Janice Goetschius. Together they had two children, Angela and Donald Eric. While raising the children Don coached soccer, was a member of the Soap Lake, Washington, volunteer police and participated in bowling leagues.

Junior Caminero's 40th homer and 100th RBI help Rays beat Mariners 6-5

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Junior Caminero hit his 40th homer and drove in four runs to reach 100 RBIs as the Tampa Bay Rays held on to beat Cal Raleigh and the Seattle Mariners 6-5 on Tuesday night. Raleigh hit his 51st homer, extending his major league record for home runs by a catcher, but he popped out with two men on base to end the game against Garrett Cleavinger, who earned his second save.

GCFD 8 commissioner candidates discuss visions for future

MATTAWA – A candidate forum for the upcoming fire commissioner election for Grant County Fire District 8 was held at Wahluke High School on August 28. The forum included two candidates running for the fire commissioner seats, Josh Seanard and Richard “Dick” Jenkin, both of whom are running unopposed for their respective positions.

‘Softball saved me’

Ciarrah Knoll discusses her unwavering love for softball

MOSES LAKE – Ciarrah Knoll’s journey through softball is full of twists and turns to say the least. However, her love for the sport was never lost. In fact, she said the sport has somewhat saved her. “Softball was definitely my escape,” she said. “It was my way to just put my mind at ease. I would always ask my dad, like, ‘Hey, can we just go to the fields? Even if it's just for two buckets of BP, like whatever it may be, can we just go to the fields?’ And he was always willing to do that with me.”

Leitz discusses challenges, future of Port District 3

MATTAWA – Matthus Leitz, the unopposed candidate for the Grant County Port District 3 Port Commissioner position 2 seat, shared his vision for the local economy and community development during a candidate forum held at Wahluke High School on Thursday evening. Leitz, who was born and raised in the area, emphasized his commitment to restoring the port’s fiscal responsibility and enhancing economic diversity.

WARDEN SCHOOL BOARD: Candidate Q&A

WARDEN – There are two candidates running for the Warden School District Director District 5 position. These candidates are incumbent Shawn Clausen and candidate Ryan Arredondo. Both candidates were given the questions below and given identical deadlines and word count restrictions for their answers.

Columbia Physical Therapy debuts new pool in open house

OTHELLO — Columbia Physical Therapy has finally realized a longtime dream. “We just added the pool,” said physical therapist Ken Jones, who shares the clinic with physical therapist Nate Stott. “That year-long construction project was just finished.”

Celebrating all things Warden

WARDEN — The annual Warden Community Days kicked off this past weekend, drawing crowds for a series of events celebrating the region’s agricultural heritage and community spirit. As the Labor Day festivities unfolded, residents gathered to enjoy activities ranging from a vibrant parade to an inflatable costume race, marking the occasion with laughter and camaraderie. “Warden Community Days is a way for us all to come together,” said Warden Mayor Rosaelia Martinez. “It’s wonderful to see everyone supporting one another. This event brings a great sense of pride to our agricultural community.” The event began on Saturday with a classic car show, followed by a free community dinner featuring hamburgers and hot dogs—a highlight for many attendees.

Wahluke School District Board candidates discuss future goals

MATTAWA – A forum was held on August 28 at Wahluke High School, bringing together the three candidates for the Wahluke School Board: Luke Jenne, Elia Mendoza and Nick Trejo. Incumbents Jenne and Trejo are seeking re-election, while Mendoza is challenging Jenne for Director Position 5.

Moses Lake Police Department logs for Sept. 1, 2025

Moses Lake Police Department records

McGill earns offensive player of week after Rodeo Bowl win

ELLENSBURG – Wildcats quarterback Kennedy McGill was named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week, according to a statement by the conference. This comes after he aided the Wildcats to a 41-14 win over Colorado Mesa in the Rodeo Bowl.