Devils celebrate accomplishments

WILSON CREEK — Like so many students who gathered to celebrate high school graduation this year, the seven students of the Wilson Creek High School class of 2023 took time to reflect on their lives, thank all those who helped them along the way and considered what their futures might look like. “First, I’d like to say thank you to all the teachers and staff,” said Wilson Creek High School 2023 valedictorian Aimee Willis during her graduation speech. “And let’s not forget to mention all the family and friends who have given their support and encouragement throughout high school.”

Learning to fly: Former refugee earns scholarship for Big Bend flight training.

MOSES LAKE — Victoire Wilondja is learning to fly because he wants to do something big with his life. “The freedom of dreaming big,” said Wilondja as he sat in the Flight Training Center at Big Bend Community College. “Something that I never thought I could do.” ...

Moses Lake to host walkability workshop

MOSES LAKE — The city of Moses Lake will host a one-day workshop on Thursday, June 22, to discuss future possibilities for creating and improving walkability in Moses Lake, according to a city press release.

Washington sports schedule June 14-20

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

Knox hired as Ephrata boys wrestling coach

EPHRATA – The Ephrata School District announced that Joe Knox will be taking over the Tiger boys wrestling program in a release on Tuesday. According to the release, the selection committee sought an experienced leader, with a strong background in both coaching and building relationships with student-athletes...

18U Rattlers open season in Pasco

MOSES LAKE – The 18U Moses Lake Rattlers began their season at the Kate Austin Memorial Tournament over the weekend, going 3-2 in games against teams from across the Pacific Northwest. With high school softball season having ended just under three weeks ago, it was a quick turnaround for the Rattlers before their tournament in Tri-Cities over the weekend...

Royal City gains new council members, approves water main upgrade

ROYAL CITY — The Royal City City Council swore in two new members during its meeting Monday evening. Rick Kannely and Ryan Piercy were selected to fill vacancies left when other members moved out of town. “I'm here as a volunteer to support the community, to serve the community that I live in,” Kannely said. “I love this place. It’s the best place I’ve ever lived.” ...

Coulee City chiropractor’s license suspended

COULEE CITY — A Coulee City man’s chiropractic license has been suspended following his arrest on suspicion of child rape and unlawful imprisonment...

Lending a paw

Builder rallies community to upgrade animal shelter

MOSES LAKE — Grant County Animal Outreach recently got some much-needed upgrades. Moses Lake developer CAD Homes teamed up with several other businesses this spring to build new kennels at the county animal shelter, along with some other much-needed improvements.

NRCS chief tours Columbia Basin Project

MOSES LAKE — Terry Cosby, chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service, had some words of encouragement Monday morning for local officials looking to get more funding to replace well water with Columbia River irrigation water in the eastern portions of the Columbia Basin Project. “We’re here to help,” Cosby said.

Parks district vote could be coming up in Quincy

QUINCY — Residents of Quincy, George and some rural areas around Quincy may be voting on a proposal to create a new regional parks district. Quincy Administrator Pat Haley said money raised through the district would help pay for the proposed indoor sports facility, called the Q-Plex, along with a new Quincy Aquatic Center and help pay for their operation.

Play ball!

Teams from across the state compete at Pete Doumit Memorial Tournament

MOSES LAKE – Hosted by the Moses Lake Youth Baseball Association, the third annual Pete Doumit Memorial Tournament took to the diamonds of Larson Playfield from Friday through Sunday, crowning four winners over the four different age divisions. The 10U Whatcom Prep, the 11U Lake Stevens Riptide, the 12U Ellensburg All-Stars and the 13U Tri-Cities Spartans all left with tournament titles.

News Bites for June 13, 2023

SOAP LAKE — Two fire districts were brought in for a rescue at Lake Lenore Caves Sunday, according to a statement from Grant County Fire District 7.

Hannah Konishi-Howell

Hannah Konishi-Howell passed away peacefully surrounded by her family on April 28, 2023, at Hospice of Spokane. Hannah Miyaki was born in Spokane, Washington, on April 3, 1925. She graduated from Lewis and Clark High School in Spokane. Hannah married Joe Konishi in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, in 1948. They moved to Quincy in 1950. Hannah was proud to work in the fields and instilled a strong work ethic in her children and grandchildren. Hannah was never reluctant to try something new and was always “game” to go anywhere at any time. She moved to Spokane and worked at a floral shop, loving working with flowers and plants. She moved to Moses Lake to work at Menti’s Jewelers. From Moses Lake Hannah moved back to Quincy to help her daughter with a retail baby store and then office manager of her real estate office. Organizing the office and taking special care of customers were a few of her many talents. When Hannah wasn’t working, she was an advocate and fierce supporter of her grandchildren. Watching baseball in the rain, driving to horse training, teaching them the “proper” way to make sushi, and smiling from ear to ear from the pride of knowing these little ones were hers. Hannah loved life, loved laughing, sometimes at her own expense, and loved her kids and grandkids.

Caps and gowns

COLUMBIA BASIN – Graduations continued over the weekend with students walking stages across the Columbia Basin the last few days. Below are some photo highlights of those graduations. Full coverage of area graduations will be printed in a keepsake edition of the paper this Wednesday so area students can have something with themselves and their friends from throughout the region in one place. The staff at the Columbia Basin Herald congratulate this year’s graduates and wish them the best of luck in their futures.

Written in Stone

Those impacted by cancer leave words for 'heroes, past, present and future.'

MOSES LAKE — The encouragement, the remembrances, the sentiments won’t be visible, but they’re there. “‘No one fights alone.’ God.” ...

Airshow roaring over town on Father’s Day Weekend

MOSES LAKE — This year’s Moses Lake Airshow is going to be a little louder than the previous three airshows. Largely because the number of jet acts, everything from the most modern warplanes in U.S. inventory to one of the oldest combat jets flying is scheduled to show off and grace the skies of this year’s Moses Lake Airshow, which is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, June 18-19, at the Grant County International Airport...

News Bites for June 12, 2023

EPHRATA — An Ephrata man reported as missing Wednesday was found safe and sound Thursday, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office...

Weather for Monday, June 12, 2023

Weather for the week of June 12.

Sage-N-Sun '23

Not much sunshine but a lot of fun at Ephrata festival

EPHRATA — With an overcast sky and temperatures in the mid-60s, there wasn’t much sun on Saturday for Ephrata’s annual Sage-N-Sun festival. But that didn’t bother participants or spectators one bit. “It’s a good day today. It’s a wonderful day,” said James Burton, a long-time Ephrata resident who rode a little electric scooter alongside this year’s parade down Basin Street. “It’s nice to have Sage n’ Sun with nice weather.” ...