BASIN EVENTS: September 2025

COLUMBIA BASIN — The days are cooling off – well, maybe a little – and the kids are back in school, which means fall is just around the corner. Here are some things to do to help you recover from the summer.

Mavs motivated for a state run this season

MOSES LAKE — As the start of the 2025 season hits, the Mavericks bring in an experienced roster that has stayed hungry for a state title opportunity. Head Coach Brett Jay said the team has homed in on player development in the offseason. “We're going to focus on our locker room and develop every player we have. It's a yearlong process, our offensive linemen are all bigger and stronger, our receivers are bigger and faster, our backfield (quarterback and running back) is bigger and faster, and so it's exciting,” Jay said.

Knights hungry for another state title

ROYAL CITY — The reigning 1A State Champions, the Royal Knights, are looking to continue their winning ways as the 2025 football season nears. Head Coach Wiley Allred said he wants his team always to feel challenged. “We take nothing for granted, and we've three returning starters on each side of the ball,” Allred said. “We've got a lot of new faces. They're learning, and they're going to grow all year, and we hope they improve as we go ... I think they're expecting to do well, but we take nothing for granted. It's always a challenge.”

Green School offers gardener training online

MOSES LAKE — There’s more to gardening than just filling a pot with dirt and seeds and waiting for something to grow.

9th Circuit Court rebuffs bid to overturn WA state voting map

(The Center Square) – The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled in favor of a group of voters in the Yakima Valley in a case concerning recently redrawn legislative boundaries in Washington state. The court said the new boundaries for the 15th Legislative District do not discriminate based on race.

QUINCY MAYORAL RACE: Candidate Q&A

QUINCY — The Quincy Mayoral Race consists of candidates, incumbent Paul Worley and Manny Rodriguez. Both candidates were given the same deadline and set of questions, that they answered as follows. Q: Data Centers and food processing are the two major industries that we see in Quincy. What diversification of the city’s economy would you like to see and how would you go about making that happen? Worley: I would like to see all types of businesses come to Quincy. Motels, fruit and vegetable processors, industries, retail stores like Target, and various types of sit-down restaurants. We will continue working with the Port District, Chamber of Commerce, along with the School, Hospital, and Fire Districts to make Quincy an inviting place to attract businesses for our citizens to enjoy.

Warden Community Days coming this weekend

WARDEN — If you happen to have an inflatable costume – maybe a T-rex, or a cow, or a cartoon character – sitting around in the closet, Monday will be the perfect time to unearth it and try it on. Warden Community Days is introducing an inflatable costume race to the Labor Day festivities this year. “Basically, you put on these inflatable costumes and run through a small obstacle course,” said Renay Jorgensen, chair of the committee that organizes Warden’s annual festival. “One of the gals that I work with actually ordered a flying eagle costume … My boys had a bull rider costume.”

Mavs girls soccer ready to make noise this season

MOSES LAKE – After going 9-6-1 and making a playoff appearance last season, the Mavericks girls soccer team is eager for the fall 2025 season to start. Head Coach Alysha Overland said the team is looking to carry last year's experiences into this year.

Harvest Fest

Wilson Creek tradition to make a return

WILSON CREEK — The Wilson Creek Harvest Fest will return Sept. 27, bigger and better than before. “Last year we didn't even have a Harvest Fest,” said Shirley Billings, who heads up the committee to restore the festival. “And typically in the past, it's been pretty short-lived. But we decided this year to make it a full day and something for everybody. Other than the vendors ... everything is free for kids.”

GALLERY: Basin football almost here

MOSES LAKE – The 2025 football season is almost a week away with local high school football teams hitting the gridiron and preparing for week one. Here’s another glimpse into their practices. Our annual Gridiron Guide publication is right around the corner. Pick up a copy of the Columbia Basin Herald on Friday, Aug. 29, for a look at the upcoming high school football season.

55th Ritzville Rodeo begins tomorrow

RITZVILLE — The folks watching the rodeo will sit a little more comfortably this weekend. “We have brand-new grandstands,” said Ritzville Rodeo Board Member Julie Hartz. “We’ve been working on those all summer. Everybody has a pretty good tan that worked on them.”

SOAP LAKE MAYOR: Candidates Q&A

SOAP LAKE – There is one candidate and one write-in candidate for the Soap Lake mayoral race. Incumbent Peter Sharp is the only candidate listed on the ballot. However, Karen Woodhouse is running as a write-in candidate.

$30M hospital bond to run again in general election

EPHRATA – The Columbia Basin Hospital Board has decided to run its $30 million bond measure on the general ballot in November after it failed in the primary election. Chief Executive Officer Rosalinda Kibby during the Aug. 26 meeting said the district needed to work on getting more information out to voters. She explained that the primary didn’t even get enough voters for the bond package to pass. They needed 2,600 voters, but only 2,277 people voted in Ephrata, according to the Grant County Auditor results.

Padres, Mariners trade wins Tuesday and Wednesday

SEATTLE (AP) — The Mariners and Padres traded wins Tuesday and Wednesday with a close win for San Diego Tuesday and a two-run win for Seattle Wednesday.

Laureano’s grand slam powers Padres past Mariners

SEATTLE (AP) — Ramon Laureano hit a grand slam in the first inning and the San Diego Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 7-6 on Tuesday night. Laureano, acquired from the Baltimore Orioles ahead of last month’s trade deadline, turned on an elevated fastball from Mariners starter Luis Castillo in the first inning to give San Diego an early 5-0 lead.

Imagination at work: Children cover church parking lot in chalk art

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake Alliance Church may have had the best-decorated parking lot in town Saturday. Children braved the heat for the Imagination Running Wild event, decorating the lot with drawings, inspirational messages and a long, winding racetrack.

Applications open for Community Police Academy

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Police Department is set to host its upcoming Community Police Academy, welcoming community members eager to learn about the inner workings of their local law enforcement agency.

Generations of coaching

The Trammell-Haneberg family discusses coaching tradition in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE – Three generations of the Trammell-Haneberg coaching family are ready for another season of Mavericks sports. For Mavericks Volleyball Head Coach Krystal Trammell, it all begins with her dad, Bob. “Dad was amazing at what he did, and he made each athlete feel important. He had that relationship with his athletes and his students, and I saw those athletes TP the house when we were young. Mom and dad would sit in the dark, watch his athlete's toilet paper the house and laugh,” she said. Krystal grew up in Warden, where her parents were teachers and Bob coached multiple sports for 40 years, she said. As she grew up, she played volleyball, basketball and softball. Eventually, she would go on to play volleyball at Big Bend Community College before heading to play for Eastern Oregon.

PUD moves forward with eminent domain process for Quincy area line

EPHRATA – The Grant County PUD Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to proceed with the condemnation of privately owned lands intended to help establish a route for a new transmission line from its dams on the Columbia River south of the Vantage Bridge to the Quincy area.

OTHELLO SCHOOL DISTRICT DIRECTOR DISTRICT 3: Candidates Q&A

OTHELLO – There are two candidates running for the Othello School District Director District 3 position in this year’s election. These candidates are Birdie Fought and Juan “Jerry” Garcia. Both candidates were given the questions below and given identical deadlines and word count restrictions for their answers. Garcia did not respond within the given deadline of Aug. 25 at 12 p.m. which resulted in his answers not being published.