Warden School District appoints Brouillet as interim superintendent

WARDEN — The Warden School District Board of Directors announced the appointment of Marc Brouillet June 4 as Interim Superintendent, effective July 1. Former Superintendent Scott West has taken the position of executive director of safety and well-being at Moses Lake School District.

Rock Bottom Rocker Pet Pantry seeks forever homes for 16 animals

SOAP LAKE – In an era where pet adoptions have dropped due to economic challenges, Shawna Kluge, president of the Rock Bottom Rocker Pet Pantry, is on a mission to find loving homes for the many animals within her care. With 16 puppies and dogs currently available for adoption or fostering, Kluge is calling on the community to extend their support, whether through adoption, volunteering or donations. All Rock Bottom Rocker dogs are spayed/neutered, vaccinated and microchipped.

RMS Oceanic Outlaws take award at national robotics tournament

ROYAL CITY — The Oceanic Outlaws think fast. The robotics team from Royal Middle School, representing Washington state, took first place at the national First Lego League Western Edge national competition May 30-June 1 in a special “On the Spot” challenge.

Warriors baseball season recap

COULEE CITY – The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors concluded their baseball season with a successful record of 19-4 and a third-place finish in the state tournament. Head coach Hunter Lee said his team met their expectations for the season.

Superintendent Lewis provides update on MLSD finances

MOSES LAKE – During the regular Moses Lake School District board meeting held Thursday night, Superintendent Carol Lewis delivered a report weaving together elements of the district’s financial status and academic strategies, leaning into a prior cross-country race analogy for the next four years.

Shining skill

CBTECH students headed to national competitions

MOSES LAKE — This isn’t exactly the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center’s first trip to the nationals. “For 11 years straight we have placed at state competition, and eight of those years we’ve qualified for nationals,” said Terri Pixlee, who teaches video game programming at CBTECH. “We’ve been all over the country. We’ve been to Chicago, Utah, Georgia twice, Florida (and) Maryland and this will be our second time in California.” Pixlee’s students Alex Meyer, Hailey Harper and Ethan Huntley competed in April at the Future Business Leaders of America game programming competition in Bellevue, she said. One team of three students took second place and will go on to nationals in Anaheim, California. Another team of two, Neri Hernandez and Jaden Salazar, placed seventh, not high enough to be assured of a berth but enough to be alternates in case some other Washington team doesn’t show. So far, that doesn’t seem likely, Pixlee said.

Legals for June, 9 2025

Mom blames lack of VA services for children's deaths

(The Center Square) – As the manhunt continues for 32-year-old Travis Decker, suspected in the murders of his three young daughters in Chelan County, Wash., more information is coming out about his declining mental state and struggles to access mental health services through Veterans Affairs.

Eagles complete inaugural season

SOAP LAKE – The Soap Lake Eagles have concluded their first season, finishing with a winning record of 7-5-1 under head coach Tony O’Neel. This was the Eagles first year with a soccer team ever.

Wahluke Warriors baseball season in review

MATTAWA – The Wahluke Warriors baseball team finished their 2025 season with an overall record of 4-15. “I was really proud of the guys,” said Warriors head coach Chet Bangs. “They filled different roles, stepped up, especially the freshmen, and the senior leadership was really strong.”

Moses Lake Library cultivates the arts

MOSES LAKE — When Moses Lake was recognized as a creative district in 2022, it was the result of work by multiple agencies and organizations: The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center, Columbia Basin Allied Arts and others. One of those was the Moses Lake Public Library. Librarian Connie Baulne serves as a co-chair of the Creative District Committee.

BASIN EVENTS: June 6-14

COLUMBIA BASIN — Live music, festivals in the sun and more await this week in the Columbia Basin. Here are a few things going on:

Legals for June, 6 2025

Street party

Ephrata Sage-N-Sun coming June 13-14

EPHRATA — There are a few new things at the Ephrata Sage-N-Sun Festival this year. “We’re bringing back our 3-on-3 basketball tournament,” said Brittney MacLeod, director of the Ephrata Chamber of Commerce. “We’re adding a Kid Zone, which will include a dunk tank. There’s a petting zoo and a couple of different things for kids to do.” The basketball tournament, which will run both Friday and Saturday, has been on hiatus for a number of years, MacLeod said. “We’re excited to bring it back and add a youth aspect to draw families downtown and keep them downtown for the weekend,” she said.

Legals for June, 5 2025

Quick change

George hotel turns from Microtel to Holiday Inn Express overnight

GEORGE — The Holiday Inn Express in George appeared literally overnight. “On (April) 10 we closed the transaction and then at 7 p.m. IHG, which is the brand where Holiday Inn Express comes from, gave us the green light to open the hotel,” said General Manager Jed Jonathan. The hotel, which was built in 2020, had been a Wyndham Microtel up until then. It hadn’t been listed for sale, Jonathan said, but the owner had put out a few feelers. Jonathan owned several storage businesses under the name Dream Storage. When he became interested in branching out into the hospitality sector, Jonathan reached out to a number of hotel chains looking for a franchise, he said, and IHG was the first one that called him back. IHG put him in contact with A1 Hospitality in Tri-Cities, which owned about 20 hotels. Between then they created Dream A1 Hospitality, which is the official owner of the hotel.

Senior events for June 2025

COLUMBIA BASIN — The weather is gorgeous, the grandchildren are out of school and there’s no end of opportunities for seniors to get out and about this month. Here are a few:

Partnership encourages businesses to come into Wahluke schools

MATTAWA — The Wahluke School District is inviting businesses in Mattawa, or any business outside of Mattawa that’s interested, to participate in a new initiative that will bring volunteers from those businesses to Wahluke classrooms. Wahluke Superintendent Andy Harlow said “Partners in Educating Kids” is a way to increase connections between school and community.

Quincy Jacks 2025 soccer season recap

QUINCY – The Quincy Jacks boys soccer team ended their Spring 2025 season with an overall record of 13-9-1, earning third place in the district tournament and making it to state.

Congrats to ACH Baseball

COULEE CITY – Congratulations to the Almira-Coulee-Hartline Warriors on ending the 2025 spring season in third place at the state tournament. The Warriors had a solid foundation to build off coming into this season and were working toward making another state tournament appearance following their second place finish last season. ACH started the season with a 10-game win streak and would finish off the season with an overall record of 19-4 and a league record of 12-0 in the Northeast 1B, placing them as number one in the conference as they made their way into district play.