Mattawa council delays annexation vote again

MATTAWA — The Mattawa City Council may decide whether or not to annex 40 acres of property into the city at its Dec. 8 meeting. Council members voted to continue the annexation application process to Dec. 8 at the regular meeting Thursday. The vote was 5-1, with council member Alex Heredia voting no. “I would ask that we make sure we stay to that date (for a decision), if at all possible,” Heredia said during the discussion before the vote. The annexation proposal was discussed at the Oct. 6 meeting, but council members delayed a vote after asking for more information. Rachelle Bradley of SCJ Alliance, the city’s planners, requested that the council delay the decision until Dec. 8 to allow planners to gather the information. Previously Bradley had recommended approving the application with the stipulation that an agreement be negotiated between the city and CAD Homes, the company requesting annexation...

Knights smash College Place

Success in all three phases leads to 69-0 win

ROYAL CITY – The Royal Knights got it done in all three phases of the game in their 69-0 win on senior night over College Place Friday night, scoring on offense, defense and special teams. “You never know how it’s going to go, but it’s always nice to see the returns and obviously the defense played well,” Royal head coach Wiley Allred said. The Knights were up 14-0 before the offense even took the field, courtesy of senior receiver Edgar Delarosa’s two punt return touchdowns. “It feels good, it sets the tone pretty high,” Delarosa said. “It set the expectation that we just gotta get to it every single play, and I feel like that set the bar pretty high.” ...

Grant Co. voters have minor ballot adjustment

EPHRATA —Voters in Grant County are going to have to do a little more work in order to vote thanks to an error made in preparing this November’s ballots, according to Grant County Auditor Michele Jaderlund...

STUDIO BASIN: Scam avoidance and running the distance...

For this week’s Studio Basin podcast, Managing Editor Rob Miller, Senior Reporter Charles Featherstone and Sports Reporter Ian Bivona are joined by Logan Hickle, communications manager for the non-profit private organization, the Better Business Bureau, to talk about the BBB’s Scam Tracker report and website (www.bbb.org/scamtracker/) and the bureau’s upcoming online scam report. Hickle talked about the history of the BBB, that the organization was created to promote ethical business practices and help businesses meet the BBB’s eight standards of trust. He also said consumers who are concerned they might be scammed either online by a physical business can both look up scam efforts, report scams to the bureau — which works with law enforcement agencies — and always take time and do some research before responding to so-called urgent solicitations...

Washington hopes to take another step toward top of Pac-12

SEATTLE (AP) — By the end of last season, Washington coach Mike Hopkins believed the Huskies were on an upward trajectory. Washington won 11 conference games — the second-most by the Huskies in the previous 10 seasons — and finished tied for fifth in the Pac-12.

Washington State looks to build on best season in a decade

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — Washington State had its best season in a decade last year, but coach Kyle Smith lost most of that team to graduations and transfers. No problem, Smith has recruited another deep roster of talented players for his fourth campaign on the Palouse.

Defenses under scrutiny when Chargers host Seahawks

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Even though Sunday's matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the Los Angeles Chargers features plenty of offensive weapons, Pete Carroll and Brandon Staley want to see if their defenses can put two solid games together.

“The whole thing was fun”

Gathering raises money for Youth Dynamics

MOSES LAKE — Skylar McKinsey is one of the reasons over 200 people gathered in the 4-H Building at the Grant County Fairgrounds last Saturday. “Youth Dynamics is where kids get together and we all can have fun times together, or play games or offline games,” the 13-year-old McKinsey said. It’s not just that, he said. It’s also the summer trips — time in the wilderness, away from the world, going down a river or hiking or, as McKinsey noted, riding an inner tube down a huge hill. “It was very fun,” he said. “The whole thing was fun.” The gathering, according to Youth Dynamics Moses Lake Director Sean Sallis, was to raise money for those activities — the camping, the hiking, the river rafting, the downhill tubing, all the “very fun” things Youth Dynamics does — and according to Sallis, the Saturday banquet and auction is the organization’s primary fundraiser for the year, with all of the proceeds going to support Youth Dynamics’ outdoor ministries. “All this activity here, all these generous people that are here, the funds from this event go directly to general operations, adventure trips and special projects,” he said. Zero money goes to salaries. Our staff within the ministry raise their own support.” ...

Lnenicka recognized for certification accomplishment

EPHRATA – Ephrata City Clerk Leslie Trachsler, left, presents Carrie Lnenicka, Deputy City Clerk for the city, with her certificate for becoming a Certified Municipal Clerk as well as a pin. Lnenicka has been working on her certification since 2019.

Maverick volleyball celebrates senior night, falls to Davis

MOSES LAKE – Outside of the result of the Mavericks’ 3-2 loss to Davis on Thursday night, Moses Lake volleyball celebrated its seniors who had given years to the program. “Some of these girls we’ve had for years whether it was club or middle school,” Moses Lake head coach Krystal Trammell said. “Some of them we’ve had since they were 10 or 11 years old, so it was emotional, for sure.” Entering the gym were poster boards with photos of the soon-to-be graduating players, a picture booth with 2023 balloons and more. “It was a lot of fun,” Trammell said. “Our moms did a fantastic job. We had a photo area, they decorated the whole gym. They brought in boards for the girls.” ...

Moses Lake man sentenced for drug, weapons charges

SPOKANE — A Moses Lake man was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing methamphetamine with intent to sell. Guillermo Valdez, 34, was sentenced Tuesday, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington. On April 20 he pled guilty to two counts of possession of more than 500 grams of methamphetamines with intent to sell and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm...

Tater truck overturns at roundabout

OTHELLO — A major intersection on S.R. 24 south of Othello was blocked for several hours on Thursday after a semitractor-trailer overturned while traversing the roundabout with Bench Road and spilled its load of potatoes. According to Washington State Patrol Trooper Collin Cumaravel, driver Narcisco Cruz-Merida was driving a truck pulling a large trailer and a second pup trailer when the pup trailer tipped as he was crossing the roundabout, became unbalanced and rolled over...

New bathrooms going in at Grant Co. Fairgrounds

MOSES LAKE — The framing is up for a new bathroom and storage area in the space between the commercial and 4-H buildings at the Grant County Fairgrounds. Tom Gaines, Grant County Central Services Director, said completion is scheduled for January. Project cost will be about $1.6 million, he said, but that’s paying for more than a bathroom. The design has to tie together two buildings of different sizes, he said. “There’s a lot going on there,” Gaines said...

RDO celebrates new location

Local repair shop built from the ground up to meet demand

MOSES LAKE — RDO Equipment may have moved into its new location on N. Frontage Road at the end of May, but Store Manager Jacob Garza said the company wanted to wait a bit before formally celebrating its grand opening. “We waited just to get a better grasp of filling people and being more prepared, and having the parts on hand and everything to support the customers, really,” Garza said. The facility, which replaces the company’s cramped building located on S. Pioneer Drive in Moses Lake, is huge — 31,000 square feet with over 6,000 square feet devoted to spare parts storage, and 10 drive-in repair bays, including one with a giant, 50-foot door that will allow for even the biggest of combine harvest heads to enter for repairs...

A little R&R

Cougars look to rest, refocus over bye week

PULLMAN – Coming off of back-to-back losses to enter the bye week, the Washington State Cougars will look to rest and learn from mistakes before a home matchup against Utah next week. “We still got a lot to play for,” WSU head coach Jake Dickert said in a press conference Thursday. “We want to extend our season, and that’s something that we’re out here preparing for each and every day.” Dickert said after Thursday’s practice that the team is off until Saturday afternoon for a light practice before preparation begins for No. 15 Utah...

Othello’s ground game leads to high-scoring win streak

Huskies 6-1 record a credit to player dedication

OTHELLO – The Othello Huskies have been lighting up the scoreboards as of late, averaging close to 56 points per game in their previous four matchups against Selah, Grandview, Prosser and Ellensburg. “We all bought in, I think we all think we can go far in state,” sophomore offensive lineman Mason Perez said. “Everyone’s been working really hard and bringing a lot more effort into it.” Othello, 6-1, has used their ground-and-pound style of offense to propel themselves into first place in the Central Washington Athletic Conference with two weeks remaining in the regular season...

Othello Food Bank receives donation

OTHELLO – Sharon Hampton presents a check for $300 for the Othello Food Bank from Beta Lambda. Also pictured are Facility Manager Jose Garza for the Food Bank and President Adam Janes.

Police logs for Oct. 20

The entries below were submitted by the indicated law enforcement agency. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law...

Care Fair scheduled for Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — People will be able to learn about the services offered through a number of local nonprofit agencies at the Care Fair, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 29 at Youth Dynamics, 106 E. 3rd Ave., Moses Lake. Organizer Michele Boetger, director of Care Moses Lake, wrote in a press release that the event is designed to make connections. “Care Fair is bringing together local non-profits and service organizations so they can share their message with the community,” Boetger wrote. “Attendees can learn more about them and how they can show their support.”

2 locals added to ag hall of fame

MOSES LAKE - Members of the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce gathered at Pillar Rock Grill Tuesday evening for the organization’s annual meeting which included the induction of Mike Laplant and Frank Martinez into the Grant County Farm Bureau’s Agriculture Hall of Fame. “The Moses Lake Area Agricultural Hall of Fame was formed in the year 2010 to recognize and honor distinguished individuals that have made significant contributions to the ag industry in our community in the Greater Moses Lake Area,” said incoming Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce board chair and Grant County Fairgrounds Director Jim McKiernan before the awards were presented. Peter Dufault with the Grant County Farm Bureau gave out the awards to the two honorees after describing their contributions to agriculture in the region...