One dead in collision east of Quincy

QUINCY — One person is dead and another injured after a head-on collision near Quincy Tuesday night. According to a press release by the Washington State Patrol, a 23-year-old Ephrata resident was driving a 2015 Subaru Impreza westbound on state Route 28 at about 9 p.m. The driver of the Impreza veered into the eastbound lane at milepost 32, near Road O east of Quincy, colliding head-on with a 2002 Honda Accord driven by a 17-year-old Ephrata resident...

Mavs defeat Davis 42-8, look on to Sunnyside

MOSES LAKE – After a home win against Wenatchee in Week 4, the Moses Lake Mavericks returned to the road for a trip to Davis, coming away with a 42-8 win over the Pirates. With the win, the Mavericks improved to 5-1 and 3-0 in league play, setting up a clash of the top two teams in the Columbia Basin Big 9 conference on Friday against Sunnyside.

Donations sought for coat, boot drive

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Rotary and Cobie’s Fine Dry Cleaning are collecting donations of coats and winter boots for children - which will indeed include boots this year. The annual Coats and Boots for Kids distribution will be Nov. 5 from 8:30 to 10 a.m. in the cafeteria at Columbia Middle School, 1111 E. Nelson Rd. There is a limit of four free coats or pairs of boots per family...

Basin sports results for Oct. 3-10

COLUMBIA BASIN – Five-and-a-half weeks since the beginning of the fall sports season, high schools in the Columbia Basin can see the season's final weeks on the horizon. Results from last week’s games can be found below...

Grant Co. resident sought to serve on Hanford board

EPHRATA – The Grant County Board of Commissioners issued a press release that they are looking for one interested citizen, residing in Grant County, to serve on the Hanford Advisory Board. The release states members appointed to the HAB assist the Washington State Department of Ecology, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Department of Energy to develop consensus policy recommendations and advice in regard to the short and long-term Hanford cleanup process. ...

World's largest radioactive waste melter starts in Eastern WA

Oct. 9/HANFORD — There's no turning back at the Hanford site's vitrification plant after the heat up of the world's largest melter for radioactive waste started Saturday, 20 years after construction of the plant began. The 300-ton melter now must remain hot continuously around the clock as it initially makes practice glass and eventually starts glassifying radioactive waste for the first time at the nuclear reservation. Glassification prepares the waste for permanent disposal.

East Columbia Basin Irrigation District seeks director applicants

COLUMBIA BASIN - The East Columbia Basin Irrigation District announced there are two open positions in the district and they will now accept filings for those interested in being directors for the respective divisions...

Grant Co. Jail project planning moves forward

EPHRATA — A request for proposals for site preparation for the new Grant County Jail is tentatively scheduled to be issued in December. A preliminary plan for the new facility is in the works and is still subject to change due to construction costs, among other factors. “That’s why it’s important for us to get this general contractor on board,” Grant County Central Services Director Tom Gaines said. “Because as we start to really detail all this stuff out, we’ll start getting pricing. And we’ll start to get a real idea of what our budget is going to look like, and then we’ll know if we’re overextended or not. We have a plan that we want to stick to.” County voters approved a three-tenths of 1% increase in the county’s sales tax in 2019, with the money going toward law and justice projects including a new jail. Grant County Commissioners approved the sale of up to $90 million in limited tax general obligation bonds for the project in July...

An absolute doll

Late Moses Lake nurse recognized for generosity after collection donated

MOSES LAKE — Delphie Bifano was always busy, always working on a project, always adding to her collections and always on the go. “She just couldn’t sit still,” said her daughter Beth Smith. Bifano, who died in May 2021, was a nurse as well as a ranch wife and mother of eight and spent many years working at Brookdale Hearthstone Moses Lake. “She loved it up here,” her daughter Sylvia Carlson said. “She loved it. She was involved; she’d come to do activities. She’d bring her dolls. She had this ‘Mother’s Love’ series, and I remember, she’d bring it up and display it for Mother’s Day. At Christmas, she’d bring up some of her Santas.” “She loved to share her dolls,” Smith said...

12-year-old injured in bicycle-car collision

LAKEVIEW - A 12-year-old child was injured Friday evening after their bicycle collided with a car in Lakeview. A press release from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office states that responders were called around 6 p.m. to Grant Street NW and Ephrata Avenue NW in Lakeview where a 12-year-old had been riding her bicycle and collided with a car...

Mattawa Council delays annexation decision

MATTAWA — Mattawa City Council members deferred a decision on annexing 40 acres into the city limits, asking for more information before taking a vote. The decision followed a half-hour discussion at the regular council meeting Thursday. The applicant, CAD Homes, Moses Lake, has announced plans to build housing on the site, known as the Bodrero property. Council member Fabiola Hernandez said she hesitated to make a decision until she had more information about the impact of the project to the city’s water system. Council member Sylvia Barajas said she was concerned about water, and about the impact to the city in general. “I’m also concerned with the schools - 100 houses, that’s a lot of families that are going to have children. It’s going to impact the school, it’s going to impact the police department because that’s a new addition that they have to patrol. We’re just barely making it right now. So I would like a little more information about how we’re going to meet all those demands before I think I can make a decision,” Barajas said...

New culture pays off for Mavs

Moses Lake takes home 3-1 win over Eisenhower

MOSES LAKE – Having gone winless a year ago, new Moses Lake volleyball head coach Krystal Trammell and the Mavericks have been putting together a new culture around the team, which has translated to wins like Thursday’s 3-1 victory over Eisenhower. “It was high,” Trammell said of the energy entering Thursday’s match. “We are in our second round of league (games); we know what we have to do. So we tell the girls, ‘That was a great practice,’ or ‘That was a great set,’ Great effort, better effort next. We do one set at a time, we do not look over anyone.” ...

Othello defeats Prosser 28-17

Huskies take home the W against Mustangs for first time since 2017

OTHELLO — With about nine minutes left in the third quarter and the Othello Huskies leading 21-10, Prosser quarterback Kory McClure rolled to his right and threw the football downfield. Between the Prosser receiver and the ball was Othello linebacker Ezra Gonzalez. . .

Warden Port Commission solicits support for SR17 improvements

WARDEN — The Port of Warden is soliciting letters of support to the Washington State Department of Transportation for safety improvements at the intersection of S.R. 17 and S.R. 170, just west of Warden, which likely means replacing the intersection with a roundabout. “We’re waiting for support letters, we should 15 or 16 when done,” said Pat Boss, director of government affairs with the Columbia Basin Railroad, during a regular meeting of the Port of Warden Commission on Thursday. “Most of the Warden community agrees, something needs to be done about that intersection.” Pat Millard, executive director of the Port of Warden, said that the wait time to make left turns either from southbound S.R. 17 onto S.R. 170 east to Warden, or from westbound S.R. 170 south toward Othello, can sometimes result in waiting traffic back up all to the to Road R, about 1,000 feet. Millard also said a roughly seven mile stretch of S.R. 17 from Road 5 south to Road 12 — the Adams County line — has averaged around nine accidents per year since 2018.

Praying for the peace of the city

Pastors, law enforcement gather to promote cooperation, community building

MOSES LAKE — Law enforcement cannot, on its own, keep the peace and enforce the law, according to Grant County Interim Sheriff Ryan Rectenwald. “It takes a village,” Rectenwald told an audience attending Saturday’s Faith and Blue event at McCosh Park. “Policing is only as good as the will of the people, and it’s as simple as that. In order to get that engagement, you have to be with the people. You have to stop your car, get out, have conversations and be present.” Rectenwald was one of 10 speakers on Saturday’s event, which brought the Grant County Sheriff’s Office together with the Moses Lake Police Department and local pastors Sabrina Valdez of Restore City Church, Andry Grenier of First Baptist Church in Moses Lake, Glen Hughes of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church, Dan Dufner of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Parish, local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints High Council member Josh Dale, Eric Frey of Moses Lake Presbyterian Church, and Peter Fendich of Source of Life Church in Moses Lake at McCosh Park for a time of fellowship and food and to show that the community and law enforcement officers stand together, support each other and help keep the peace.

Ephrata soccer falls to Selah in penalty shootout

EPHRATA - The Ephrata girls soccer team fell after a hard-fought battle against Selah Thursday night. “By far the best we have ever played against Selah,” said Ephrata head coach Gary Klepec.

Broncos mount comeback, defeat Chewelah 25-18

RITZVILLE – Late in the fourth quarter on homecoming night, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague/Washtucna/Harrington Broncos saw themselves with the ball, down 18-17 to the Chewelah Cougars. The ensuing 11-play, 97-yard drive ended with Bronco quarterback Chase Galbreath diving into the end zone, where the home team eventually earned a 25-18 comeback victory.

Market change

Home prices drop statewide, but Basin still holding steady – for now

MOSES LAKE — Things are beginning to shift in the world of real estate, but it’s hard to know how much of that shift will come to the Basin. Home prices have dropped 0.8% in Washington since June, according to a study by QuoteWizard, a Seattle-based online insurance comparison platform. “Less than 1% may not sound like a huge amount, but you're talking about tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in some cases,” said Nick VinZant, an analyst with QuoteWizard, a Seattle-based online market research company. “That can be a huge difference.” VinZant has a theory as to the reason for the shift. “I think what is happening is two things that are related to one thing,” he said. “And that is that interest rates are starting to rise. That ultimately means that money isn't cheap anymore; you're going to have to pay more interest, it costs you a lot more. So a $500,000 house, the interest that you're going to pay on that is suddenly a lot more than you would have been paying before.”

WorkSource to hold hiring event Thursday

MOSES LAKE — WorkSource will hold its annual hiring event at the WorkSource Center in Moses Lake on Thursday, Oct. 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. According to an announcement from WorkSource, this year’s event will bring together job seekers with 30 local employers looking to hire immediately. Job seekers should come prepared with their employment history and copies of their resume and wear professional attire, the announcement said. WorkSource staff are available Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., to help with resume writing and interview preparation and to answer questions about the upcoming event...

Birth announcements for the month of September 2022

The Columbia Basin Herald and the hospitals listed below congratulate the families on their new arrivals. Samaritan Hospital Aug. 11 Olivia Jensen and Jared Hubbard, Ephrata, son Owen Micheal Hubbard, 6 pounds 8 ounces. Aug. 17 Jessica and Cale Russell, Moses Lake, daughter Millie Marie Russell, 6 pounds 8 ounces...