Long-term GCAO residents still hope for homes

MOSES LAKE – For many furry friends, a forever home can often feel like a distant dream. At the Grant County Animal Outreach, three dogs have taken up residence longer than others, waiting patiently for their chance to find loving families.

Jorge Polanco’s 2 home runs help Mariners take Game 2 of ALDS, even series against Tigers

SEATTLE (AP) — Shortly after Jorge Polanco’s second home run of the game off reigning AL Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal, a chant broke out from a smattering of Mariners fans at T-Mobile Park. It was resemblant of the familiar soccer chant, “Olé, Olé, Olé″, except the Seattle supporters were repeating Polanco’s first name after he put the Mariners up 2-0 en route to a 3-2 win against the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of their AL Division Series on Sunday to even the series.

March shooting suspect back in custody after failure to appear

SOAP LAKE — The Moses Lake Police Department announced the arrest of Samuel Ramirez, 26, in association with the investigation of a March 8 shooting that led to the son of Wash. Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, being seriously injured. A second man, Luis Medina, 28, was arrested in mid-March and has since pleaded guilty and is serving jail time.

MLSD suing Fowler over alleged Groff deficiencies

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake School District announced earlier this year it would be pursuing litigation with Fowler General Construction, the company that built Groff Elementary School, and a third-party guarantor, Western Surety Company. The district claims there were defects, misrepresentations, and concealment associated with the project, according to MLSD Director of Public Relations Ryan Shannon.

Bruce Eugene Kehret

1938 — 2025

Bruce Eugene Kehret, age 87, passed away on Sunday, September 21, 2025, at Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata, Washington. He was born March 4, 1938, in Austin, Minnesota and was the third son to Carl and Matilda Kehret.

Columbia Basin Hospital reintroduces $30 million bond proposal

EPHRATA — Columbia Basin Hospital is once again submitting to the community a $30 million bond proposition aimed at expanding its facilities and services. The bond will go before voters in the November general election. The bond was rejected during the primary election, with around 46% of voters in favor. It aims to address pressing infrastructure needs and enhance health services within the community, according to Administrator Rosalinda Kibby. “We are a public hospital district which means that our only chance to fund a project this big. We can afford smaller projects like $10 million, $5 million or projects of that size. We just did the emergency department remodel for less than $5 million,” Kibby said. “But when it comes to adding a new building, that will need to be done with public help.”

Samaritan Hospital opening scheduled for March 2026

MOSES LAKE — The projected opening day for the new Samaritan Hospital is about six months away. “We expect that we would get the temporary certificate of occupancy Dec. 12,” said Samaritan Chief Executive Officer Theresa Sullivan. “And then the first patients March 7, 2026.” Construction has reached the stage of painting walls, installing doors, finishing installing lights and starting to install equipment. Crews were putting together some of the imaging equipment Tuesday morning.

NCW Library renovations progress regionally

EPHRATA – The North Central Washington Library District is making strides towards the remodeling of several public library facilities across the region, but delays in the Ephrata Library renovations have raised questions about the timeline of future projects. The project, according to Supervising Librarian Aaron Loeffelbein, was supposed to start at the beginning of 2026. However, the district is now expecting a start date closer to March or April of 2026.

Karen Ann Crook

1941 — 2025

Karen Ann (Blair) Crook of Moses Lake, Washington, age 84, died September 16, 2025, peacefully at home with her family by her side. Karen was born September 1941 to Virgil and Belle Blair in Longview, Washington. Karen had one sister Barbara Easley who preceded her in death.

Legals for September, 18 2025

Ephrata School District considering spring 2026 bond

EPHRATA — After more than a year and a half of work, the Ephrata School District’s District Facility Study Group has decided to recommend putting a $75 million bond package on the February 2026 ballot. The goal of the workgroup, said Ephrata School District Superintendent Ken Murray, was to ensure all of Ephrata’s students had quality learning spaces. “Primarily, people had an opportunity to see what we were able to accomplish with our 2019 bond and the facilities that are in place at one of our elementaries, and then, obviously, at Ephrata Middle School,” Murray said. “And one of the real goals, initially, was they saw how safe those facilities are. They saw how (those facilities incorporate) current trends in terms of the types of spaces that you could create for students.” Murray said the bond package, if approved, would have a tax bill impact but allow the district to remodel and expand Ephrata High School, replace Grant Elementary and Parkway Intermediate schools and provide a better Performing Arts Center for students. Some of the work had initially been approved by voters in 2019 along with funding, but inflation caused by the pandemic and other factors caused their cancelation and the funding was zeroed out through a process called defeasement.

Ag contributions recognized at FCAD in Quincy

QUINCY — The contributions of Quincy’s farmers and agricultural workers were recognized with a parade and a big party at Farmer Consumer Awareness Day Sept. 13.

Down Syndrome Buddy Walk set for Sept. 27

MOSES LAKE — This year’s Buddy Walk will honor some people who don’t get much publicity: siblings of people with Down syndrome. “We’ve done parents and caregivers, so we decided it needed to be siblings this year,” said organizer Denise Ketola.

Warden to get new police chief, approves updating planning documents

WARDEN – The Warden City Council met Tuesday to discuss the hiring of a new Warden Police Department Chief, acknowledge the clerk-treasurer assistant, receive updates on city projects, approve adding a climate element to the comprehensive plan and approve the development of a planning document for the wastewater facility and general sewer plan.

Farmer Consumer Awareness Day returns to Quincy on Saturday

QUINCY — The agricultural industry – and agricultural bounty – of Quincy and its surrounding area will be celebrated at the annual Farmer-Consumer Awareness Day Saturday. Leia Watkins, FCAD president, said recognizing agriculture and the contributions of farmers is as important as ever. “Especially in this day and age, so many people don’t understand the importance of agriculture,” Watkins said.

Legals for September, 11 2025

Supreme Court fast tracks Trump tariff case

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — The Supreme Court granted an unusually quick hearing on President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on Tuesday, putting a policy at the center of his economic agenda squarely before the nation's highest court.

Groff repairs on schedule, campus to reopen 2026-27

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake School District Superintendent Carol Lewis told the MLSD Board of Directors Thursday that Groff Elementary will open back up for the 2026-27 school year. While physical construction just began, assessments have been completed to ensure the campus’s deficiencies are addressed. “There's not a whole bunch of construction equipment crawling all over the campus and knocking things down and things like that,” Lewis said. “There is a lot going on that's starting to happen. It looked a little slow to outside observers at first, because there was a lot of assessment that had to be done, lots of people walking around with clipboards and things, and not necessarily the actual construction that needs to happen to fix that building.”

Moses Lake man convicted in child pornography case

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake man was convicted last week of possessing child pornography, according to a statement from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. Michael Boyer, 69, was convicted in Grant County Superior Court on four counts of first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to the GCSO statement. In September 2023, GCSO and Moses Lake Police Department detectives received a case referral from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Seattle. The tip was from Google, identifying Boyer as the suspect, along with his birthdate, phone number and two email addresses. “The Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force is a national network of 61 task forces, and their mission is to investigate, prosecute and develop effective responses to the Internet Crimes Against Children,” GCSO Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman said.

Audit shows $32K misappropriated from East Adams hospital

RITZVILLE — A former employee at East Adams Rural Healthcare misappropriated about $32,000 in 2023, according to a report released Thursday by the Washington State Auditor’s Office. The report said the former accounting clerk pleaded guilty to four charges in April 2024 and served 60 days in jail.