A decade of heroes

Buddy Walk spotlights people with Down syndrome and their families

MOSES LAKE — The Centennial Amphitheater at McCosh Park was brimming with joy Saturday as the Down Syndrome Society of Grant County held its 10th annual Buddy Walk. “Watching the kids, it’s just so exciting and fun to see them out here enjoying themselves,” said Denise Ketola, one of the event’s organizers and the mother of a 19-year-old with Down syndrome. The event celebrated its first decade this year, and the commemorative T-shirts reflected that, with confetti incorporated into the design. The crowd also sang “Happy Birthday” to the Buddy Walk...

Patti Trujillo

The Herald pays tribute to a respected colleague who was a beloved part of our family

MOSES LAKE — Patti loved those Dairy Queen Blizzards, especially the mint chocolate chip. So when the Herald staff paid tribute to Patti with ice cream, of course, there was some mint chocolate chip. Because it was Patti. Patti Trujillo was in the advertising department here at the paper, but more than that she was an integral part of the Columbia Basin Herald, known to a generation of coworkers and customers. Patti passed away Sept. 9 while undergoing her first treatment for lung cancer. “She was like my second mom,” said CBH General Manager Bob Richardson...

Law enforcement reports for Sept. 29

The reports below were provided by the respective law enforcement agencies as noted. Suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law...

Legals for September, 29 2022

Moses Lake city council looks to fill vacant seat

Council hears update on W. Valley Road at Tuesday meeting.

MOSES LAKE — The City of Moses Lake has received applications from 10 people seeking to fill the city council seat vacated when now-former Mayor Dean Hankins resigned sin late August — including from several former city council members — and is set to interview those candidates at a special meeting next week. The applicants are former council member (and mayor) David Curnel, Peter Steffens, Moses Lake Municipal Airport Commissioner Rod Richeson, Elisia Dalluge, former council member James Liebrecht, Andrew Ervin, David Skaug, Jeremy Nolan, current Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District Board Member Richard Teals and Sabrina Valdez. At a regular meeting on Tuesday, council members decided to hold a special meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 4, following a ceremony at the Moses Lake Civic Center to mark the 40th anniversary of the Moses Lake - Yonezawa sister city relationship, which is set to begin at 4:30 p.m. ...

Planning continues for new Quincy Valley Medical Center

QUINCY — Consultants and officials at Quincy Valley Medical Center are starting to establish a timeline for the construction of the new Quincy hospital. Joe Kunkel, the consultant working on the project, estimated the preparation, planning and design process would last about a year. “Our goal right now is that we should be turning dirt next summer, or this time next year,” Kunkel said during the regular meeting of the QVMC board Monday. Hospital district voters approved a construction bond proposal for a new hospital in August, authorizing up to $55 million for the project. Hospital officials chose Trinity: NAC, Spokane, in July as the project architects...

REC announces new CEO

OSLO — REC Silicon announced that Kurtis Levens has been named the new company’s chief executive officer. Levens, previously the company’s senior vice president and general manager of electronic grade polysilicon and silicon gasses, replaced James May II, who was named interim CEO in November following the retirement of Tore Torvund, according to an REC press release...

EWU’s Martin earns Offensive Player of the Week

CHENEY – After leading Eastern Washington women's soccer to a 2-0 record, Gillian Martin is the Big Sky offensive Player of the Week as announced by the conference Wednesday. This is Martin's first career Player of the Week honor. Martin recorded two goals this past week that pushed Eastern to the top of the table in the Big Sky...

Maverick girls soccer aims to create chemistry

New coach takes reins at school she graduated from

MOSES LAKE — First-year Moses Lake girls soccer Head Coach Alysha Overland has put an emphasis on team bonding for the 2022 Mavericks, and the results are beginning to show on the field. “I knew I wanted to coach wherever I ended up,” Overland said. “Thankfully I ended up back here in town, and then got a position as one of the assistants my first year back. I worked my way in, and once Liz (Bigger) left and the position opened up I said ‘Hey, that’s what I want to do,’ and I knew I had a passion for it.” Overland, a Moses Lake native, played soccer at Moses Lake High School before going to play at the collegiate level at Washington State University. “I grew up here in Moses Lake, I was born and raised here,” Overland said. “I played soccer my entire life, went through the program here as a Chief when (the mascot) was still Chiefs.” ...

Gonzaga men’s soccer defeats St. Thomas

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Gonzaga men's soccer team went on the road to St. Thomas and came out with a 3-2 win over the Tommies. This marked the second-straight year the two teams have played each other, and Gonzaga claimed both wins over St. Thomas. The Zags got on the board first in the 29th minute. The Bulldogs were awarded a corner kick and Wylie Trujillo had a short pass to Demitirus Kigeya, who then quickly passed it back to Trujillo. Trujillo made a long cross into the box and Diego Domenech headed the ball in for his first career goal as a Zag...

Umani Festival comes to downtown Moses Lake

Local celebration recognizes local diversity during Hispanic Heritage Month.

MOSES LAKE — Two blocks of downtown Moses Lake were blocked off Saturday afternoon for food, music, classic cars and a general celebration of the area’s Hispanic culture during the Umani Festival. “We have a huge Hispanic culture here,” said Derek Martinez, owner of The Favored Farmhouse. “So, I think to highlight that culture, I think that’s just awesome.” The festival, which featured Mexican-style mariachi music by Mariachi Huenachi, Andean-style folk music by Hermanos de los Andes, and Cuban-style acoustic dance music by Seattle-area band SuperSones, is a new one, and was organized as a joint effort of Columbia Basin Allied Arts, the Moses Lake Creative District, the Downtown Moses Lake Association and custom auto shop and clothing EDUB C/S...

Washington fire update for Sept. 28

WASHINGTON STATE - There are seven large fires in Washington according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center as of Sept. 27. The site defines a large fire as any wildland fire in timber 100 acres or greater, and 300 acres or greater in grasslands/rangelands, or has an Incident Management Team assigned to it...

Sainsbury fills Ephrata School Board position

EPHRATA - The Ephrata School Board Monday night unanimously selected Josh Sainsbury to fill the board’s vacant position. “We are happy to have Josh, employed as a public servant, be willing to do more for his community by serving on the school board,” said Anita Waller, Ephrata School Board Vice President in a release by the district. “We look forward to working with him.” The release states Sainsbury replaces Alain Black who stepped down in August to accept the varsity girls basketball head coaching position at Ephrata High School...

Boys & Girls Club auction to sport a Hollywood theme Saturday

MOSES LAKE — The red carpet will be unrolled, the lights will be bright and the stars will be out in all their glittery glory Saturday night. The local stars, that is. The 27th annual Boys and Girls Club dinner and auction will start at 5:30 at the Big Bend Community College ATEC building. The theme is “A Night at the Oscars,” and attendees are invited to come decked out in their best Tinseltown finery...

Royal schools start year in almost-finished buildings

ROYAL CITY — School in Royal is off to a great start for the year, Superintendent Roger Trail told the Royal School Board Monday night. “We have opened school to what I would say probably the best we've done since pre-COVID,” Trail said. “Everyone just seemed to be in really fantastic spirits without all the extra rules and regulations that we've had to solve for the last couple of years. So that's been nice.”

Cox appointed interim Soap Lake city administrator

SOAP LAKE - Soap Lake Police Chief Ryan Cox will be appointed at the next city council meeting as the Interim City Administrator for Soap Lake. “In reality, this is more of a city manager, a manager of projects, not really an administrator over everybody,” said Cox. Cox explained that while in other cities it could be considered a conflict of interest to have the police chief also be the city administrator, the City of Soap Lake is set up in a way that it is not. He further stated that he is already handling a lot of duties of the administrator since the city’s previous administrator departed at the end of June to pursue another position elsewhere...

Electric flight

Eviation's Alice aircraft makes initial battery-powered test flight in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — The very first test flight Tuesday morning of Eviation’s battery-powered Alice airplane only lasted about eight minutes. However, the implications for commercial flight could last for decades to come. “What we’ve done is made aviation history. This is about changing the way we fly,” said Eviation President and CEO Greg Davis as he stood with company test pilot Steven Crane on the ramp behind the main terminal at the Grant County International Airport. “And we are, well. obviously beaming with pride on this beautiful sunny day here at Moses Lake as we've just completed this flight.” Founded in Tel Aviv in 2015 by Omer Bar-Yohay and Aviv Tzidon, Eviation signed a deal with Seattle-based AeroTEC to test and certify the Alice at the Paris Airshow in 2019 and moved its headquarters to Arlington, Washington, in 2020. The company hopes to eventually produce passenger, cargo and executive transport versions of the all-electric, battery-powered aircraft for short-haul flights of 200 nautical miles (about 230 standard miles) or less...

Lions look to bounce back from season-opening loss

After relaunching soccer program, MLCA/CCS looks to team building.

MOSES LAKE – Following a season-opening 10-1 loss to Upper Columbia, the Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School Lions are looking to rally together and grow as a team. The team, which is returning to the pitch for the first time in seven years, is a young one according to head coach Shaq Ledezma...

Basin sports schedule Sept. 28-Oct. 4

As the calendar shifts to October, local high schools have entered conference play here in the Basin. Check out this week’s high school sports schedule, featuring football, volleyball, soccer and more.

Mariners believe rotation set for future after Castillo deal

SEATTLE (AP) — In the middle of putting the finishing touches on the largest and most complex contract in franchise history, the Seattle Mariners began discussions about another impact deal. Would newly acquired right-hander Luis Castillo be interested in talking about calling Seattle home for the long haul?