School day memories of Mae Higashiyama

Bits and Pieces

Law enforcement prioritizing safety after pursuit restrictions lift

EPHRATA – As of June 6, Initiative 2113 took effect and walked back restrictions on when law enforcement can pursue suspects that were set by legislation passed in Olympia in 2021. The initiative allows broader officer discretion and local and state authorities say they’ve updated policies to reflect the new law.

‘No sad tears today’

Boys & Girls Club funded for the rest of the year

MOSES LAKE — “It’s happy tears,” Boys & Girls Club Director Kim Pope told a little girl who asked why she was crying. “No sad tears today.” Pope had to fight back tears several times at North Elementary School Wednesday morning, as she accepted a donation from Group14 and other local businesses that would keep the club afloat through the year.

Recycling a mixed, reusable bag

MOSES LAKE — If you are looking for places to recycle paper, cardboard, cans, and in some cases plastic, you can find various locations throughout Grant and Adams County. If you are looking to recycle glass, not so much.

14U River Dogs win North Washington tournament

EPHRATA – The 14U Columbia Basin River Dogs went 3-0 over the weekend to claim the Babe Ruth 14U North Washington State Tournament at Johnson-O'Brien stadium in Ephrata, defeating the 14U Moses Lake All Stars 12-0 in the title game on Sunday.

Staying put

Housing worries rise, but there’s help

MOSES LAKE — It’s the nagging fear every homeowner has when economic times become hard: What if I can’t keep my home? That’s something quite a lot of people are worried about, said Nik VinZant, an analyst with QuoteWizard in Seattle. According to a survey done by QuoteWizard, 17% of people in Washington state are worried about losing their homes in the near future. “Basically, what we did is we looked into US Census Bureau data,” VinZant said. “This is part of the household pulse survey that goes out every couple of weeks and has been going out ever since the beginning of the pandemic. We were actually able to figure out, how many people are behind on their mortgage, how many people are behind on their rent? And then, of those people who are behind on either rent or their mortgage, how many of them feel that they should be either evicted or face foreclosure within the next two months?” That’s not to say that those people are objectively in imminent danger. The same survey showed that only 2% of Washingtonians are actually behind in mortgage payments. But sometimes, perception looms large and can help bring about the very thing people are worried about, Vinzant said...

Levi Bisnett

Keeping Moses Lake a place people want to live

MOSES LAKE - Levi Bisnett wants Moses Lake to be recreationist and pedestrian-friendly. As a project surveyor with the city, he gets a chance to make that vision happen. “It kind of plays into what I’ve been talking about for many years,” Bisnett said of his position. “Which is the need to do things other than just streets, water, sewer, (stormwater drainage) and sidewalks.” ...

Othello Food Bank looks to keep the lights on

Food distribution continues as nonprofit seeks funding

OTHELLO — Othello Food Bank director Sharon Mobley was loading the truck Tuesday morning, getting ready for a delivery. Supplying the food is one of the less challenging parts of running the facility, she said. “People kind of forget - you’ve got to keep the lights on,” Mobley said. “We’ve got to keep the refrigerators and freezers going, gas in the truck to pick up all the food. People don’t always think about those things.”

Moses Lake athlete beats personal records

Diligent effort takes Perkins to UAATF Junior Olympics

MOSES LAKE — Rising junior Paige Perkins went into the summer with a goal in mind, to make it to the 2022 USATF National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships. After spending time healing from injuries and training with the Spokane Speed Academy over the summer, Perkins competed in the USA Track & Field Region 13 Championships in Richland - qualifying for Nationals in the process. “They were actually pretty good runners and it pushed me a little bit more from getting back from knee injuries,” Perkins said of her competition at the meet. “It was actually a fairly good meet for me.” ...

Candidates seek seats 4, 5 on Moses Lake City Council

Mark Fancher and Plasido Lindsey Jr. are vying for Moses Lake City Council Position 4.

Lookin' to get hitched?

Weekend bridal expo offers ideas to local couples.

MOSES LAKE — On the bar in front of Jessica Ramynke sits a number of little, plastic shot glasses of purplish-magenta liquid on ice. It’s the signature drink and service of Ramynke’s company, Yakima-based Raise Your Glass. “It’s huckleberry syrup,” Ramynke said. “Either we buy it or I make it my own at home. I go out and pick the huckleberries in the mountains. We take it home and boil it down and make the syrup out of it.” ...

Homecoming win

Mavs topple Davis 59-14 for big game

MOSES LAKE – A slow start in the first quarter was quickly shaken off by the Moses Lake Mavericks on Friday night, who improved to 6-0 after a 59-14 win over Davis. “We feel good,” Moses Lake coach Brett Jay said. “It’s two games in a row we’ve had a slow first half, so that gets to us a little bit, but we went back to our fundamentals and that helped us have a solid second half. We’re seeing some different looks each week, which is interesting (because it’s different) than what we’ve seen on tape, so we’re just going to keep taking what they give us. I’m proud of the way we finished tonight.” ...

Lions aim to improve on state placing

MOSES LAKE — After placing sixth at last year’s state tournament, the Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian School boys’ basketball team is looking to improve on its placing in the 2022-2023 season. “We’re going to set our sights on accomplishing what we did last year, but improving our results,” Head Coach Emerson Ferguson said. “Last year our goals were to be district champs, win our regional game and then place at state. We accomplished all of that, and this year we want to repeat that as well as improve on placing at state.” The Lions won 23 games last season, clinching a league title and their first state appearance since 2012.

Lighthouse Café

Nonprofit coffee spot looks to help youth find the right path

OTHELLO — Lighthouse Café, a nonprofit organization in Othello, has been serving coffee, baked goods, and outreach programs geared toward Othello youth and other community members for more than a year and half now. Samuel Garza, senior pastor at Bethel Assembly of God – which funded the purchase and operation of Lighthouse Café – spoke about why he wanted to start the business in the first place...

The Cardman

Ephrata hobby shop looks to welcome everyone in a safe, fun place

EPHRATA — While there have been – quite literally – stumbles along the way, The Cardman hobby shop is now open in Ephrata and Derran Donoghue and partner Melissa Craven are excited to be in Tiger country. “The first thing I want to do is, I want to make this for the community,” Donoghue said. “That’s what (now-closed Ephrata Sports Cards) brought to the community. We want to just basically take the torch from (that store) and build it for the younger (people in the area).” ...

The Bicycle Shop

Moses Lake store offers vehicles to adventure in the Basin

MOSES LAKE — Bill Spark said he had already retired a few years ago when his son called him and said there was a business opportunity in Moses Lake. “He said, ‘Hey dad, we have this chance to buy this bicycle shop,’” said Spark, 81. “And so we got involved together, and we did it together for maybe a year or two. And then my son decided he wasn’t making enough money.” Spark’s son went back to driving truck for a living, while Spark stayed in Moses Lake. “So I took over the shop,” Spark said...

News Bites for June 16

EPHRATA – The Grant County Sheriff’s Office is asking for concertgoers to be careful at the Gorge Amphitheater this summer. They recommend taking the following steps to be safe...

Police logs for Feb. 9, 2023

The reports below were provided by the police department or facility indicated. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law...

FIRE REPORT: Red flag warning issued, fires burn around the Evergreen State

MOSES LAKE – The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning Monday afternoon in light of extreme high temperatures, potential for high winds and low relative humidity throughout the Pacific Northwest, but especially on the western side of the Cascades. "Today's red flag warnings are in effect for extremely hot, dry, unstable weather west of the Cascade crest,” said Regional Fire Planner for the Pacific Northwest Region of the Forest Service Ian Rickert. “The challenging fire weather conditions coincide with areas that are experiencing abnormally dry to severe drought.” ...

Moses Lake city staff share public participation plan for development code

MOSES LAKE — The Director of Moses Lake’s Community Development Department Kirsten Peterson presented the Public Participation Plan portion of the city’s new development code to the city council during Tuesday’s regular meeting. “I guess really I’m referring to it now as a development code rewrite,” said Peterson. “We are going to be basically just starting over with an entirely new code. We’re not just editing it or revising it; we are putting together a brand-new development code.” ...