Down and dirty

Demolition Derby rides into Othello

OTHELLO – The Othello Rodeo Grounds was full of smoke, engines revving and cheers for the 2022 Othello Demolition Derby, held on Wednesday night, which brought in drivers for a variety of different events. Once time trials were completed, drivers were separated into different heats based on the time recorded during the preceding trials. Eight cars entered the arena for each heat, and completed eight laps before having a winner declared. Each heat saw smoke, dust and dirt fly through the air, with drivers maneuvering past other cars in an attempt to place first. Throughout the heat races, several cars had to be either pushed out by fellow competing drivers or towed out using a bulldozer – with some cars ending with their wheels displaced, rendering the vehicles unable to move. Spectators cheered on other events at the demolition derby as well, including a trophy dash, powder puff, Australian pursuit and more. Results from the 2022 Othello Demolition Derby were not made available at press deadline.

ML Fire Chief says city insurance rating has improved

MOSES LAKE — Renters and homeowners in Moses Lake are likely going to see their insurance rates go down in 2023 following an improvement in the city’s community rating, according to Moses Lake Fire Chief Brett Bastian. “They looked at everything, and we significantly improved from the last time,” Bastian told council members at a regular meeting on Tuesday. “We moved to a four from a five, mostly due to new equipment.” By “they,” Bastian was referring to the Seattle-based Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau, a private, nonprofit company that helps both insurance companies and policy holders evaluate risk. The company not only reviewed the city’s fire department and its training and equipment, but also examined the city’s water supply, the county’s 911 service and the city’s building code in order to reach its final community score.

Soap Lake Special Olympian to compete in Spokane

SOAP LAKE – 64-year-old David Kenney spent years as a Special Olympics bowler and earning numerous medals in the process. Now, Kenney will head to Spokane this weekend for his first Special Olympics powerlifting competition. “I’d done bowling, and I’ve got every single medal they have,” Kenney said while pointing to the various Special Olympic medals around his neck. “And I’ve also been training at Anytime Fitness in Ephrata with my trainer” Kenney recalled a story from back when he lived in Maine, where his mother had come back into the house and heavier items in the kitchen had been moved. He said he’s always had a fascination with lifting and moving heavy items, something that continues to this day. “When I was younger, back in Maine, I was really interested in lifting heavy things,” Kenney said.

Ships and piers

Following wheat's journey down the Snake and Columbia rivers

PORTLAND, Ore. — In 1976, Herschel Slavens, then nearly 80, sat down to write about his life, including the time he found himself nearly penniless and looking for work in the early 1920s. “We didn’t have hardly any money so we stopped in Kennewick, Washington, and I got a job working for my cousin … who had a trucking company hauling wheat from a field to a warehouse on the Columbia River,” Slavens wrote in an unpublished memoir he shared with members of his family. With the collapse of farm commodity prices following the end of World War I, it was a tough time to be a farmer, and Slavens — who served in Hawaii, not France, during the war — noted official estimates that as many as half the farmers in the United States went broke from between 1920 and 1922. Still, he was able to find farmwork, moving sacks of wheat in the Tri-Cities before moving on and eventually settling in Montana. “It was put on barges and hauled to Portland,” he wrote. “The combine was pulled by about 30 horses and the wheat was put in 120-pound bags and dropped on the ground for me to pick up.” ...

Cleaning up history

Remote cemetery shows where an immigrant community once thrived

HARTLINE — On a lonely gravel road somewhere between Hartline and Almira, there’s a small graveyard that is the only tangible evidence of a once-thriving community. “The whole Welsh settlement was about a 15-mile strip north of Hartline, Wilbur, Govan and Almira, just kind of a strip right through there,” said Judy Evans Lindhag, whose family homesteaded next to the cemetery. “In the old time, they called it the ‘Welsh township,’ but it was never a town.” Lindhag was one of about a dozen people who gathered at the Welsh Cemetery Saturday morning to clean up headstones and clear away brush. The work day was planned by Mary Lynne Evans, president of the Puget Sound Welsh Association in Seattle...

Visitors fill Quincy

Farmer Consumer Awareness Day draws big crowd

QUINCY — Gigi Lowry was standing with a stack of plates on one side and an equally big stack of hamburger buns in front of her just after noon on Saturday. Lowry was in charge of preparing the plates for the crew on the chow line at the Quincy Rotary chapter’s barbecue lunch booth, a staple that goes back a quarter century or so at Farmer Consumer Awareness Day. It looked like a little bit of work, but Lowry said it was a perfectly good way to spend FCAD. “It is a blast,” she said. The Rotary barbecue was in high demand - the line snaked out the door at Quincy Middle School and stayed that way for at least 90 minutes. Quincy’s annual town celebration returned for the 41st time and drew a crowd for the parade, the quilt show, the dancing horses, the children’s soccer tournament, the tractor pull and the farmers market run by the Quincy High School Future Farmers of America chapter, among other events. Kacey Kiehn, a member of the QHS FFA alumni organization said the proceeds from the produce sale went back to the FFA chapter. “This is one of our two main fundraisers for the year,” Kiehn said...

Week in sports: Sept. 6-12

COLUMBIA BASIN - Check out some photos from last week’s sporting events here in the Basin.

Gonzaga comes up short on the pitch against Sacramento State

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Despite two second-half goals, the Gonzaga men's soccer team came up just short at Sacramento State on Sunday afternoon, 3-2. The Hornets got on the board first in the 20th minute as Francisco Magana headed the ball into the back of the net after passes from Christo Cervantes and Cody Sundquist. The goal gave Sacramento State the 1-0 lead, which ended up being the only score in the opening half...

Cougars begin season 3-2 on the court

Warden coach works to encourage 'energy-momentum' attitudes

WARDEN – Under new head coach Shanna Golladay, the Warden Cougars have started the volleyball season 3-2, defeating Cle Elum-Roslyn at home and Mabton on the road to begin the year and going 1-2 in a tournament on Saturday. Golladay, who began coaching in the Warden School District in 1997 and is a Warden volleyball alum, credited her players for improving one aspect in particular. “Definitely the energy of the team,” Golladay said. “We were a really quiet team (against Cle Elum-Roslyn), they had a hard time talking, cheering, the high-fives – that energy that you need. Volleyball is very much an energy-momentum game.” The Cougars began 2022 with back-to-back wins last week.

Henry takes title, wins Tri-Cities Classic

KENNEWICK – The Professional Bull Rider’s Tri-Cities Classic concluded on Saturday with the Kansas City Outlaws’ Bill Henry taking home a win, with no other rider able to surpass his flawless runs on Friday. Henry finished with a combined score of 168.5 in his two runs, scoring 83.5 points in Round 1 and 85 points in Round 2. With the win, Henry was awarded with 34 points in the Challenger Series. Finishing in second place was Wyatt Rogers, who scored 168 points in his two runs. Placing in second garnered Rogers 25.5 Challenger Series points. Conner Halverson of the Austin Gamblers finished in third place with a total score of 167 points on his rides. His runs were rewarded by 18 Challenger Series points...

Two indicted for pandemic relief fraud

RICHLAND — A federal grand jury has indicted two West Richland business owners for making fraudulent claims for $800,000 in COVID-19 relief under the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Washington. The press release stated the grand jury indicted Jimia Rae Cain, 52, of seven counts of fraud in connection with Paycheck Protection Program loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, alleging Cain used false statements to obtain roughly $330,000 in loans in 2020. Separately, the grand jury also indicted Andrei Borgheriu, 45, with three counts of fraud in connection with $500,000 in EIDL loans that Borgheriu used to purchase a house, the press release said.

Othello Fair, Rodeo return for 2022

OTHELLO — Exhibits, rides, rodeo, a demolition derby, the annual parade; there’s going to be a lot to do at the annual Othello Fair, Othello Rodeo and Demolition Derby which begin Wednesday. Events get started early Wednesday with market class livestock judging at 9 a.m. for all participants. Market class will continue all day. The exception is the poultry class, according to information on the fair website. Following recommendations from the Washington State Veterinarian’s Office, waterfowl will not be allowed on the grounds, and all market-class birds will be terminated at the end of the fair. No birds will be returned to their owners, according to the announcement from fair organizers. Children who want to participate but not bring a bird to the fairgrounds can substitute a stuffed animal with a circus theme. Organizers also are planning a “purdie birdie” photo contest, where participants dress up their animals and submit a photograph for judging.

‘If I can do it to help others, I’m going to do it’

Longtime Grant County Fire District 8 volunteer puts on chief's helmet

MATTAWA — Grant County Fire District 8 Chief Matt Hyndman said he liked the job of a firefighter from his first fire, back in 1993 when he was a teenager. But it was a long time, he said before he knew why he liked it. “At the time, it was just like, ‘this is something fun to do. And it’s awesome.’ You feel that adrenaline rush on fires and some glory and everything - and of course there were some hard things,” he said. “But over time, and it wasn’t for a long time, I learned that basically, it’s my God-given talent. It’s something that I can do, I feel I can do it well, and if I can do it to help others, I’m going to do it.” Hyndman was named district fire chief earlier this year, taking over the department in his hometown, the one he joined while a student at Wahluke High School...

Wahluke takes down Quincy on the pitch

QUINCY – The Wahluke girls soccer team earned its second win of the season on Thursday night, defeating Quincy 1-0 on the road.

Knights start 2-0, defeat Othello 14-0

OTHELLO – After a first half full of strong defense, the Royal Knights used the second half to pull away on the road in a 14-0 win over Othello on Friday night.

Ephrata takes Battle of the Basin

QUINCY - The annual Battle of the Basin football matchup between Quincy High School and Ephrata High School was fought Friday night in Quincy. The Ephrata Tigers came out on top, keeping the trophy another year until the battle will be fought again.

Moses Lake mounts comeback but still falls

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake High School Mavericks football team fought back from a 14-point deficit but the Kamiakin Braves scored late to take the win, 36-29, in Moses Lake’s first home game of the season.

Friday’s results of Tri-Cities Classic

KENNEWICK – Bill Henry, a rider for the Kansas City Outlaws, went two-for-two on rides on Friday’s opening night of the Professional Bull Riders Challenger Series’ Tri-Cities Classic in Kennewick, a flawless performance on the evening.

Local sports scores Sept. 6-10

COLUMBIA BASIN – High school sports are back in full swing here in the Basin, with teams taking to courts and fields throughout the week. Check out last week’s local scores from Sept. 6 through Sept. 10.

Ephrata honors longtime resident and business owner

EPHRATA - The Ephrata City Council gave out the first ever Spirit of Ephrata Award at Wednesday night’s meeting to longtime resident and business owner Mike Scellick. “We think that the recipient of the first-time award is a very appropriate recognition for what the criteria and expectations are,” said Ephrata Mayor Bruce Reim. During the award presentation, Reim read the letter that recommended Scellick. The letter spoke of Scellick’s generosity, especially towards homeless and transient individuals in the community. In many instances, Scellick gave those individuals new shoes. Scellick attributed his tendency for service to the example his parents set and the generosity of the Ephrata community...