Wicked weekend weather threatens several Southern states

A storm system expected to strike southern states from Texas to Georgia this weekend is looking more and more menacing, bringing the potential for devastating tornadoes and 80-mph wind gusts.

Drive-by leaves two in hospital, one in jail

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake man is in Grant County Jail and two others are in the hospital following a shooting and high-speed chase Sunday afternoon.

Four WA schools earn distinguished designation

OLYMPIA — Four schools in Washington have earned the Elementary and Secondary Education Act Distinguished Schools Award, according to an announcement from the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Officers, deceased identified in Quincy officer-involved shooting

QUINCY – The names of those involved in a Monday incident that lead to one Quincy Police Department officer being stabbed twice and the death of a man have been released by investigators with the Central Basin Investigative Team.

Benefit auction Saturday for GCAO

MOSES LAKE — Animal lovers are being invited to participate in a fundraising silent auction to benefit Grant County Animal Outreach Saturday afternoon. “Paws for a Cause” will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at Rick’s Eatery & Entertainment, 810 W. Third Ave., Moses Lake.

Premera, MultiCare agreement maintains access to facilities for over 100K people

(The Center Square) – Premera Blue Cross and MultiCare Health Systems have agreed to the terms of a new contract, which will ensure members' access to approximately 1,000 healthcare providers statewide.

WA energy choice initiative qualifies for the Nov. ballot

(The Center Square) – Initiative 2066 to protect energy choices like natural gas has officially qualified for the November ballot, according to the Washington Secretary of State's Office.

FIRE REPORT: Wind whips up wildfire at Sun Lakes

MOSES LAKE — Grant County Fire District 7 tackled a wildfire June 1 at Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park, according to a statement from the fire district.

Reflection, emotion themes at Wahluke High School graduation

MATTAWA — Every school has traditions at graduation, some formal, some not. It’s a tradition at Wahluke High School graduation that the gym will not only be full, but so full it’s standing room only. That tradition continued when the class of 2024 graduated Friday night.

FIRE REPORT: Lake Chelan fire strands hikers

MOSES LAKE — A wildfire along the shore of Lake Chelan necessitated the evacuation of some hikers Saturday, according to a statement from the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office.

ACH moves on at state with win over Wilbur/Creston-Keller

MOSES LAKE — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline (ACH) High School football team beat Wilbur/Creston-Keller High School 46-16 in the quarterfinals of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) State Football Championship Saturday at Lions Field in Moses Lake.

Cougars MBB to play in quadruple-header

PULLMAN – The Washington State Cougars will travel to Dallas in December to take part in the second-annual Pac-12 US LBM Coast-to-Coast Challenge, the conference announced on Monday. The Cougars will face off against Baylor on December 18 at the American Airlines Center, with tip-off tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. The last time the two teams met was at the 2010 Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, where the Cougars defeated the Bears 77-71. WSU holds a 3-1 advantage in all-time meetings against Baylor, their only defeat being a 58-52 loss in 2008 in Pullman. "Playing Baylor this season gives us an incredible opportunity to see where our program rates against one of the best programs in the country," Washington State Head Coach Kyle Smith said. "Baylor has championship DNA and NBA talent all over their roster. It's a testament to the growth of our program that we are even considered for the event."

Ag officials warn against rabbit virus

OLYMPIA — Officials with the Washington State Department of Agriculture have confirmed the presence in the state of yet another highly infectious animal disease with the discovery of two cases of rabbit hemorrhagic disease virus type 2, also known as RHDV2, in a single household in Thurston county in late July. In a press release issued last week, WSDA said the confirmation of the Thurston County cases follow the discovery of RHDV2 in King County in May and two Oregon counties in late July. WSDA said in response, state officials and rabbit owners need to improve biosecurity in order to limit the spread of the disease. “Stopping this disease from spreading starts with rabbit owners employing biosecurity measures such as limiting contact with wild rabbits, isolating new rabbits from existing ones for 21 days, paying attention to where feed is sourced from, and keeping your rabbits housed off the ground or indoors,” Washington State Veterinarian Amber Itle said in the press release...

Port of Warden to repair airport runway despite lack of state funds

WARDEN — The Port of Warden is going to spend $22,000 to seal the cracks in its airport runway despite the refusal of the Washington State Department of Transport to award the port a grant for the project. “If we’re going to have an airport, we need to take care of it,” said Commissioner Benjamin Leavitt during a regular meeting of the Port of Warden Commission on Thursday...

Power pole fire causes Monday outage

EPHRATA - At about 8 a.m. Monday, Grant County Public Utility District reported a large power outage just south of Ephrata which had been caused by a power pole fire. Christine Pratt, Public Information Officer for Grant PUD said the outage affected about 1,000 customers initially...

Seahawks RB Carson released with injury designation, reportedly to retire

SEATTLE – The Seahawks released running back Chris Carson with a failed physical designation on Tuesday, and Carson will reportedly retire after five seasons in the NFL, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport...

Adams Co. unemployment continues to fall

ELLENSBURG — Unemployment in Adams County fell to 3.8% in June 2022, the fifth straight monthly decline this year, according to preliminary data published by the Washington State Department of Employment Security last week. According to the report, the preliminary unemployment rate is significantly lower than the 5.2% posted in June 2021, with year-over-year unemployment figures posting declines for the last 15 months. The decline in unemployment comes even as the county’s civilian workforce grew 7.8% in June 2022 when compared with June 2021, the report noted. However, despite those figures, the report noted that the total Adams County civilian workforce is still smaller in June 2022 than it was in June 2019 prior to the shutdowns in early 2020 in response to the outbreak of COVID-19. It also stated that 10,937 county residents were counted in the civilian workforce in June 2022 compared with 11,163 in June 2019. Nearly every non-farm employment sector posted gains in employment, the report said. However, the number of workers in the county’s mining, logging and construction sectors fell by 27.3% in June 2022 to 80 from 110 the same month in 2021. The report noted that 90% of workers listed as employed in manufacturing work in food processing, with total manufacturing employment rising 5.3% to 1,200 jobs in June 2022 from 1,140 jobs the previous year. “Year over year, manufacturing employment in Adams County has increased in each of the past 14 months,” the report said.

'Now they're driving for real'

Youth Power Wheels demo derby brings smiles all around

MOSES LAKE - The Youth Power Wheels Demo Wednesday gave children the opportunity to ram, crash and bump each other in small battery-operated cars, bringing smiles onto the faces of everyone involved. Brothers Barrett and Grady Hopkins, 7 and 4 years old respectively, participated in the Youth Power Wheels Demo. “‘Cuz I like crashing,” Barrett said on why he wanted to do the Youth Power Wheels Demo. The children had seven minutes to go wild and ram into the other children’s cars...

WSU’s Ma’ake named to Polynesian Player of the Year watch list

HONOLULU – Washington State offensive lineman Ma’ake Fifita was one of 85 players named to the 2022 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year watch list, composed of players from 43 FBS schools. The award is given to the most outstanding player of Polynesian ancestry and is given annually. Former Cougar quarterback Jayden de Laura was a finalist for the award in 2021, and defensive end Hercules Mata’afa won the award in 2017. Fifita, a redshirt sophomore from Everett, made an appearance in all 13 games a season ago, starting in five of them. He made his first start against Utah, followed by starts against Oregon, Arizona, Washington and Central Michigan. The five finalists for the award will be revealed on December 1, with the winner announced two weeks after on December 15. The winner will be recognized at the Polynesian Bowl on January 20. Finalists and winners are selected by the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee. The inaugural Polynesian College Football Player of the Year award was given to Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota in 2014. Other previous award winners were Notre Dame offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley in 2015, Colorado quarterback Sefo Liufau in 2016, Mata’afa in 2017, Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa in 2018 and 2019, USC safety Talanoa Hufanga and BYU quarterback Zach Wilson in 2020 and Ohio State defensive lineman Haskell Garrett in 2021.

Former GCSO chief deputy sworn in as MLPD officer

MOSES LAKE — There was a familiar face at the Tuesday meeting of the Moses Lake City Council as former Grant County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Darrik Gregg was sworn in as a Moses Lake Police Department officer. “Darrik and I have been bantering back and forth for six years trying to get each other to work for their respective agencies,” said MLPD Chief Kevin Fuhr as he prepared to swear Gregg in. “I won.” Gregg, a long-time Moses Lake resident, was with GCSO from 2006 until October 2021, when he left the agency. He and GCSO Chief Deputy Dustin Canfield resigned late last year following allegations that Chief Deputy Ken Jones improperly reported the hours he worked...