Wildcat volleyball picked second in preseason poll

ELLENSBURG – CWU volleyball was picked to finish second in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference on Wednesday, the GNAC announced. Coming off a 2021 season where the Wildcats finished with a 17-9 overall and 12-6 in GNAC play, CWU also advanced to its ninth-consecutive Division II West Regionals. The Wildcats finished the 2021 regular season with a 6-1 record and had a 3-1 victory over Chaminade in the West Regional...

EWU women’s soccer wraps up exhibition play Friday

CHENEY – EWU will wrap up their exhibition games tonight against Yakima Valley Community College, their final of two preseason matches. Earlier this week the Eagles defeated the University of Calgary Dinos 3-0 in an exhibition match held in Cheney, starting the season on a positive note both on offense and defense. "Winning is hard and there is a mentality that goes with that. We are really proud of our effort today," EWU women’s soccer head coach Missy Strasburg said. "We have a lot of young players, but we had a lot of growth today. I was stoked to get three really good goals. Pitching a shutout is also an important aspect of what we are trying to do."...

Smith expected to start at QB when Seahawks open preseason

RENTON, Wash. (AP) — Geno Smith is expected to get the start at quarterback when the Seattle Seahawks open the preseason this weekend against Pittsburgh, coach Pete Carroll said Tuesday.

Santana's homer rallies Mariners for 4-3 win over Yankees

SEATTLE (AP) — In a clubhouse with little experience of being in a playoff chase, Carlos Santana is the old guy that can be turned to for advice and guidance.

Troy Moore: Only as good as his deckhands

THE DALLES — Troy Moore slowly and carefully adjusts both the rudders and the throttle on the tugboat Lincoln as he maneuvers into the lock at The Dalles Dam. As pilot of Shaver Transportation’s tugboat Lincoln, he’s pushing four giant barges, each 42 feet wide, all over 200 feet long with the longest nearly 300 feet, lashed together and filled with 13,000 tons of wheat. The tow — that’s what he calls the whole assembly of barges and tugboat — just barely fits in the lock, and Moore listens intently to deckhand Sean Malloy as he calls out numbers. “120 … 110 … 100,” Malloy said, telling Moore just how close the bow of the front left barge is from the long wall of the lock and how much space he has to port — the left side of the tow — so he can maneuver. It’s something these inland sailors do at every dam lock and at every approach to a grain terminal. The tow is more than 600 feet long, and even five decks up in the Lincoln’s wheelhouse, Moore can’t easily see around the bow of the two front barges 500 feet in front of him. “I can’t see nothing,” Moore said. “I can’t even see the wall.” Moore very carefully pushed the tow into the lock. If he scraped or even touched either of the sides — and there’s only one foot of space to either side of the tow — you couldn’t feel it and you couldn’t hear it. Once in, Malloy and Colby Glaze, a midshipman from the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo working for a few weeks as a trainee with Shaver, secured the tow to a pair of floating metal bumpers attached to the wall of the lock...

Soap Lake to light up the water this weekend

SOAP LAKE — Kayaks, paddle boards and canoes will take to the waters of Soap Lake Saturday for the annual Paddle Races/Moonlight Paddle sponsored by the Soap Lake Chamber of Commerce. Events are scheduled for 3 to 10 p.m. at the East Beach Park, at the intersection of Canna Street North and First Avenue NE. Race registration is $5 per person. Registration and other activities open at 3 p.m. at the park. Activities include live music, a beer garden, food vendors and three bouncy houses for children. Admission to the bouncy houses is free...

MLPD makes case for new $7M.station

Aging facility in need of upgrades, expansion - or replacement

MOSES LAKE — Even if the city of Moses Lake remodels and expands the current police department building, the Moses Lake Police Department will still need additional space in the near future. “18,500 square feet is the immediate need,” said Richard Murakami, an architect with Seattle-based Rolluda Architects, during a presentation to the Moses Lake City Council on Tuesday. Murakami said that need can basically be met right now if the current MLPD building is remodeled and the Parks and Recreation Department — which shares the building — is relocated. He estimated the cost of remodeling the building, originally constructed in 1977, at roughly $7.6 million. “We looked at the existing station, how much space is currently needed now and in 10 years,” Murakami said. ...

Quincy kindergarten enrollment low so far

QUINCY — The number of kindergarten students registering for the 2022-23 school year in the Quincy School District is lower than normal for this time of year. District Superintendent Nik Bergman updated Quincy School Board members on the kindergarten registration during the regular board meeting Tuesday. In answer to a question from Board Member Tricia Lubach, Bergman estimated kindergarten registration so far at about 180 children. Typically, kindergarten enrollment is about 220 children, he said. “A little lower than normal,” Bergman said. “But what we experienced last year is a heavy enrollment the week before school started and the week after school started.” Depending on enrollment, one of the district’s elementary schools may have to add another class to accommodate kindergarten, Bergman said. How that would affect staffing is still to be determined, he said.

Limited Valley Road work to continue during fair

Funding for Yonezawa traffic circle announced at council meeting

MOSES LAKE — Construction crews will continue their work on W. Valley Road next week despite an original agreement with the city to halt all work during the Grant County Fair. “We can tell (the contractor), ‘No,’ but they’re still responsible under the contract for site safety and traffic control,” Moses Lake City Engineer Richard Law told council members at a regular meeting Tuesday evening. Law said the contractor rebuilding much of W. Valley Road, Wenatchee-based Selland, is ahead of schedule and asked to be able to do limited work — placing manhole covers and dealing with storm sewer catch basins on the south side of the road — because they need to have crews there during fair week anyway to keep the site secure and ensure traffic safety signs and cones stay in place. Work crews began tearing the $2.8 million project to rebuild W. Valley Road from Stratford Road to Paxson Road in June, with the proviso that work halt during fair week. Council Member Dustin Swartz said the request amounts to changing the rules, that the other bidders on the project might have concerns, and that allowing work to go during the fair might make getting to and from the fairgrounds more difficult. “There’s truck and trailer traffic at all hours of the day,” Swartz said. “There’s mixed messaging there.” ...

10U Moses Lake takes to World Series

Indiana games a 'once-in-a-lifetime' opportunity for local athletes

VINCENNES, IN – At the Cal Ripken World Series in Indiana, 10U Moses Lake has been enjoying time both on and off the diamond. The 10U Cal Ripken World Series brought in 20 teams from around the country, spanning from Hawaii to Florida. “There happens to be 20 of the best teams in America, and we’re seeing teams with the best arms that we’ve seen all year,” 10U Moses Lake Head Coach Steve Keller said. “Throwing 63, 64 miles an hour and guys that play defense as well as we can.” Keller credited those around the Moses Lake community and players’ parents for assisting the team to get to Indiana. “We had a lot of involvement from the entire parent group to get us there,” Keller said. “It worked very well, and really exciting to get the boys all together. That experience to have 13 players all in the airport with the anticipation - very memorable.” ...

Ephrata tennis league raises money for EHS program

EPHRATA – The Tuesday Night Tennis League at Ephrata High School concluded Tuesday night, wrapping up its four-evening schedule. “I think it was a big hit,” Ephrata girl’s tennis head coach Britney Maclaod said. “We raised quite a bit (more) money than what we’re used to getting. For us, that was a huge bonus.” The league successfully raised enough money to purchase a new ball machine, as well as mitigate costs that come up throughout the season. Finishing its third year, the league saw a sharp uptick in participation. “Our first year doing this we had just a handful of teams,” Macleod said. “They were just kind of our own kids from our own program. This year, it really took off - the first night we had about 30 teams kind of filling all the courts and whatnot.” ...

Wreaths Across America visits Ephrata

Mobile display honors those who served

EPHRATA - The Wreaths Across America Mobile Education Exhibit made a stop in Ephrata on Friday. The exhibit is a trailer that features a short video, pictures and infographics about Wreaths Across America and volunteers there to talk with visitors. “It’s the personal connection,” said Deborah Kellogg, Wreaths Across America Ambassador. “You can read things but when you come in here and you’re immersed in it, and we can talk to you about it, instead of just looking at a screen. We can carry on a human conversation.” Deborah and her husband, DeLane Kellogg are ambassadors for WAA and said they love doing it. Wreaths Across America is a program started in 1992 by Morrill Worcester of Worcester Wreath Company based in Harrington, Maine. That year, Worcester found his company with extra wreaths nearing the end of the holiday season. He decided he would arrange for the surplus of wreaths to be laid at Arlington National Cemetery, according to the event’s website...

Babe Ruth World Series action continues

Standings as of Tuesday

EPHRATA – The 16-18U Babe Ruth World Series wraps up pool play Wednesday, with the final game being the Columbia Basin Riverdogs facing off against Farmers Baseball. Here are the standings of the tournament through Tuesday afternoon. The Southeast Tropics out of Chaffee, Missouri sit atop the American Division with a 3-0 record, and a plus-14 run differential. Following the Tropics are the Alabama Rawdogs out of Mobile, Alabama, who sit at 2-0 with a plus-20 run differential. At 2-2 are the Lutz Hellcats in third place, and a plus-2 run differential. Currently outside of bracket play in the American Division are the Southwest Washington All Stars out of Toledo - with an 0-2 record and a minus-17 run differential - and the Klamath Falls Falcons, out of Klamath Falls, Oregon, who are 0-3 with a minus-19 run differential...

Othello receives grant contract for new basketball courts

OTHELLO — Othello city officials have received a contract for a $350,000 grant that will pay for construction of two new basketball courts in Lions Park. It’s the first contract of a $1.35 million project to expand the basketball courts and rebuild the Lions Park playground. “What I’ve heard from (the Recreation and Conservation Office) is that we have contracts by the end of September because their budget season is coming to an end and we need to have all those contracts out by then,” Thalia Lemus, the city’s grant administrator, said. City officials obtained grants in 2021 to pay for the basketball courts as well as the redesign and rebuild of the playground. Construction was scheduled for 2022, but changes in the construction market and the need to meet contract stipulations led to a delay. Lemus said contracts are still pending for the two grants that will pay for the playground redesign. Lemus updated Othello City Council members on the status of ongoing grant-funded projects during the regular council meeting Monday...

GCSO seeks public's aid in finding missing Othello-area man

OTHELLO — The Grant County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help in finding an Othello-area man who has been missing since Aug. 4. Audel Espinoza-Duenas, 43, was last seen near his home in the 7700 block of Road 12 SW, about five miles south of the Potholes Reservoir, wrote Kyle Foreman, GCSO public information officer. He was last seen about 7:40 p.m. that day. “He does not have any history which would lead investigators to suspect he disappeared due to his own decision,” Foreman wrote. Espinoza-Duenas is about six feet tall, weighs roughly 240 pounds and was last seen wearing blue work overalls. “To ensure a secure investigation, there is information about this case we cannot share publicly and questions we cannot currently answer,” Foreman wrote. Anyone with information on Espinoza-Duenas is asked to contact the GCSO, 509-762-1160, or email [email protected]. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

MLFD firefighter injured in Monday evening blaze

MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake Fire Department firefighter was injured Monday evening fighting a fire that engulfed a residence, according to a city of Moses Lake press release. At approximately 6:25 p.m. Monday, MLFD firefighters supported by units from Grant County Fire District 5 responded to reports of a structure fire in the 500 block of Canterbury Lane, the press release said. Firefighters arriving on the scene were also told that two residents were still inside the building. At that time fire crews also entered the building to look for anyone trapped in the home. During the search, however, a resident told MLFD firefighters that no one was in the house. Crews withdrew, and in the course of fighting the fire, a support beam holding up a porch covering failed and fell. It struck a 46-year-old firefighter, the press release said. The firefighter was transported to Samaritan Hospital, was treated and released later that evening...

Riverdogs on brink of bracket play

EPHRATA – With a 1-2 record through the first three games of pool play in the 2022 16-18U World Series, the Columbia Basin Riverdogs are faced with a matchup against Farmers Baseball tonight for the opportunity to advance to bracket play. “I hope to continue to see good baseball, well-played baseball,” Riverdogs Head Coach Jason Laugen said. “And being the coach of the Riverdogs, I hope to see us come out of our funk on Wednesday and get the bats rolling again.” The Riverdogs began play on Saturday with a 10-0 win against the KUBA Kings from Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, with a strong outing from the pitcher’s mound and the batter’s box. “The first game, our offense was really clicking,” Laugen said. “I mean, we got 12 hits, scored 10 runs.” ...

Basin sports schedule for August 10-16

Baseball, soccer and summer fun

The week ahead includes a mix of local, college and professional sports teams facing off on diamonds, pitches, tracks and other venues...

Judge hits No. 44, Yankees beat Mariners 9-4 to stop skid

SEATTLE (AP) — On a night when the Yankees ended their losing streak and Aaron Judge homered yet again, it wasn't all good news for New York.

Man airlifted after dirt bike-vehicle collision

MOSES LAKE — A man was airlifted to Confluence Health-Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee after his dirt bike collided with a car Monday morning near Moses Lake. Don Palmen was driving south on Moon Drive NE near the Moses Lake city limits at about 8:30 a.m. Monday when he hit a car, according to information from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. The driver of the car, Lily Knowles, was driving east on Dorothy Street NE. The GCSO report said Palmen failed to stop at the stop sign on Moon Drive. Palmen was treated at the scene and was later transported to CWH. Knowles and her passenger were not injured, the GCSO report said.