Studio Basin: Budgets, turkeys and high stakes sports

MOSES LAKE – Senior reporter Charles Featherstone and staff writer Joel Martin discuss the City of Moses Lake passing its 2023 budget along with a Thanksgiving celebration at Rick’s Eatery and Entertainment. In sports, sports reporter Ian Bivona joins to preview the 2022 Apple Cup and Royal’s 1A state football semifinals matchup against the Freeman Scotties. The Studio Basin podcast can be found on your favorite podcast apps or downloaded directly at http://bit.ly/3XBde8g.

Vikings look to gel as season begins

Returning sophomores set foundation as team identity builds

MOSES LAKE — The Big Bend Community College men’s basketball team is looking to improve on its 7-17 finish from a year ago as the 2022-2023 season begins on Friday. With players from all around the country, the team had to wait out the off-season to practice together as a unit. Practices began in mid-September. “The talent’s there,” BBCC Head Coach Mingo Scott said. “The question with all teams is, it’s never about talent, it’s about them coming together and gel. Believe in one another and play together.” Scott, who played at Big Bend from 1991-92 and is in his sixth season at the helm of the program, brings a former player’s mentality to the Vikings...

MLFD honors grade schoolers who spotted fire

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Fire Department honored two elementary school students on Tuesday for their quick thinking in recognizing a house fire early and calling for help. “The Moses Lake Fire Department would like to recognize Johsua and Olive Hardy for quickly recognizing a dangerous situation and letting their parents step in and take action,” said Heidi Merritt, MLFD administrative coordinator, during a regular meeting of the Moses Lake City Council...

Vaccinations encouraged in face of early flu season

SEATTLE — Physicians are bracing for a difficult winter, according to a statement from the Washington State Medical Association. In separate press releases, the Washington Department of Health and WSMA both advised Washington residents to get vaccinated for the flu. The number of cases of respiratory syncytial virus is rising steeply, especially in children, the statement said. Flu season has also come early this year, the WSMA wrote, and there is a danger of an increase in COVID-19 as well. Pediatric hospital beds are filling quickly, according to the statement, and sick children are boarding in emergency rooms.

Moses Lake Food Bank delivers Thanksgiving meals in drive-thru fashion

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Food Bank kicked off Thanksgiving week Monday by serving patrons through a drive-thru style pick up of their Thanksgiving meals. “It works wonderfully,” said Peny Archer, Operations Manager for Community Services of Moses Lake. Archer said this way of distributing food allows the clients to be able to stay in their cars, stay warm and not have to struggle to get several boxes of food to their vehicles. She also noted Monday before Thanksgiving is usually their busiest day and they expected to serve 1,000 meals by the end of the week...

‘You don’t need to be alone on Thanksgiving’

Moses Lake bar and grill offers a little bit of home for the holiday

MOSES LAKE — If you need a place to go for thanksgiving, Rick Biery will have a hot meal and some company for you. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Biery said he will be serving Thanksgiving dinners — complete with turkey and ham — to anyone who comes by his business, Rick’s Eatery and Entertainment at 819 W. Third Ave. in Moses Lake. “The focus is on veterans, folks from broken homes, if you’re having trouble or have no place to go if you’re alone,” said Biery. “You don’t need to be alone on Thanksgiving.” There will also be free haircuts for anyone in need, provided for by Blessed Barbershop, though a free haircut requires a referral letter from a community outreach agency, Biery said. Officially, Biery said Rick’s will be closed that day, and because the Thanksgiving dinner is a family meal, alcohol will not be served. So anyone wanting a meal needs to come in the side entrance on Holly Street across from the OIC of Washington office. But he’s hoping to see many people there who need company and a meal. “No one will be turned away. We’ll go until we run out of food,” he said. For more information, or to volunteer, contact Paul Carney at EDUBS C/S at (702)539-6538.

‘Enriching lives’

Entrust Community Services helps people with disabilities be included

MOSES LAKE — Entrust Community Services’ slogan is “Enriching lives thorough opportunity,” and that’s what they’ve been doing, without a lot of fanfare or publicity. “We do four things,” said Entrust CEO Tom Gaulke. “We work with high school students with disabilities to try to help them get jobs before they graduate school. So they graduate into something not nothing. We work with folks with disabilities of all kinds in our employment program. And our employment program serves folks with a wide range of disabilities ... We do housing for folks who are living on the streets or are at risk of losing their homes. We help them find places to live ... And then the last thing we do is community inclusion, which is working with our families who have those adult children who maybe work is not something they want to pursue. And we work to connect them up to their community. So we engage in in clubs and classes and social activities within the community to give the parents a break, but then also to develop skills in those folks so they can gain some more independence and move throughout the community.”

Power lines downed as fierce windstorm blows across basin

MOSES LAKE — Damage was minimal in the Columbia Basin following Friday night’s windstorm even as recorded gusts topped 50 miles per hour in some parts of the region, according to the National Weather Service office in Spokane. NWS meteorologist Charlotte Dewey said the high wind recorded at the Grant County International Airport was 49 miles per hour, while the NWS recorded winds of 66 miles per hour in Mattawa — the highest speed in the county. Gusts of up to 51 miles per hour were recorded in Quincy, with winds reaching 41 miles per hour in Othello, 49 miles per hour in Ritzville, and 40 miles per hour in Lind. “The storm was pretty potent,” Dewey said. Grant County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kyle Foreman said damage in Grant County was restricted to downed power lines, though there was a chimney fire in the 10000 block of Kory Lane north of Moses Lake that the wind pushed down the chimney. Foreman said crews from Grant County Fire District 5 responded and took care of the fire quickly.

Fire and power

Utility companies discuss fire season with UTC

LACEY - The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission held a virtual post-fire-season update with three utility companies; Puget Sound Energy, Avista Utilities and Pacific Power Thursday morning. “I know as late as October, we were dealing with wildfires in the state of Washington and this has become something of the new normal and it is imperative that our electric utilities make sure their infrastructure is safe and that their customers are safe during the risky fire seasons in our state,” said UTC Chair David Danner said in his opening remarks. The meeting allowed a representative from each utility company to give a presentation about how they prepared for fire season, what they faced this fire season, community outreach and education and plans for preparing for the 2023 fire season. UTC commissioners Danner, Milt Doumit and Ann Rendahl were active in asking each representative more in-depth questions about information in their presentations.

Royal City drug takeback removes unneeded drugs from circulation

ROYAL CITY — The prescription drug take-back program in Royal City brought in 46 pounds of unused prescription medicines this month, even if the take-back events themselves aren’t overwhelming, the Royal City City Council heard at its meeting Tuesday. “At our first event, we collected about 20 pounds (of prescription medicines), which we thought was a huge success for our first event,” Royal Community Prevention Coalition Coordinator Brisa Sanchez told the council. “And then the second event, we only collected about 15, so just a small amount. This event we collected a little bit less.” The events are held twice a year, and the first was in October 2021, Sanchez told the Herald in an interview Wednesday...

Keeping it out of the landfill

Household hazardous waste collection helps keep homes, environment safe

MOSES LAKE — On a recent Saturday in late October, Joan Sieverkropp stood in the parking lot of the Grant County Public Works Department’s road service building on Wheeler Road asking people what kind of toxic chemicals they had in the backs of their cars. And then taking those chemicals off their hands. It’s something Sieverkropp, solid waste program coordinator for Grant County Solid Waste, does regularly at various locations across the county, including twice a year in Moses Lake. “People can bring the hazardous waste that they’ve collected,” Sieverkropp said. “Sometimes people come yearly, it’s like a social event for some people.” ...

Q&A with Adams Co. Sheriff candidates

With the general election next Tuesday, the Columbia Basin Herald submitted some follow-up questions to candidates running for office in Grant and Adams counties. Incumbent Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner and challenger Matthew Carlson each received the same questions. The Herald appreciates the candidates’ taking the time to answer the questions...

Spooky fun

Ephrata trick or treat brings loads of children to downtown

EPHRATA - The Ephrata Trick-Or-Treat, sponsored by the Ephrata Chamber of Commerce, was a huge success Monday night. “I think it went off really really well,” said Ephrata Chamber of Commerce Director Rita Witte. “The kids were having a great time and it was busy.” The trick-or-treat event was held along First Ave SW between Alder Street and Basin Street. Businesses and organizations set up tables along the edges of the street as ghouls, goblins, witches and many other creatures and characters received their candy stipend...

WSU researchers develop test for toxic produce residues

PULLMAN — A team of researchers from Washington State University have developed a test for the residue of toxic herbicides in fruit and vegetables using relatively simple nanoparticles, according to a WSU press release...

Badge discussion

Q&A with Grant County Sheriff candidates

GRANT COUNTY - With the general election a week away, the Columbia Basin Herald submitted some follow-up questions to candidates running for office in Grant and Adams counties. Grant County Sheriff’s Office candidates Joey Kriete and Joe Harris each received the same questions. Harris and Kriete are running to replace Tom Jones, who resigned as sheriff in July. Their answers are below and have been slightly edited for clarity and to fit the available space. The Herald appreciates the candidates’ taking the time to answer the questions...

Tricky treats

Ice cream pumpkins, witch pumpkins, princess pumpkins and traditional pumpkins were among the entries in the pumpkin decorating contest at the Columbia Basin Herald on Halloween. We hope you and yours had a wonderful and safe holiday. Congrats to Jenny Herbert, our AWESOME custodian, who took home first place with her Cinderella pumpkin. Thank you for everything you do to take care of us here at the paper.

NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week

Social media users shared a range of false claims this week. Here are the facts: A graphic purporting to show House Republicans’ policy plan is fabricated and contains inaccurate information. The U.S. Postal Service says it won't reject or delay the delivery of mail-in ballots that are sent with insufficient postage. Colorado’s universal mail-in ballot system is legal and protected by the U.S. Constitution. Police in Southern California did not recently find fentanyl inside boxes of breakfast cereal. And the recent death of a red panda cub at Canada’s Toronto Zoo was not related to the COVID-19 vaccine.

Ruminating on grain overload

Avoiding Rumen Acidosis in cattle, sheep and goats

Ruminants like cattle, sheep, and goats have a unique digestive system that allows them to gain energy from forage such as mature pasture grass and hay. The carbohydrates found in these feeds help to provide ruminants with healthy energy, but did you know that consuming high amounts of certain other types of carbohydrates can be dangerous—and even deadly? Dr. Brian Shoemake, a clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, discusses the physiology behind grain overload, treatment methods, and how to safely incorporate grain into ruminants’ diets. Ruminants are herbivores with four stomach chambers that each play a unique role in digestion. They get their name from the rumen—the first and largest chamber—which acts as a storage area and the location where microbes digest and ferment feed...

Moses Lake SD board approves state-required transgender policy

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake School Board approved the addition of a policy governing district response to transgender students at the regular board meeting Thursday. A policy covering the issue is required per state law. “This is a requirement; our legal counsel is advising us to approve it,” Moses Lake Superintendent Monte Sabin said. “I know there are some strong feelings on both sides of this, but the law exists.” Board members Susan Freeman and Paul Hill voted against the measure in a 3-2 vote. Sabin brought the policy to the board at the Oct. 13 meeting, saying it had been discussed in June and July 2021, but that the board had not taken action. Hill and board member Alana DeGooyer asked for more information before taking a vote. Freeman asked if the proposed policy could be added to the district’s already-existing non-discrimination policy. That already included transgender students, she said...

'Rainbow fentanyl'

Drug panic obscures real dangers of contaminated drug supply, experts say

PHILADELPHIA — As Halloween approaches, the federal government has been warning parents of a spooky new danger: Drug cartels are using rainbow-colored pills and powders that look like candy to introduce children to highly addictive synthetic opioids. One taste could kill. The Drug Enforcement Administration’s press releases in recent months have warned that drug dealers are using the pills’ appealing bright colors to entice children and young adults into addiction. A slew of news outlets and national legislators have seized on the idea, with some advising parents to check their children’s Halloween candy, just in case...