ACH girls triumph over Willapa Valley

COULEE CITY — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors secured a decisive 58-22 victory against the visiting Willapa Valley Vikings on Feb. 25. The non-league challenge at ACH's home court showcased the Warriors' growth and evolution under the direction of first-year head coach Nikki Strock.

Columbia Basin Herald intern has a passion for politics

MOSES LAKE — Elizah Lourdes Rendorio didn’t really know what to expect from the Columbia Basin. “I was a little bit scared, I'm not gonna lie,” she said. “I just knew that my audience is very different from the people that I usually write to, or the people that I surround myself with or grew up with. So. I was definitely hesitant at first. I was scared that I was going to (upset) the wrong people, but I haven't. People have been very receptive, and I don't think there was any reason for me to be scared.”

Othello man arraigned for possessing explicit images of children

OTHELLO — An Othello man was arraigned Feb. 26 in federal court in the Eastern District of Washington on 11 counts of possession or production of material with sexually explicit images of children, extortion and interstate communication of a threat.

BBCC hosts welding competition

Event highlights viability of trades as careers, aids student networking

MOSES LAKE – Students from Moses Lake High School, Columbia High School and Newport High School participated in a friendly welding competition Friday morning at Big Bend Community College. Teams of students split into six teams to weld metal sculptures inspired by their school mascots. “We are a community college and we work with (the high schools we serve) to try to make sure that we’re able to meet the educational needs of the surrounding community, including all the various trades that we train for,” said BBCC Senior Associate Professor Shawn McDaniel, who helped organize the event.

Car chase, robberies make for busy MLPD shift

MOSES LAKE — Two people were arrested for theft after a pursuit and another in a separate burglary, both in Moses Lake, while Moses Lake Police Department detectives investigated a fatal accidental shooting, all in the space of about six hours Thursday night into Friday morning. “Busy night,” said MLPD Captain Jeff Sursely. “We ended up calling the detectives out.”

Groff Elementary closed this week after electrical incident

MOSES LAKE – Groff Elementary School students will be attending classes from home this week after an electrical problem caused an unidentified person to be shocked on campus. Moses Lake School District Director of Communications Ryan Shannon said the person’s identity and exact condition could not be disclosed due to privacy regulations.

Dent's ag exemption bill for CCA costs moving forward

OLYMPIA - Rep. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, is working to fulfill lawmakers' promise to exempt Washington farmers and ranchers from cap-and-trade fuel taxes in a newly proposed bipartisan bill. “Finding a solution is a challenge,” Dent said in a public hearing. “We know that, but a promise was made, and we need to find a way to keep that promise.”

GCSO seeking citizen use of force committee volunteers

EPHRATA – The Grant County Sheriff’s Office is looking for a volunteer outside of active law enforcement to serve on its independent use-of-force investigative team.

Bill would expand covenant home ownership, forgive outstanding loans

OLYMPIA — The move toward rectifying Washington’s history of racial segregation in housing could expand, under a bill filed in this year’s legislative session by Rep. Jamilla Taylor, D-Federal Way. HB 1696, sponsored by Taylor and 41 other representatives, would increase the income cap specified in the Covenant Homeownership Program.

Legals for February, 28 2025

Multimillion-dollar commitment will advance key cwu initiatives

ELLENSBURG - Central Washington University has received a multimillion-dollar commitment from Rob and Valerie Moehring to create a Presidential Innovation Fund, which will be used to invest in new strategic priority initiatives.

Maverick swimmers break personal records at state

FEDERAL WAY — The Moses Lake High School boys swim team finished the state meet with a long list of personal records. The Mavs tied with Kentwood for 26th place with nine points. Luke Molitor was Moses Lake’s highest placer, finishing 14th in the 100-yard butterfly.

ICE arrests Othello woman, teen son left to run family food truck

OTHELLO —Eighteen-year-old Raul Gomez-Eudave woke up on a Saturday morning earlier this month to a flood of missed calls and text messages. When he unlocked his phone, his heart dropped.

Bridge and two Adams Co. roads scheduled for work in 2025

RITZVILLE — Sections of two Adams County roads were closed on an emergency basis following wet and windy weather. Others are subject to closure as spring approaches.

Sphinx Virtuosi to bring little-known music to Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — Some of the best classical music talent in the country will visit Moses Lake when Sphinx Virtuosi plays the Wallenstien Theater Saturday. “We are so pleased and honored to have them come to our small town stage,” said Shawn Cardwell, executive director of Columbia Basin Allied Arts, which is presenting the concert. “These guys are touring the nation right now, showcasing the artists that are part of the group, as well as the artists who wrote the music that they play.” The Sphinx Virtuosi is made up of 18 of the nation’s top Black and Hispanic artists selected to showcase classical music by historically ignored minority composers, according to the website of the Sphinx Organization. The Sphinx Virtuosi have performed with the New York Philharmonic, with symphony orchestras from all over the United States, and are a regular highlight at Carnegie Hall.

Legals for February, 26 2025

FIRST RESPONDER FOCUS: Josh Bronn

Royal SRO brings a safe presence to school

ROYAL CITY — One thing most people can agree on is that schools shouldn’t be dangerous places, especially in a small town. But they can be, especially with undesirable elements in schools. “In typical school fights, you’d have a couple of kids fighting, and then everyone’s gathered around and they’re cheering them on,” said Royal City Police Officer Josh Bronn, who’s the school resource officer for the Royal School District. “But in these fights, the kids were wearing their gang attire. They dropped their backpacks and everyone else would leave. They scattered like ‘We don’t want to be involved in this.’”

Lincoln Day Dinner draws big crowd

MOSES LAKE — Members and guests of the Grant County Republican Party gathered Saturday night to discuss the issues, network and fundraise at the annual Lincoln Day dinner. Andrew Koeppen, county chair, said the dinner was sold out. “Our preliminary numbers show this was another record year,” Koeppen said. The Lincoln Day Dinner is a longtime annual event for Republicans, and the 2025 dinner featured talks from William Kirk with Washington Gun Law and Mary Dye (R-Pomeroy), who represents the Ninth District in the Washington House of Representatives.

Port adopts updated strategic plan

MOSES LAKE — Within five years Port of Moses Lake officials have set the goal of completing a rail line to the port and will be working to provide additional electricity to its tenants – or will already be providing it. The port will be operating its own water system and will have additional businesses in the property on its western edge. Those are among the goals in the five-year strategic plan, approved by port commissioners Monday. Commissioner Kent Jones said it’s a work in progress, building off the previous plan. And since it’s a plan, it’s subject to change. “Our thought process is that this is a plan of what we expect to do over the next five years,” Jones said. “It doesn’t tell us who’s going to do it or how it’s going to get done – and some of these are aspirational goals anyway.” Kim Detrolio, the port’s director of finance and administration, said port officials already are working on some of the projects, but more are planned. “it’s an expa

Five-year-old boy forges connection with local first responder

MOSES LAKE – Five-year-old Preston Thomas has had more challenges than the average young man his age. He was born prematurely due to a car accident when his mother was just 25 weeks pregnant. Preston was born weighing one pound and 11 inches long.