Inslee announces that he will not seek reelection

SEATTLE (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inlsee, a Democrat who sought to make the state a leader on progressive policies from climate change to gun violence prevention, said Monday he will not seek a fourth term in office...

Bats ready

Warriors move to 1B state baseball tournament

COULEE CITY – The Warriors are moving on to the 1B State Baseball tournament for the fifth-straight outing since 2017, earning a No. 4 seed and matching up against the winner of No. 5 Naselle and No. 12 Crosspoint on Saturday...

Summer decisions: Ephrata keeps non-resident parks and rec fees, will close city hall earlier for next two months

EPHRATA — People living outside the Ephrata city limits will still pay non-resident fees to participate in city recreation programs and use city facilities like the Splash Zone following Wednesday’s regular meeting of the Ephrata City Council. “What we’re up here for is to represent the citizens of Ephrata,” said Mayor Pro-Tem William Coe. “Those citizens are the ones that use their tax dollars to pay for our infrastructure … . And so they are paying a fee, in the form of taxes, to have some of those amenities that we cherish.” ...

50 years of flying

Retired BBCC instructor reflects on a long career

MOSES LAKE — When John Swedburg made his first solo flight on March 24, 1971, he decided to keep a souvenir of the event. The tail from the shirt he wore that day, complete with the date, the plane he flew, and the aircraft’s tail number. “My wife asked me one day when I was going through my fireproof box early in the early years of our marriage,” Swedburg said last Saturday in front of a class of pilots at Big Bend Community College. “I had this shirttail there and some other aviation memorabilia in there. And she said, ‘where is our marriage license?’” ...

Legislature look to combat illegal substance abuse

OLYMPIA — A bill currently under consideration by the Washington State legislature would expand the use of drug treatment as an alternative to prison for those convicted of misdemeanor drug possession. "Oftentimes, the arrest is what helps people get out of the immediate drug-induced crisis that they're in," said Rep. Jacquelin Maycumber (R-Republic), in a release by her office. "Getting them away from the bad influences around them and into various programs and offering services is a much more humane and effective way to handle drug abuse."

Royal schools adopt new math curriculum

Teachers excited about new methods that focus on helping students learn visually.

ROYAL CITY — Royal schools will be seeing some changes in math after the Royal School Board voted unanimously at its meeting Monday to adopt new K-3 and 4-6 math curricula. The curriculum for elementary students is called Eureka Math2 and makes extensive use of hands-on and digital aids. Second-grade teacher Rachel Dubes showed the board one such aid, an abacus-like device called a Rekenrek, and described how it had spurred her students into multiplication...

ML looking at Cascade Valley, Wheeler utility expansion

MOSES LAKE — The city of Moses Lake is looking at ways to expand sewer and water coverage to areas of Cascade Valley outside the city limits as well as improve the water supply and sewage treatment for businesses along Wheeler Road. According to City Engineer Richard Law, the city is simply exploring what’s needed, what the improvements might cost and where the money to pay for them might come from. “We have a lot of ideas, but not a lot of concrete plans forward,” Law said.

Speaker warns of impact that high-potency marijuana can have on youth

MOSES LAKE – Laura Stack, Founder of Johnny’s Ambassadors, spoke at Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center Thursday evening about the impact high-potency marijuana products can have on youth development and mental health. She shared her personal story of losing her son, Johnny, to suicide — something she believes marijuana contributed to. “If it takes another 60 years, like it did with tobacco, this is going to be a nightmare if it doesn’t get regulated,” said Stack.

'Welcome to 2023. It's a brand new year.'

Soap Lake council adjusts member duties, authorizes expenses

SOAP LAKE - The Soap Lake City Council held its first meeting of the year Wednesday evening. At the meeting were discussions and decisions about an emergency proclamation, a plaque for the new basketball courts and council member duties. “Welcome to 2023, it's a brand new year,” Soap Lake Mayor Michelle Agliano said to open the meeting...

MLFD gets $3.3M grant for additional personnel

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Fire Department has been awarded a $3.3 million grant from the Department of Homeland Security to employ a number of new firefighters and paramedics over the next three years, according to MLFD Chief Brett Bastian. Speaking to the Moses Lake City Council during a regular meeting on Tuesday, Bastian said the grant – which the city council unanimously voted in favor of – under DHS’s Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program has no strings attached and no requirement for city matching funds, so long as the grant money is spent solely on salaries and benefits over the next three years...

Paws-itivity

GCSO welcomes Nitro to the office

EPHRATA – Nitro, a 6-year-old German Shepherd, is putting his paws to work by being a peer support dog for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. “We started looking into what are regulations, what does it take for a peer support dog and he either met or exceeded what was required of a medical facility,” said Josh Sainsbury, Chief Deputy of Emergency Operations at the Sheriff’s Office. “And we are not as strict because it is not a medical facility,” Sainsbury explained that he attended a conference at the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs last year that talked about the need for law enforcement to have more support within their departments due to the rising number of suicides in the profession...

Safety concern: Adams Co. Jail in need of repairs, staffing to reopen

RITZVILLE — Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner said the situation facing Adams County in its efforts to reopen and maintain the county jail is not unique. “There are a couple of sheriffs who called me (recently) and said, ‘How did you shut your jail down? Because we can’t do it right now.’ Everybody is dealing with it,” he said...

Newhouse hears from Central WA constituents about priorities for Farm Bill

BENTON CITY – Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Yakima, held three roundtable discussions in Central Washington this week to discuss priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill from farmers and other industry professionals. “We want to get it right,” said Newhouse. “We want to make sure the Farm Bill actually helps; all the places it can be improved and the programs that we have that could work better – areas that may need to be beefed up a little.”

An 80-hour week is child’s play

Ephrata realtor thrives on job she loves to pass time with.

EPHRATA – For Kim Meaney Randolph of Ephrata, an 80-hour work week is normal, but only because she loves what she is doing. Randolph, a real estate agent with Kellar-Williams, has a very outgoing personality and has a passion for the Basin...

MLHS’s Blackman, Perkins to compete at Junior Olympics

EUGENE, Ore. – Two Moses Lake athletes are heading to Eugene, Oregon for the USA Track & Field Junior Olympics beginning on Monday, with senior Paige Perkins and junior Hunter Blackman competing at the meet.

Fun for health

Games, dances, healthy living tips at Mattawa health fair, movie night

MATTAWA — Maybe that dart game was a little harder than it looked. The guys tried it, and tried again, and kept missing. “If a little kid can do it, you can do it,” one of the guys told the others, but he was wrong...

Martinez Fellowship leads to opportunities for CWU education grads

ELLENSBURG - Two recent Central Washington University School of Education graduates have an opportunity to make an immediate impact in their local communities after being selected for the Martinez Fellowship(link is external) program. Beginning this summer, Marcus Culler and Martha Goodwin will participate in the Technology Access Foundation (TAF) program for the next two years, hoping to combine that experience with what they learned at CWU to become better educators...

Three officers sworn in to serve Othello

OTHELLO – The Othello City Council meeting Monday featured Mayor Shawn Logan swearing in three new officers to the Othello Police Department. The council also voted to rezone 18 acres of land and approved the Public Works Department to install four speed humps along Fourth Avenue...

CBHA receives grant to help youth access mental health care

OTHELLO — The Columbia Basin Health Association is the recipient of a $500,000 grant designed to help children and teens who need behavioral health care to get it more quickly. The CBHA was one of five winners nationwide in the “Community Health Entrepreneur Challenge.” ...

Frontotemporal dementia

Memory health means different symptoms, challenges for patients and families

MOSES LAKE — Dementia is an ugly disease, and there are variants that make it even uglier. Frontotemporal dementia is one of those variants...