Daiyan Henley named finalist for Butkus Award

CHICAGO - Washington State linebacker Daiyan Henley was named a finalist for the 2022 Butkus Award, The Butkus Foundation announced Tuesday. The Butkus Award is presented annually to the best linebacker in college football. Note on criteria: The Butkus Award is focused on recognizing linebackers who consistently play off the ball on their feet in a two-point stance in traditional LB form. (Outside linebackers primarily rushing the passer in 30 fronts are regarded as pass rushers, not linebackers.) Henley is one of five finalists, the only player from the Pac-12 Conference and is the first Butkus Award Finalist in program history.

Quincy schools discipline policy undergoing changes

QUINCY — Quincy School District officials are working on a program designed to improve discipline while keeping students in school. Assistant Superintendent DJ Garza discussed the district’s “Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports” plan with Quincy School Board members at the regular meeting Tuesday. “(The program) is a framework for building better habits for students,” Garza said. “We’re all creatures of habit, and all students come to us with a set of habits, good or bad.” The goal is to change bad habits, hopefully before student behavior becomes a problem in the classroom. The program starts with a set of behavior expectations that are the same at all five elementary schools, Quincy Middle School and Quincy High School, Garza said...

Tips for cops and kids

Officers serve food, drink, hospitality to raise money for Christmas

MOSES LAKE — There was hardly a place to park at Rock Top Burgers and Brew Wednesday evening as diners gathered to have law enforcement officers from three local agencies take their orders, get their drinks, and bus their tables – all to help some needy families get a little Christmas cheer. “We were trying to come up with a fundraising idea to help Shop With a Cop,” said Rock Top Marketing Coordinator Lindsey Crothers. “And one night this kind of just came into play. And now this is our fifth annual and it’s become a tradition.” ...

Mariners believe rotation set for future after Castillo deal

SEATTLE (AP) — In the middle of putting the finishing touches on the largest and most complex contract in franchise history, the Seattle Mariners began discussions about another impact deal. Would newly acquired right-hander Luis Castillo be interested in talking about calling Seattle home for the long haul?

Royal schools start year in almost-finished buildings

ROYAL CITY — School in Royal is off to a great start for the year, Superintendent Roger Trail told the Royal School Board Monday night. “We have opened school to what I would say probably the best we've done since pre-COVID,” Trail said. “Everyone just seemed to be in really fantastic spirits without all the extra rules and regulations that we've had to solve for the last couple of years. So that's been nice.”

No place like Moses Lake for the holidays

Residents gather for annual tree lighting in Sinkiuse Square on Friday

MOSES LAKE — Four-year-old Ruth Gladieux-Smith sipped happily on her hot chocolate Friday evening as she stood with her mother Robin and her five-year-old brother Weyllyn near a blazing fire pit in Sinkiuse Square as they waited for the annual lighting of the Moses Lake Christmas tree. She grinned and her eyes lit up when asked if she liked her hot chocolate, piled high with whipped cream and slowly melting marshmallows. It’s exactly why Robin said her family recently moved to Moses Lake from Bakersfield, California. Because a community tree lighting ceremony, complete with a visit from Santa and hot chocolate, isn’t something they do in Bakersfield, Robin said. “My husband’s actually originally from here and he has family here. We just wanted to come back. We know it’s a quiet town and that’s what we want coming from a crazy town like Bakersfield,” she said. “People kind of look out for each other. It’s a tight-knit community, and that’s what we wanted.” ...

Broncos place sixth at state

YAKIMA – The Lind-Ritzville Broncos placed sixth at last week’s 2B State Volleyball Tournament at the Yakima Valley SunDome, beginning their run with a sweep of No. 6 Goldendale. The Broncos entered the tournament as the No. 11 seed, knocking off two higher-seeded opponents on their journey to placing sixth. “I think they proved to themselves that when you set goals, and you have the mentality to work and earn what you want, it can be done,” Head Coach Cari Galbreath said. “I think this team really set out to accomplish something at state and to compete and work together. They did that and they came out medaling, so that was really rewarding.” Lind-Ritzville first took on Goldendale, who finished the regular season undefeated in league play. They finished the first game in sweeping fashion, winning 26-24, 25-21 and 25-21...

Quincy to look for funding for indoor recreation facility project

QUINCY — Quincy city officials will be looking for funding options in 2023 to build an indoor recreation facility. Quincy City Council members directed city employees to start looking for money for the project on a 6-0 vote during the regular meeting Tuesday. With no discussion, council members decided to look for funding to build a facility of approximately 143,000 square feet, the largest of the four options presented to the council in late 2021. When it’s completed the Quincy Field House will be located in a currently-undeveloped section of Lauzier Park, just off 13th Avenue Northwest. City Administrator Pat Haley said in a later interview that preliminary plans for the project included the option of building the facility in phases or all at once. ‘“They chose the full buildout option,” Haley said. “The council decided they didn’t want to phase it.” Quincy Parks and Recreation Director Russ Harrington said in a later interview that the field house would be part of a larger project of both indoor and outdoor recreation facilities in the park. “It’s about 30 acres that we’re going to develop out there,” Harrington said.

Passing offense

Penix's 516 yards latest sign of strength in Huskies' 5-2 record

SEATTLE – The University of Washington passing offense has been in full force through the first seven weeks of the season, with junior quarterback Michael Penix Jr. leading the FBS in passing yards after a program-high 516-yard performance in a 49-39 win over Arizona on Saturday. “It’s not just about what he did statistically, he just keeps putting the pressure on and really leading the charge to help us win the football game,” UW football head coach Kalen DeBoer said in Saturday’s postgame press conference. “We needed all those points and all those yards that he gave us.” Last week against Arizona State, Penix, a transfer from Indiana University where he was a three-year starter, became the first UW quarterback to throw for 300 yards in six-consecutive games since Cody Pickett did it in 2002...

RDO celebrates new location

Local repair shop built from the ground up to meet demand

MOSES LAKE — RDO Equipment may have moved into its new location on N. Frontage Road at the end of May, but Store Manager Jacob Garza said the company wanted to wait a bit before formally celebrating its grand opening. “We waited just to get a better grasp of filling people and being more prepared, and having the parts on hand and everything to support the customers, really,” Garza said. The facility, which replaces the company’s cramped building located on S. Pioneer Drive in Moses Lake, is huge — 31,000 square feet with over 6,000 square feet devoted to spare parts storage, and 10 drive-in repair bays, including one with a giant, 50-foot door that will allow for even the biggest of combine harvest heads to enter for repairs...

Maverick volleyball celebrates senior night, falls to Davis

MOSES LAKE – Outside of the result of the Mavericks’ 3-2 loss to Davis on Thursday night, Moses Lake volleyball celebrated its seniors who had given years to the program. “Some of these girls we’ve had for years whether it was club or middle school,” Moses Lake head coach Krystal Trammell said. “Some of them we’ve had since they were 10 or 11 years old, so it was emotional, for sure.” Entering the gym were poster boards with photos of the soon-to-be graduating players, a picture booth with 2023 balloons and more. “It was a lot of fun,” Trammell said. “Our moms did a fantastic job. We had a photo area, they decorated the whole gym. They brought in boards for the girls.” ...

Area tech companies receive fed grants

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Department of Energy announced last week that Sila Nanotechnologies and Group14 Technologies will each receive $100 million grants to build silicon battery manufacturing facilities in Moses Lake under a program established as part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2021. According to a press release from Sen. Maria Cantwell, both Woodinville-based Group14 and Alameda, California-based Sila Nanotechnologies will receive the grants under the Energy Department’s new Battery Materials Processing and Battery Component Manufacturing and Recycling Program. Both companies have developed proprietary technologies to use silicon in the anodes of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries to improve their capacity and the speed at which they can be charged. “The historic investment Congress made over the past two years are helping solve the next-generation battery storage technology challenge right here in Washington,” Cantwell said in the press release. “These two cutting edge companies will not only use domestically sourced materials to make electric vehicles more affordable, they will be creating hundreds of high-paying jobs that will help transform Moses Lake into an epicenter of clean manufacturing.” ...

A lot going on during Othello Fair finale

OTHELLO — The announcer ran down the list of events at the Othello Fair just after noon Saturday – the car show near the entrance, music on the brand-new main stage, the stock sale underway at the livestock barn. “We have so much going on today,” she said. There was in fact a lot going on during the fair’s finale Saturday, from the annual fair parade downtown on Saturday morning to the second performance of the Othello Rodeo Saturday night.

MLHS Class of ’62

Still calling Moses Lake 'home' after six decades

MOSES LAKE — They came from all over to share memories and see old friends. “We call ourselves the Spirits of ’62 because we are very spirited,” said Marilynn Hansen, a member of the Moses Lake High School Class of 1962 and one of the organizers of the class’s 60th reunion gathering last week. “We've had a reunion every five years since our 30th.” Wednesday, Sept. 14, found them gathering in the Moses Lake Civic Center — a building designed by Seattle-based architectural firm Miller Hull, whose founding partner Robert Hull grew up in Moses Lake and graduated from MLHS in 1963 — to swap stories and renew old friendships and spend some time together. “Tonight we’re expecting about 50 or 60 people,” Hansen said. “A lot of us went to kindergarten together.” ...

Churches unite in Grape Drive project

MOSES LAKE — The median strip running down the middle of a portion of Grape Drive got some new trees and gravel thanks to a joint effort by three local churches and the City of Moses Lake. About 65 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Moses Lake Alliance Church and Patriot Church spent two Saturdays in September removing juniper bushes and dead trees and then conditioning the soil, laying landscape fabric, planting new trees and putting in a gravel bed in the median strip of Grape Drive from the intersection of Central Drive south to roughly the Vintage Apartments, according to Dennis Draleau, communications director for the LDS Church’s Moses Lake Stake. “It took two days because we could not do it all in one day,” Draleau said.

Getting 'Rad'

Moses Lake BMX kicks off summer racing

MOSES LAKE – Riders of all ages took to the Larson BMX Track on Friday night to kick off Moses Lake BMX’s Summer Series, moving the weekly Local Single Point Races to Friday evenings. “Here in Moses Lake we run what’s called total points, which means all the riders get a score regardless of their place,” Assistant Track Operator Russell Beck said. “First place gets the most points, second place gets a little less and so forth. Those points are totaled by their placing. It’s like an accumulative point total.” ...

Memories, pride at MLHS PALS graduation

MOSES LAKE — Six students in the PALS club (the Life Skills class) at Moses Lake High School were recognized for their accomplishments with a special graduation ceremony June 7. “Amazing students,” said Life Skills instructor Cristina Dinges.

Desert Aire Fly-In scheduled for Saturday

DESERT AIRE — People will get a chance to see some cool airplanes and eat a pancake breakfast at the Desert Aire Airport Saturday. The annual Desert Aire Fly-In is scheduled for 7 to 11 a.m. at the airport hangar at 121 Desert Aire Place. “It’s really intended to provide an opportunity for the community to come together, see some airplanes, talk to pilots,” said Joyce Trantina, the event organizer. “It’s the airport’s only fundraiser, but that’s not its main purpose. It’s for community building.” ...

Royal parents learn to identify drug risk factors

ROYAL CITY — Between 20 and 30 people gathered at Royal Intermediate School June 8 for Healthy Youth, Healthy Families. The bilingual event, sponsored by Educational Service District 105, among other organizations, was designed to help families identify signs of substance abuse in youth. “My demographic right now is particularly 10- to 13-year-olds,” said Ariana Martinez, a student assistance professional for ESD 105 attached to the Royal School District. “They're the ones kind of keeping up with the Tik Tok trends, whether that's using tampons to get drunk, putting them in alcohol, or challenges (to see) who can show up the highest at school and not get caught.” ...

Baird Springs fire calming, others burn statewide

CRESCENT BAR — Evacuation warnings were downgraded Wednesday morning to Level 1 for the Crescent Bar and Trinidad communities just north of Quincy, according to a statement from Southeast Washington Incident Management Team 1, which is in charge of firefighting efforts...