Four Basin football teams meet at Quincy jamboree

QUINCY – Varsity and junior varsity squads from Ephrata, Moses Lake, Quincy and Royal gathered at the Quincy High School football field on Friday, competing in a jamboree with Week 1 of the regular season just a week away.

The music is the draw

Despite weather and lineup adjustments, Watershed attendees celebrate country music

GEORGE - Watershed attendees showed their dedication and determination to enjoy the festival this year facing wind, rain and sun in the three-day event. Not only did shedders deal with changing weather, but first night headliner Cody Johnson had an hour delay due to the wind and Sunday night headliner Luke Bryan canceled due to illness...

Othello approves facility use agreements

OTHELLO – Members of the Othello City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve two facility use agreements – for the Latino State Championship and the Columbia Basin Health Association Run for a Cause – as well as a Police Department dispatch console upgrade and a bargain collective agreement...

“It’s going to be exciting to see what he can do”

Roberts looks to build relationships in first year as HC of Tiger cross country

EPHRATA – Lyndsy Roberts ran both cross country and track for the Ephrata Tigers when he was in high school, and now the 1998 Ephrata graduate is taking over as head coach of the Tiger cross country program. “I think there’s a lot of great programs around this area, but there’s something special for me about the Ephrata School District and this cross country running program,” Roberts said. “It helped shape me when I was in high school, and now that I’m able to be a part of the other side, I’m hopeful to do a lot of the same.” ...

West Nile virus found in Grant County

MOSES LAKE — Two mosquito samples taken in Grant County have tested positive for West Nile virus, according to a statement from Grant County Mosquito Control District No. 1...

Vittles for a queen

Fair, rodeo season kicks off with Cowboy Breakfast

MOSES LAKE — Seven-year-old Lila Stacy began her reign as queen of the rodeo at the annual Cowboy Breakfast Friday. The Cowboy Breakfast is the traditional kickoff to the Grant County Fair and the Moses Lake Roundup; the fair begins Tuesday, the rodeo Thursday. The breakfast is a community service project of the Moses Lake Kiwanis chapter, and for 2023 they got considerable assistance from Jessica Cox of Country Financial. Cox helped pay for the food and music, and ran the annual Pee Wee Rodeo...

Cooling livestock

Local feed store operators discuss available options for helping livestock healthy in extreme heat

EPHRATA – The sign at the SubWay in Ephrata read 105 degrees Wednesday afternoon, and temperatures throughout the area have been high all week, including on the various ranches in the area. Ranchers have a variety of tools though to help keep their livestock from overheating. Ensuring animals have easy access to clean water troughs is important, said Megan Feekes of Hales Farm and Feed in Ephrata...

Soap Lake Conservancy pushing for Outstanding Resource Water classification

SOAP LAKE – The Soap Lake Conservancy and the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation are pushing for Soap Lake to be designated as an Outstanding Resource Water by the Department of Ecology, the proposal for which is open to public comment until Sep. 27...

A plan to buy

oing homework ahead of time can smooth out the homebuying process

EPHRATA – The housing inventory in the Columbia Basin is tight, but preparing ahead of time can make the process of buying one of the homes that is available a lot easier. “The starting point is to find a lender that they trust and get a pre-approval through the lender,” said Staci Faw of Windermere REal Estate/Central Basin, LLC. “Because without having a pre-approval, they don’t know what their buying power is.” ...

Soap Lake City Council examines city budget

SOAP LAKE — Members of the Soap Lake City Council gathered Monday at the Soap Lake Senior Center for a budget workshop led by Fiscal Specialist Cheryl Brandt on correcting the city’s ongoing finance and accounting struggles. Brandt said during the workshop that the city needs more training for its staff on dealing with the financial aspect of running a city and budgeting for the year...

OIC moves into new home

Local nonprofit moves to more opportune location to aid area residents.

MOSES LAKE — The giant scissors snipped, the ribbon fell and everyone present applauded as OIC of Washington officially moved into its new digs at the WorkSource Center at 309 E. Fifth Ave. in Moses Lake Thursday. The new location was inaugurated with a meet-and-greet with the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce and speeches from Grant County Commissioner Cindy Carter, Big Bend Community College Vice President of Learning and Student Success Bryce Humpherys and BBCC Program Coordinator for Workforce Education Julia Gamboa, as well as OIC’s new neighbors: Susan Adams and Dave Peterson from SkillSource and Todd Wurl from WorkSource...

Proud to serve

Veteran remembers Pearl Harbor attack, war service

MOSES LAKE — Sometimes memory fades, sometimes things that happened a long time ago get overlaid with new experiences. Sometimes the memories remain, though. Geb Galle turned 102 years old in mid-July, and he still remembers that Sunday morning, even though a lot of things happened afterward...

Moses Lake Wrestling Club prepares athletes for future success

MOSES LAKE – Many sports have youth organizations that help prepare young athletes for future competitions. Whether it’s soccer, football, basketball or swimming – wrestling is no different. “If you start playing seven-on-seven at a young age, or AAU basketball, eventually that is going to transition, hopefully, into a successful high school student-athlete,” said Jaime Garza, a coach with the Moses Lake Wrestling Club. ‘That’s what we’re trying to do.” ...

Walls set to start going up this month at Group14

MOSES LAKE — Construction is underway on a new facility in Moses Lake to produce silicon materials that will, its owners say, contribute to making substantial improvements to the next generation of batteries. Grant Ray, vice president for global marketing strategy for Group14, said the company’s new facility on Wheeler Road will produce an important component in the quest to produce batteries that last longer and are quicker to charge...

CWU nutrition program helps student find her passion

ELLENSBURG - When Leah Dambacher moved to Washington in the fall of 2020 for a dietetic internship with CWU, nothing felt certain. She wasn’t sure how to apply her undergraduate degree, she didn’t know anyone in Ellensburg, and the world was in the midst of a pandemic...

Post office clerk retires after 30 years

MOSES LAKE — Phil Bilodeau said he wants his customers to know he appreciated their business. Bilodeau retired Friday after 30 years with the U.S. Postal Service, most of them at the customer counter at the Moses Lake Post Office.

New Mexico oil group, GOP House hopeful condemn candidate ad

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A radio ad from a New Mexico GOP House candidate suggesting that her Republican oil executive opponent endorses “New Green Deal” policies pushed by liberal Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York is drawing strong condemnation.

Governor, US Senate, House seats nominations fill NC ballots

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina voters were deciding on Super Tuesday which Democrat they believe can unseat Sen. Thom Tillis and whether the current GOP lieutenant governor is the one best suited to oust Gov. Roy Cooper in the fall.

Slovakia's populists win vote with anti-corruption stance

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia's center-right populist opposition claimed victory Sunday in the country's parliamentary election, ending the reign of the long-dominant but scandal-tainted leftist party in a move that analysts said showed a strong desire by voters to end corruption.

Slovakia's populists win vote with anti-corruption stance

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovakia's center-right populist opposition claimed victory Sunday in the country's parliamentary election, ending the reign of the long-dominant but scandal-tainted leftist party in a move that analysts said showed a strong desire by voters to end corruption.