Off-ramp to close for Wenatchee roundabout construction

WENATCHEE — The off ramp at the intersection of Wenatchee’s Easy Street and Highway 2 will be closed beginning Saturday and will remain closed for about two months...

Painting the town

Street painting project part of efforts to spruce up Quincy downtown street

QUINCY — The downtown project designed to spruce up Quincy’s Central Avenue South started at street level. Artwork, literally at the street level, was painted on Central Avenue in Quincy based on plans to spruce up downtown. “What really inspired it was the revitalization plan that the city of Quincy has, which mentioned adding a mural to these intersections, as well as some gateway features,” Marissa Lopez of the Better Block Foundation said. Volunteers and employees of a Dallas-based organization were out in the middle of Central Avenue Thursday morning, carefully taping off squares and triangles in the intersection at C Street SE and Central. Paint rollers in hand, volunteers and Better Block employees were filling in the design with bright orange and blue, yellow and green paint. The crews spent part of Wednesday afternoon installing signs and sculptures at three downtown intersections. Lopez said the company was in Quincy a couple of years ago, painting the street along B Street SE and sponsoring the first B Street block party. The company was hired for the return project.

Scott DuVall

Scott DuVall, 54, passed away in Moses Lake, Washington, on March 16, 2023, after a long illness. Scott was born in Sunnyside, Washington, on Sept. 19, 1968, to Dwight and Carolyn DuVall. He was the oldest of five children. He attended school in Royal City, Washington, graduating from Royal High School in 1987. Scott was a member of the National Honor Society and school clubs, and earned nine athletic sports letters – four in football, three in track and two in basketball. Scott attended Big Bend Community College, earning his AA degree. He transferred to Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington, where he earned his Bachelor of Education degree in history and math. He taught school in Longview, Washington, earning his Master of Education degree along the way. Scott met his wife, Cris Baca, at a ballroom dancing studio in Portland, Oregon, where they danced a couple of nights a week; they were married in 2001. He later changed careers, attending Washington State University in Spokane, to earn his doctor of pharmacy degree in 2007. Scott moved to Moses Lake in 2015 and did some substitute teaching in the Moses Lake School District.

Legals for April, 13 2023

WA House passes police pursuit bill

Legislators, law enforcement consider bill, "too small a step forward."

OLYMPIA – The state House of Representatives voted this week to approve a measure that will restore vehicular pursuits for police under certain circumstances. “This important legislation will make incremental improvements to the 2021 law that severely restricts the possibility of suspects being pursued by law enforcement,” said Steven D. Strachan, executive director Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs...

Central WA receives $7M in federal grants

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two federal grants, adding up to more than $7 million, awarded by the Bureau of Reclamation aim to reduce the loss of irrigated water and improve salmon fishing opportunities in Central Washington. Through the two grants, more than $4.1 million will be allocated to reduce West Canal water seepage in Grant County and $3 million to improve fish passage at Roza Dam near Yakima. The funding is part of the more than $8 billion for water infrastructure improvements passed as part of the Biden-Harris Infrastructure Law...

Regal save: New committee steps up to save Royal City Summerfest

ROYAL CITY — Yes, there will be a Summerfest. Back in December, the Royal City Summerfest committee put out a request on social media for new committee members because all of the existing members, who had shouldered the burden for years, were stepping down for a variety of reasons. By March, it was beginning to look as though the event would be history. Now, with a new committee chaired by Jonathan Cox of Royal City, the town’s biggest community event will take place on schedule, July 7-8...

Group14 moves dirt, hires locals

Battery tech company working on ramping up for operations in Grant County

MOSES LAKE — With construction crews only beginning to turn dirt on Group14 Technologies’ new Moses Lake facility, which is expected to be up and running sometime in 2024, Chief Operating Officer Eric Robinson said the company has already hired its first local production staff. “We’ve already hired a number of people locally, including our first operators. Most folks don’t recognize and realize what it takes to be really, truly knowledgeable about a process like this,” Robinson said. “It takes quite some time.” ...

Legals for April, 12 2023

Summerfest, library discussed at Royal meeting

ROYAL CITY — Summerfest, the library and a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan were among the topics of Tuesday’s Royal City City Council meeting. Grant County Commissioner Cindy Carter addressed the council regarding arrangements for the car show that’s a traditional part of Summerfest. In the past cars have parked on the pavement, but Carter requested the council’s permission to put the cars on the grass toward the south end of Lions Park on Friday...

Employers struggle to find work balance

Today, employers continue to struggle finding enough workers while attempting to bring people back to the office (work sites). A key problem is there simply aren’t enough people to fill available jobs. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported at the end of February, there were 9.9 million job openings and 5.9 million unemployed workers. The Chamber added if every unemployed person in the country found a job, there would still be 4 million vacant positions...

Legals for April, 11 2023

Samaritan Healthcare construction bond goes to voters

MOSES LAKE — Samaritan Healthcare voters will be asked to approve or reject a $130 million construction bond request in a special election April 25. Ballots were mailed to voters late last week, according to officials at the Grant County Auditor’s Office. If the bond is approved, property owners would pay $1.10 per $1,000 of assessed property value. If it’s approved, the owner of land assessed at 250,000 would pay $275 per year, and the owners of property assessed at $300,000 would pay $330 per year. The bond has a 30-year payback provision. Samaritan Hospital commissioners voted to approve the construction of a new hospital in October 2018. Chief Executive Officer Theresa Sullivan said that originally district officials and commissioners thought a bond wouldn’t be required to help pay for the project...

Bill abolishing advisory votes passes WA House

OLYMPIA – The State House of Representatives passed legislation Monday, sponsored by Sen. Patty Kuderer (D-Bellevue), to remove the state’s requirement for advisory votes on revenue legislation...

WSU Department of Viticulture and Enology outlines future at WineVit conference

KENNEWICK - The WineVit conference recently returned to Kennewick, Washington, drawing a multitude of Washington State University faculty, students, and staff, as well as grape growers, tasting room managers, and other Washington wine industry players. The event, which serves as a catalyst for growth and innovation in the industry, highlighted the V&E department’s efforts in key research areas such as grapevine disease and pest management, clean plant certification, and hyper-accurate weather data. It also highlighted how the department is preparing graduates for successful careers...

Knights joust Jacks

Seven-run fifth inning sends Royal to win over Quincy

ROYAL CITY – A seven-run fifth inning helped propel the Royal Knights over Quincy Saturday morning, eventually going on to win 9-5 over the Jacks. “A lot of progress,” Royal Head Coach Brandon Jenks said. “We’re a very young team, missing a few kids that we would have liked to have out, but these kids are growing and getting better every day. A lot of perseverance.” ...

Mavs split doubleheader to Eastmont

EAST WENATCHEE – After falling 2-1 in extra innings in the first game of a doubleheader on Friday to Eastmont, the Moses Lake Mavericks came out strong in the nightcap to ride out to a 5-3 win over the Wildcats. “I think the biggest thing was we didn’t come prepared today,” Moses Lake Head Coach Donnie Lindgren said. “For whatever reason, there’s no excuse. We didn’t have the energy and effort that we’ve normally had. That was the most disappointing thing, we just weren’t ready to go.” ...

Hoppy hunting

George Easter egg hunt brings out energetic crowd

GEORGE — The official count was 133 children at the George Easter egg hunt Saturday morning, but it looked like twice that many, possibly because they were so excited they couldn’t stay in one place. The weather had been nasty the day before, but Saturday the sun was shining and the wind was negligible. The Georgettes, the local women’s service organization that organized the event, had a stand set up with coffee and doughnuts for the adults. The lawn outside the George Community Hall was scattered with about 1,000 eggs, according to Georgette Jeannie Kiehn, one of the organizers...

Ephrata Chamber to host first business expo

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Chamber of Commerce will host its first annual Business Expo Wednesday. The new event has received unexpected, but welcome support, chamber officials said. “Our goal was 25 businesses,” said Chamber Director Rita Witte. “We actually got 47.” ...

Quincy’s main street to get new look

QUINCY — Central Avenue North in Quincy will get a new color scheme next week. Volunteers will be painting the street and storefronts and adding planters and benches along Central Avenue April 12 and 13. Cari Mathews, executive director of the Quincy Valley Chamber of Commerce, said the project is a joint effort between the Chamber, the Better Block organization of Dallas, Texas, and Microsoft. “Wednesday and Thursday we’ll be painting the streets,” she said...