Ruby Joyce Love

Oct. 24, 1936 — July 19, 2025

Ruby “Joyce” Love, 88, of Spokane Valley, Washington went into the arms of the Savior she so faithfully worshiped on July 19, 2025. Joyce was born on Oct. 24, 1936, to James and Johnnie Mckee in Wilmot, Arkansas. Joyce met and married Jim Berry in Livermore, California and they enjoyed military life along with two daughters. Later, Joyce settled in Moses Lake, Washington where she married Jim Love and they enjoyed motorcycle rides and the Moses Lake Old Car Club. Joyce had a simple love of flowers, hummingbirds, her family and her God. Joyce is survived by her daughters Karen Zundel (Ed) and Peggy Barker (Jack) along with six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her youngest brother John Mckee (Della), of Soap Lake, Washington.

Norman (Gene) Lublin

Sept. 25, 1936 — July 16, 2025

Longtime Moses Lake resident Norman E. “Gene” Lublin, 88, passed from this earthly life at his home in Overland Park, Kansas, on July 16, 2025. Gene was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Sept. 25, 1936. He was the 10th of 15 children born to his parents, Blaine Lublin Jr. and Della Mae Hislop. Growing up, Gene dealt with and overcame several challenges due to his being born with both a cleft lip and a cleft palate. Through those physical challenges, he developed an innate ability to seek out, be mindful of the one, and help others feel cared for and valued.

William ‘Don’ Thompson

Aug. 10, 1948 — July 10, 2025

William Donald Thompson Jr., 76, passed away peacefully at home on July 10, 2025, with his wife, his grandson and his faithful dog Maggie at his side. Don was born in Colfax, Washington, on Aug. 10, 1948, to William Donald Thompson Sr., and Rowana McPherson Thompson. He moved to Ephrata, Washington, when he was 4 years old and attended Columbia Ridge Elementary School. He graduated from Ephrata High School in the Class of 1966, where he lettered in basketball, played “Harvey” (the tall white rabbit), and played clarinet in the marching band. He also attended two years at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. Don was quite the history and literature buff, with extensive knowledge of American Indians, American wars and the English language. He was an avid fisherman – mostly fly fishing – and an avid hunter, including small and big game as well as birds. He knew all the best places to hunt mule deer and often said that he had walked every square inch of Grant County.

Free dental clinic coming again to Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — A free dental clinic next month will fill a need that often goes overlooked. “The thing that everybody (wants) is dentistry, because that’s the thing they can’t access,” said Linda Morgan, who organizes the clinic every year for the Moses Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church. “A lot of dentists will not accept Medicaid. It’s very, very hard to get in. That’s why dentistry is so needed.”

The Kids become men’s softball upper division champs

MOSES LAKE – Moses Lake Men’s softball season ended Monday evening when the Desert Dawgs faced The Kids in a double header for the upper division championships. The competition was close, but The Kids came out on top to become upper division champions. “We did good. We hit the ball when we needed to. We locked down,” said The Kids team captain Sakiel Garza. “A lot of scoreless innings on defense which was good. A lot of just taking our base one at a time.” The Kids entered the night with the advantage as the higher placed team, only needing to win the first game to become champions. The Dawgs entered Monday’s matchup coming off of their Thursday victory against the Ten Pin Brewts.

Farmers Market gets festive five months early

MOSES LAKE — It didn’t feel much like December this weekend, but the Moses Lake Farmers Market was in holiday mode Saturday. “We like to go all out for it, (both) Christmas and Christmas in July,” said Matt Sanzone, owner of Little Plotter Shop, who was at the market with his wife Laura Sanzone. The Sanzones’ booth was decorated with holly and lights in front of a Grinch-themed backdrop. Not all of the 68 vendors at the farmers market sported yuletide decorations, but enough did to counteract the high-80s temperatures and bright sunshine a little bit. The market management celebrated with a scavenger hunt and basket giveaway. Soap Lake musician Rylei Franks sang, and a good-sized crowd roamed the booths looking for fresh produce, good food and handicrafts.

Legals for July, 23 2025

Immigration arrests surged last month in Washington

Federal immigration arrests across Washington rose sharply in June as the Trump administration continues its aggressive nationwide push for deportations, according to new data. Arrests in June, more than 275, were at least double any month since President Donald Trump reclaimed the presidency in January. At the same time, the share of arrestees in Washington with criminal records dropped sharply, to less than one-third. The figures come from the Deportation Data Project out of the University of California, Berkeley, where researchers received the information via Freedom of Information Act requests. The data runs through June 26. “I think that every community member in our country who is watching the news and comes from an immigrant family is increasingly concerned about their safety here,” said Caedmon Magboo Cahill, director of policy advocacy at the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington chapter.

Ahead of permit to purchase, WA experiencing a surge in concealed pistol licenses

(The Center Square) – The Washington State Department of Licensing is seeing a surge in applications for concealed carry permits for firearms.

Fiscal Fallout: How Washington Medicaid spending quintupled over a decade

(The Center Square) – Washington state’s Medicaid spending has quintupled, or increased five times over, since the 2013-15 biennium, according to an analysis by The Center Square.

Ephrata resident arrested for 26 counts of livestock theft

EPHRATA – Last Wednesday, Grant County Sheriff’s Office patrol deputies and Crime Reduction Team deputies acted on a tip from the Washington State Department of Agriculture about individual stealing cattle.

SR 17-Cunningham Road roundabout scheduled for 2026

OTHELLO — A long-delayed roundabout will be coming to State Route 17 and Cunningham Road in spring 2026.

Grant County launches survey for Five-Year Homeless Housing plan update

GRANT COUNTY — The Grant County Board of Commissioners, in partnership with regional stakeholders and LDC, Inc., is leading the development of the Five-Year Homeless Housing Plan Update for the period 2025-2030.

Fire scorches around 10 acres near Wilson Creek

WILSON CREEK – On Monday at around 2 p.m., Grant County Fire District 12 was paged out to a brush fire in the 19000 block of Stratford Road.

Soap Lake plans upgrades for dog park, Smokiam Campground

SOAP LAKE — In a bid to enhance recreational amenities and boost tourism, the city of Soap Lake is currently undertaking upgrades to both its dog park and the Smokiam Campground. Mayor Peter Sharp elaborated on these enhancements, citing community engagement and improved safety as primary motivators behind the initiatives.

Arthur Sergio Castro

July 9, 1955 — July 6, 2025

Arthur was born to Cesar and Victoria Castro, who immigrated to Moses Lake from Mexico in 1949. The couple settled in a small farmhouse off of Stratford Road near Crab Creek. Arthur, the fifth of eight children, grew up a farm kid with his brothers and sisters. The Castros raised animals and young Art would fetch fresh milk from the farmer down the road. He and his brothers loved fishing near the creek and Art became an avid bass fisherman as an adult. Once, near Block 40, Art reeled in a largemouth bass that weighed nearly 12 pounds. Throughout his childhood and teenage years he worked construction jobs, drove potato trucks and learned mechanics. He graduated from Moses Lake High School in 1974 and soon after met the love of his life, Salina. Art and Salina were married in Moses Lake in 1979 and would raise four children in the Knolls Vista neighborhood.

Legion A Warriors playoff run ends in Medical Lake

COULEE CITY – The ACH Legion A Warriors ended their season July 20 after a competitive 8-13 loss against the Medical Lake Dirt Dawgs. Despite the loss, head coach Hunter Lee was happy for his players to get the experience of playoff baseball. “It was a great experience for our guys to be able to play in a playoff type format, and in a bunch of games and not a lot of days, lots of guys got to pitch, played a ton of baseball and close games for all of them. It was a great experience for us,” he said.

Dream in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE – Meet Dream, the fur-tastic two-year-old Australian Shepherd ready to paw her way into your heart. She is spayed, vaccinated, microchipped and ready for her fur-ever home. Adopt her today by filling out her application at GrantCountyAnimalOutreach.org. She is sure to make your life paws-itively dreamy. If you can’t adopt, but would like to help a local shelter, visit the website and click “donate.”

Olivia P. Agbisit

Olivia P. Agbisit, wife, mother, sister and grandma, passed away peacefully at home. She loved life, cooking, sewing, her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. She loved decorating, peacock feathers, fishing and her hats. She grew up in Moses Lake and ran the household like a well-oiled machine. Her ingenuity never ceased to amaze us. She helped raise many of her younger siblings and made friends wherever she went. She was preceded in death by her parents Torivio and Marta Valdez, various brothers and sisters and other family members. She is survived by her husband Marion; her children Marion Jr., Adam, Rachel, Divina and Renee; grandchildren Nicholas, Karina, Jonathan, Kaylee, Melina, Gabby and Rosalie; and several more brothers, sisters, cousins, and other family members who will miss her vibrant smile and laugh. Services will be held at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church at 10 a.m. on July 29, 2025.

OTHELLO CITY COUNCIL POS. 1: Genna Dorow

OTHELLO — Genna Dorow said she’s running for a new term on the Othello City Council because she wants to see Othello grow in a way that doesn’t cause problems in the future, and thinks she has the skills to help do that. “I care about the future of Othello,” Dorow said. “As our city continues to grow, I want to make sure we do the right things the right way, with strong infrastructure, affordable housing, smart sustainable planning (and other things). I have a passion for service (for) the city, and there are reasons for that, because of my background. I bring a unique combination of know-how to lead Othello forward. I want to do my best for the people of Othello, and I want Othello to be its best.”