'A nice destination'

Par 71 looks to bring another fine dining option to Soap Lake

SOAP LAKE — When it’s finished, folks won’t recognize the former clubhouse at the Lakeview Golf and Country Club. “It’s going to be a nice destination,” said Shanel Halley, who owns Par 71 with her husband Tanner. “When we get it all put together, we’ll have a nice restaurant with a nice golf course, and it’s going to be one of the places to come in Washington.”

Harley Ottmar

1927 – 2025

Harley Ottmar, 97, of Moses Lake passed away at Samaritan Hospital on July 16, 2025. Harley was born in Wheeler, Washington, on October 30, 1927, to Christ and Pauleen Ottmar.

Average Joes become Moses Lake lower division champs

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Men’s softball league held division games Thursday evening at Paul Lauzier Athletic Complex. The lower division entered the championship round and the upper division decided who will play in the championships on Friday. “It’s just nice to get the buddies together,” said Nick Overland, the coach for the Average Joes. “It’s nice to interact with other teams, make new friends.”

Montemayor closing chapter at Othello

OTHELLO – When Jordan Montemayor looks back at his baseball career at Othello High School, he said he wouldn't change a thing. “It's crazy that it's over. It went by in a heartbeat, but I had a lot of fun, and I wouldn't change anything if I went back. I would do it all the same way again,” he said.

FIRE REPORT: Four wildfires burning in E. Washington

MOSES LAKE - More than 17,000 acres have been impacted by currently active wildfires in Eastern Washington, with another roughly 500-acre blaze burning on the West Side, according to state and federal sources. Firefighters have made significant progress with some of the fires, with the Greenacres Fire in Okanogan County burning about 921 acres of land five miles north of Omak. The fire is reported at 95% contained and is being transferred to local fire crews, according to a release from the Northeast Washington Interagency Incident Management Team.

Detours near Ephrata, delays near Moses Lake as construction ramps up

MOSES LAKE — The balmy summer days where there’s almost no delay for road construction are coming to an end – the part with no road construction, not the balmy summer days. Work starts Monday on some major projects, including a roundabout at the intersection of Nat Washington Way and State Route 282. Tom Gaines, Grant County central services director, said the work will require closing SR 282 at the intersection. “This is a major impact,” Gaines said.

Big shoes to fill in Tigers softball

EPHRATA – With the recent retirement of Ephrata softball head coach Heather Wood, the program will have to look for a new head coach for the first time since 2002. According to athletic director Bryan Johnson, the new coach will have big shoes to fill. “Heather has done a lot over the years for the softball program and just created a really positive and competitive culture, that won't be easy to replace,” Johnson said.

MLSD takes preliminary look at 2025-26 finances

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake School District board held a special meeting Thursday to discuss preliminary budget numbers. “Tonight, we are going to do a fairly high overview of our budgeting process, and then some of the aspects, particularly around our revenue,” Superintendent Carol Lewis said.

GCSO blotter for July 15, 2025

The reports below were provided by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

MLPD blotter for July 14, 2025

The reports below were provided by the police department indicated. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Hofheins ready to join the Pirates next spring

MOSES LAKE — Being a dual-sport athlete is no easy task, but Raegen Hofheins has done it her whole life. In fact, she had trouble narrowing down to two sports when she got to Moses Lake High School. “I have always been a pretty active person. When I was little, I played probably five sports at a time, and once I hit middle school, going into high school, I had to decide on which ones were my favorites, and I have played softball since I was 4 years old,” Hofheins said. Hofheins also opted to keep up with volleyball during her time at Moses Lake.

Ephrata softball coach retiring after giving back, forming connections

EPHRATA – The Ephrata Tigers softball coach, Heather Wood, is officially retiring after coaching since 2002. This season the Tigers softball team earned third in districts and made the state tournament after Wood earned her 250th career win with the team in April. “The reason you (become a coach) is because you’re giving back to your community, I was blessed with great coaches in my time, throughout my high school, rec league and my college, and just kind of giving back to what they did,” said Wood. “And you develop great relationships with the kids and see them outside of the academic world.”

Soap Lake Conservancy meeting highlights challenges for lake health

SOAP LAKE – The Soap Lake Conservancy held a special meeting Saturday to discuss Soap Lake water level trends. The meeting brought in experts from the Washington Department of Ecology, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District. “A couple of years ago, a few of the people in this room started calling the Department of Ecology with concerns,” DOE Eastern Region Contact, Jaime Short said. “The lake level was going down. What's going on?”

Road construction on hold through July 4 weekend

VANTAGE — People wanting to take to the open road for the July 4 weekend will find it pretty open, with most construction projects on hold until next week. The exception is the eastbound lanes of Interstate 90 over the Snoqualmie summit. “We have a project on eastbound I-90 between North Bend and the summit, which is reduced from three lanes to two lanes,” wrote Summer Derrey, Washington Department of Transportation assistant communications manager for the south central region, in response to a question from the Columbia Basin Herald.

UW women’s golf 2024-25 season in review

SEATTLE – The Husky women's golf team simultaneously celebrated the beginning and the end of an era during the 2024-25 season – the kickoff of competition in the Big Ten, and the final year of an illustrious 42-year career of head coach Mary Lou Mulflur, according to a statement by UW Athletics. The Huskies started out the season at home back in September 2024, finishing in a tie for sixth place at the Leadership & Golf Invitational in University Place, Wash.

Construction starts on Quincy Aquatic Center

QUINCY — The main parking lot for East Park in Quincy will close to traffic this week as construction crews start working on the new Quincy Aquatic Center. Russ Harrington, Parks and Recreation Director, said crews are already excavating the site. “They’re already ripping some of the ground up,” Harrington said.

Law enforcement logs for June 30, 2025

The reports below were provided by the sheriff's office or police department indicated. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Traffic projects coming to I-90, SR 282

MOSES LAKE — Drivers on Interstate 90 between Road O NE and Dodson Road should be prepared for delays beginning in mid-July. Sebastian Moraga, communications consultant for the Washington Department of Transportation, said construction crews will be paving both the eastbound and westbound lanes. “This year it will be day work,” Moraga said.

Youth spotlight: Quincy students turn raw materials into legacy for Quincy hospital

QUINCY — The old Quincy Valley Medical Center had a few trees next to the parking lot, including three pine trees planted in – well, back in the day, not long after the hospital was built in the late 1950s. The way the new hospital had to fit on the lot meant they were in the way, and they had to come down. That led to an opportunity for the Quincy High School advanced construction class. Career and technical education is a focus at QHS, with a lot of different classes and opportunities, from firefighting to agriculture to certified nursing assistant training. Advanced construction teacher Nick Heuker said Tom Richardson, QVMC director of information services, contacted QHS to see if there might be a use for the wood from those pine trees.

Othello Special Olympics teams succeed at state

OTHELLO – The Othello Special Olympics Dream Team qualified both their soccer and track teams to the state tournament over the weekend. Overall, the Dream Team took home seven medals from the tournament. “I think it’s very important that they can be proud, and they can get out there and do things that they’re capable of and feel really good about themselves,” said Dream Team Coach Pam Schmidt.