Othello officers sworn in, Dorow appointed mayor pro tem

OTHELLO — Monday’s regular Othello City Council meeting featured a ceremony for the promotion and oath of office for Othello Police Officers Bryan Jacobsen and Omar Ledesma respectively, as well as a motion to approve a new Mayor Pro Tempore.

WA Legislature greenlights AG’s proposal for state AI Task Force

OLYMPIA - A bipartisan proposal requested by Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson to establish an Artificial Intelligence Task Force in the Attorney General’s Office successfully passed in the state senate with a bipartisan 30-19 Monday vote.

Museum to show free movies for Women’s History Month

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center will offer a series of free movie screenings this month, in honor of Women’s History Month, according to an announcement from Museum Communications Coordinator Tamara Valdez.

Samaritan sees 2023 operating loss

MOSES LAKE — According to a preliminary review, Samaritan Healthcare finished 2023 with an operating loss of about $2.86 million. Chief Administrative Officer Alex Town said the year-end report prepared by Samaritan’s financial department must be reviewed by an outside auditor before it’s submitted to the state.

Local communities to get urban forestry grants

OLYMPIA — Three Basin communities will benefit from state and federal grants to revitalize their greenery, as part of the Washington State Department of Forestry’s Urban and Community Forestry Grant Program. Othello, Ritzville and Coulee Dam were among the 45 recipients of the grant, according to an announcement from Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz.

Samaritan Hospital construction moving forward quickly

MOSES LAKE — Construction crews have started pouring the concrete slab on the second floor of the Samaritan Hospital. “This is your first concrete slab that’s not on the ground,” said Damon Gardella of the Klosh Group, part of the construction management team.

Othello Schools share strategic planning feedback

OTHELLO – Othello School District Superintendent Pete Perez and Tammy Campbell, Chief Executive Officer of The Scholar First – an educational consulting organization based in Washington – shared a presentation during Monday’s Othello School Board meeting on feedback from the district’s ongoing strategic planning process.

Adams County reviews accountability audit findings

RITZVILLE – Assistant Audit Manager for Washington’s State Auditor’s Office Weston Fink and Assistant State Auditor Brittany Benning met with the Adams County Board of Commissioners Tuesday for the exit interview of their accountability audit covering Jan. 1 2022 through Dec. 31 2022.

Potatoes USA speaker highlights potato trends

KENNEWICK — Potatoes can and should be part of initiatives toward healthy eating, according to Bonnie Johnson, director of nutrition and industry relations for Potatoes USA. Johnson talked about the organization’s efforts to promote the place of potatoes in a healthy diet, among other things, at the Washington-Oregon Potato Conference in late January.

Legals for March, 1 2024

BBCC women wrap up 2024 with blowout win

MOSES LAKE — With the final game of the 2024 season in front of them, the Big Bend women’s basketball team hosted the Wenatchee Valley Knights on Wednesday and played like it was their last, according to an announcement from BBCC.

ACH Warriors fall to Garfield-Palouse

SPOKANE – No. 5 seed Almira/Coulee-Hartline’s season came to a close Wednesday night in Spokane, falling 41-32 to No. 12 Garfield-Palouse in the Round of 12 in the 1B Girls State Basketball Tournament. The Warriors trailed the Vikings by one point entering the fourth quarter but struggled to score in the final eight minutes.

Jean Fleming

April 10, 1945 – Feb. 14, 2024

Jean Fleming, 78, was born on April 10, 1945, in Wilmington, North Carolina. She was the daughter of Jess T. Barksdale and Charlene A. (Hughes) Barksdale.

MLHS speech and debate team surprises coach, each other

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake High School speech and debate coach Kevin Chollman said the plan for the 2023-24 school year was to get a team going again.

An infectious smile

Ephratans remember Jett Johnson

EPHRATA – The halls of Ephrata High and Middle schools have seemed a bit dimmer for the last week and a half. Jett Johnson, a sophomore at the high school and son of Heidi Johnson, a math teacher at EMS, died in a car accident the night of Monday, Feb. 19.

Ephrata School Board makes big changes during Feb. meeting

EPHRATA - The Ephrata School Board discussed many big plans and changes at its Feb. 26 meeting. Some changes included a long-time board member resigning, approval of contracts and acceptance of a $100,000 grant.

Legals for February, 29 2024

Royal ends season at 1A state tournament

YAKIMA — A bad day rebounding and shots that wouldn’t quite fall ended the Royal High School boys basketball season with a 55-40 loss to Riverside (Chattaroy) at the state 1A basketball tournament Wednesday in Yakima. Royal Coach Greg Jenks said the rebounding made the difference. “We knew they were a good rebounding team, and found out they were a really good rebounding team,” he said. The Knights played intense defense throughout, holding Riverside scoreless in the second quarter. The Knights forced Riverside into a 30-second violation early in the first quarter, but struggled with turnovers in the early going. Riverside took a 12-8 lead with about 2:19 left in the first quarter, getting the rebound and converting the second chance. Jenks said that was the story of the game.

Concrete next phase of QVMC construction

QUINCY — Construction crews will start pouring the concrete slab at the site of the new Quincy Valley Medical Center sometime next week.

Othello Food Bank doing well, finances stabilized

OTHELLO – Othello Food Bank Board Chair Adam Janes, pastor of Othello Christian Church, spoke to the Othello City Council during Monday’s regular meeting to provide an update on the organization and its financial status heading into 2024.