Ephrata and Quincy police blotters for July 10, 2025

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

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Every day an adventure...

Being a journalist is sometimes like riding a tornado. One moment you’re out at the county fair helping young folks celebrate the hard work they put into a Future Farmers of America Project, the next you’re out covering a shooting, and an hour later you’re sitting in a school board meeting while folks debate whether buying better smelling soap or softer toilet paper is more important.

Legals for July, 10 2025

Two women found dead in Larson area home

MOSES LAKE — The identities of two women found dead July 5 in a house near Moses Lake were released Wednesday. J’Lene Ludtke, 46, and Haley Mathison, 23, were found dead early on the morning of July 5 in a residence in the Larson area north of Moses Lake. Josh Sainsbury, chief deputy of emergency operations, said there’s no evidence of foul play. The cause of death for both women is still undetermined, pending the results of toxicology tests, said Casey Sherwood, a death investigator with the Grant County Coroner’s Office.

Moses Lake considering new shopping cart, sidewalk ordinance

MOSES LAKE — Revisions to Moses Lake’s ordinance for the use of public sidewalks and a new ordinance governing shopping carts taken from businesses will be voted on at the July 22 Moses Lake City Council meeting. Council members reviewed the proposed ordinances during the July 8 meeting, and council member Don Myers suggested a change to the proposed shopping cart ordinance. “I was looking at Federal Way, and they had a (provision) in there that waived the fee for shopping cart retrieval if (the business) had security measures in place for shopping carts,” Myers said.

MLPD conducts operation near Samaritan Hospital

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Tactical Response team is conducting an operation near Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake close to the intersection of E. Wheeler Road and S. Buchanan Street. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

MLSD to hold budget meeting Thursday

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake School District is holding a special work study session Thursday to begin discussing the budget for the upcoming school year. “The meeting will be to just give a preview of what the final budget will look like as well as how it is constructed,” MLSD Superintendent Carol Lewis said. “The focus will be on our new business manager explaining her budgeting process so that the board understands the process that will be gone through in order to develop the final budget.”

Soap Lake holds 3-on-3 basketball tournament

SOAP LAKE – The Soap Lake Prevention Coalition held their second annual 3-on-3 Soaring Eagles Vape Awareness Basketball tournament over the weekend. The tournament not only highlighted local athletes but also promoted awareness of substance abuse. “The tournament isn’t just about basketball – it’s about building meaningful connections that can protect young people from the pressures of substance use,” said Ryan Boldman, Coordinator Soap Lake Prevention Coalition. This year’s tournament featured 20 teams this year compared he the six teams last year. The teams were split among four brackets, one for boys aged 13-15, one for boys aged 16-18, one for girls aged 16-18, and one for adults.

Cheryl Kaye Gruner

1944 – 2025

Cheryl Kaye Gruner has passed at the age of 80. Born on July 18, 1944, in Yakima, Washington, Cheryl was the daughter of Roland and Luella Eastham. She grew up in Central Washington and graduated from Ephrata High School in 1962. With a passion for learning and a heart for teaching, she attended Washington State University and then Montana State University, where she earned her bachelor's degree in education.

Arthur Castro

Arthur Sergio Castro of Richland, Washington passed away on July 6, 2025 at the age of 69. A memorial service is scheduled for July 26, 2025 at 11 a.m. at Cornerstone Church Tri Cities at 3315 W. Court Street in Pasco, Washington. Arrangements are in the care of Mueller’s Greenlee Funeral Home of Pasco, Washington.

Moses Lake rocks out at Red, White and Boom

MOSES LAKE — The weather was warm and the music was hot Thursday at Moses Lake’s Red, White and Boom celebration at McCosh Park. About 400 people came out to Moses Lake’s Independence Day celebration July 3, which included two free concerts, food vendors and a craft table set up down near the stage where children could string beads for bracelets. The Moses Lake Museum & Art Center, which hosted the table, also had glow sticks, hula hoops and dancing ribbons, long rainbow-colored strips that the youngsters could twirl as they danced.

Sleep Center clients, law enforcement adjusting after closure

MOSES LAKE – With the closure of the Moses Lake Sleep Center on June 30, the homeless community in Moses Lake, residents and law enforcement are adjusting to the change in resources serving the unsheltered. “I think the big thing is any time we change anything in law enforcement, we try to make the first period while everybody’s getting used to it to be about education and we’re definitely doing that now,” said Jeff Sursely with MLPD. “A lot of our focus now has been educating people as they transition to a time period where there isn’t a sleep center.”

Othello honors Independence Day with its annual celebration

OTHELLO — The Greater Othello Chamber of Commerce hosted the city’s annual Fourth of July celebration in Lions Park. The event lasted all day Friday with a parade, games, tournaments and a fireworks show. “Overall, I think it was a great event,” said Jackie Wilhelm, Othello Chamber Manager. “I think we’ve kind of worked on the things that needed to be worked on, and everything went well as far as the organization and the planning and getting people in and out of the park.” Wilhelm said her favorite part of the celebration is the flag-raising ceremony. “That's something that I’ve tried to make sure we highlight and incorporate every year,” she said.

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.

Legals for July, 9 2025

MLSD announces new principal for Knolls Vista

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake School District has announced Jason De Lane as the new principal of Knolls Vista Elementary School, effective Tuesday for the 2025-26 school year. De Lane succeeds Adam Sawyer, who has accepted a leadership position as Assistant Executive Director of Safety and Wellbeing within the district. “I am very happy to be joining the Moses Lake and Knolls Vista families,” De Lane said. “From the moment I stepped into Knolls Vista, I could feel the heart and dedication of the staff and district leaders. I’m honored to serve as principal and look forward to partnering with families, students and staff to make this a great year for every child.”

STUDIO BASIN: Fires, hunting licenses and July 4 tourneys

On this week’s episode of the STUDIO BASIN Podcast, reporters Nance Beston and Caleb Perez discuss the various wildfires that occurred over Fourth of July weekend. Grant County is in an active burn ban. Then, Beston talks about Senate Bill 5583, which raises the cost of hunting and fishing licenses by nearly 38% to fund the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Quincy Jacks host junior basketball camp

QUINCY – The Quincy Lady Jacks Basketball team will be hosting a Jr Jacks basketball camp July 28 and 29. The camp will be open to both boys and girls in third through eighth grade. “Me and our (head coach) Johan Farias, we are just trying to get a camp together for the community,” said Lady Jacks assistant basketball coach Gonzalo Guerrero. “We haven’t had a high school camp out here in a while and this is our first year taking over the program.

Repairs start on Moses Lake sewer line

MOSES LAKE — Residents and visitors to Moses Lake are being advised to avoid a section of the lake near Montlake Park until further notice. That’s due to the partial break of a sewer line that allowed some untreated water to flow into the lake. The advisory to stay out of the water will be lifted once water tests show that levels of fecal chloroform match upstream and downstream, according to a notice delivered to residents in the area.

Francis 'Frank' Bodway III

1942 – 2025

Francis “Frank” Bodway III passed away at home after a short battle with cancer at the age of 82. Frank was born on August 27, 1942, to Francis Bodway II and Helen (Branniger) Bodway in Riverside County, California. He was raised in Petaluma, California where he attended & graduated from Catholic School, he then joined the Navy and served from 1960-1963 where he took part in nuclear bomb testing.