Even dozen: Warden Mayor reflects on 12-year term

WARDEN – Warden Mayor Tony Massa will serve his last days in office at the end of 2023 before unopposed mayoral candidate Rosaelia Martinez takes over the position at the start of 2024 after Massa opted not to run for re-election.

Othello PD names Garza assistant chief

OTHELLO — Othello Police Sergeant Aaron Garza was promoted to assistant chief of police and sworn in with a badge-pinning ceremony at the regular Othello City Council meeting Monday evening. Garza is filling the position of assistant chief after David Rehaume took over as chief of police earlier this year.

Lavender Ranch

Quincy-area business works for sustainable, quality products that smell like relaxation.

QUINCY — Quincy farmer Joseph Downs first started planting lavender at his properties at the Upper Crescent Bar near Quincy and in East Wenatchee in 2015. He now grows more than 20,000 plants on 20 acres.

Adams Co. Development Council director discusses growth

OTHELLO – Adams County Development Council Executive Director Kyle Niehenke attended the Port of Othello’s regular meeting Tuesday morning to share some of ACDC’s plans on how he will partner with the port to help its growth in the future.

Mattawa Council hears report on H-2A workers, approves 2024 budget

MATTAWA — Representatives of Seattle University and Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla attended Thursday’s regular Mattawa City Council meeting via video conference to present their report on temporary agricultural workers in the Mattawa area. The council also approved the final 2024 budget in the meeting.

Fuhr named Person of the Year, council approves increased sales tax

MOSES LAKE – Moses Lake City Manager Kevin Fuhr was named Person of the Year by the Moses Lake Community Coalition at Tuesday’s regular city council meeting, during which the council also approved a 0.001% increase to sales tax within city limits. Coalition Vice Chair Matt Paluch introduced the award.

Lind-Ritzville academics shift successful so far, districts stable

RITZVILLE – Lind-Ritzville Cooperative Schools, a joint school district consisting of both the Ritzville and Lind school districts, is doing well, with a shift in focus in recent years for the cooperative’s academics, according to Lind-Ritzville Superintendent Don Vanderholm. “We are doing very well,” he said.

Pursuit of the dream continues

Program commemorates work, impact of Martin Luther King

MOSES LAKE — The life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was commemorated with music, poetry and a reading of King’s 1963 speech at the Lincoln Memorial – commonly referred to as the “I have a dream” speech – in a ceremony Monday.

WSU to co-host SoilCon24 in February

PULLMAN – Washington State University will be assisting in hosting SoilCon this year, a free resource for agricultural professionals to learn science-based soil health information.

‘Everybody that’s here loves cars’

Spring Festival car show fills Moses Lake’s Third Street with cool cars

MOSES LAKE — The bass contest proved that none of the trucks at the Moses Lake Spring Festival car show had sound systems so powerful they could break windows. But anybody standing next to the orange 2005 Chevrolet Silverado felt their lungs vibrate when owner Santana Palacios turned up the volume. A lot of people were impressed.

ACSO holds community connection night in Lind

LIND — Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner, Undersheriff Adolfo Coronado and new Jail Commander Kelly Watkins came down to Lind Community Church Tuesday evening to give an update on the department and allow the community to ask questions.

Warden High School blood drive sees one of its largest turnouts

WARDEN – Warden High School hosted a Vitalant blood drive April 30 in the blood donation organization’s mobile bus center. Warden District Nurse Janna Benzel said the drive was possibly the district’s biggest yet. “We actually had one of our best turnouts for our blood drive and we ended up with a backup list as well,” Benzel said. “So (Vitalant was) considering coming back and doing another one soon. We don't know if that'll happen yet, before the end of the school year. We had about 10 or 11 students on a backup list … I believe what we totaled up for the end of the day was we had 26 donors.”

Stray finds health and a home through community support

MOSES LAKE – Helio, also known as Henry, is a 12-year-old collie mix, who arrived at the Grant County Animal Outreach Oct. 17 after being abandoned in Moses Lake. He had a desperate need for dental care. The animal rescue assumed he would lose all of his teeth and asked for help collecting funds to pay for the around $1,000 surgery.

Mattawa council approves 2025 budget

MATTAWA — The city of Mattawa is projected to spend about $6.8 million in 2025 for city operations. The city will be required to use some reserve funds next year, which prompted council member Tony Acosta to vote against passage of the budget at the Dec. 19 council meeting.

Recreational youth soccer league begins soon

MOSES LAKE – Youth soccer players will have another opportunity to take the field this fall, with the Moses Lake-based Universe Soccer Academy preparing for its fall soccer league.

Soap Lake mayor, mayor pro-tem step down

City council appoints new mayor pro tempore, considers careful mayoral selection

SOAP LAKE – Allen DuPuy stepped down as the Soap Lake Mayor at the city council meeting on Aug. 7. DuPuy was elected as the mayor on Nov. 29, 2023, after he beat incumbent Michelle Agliano. DuPuy served eight months of his four-year term.

FIRE REPORT: Washington’s largest fire now fully contained

MOSES LAKE – As of 6 p.m. on Tuesday, the Big Horn Fire, once the largest active blaze in Washington, has been fully contained. The fire, which scorched approximately 51,600 acres, began at 1:07 p.m. on July 22. As of Tuesday, at 6 p.m. the fire has been turned back over to local jurisdiction according to InciWeb.

Cantwell says FAA oversight of Boeing lacking

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, has requested the Federal Aviation Administration to conduct a root cause analysis of its oversight of aviation manufacturers, according to an announcement from Cantwell’s office.

Make beautiful art at the Old Hotel this month

OTHELLO — There are lots of chances coming up to try your hand at art at the Old Hotel Art Gallery in Othello. “Our art classes are something that the Old Hotel has done for a very long time,” said gallery Director Samantha Copas. “I took classes here when I was a kid, and it kind of died off for a little bit … Then I got hired as the director last June, and that was something that I really wanted to bring back, turn it back into an Othello tradition.” The classes are planned now through mid-August, Copas said. Most of them are for all ages, and parents have the option to stay with their kids or not. Participants are encouraged to wear clothes they don’t mind getting stained, as good art is prone to be messy.

Driven Tiger: Ephrata's Roberts closes out high school career on high note

EPHRATA – Making his third appearance at the 2A State Track and Field Championships, Ephrata senior Hayden Roberts knew he wanted to close out his high school career with a high placement at state.