Mavs' Morris earns 100th career win in team victory

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks girls wrestling team earned a 44-36 victory over Eisenhower Wednesday evening in a conference matchup. During the meeting, Moses Lake senior Hayden Morris earned her 100th career win. “It feels really good,” said Morris. “It’s been a long journey and I’m just really glad that all this hard work has paid off and it’s finally working.” Morris earned this milestone in the 125-lb matchup against Eisenhower’s Ceci Rosas. The Mavs wrestler was dominant throughout the contest to come out on top with a 9-0 victory. Following her match, there was a short break taken to recognize Morris for achieving her 100th win.

Legals for January, 9 2026

Funding delays push Sackman Road bridge project to 2026

OTHELLO — It’s taken a while and been delayed a couple of times, but the construction contract for replacement of the first of six bridges over the East Low Canal is scheduled to go out for bid later this year. Adams County Commission chair Dan Blankenship said that’s the plan right now, but commissioners want to be sure the twice-delayed project will meet all the criteria before they take action.

Men's college basketball recap

MOSES LAKE — Men's basketball is well underway in Washington as several teams are battling it out in their respective leagues. See below where your favorite programs stand. Gonzaga (16-1) vs Loyola Marymount The Zags are currently on a nine-game win streak after defeating Loyola Marymount 82-47 Sunday.

Diana Spofford

August 18, 1952 – December 27, 2025

Diana Lynne Spofford went home to serve our Lord in the early morning of Dec. 27. She was born Diana Lynne Stone on Aug. 18, 1952, in Charleston, West Virginia to Ronald and Oreeda (McGraw) Stone. Diana passed away peacefully on Dec. 27, 2025, at home in Soap Lake, Washington, surrounded by her family. In the early ’50s Diana’s family moved from West Virginia to the Leavenworth, Washington area. She was the oldest of six siblings growing up in Leavenworth, Washington where she spent many years working in agriculture, particularly in the apple orchards. This orchard experience benefited Diana in later life where she managed various orchards and owned an orchard in the Quincy and Mattawa areas.

Quincy Police Department logs Dec. 26-Jan. 5

Quincy Police Department logs Dec. 26-Jan. 5

GCAO had a transformative 2025

MOSES LAKE — Grant County Animal Outreach achieved several goals in 2025, including groundbreaking on a new facility, nearly 300 adoptions and successes in community outreach. Challenges presented themselves in the form of the agency’s current outdated facility and animal hoarding.

Seven Basin school districts to run EP&O levies in February

EPHRATA — Voters in seven Columbia Basin school districts will be asked to accept or reject educational programs and operations levy proposals in a special election Feb. 10. Ephrata voters will decide on a construction bond in the Ephrata School District, and Warden district patrons will consider a proposal for technology improvements. Votes must be postmarked by Feb. 10, and mailing them at the post office on Election Day doesn’t guarantee that, said Ben Rodwell, elections deputy with the Grant County Auditor’s Office. “I would say (mail the ballot) at least a week early,” Rodwell said. “I wouldn’t recommend mailing it the day of the election.”

Metalwork exhibit opens Jan. 15 at CWU

ELLENSBURG — Beginning next week, the Sarah Spurgeon Gallery at Central Washington University will host Ferrous, a group exhibition of 15 innovative contemporary artists who transform iron into evocative works of art. The opening events will be held Jan. 15, beginning with a curator's talk by Renee Adams from 4-5 p.m. in Randall Hall, room 117. Adams is an alum of the CWU Department of Art + Design (MFA, 1999), as well as a local sculptor and blacksmith. A reception will be held in the gallery (Randall Hall, room 141) directly following the talk, from 5-7 p.m.

As barbs fly and Trump wades in, a central WA congressional race heats up

Two years ago, Amanda McKinney, a Republican Yakima County commissioner, made a commercial endorsing Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse for re-election and assailing his GOP opponent who had the backing of then former President Donald Trump. “I trust Dan,” she says in the 30-second television spot, adding that he has the “experience and clout to keep delivering for central Washington.” Two weeks ago, McKinney, who is running to succeed the outgoing Newhouse, offered a different story at AmericaFest, an annual event hosted by Turning Point USA, the conservative organization founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

Legals for January, 8 2026

Huskies take close victory on the mat against Tigers

EPHRATA — The Othello Huskies and Ephrata Tigers had a close matchup Tuesday evening with the Huskies taking a 42-39 victory over their Central Washington Athletic Conference rival.

Soap Lake Events Committee to meet

SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Community and Senior Center will host its second meeting for the newly formed Events Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 5 p.m. This initiative aims to revitalize community engagement through family-friendly events. “We really want to focus on family-friendly and all ages events for our community,” volunteer Genevieve Gray said. The committee was created in response to community members expressing their desire to restart events that had previously been successful in bringing people together. Gray said it’s important for community involvement in the committee.

Bad debt, charity care expenses rising at local medical facilities

MOSES LAKE — For everyone in healthcare, from patients to hospitals to medical professionals, the challenge is who pays the bill. Sometimes the answer is that some or all of the bill doesn’t get paid, and the hospital or clinic has to absorb the costs. Janette Townsend, chief financial officer at Confluence Health, and Alex Town, chief administrative officer at Samaritan Healthcare, said it’s becoming a bigger problem. “Both bad debt and charity care have gone up in the last few years,” Townsend wrote in response to questions from the Columbia Basin Herald. “Bad debt has increased 214% and charity care has increased 63% from 2023 to 2025.”

Grant County Jail logs as of Jan. 7, 2026

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.

Grant County Health District mandates overdose reporting

MOSES LAKE — In a move to enhance community health and safety, the Grant County Health District has implemented a policy requiring healthcare providers to report all opioid overdoses starting in Jan. 2026. This change, which centers on real-time data collection, comes as a response to the growing opioid crisis affecting the region, marked by rising overdose deaths and emergency medical service responses. The decision to classify overdoses as a reportable condition received unanimous support from the Grant County Board of Health, which approved it through Ordinance 2025-04. The GCHD has noted that while certain diseases are already mandated to be reported to local health authorities, overdoses have not been subject to similar requirements at the state level. The new reporting protocol is hoped to bridge the data gap. Dr. Alexander Brzezny, the Grant County Health Officer, said this matter was urgent.

Ephrata Fire Department reflects on 2025

Increase in calls, new equipment and future EMS funding challenges

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Fire Department experienced a busy year in 2025, responding to a total of 513 calls for service. Fire Chief Jeremy Burns provided an overview of these calls, revealing that approximately 65% were related to Emergency Medical Services, while only 10% were actual fire calls. The remaining 25% fell into various categories such as fire alarms, elevator rescues and hazardous conditions. “The bulk of our responses still falls right in that close to 70% category of EMS calls, which is where we’ve been training for years,” Burns said. In comparison to previous years, Burns indicated that call volume saw a slight increase. The department previously contracted with American Medical Response ambulance services, during which their call load averaged around 550 calls. After switching to Lifeline ambulance services in July 2023, Ephrata witnessed a reduction of almost 100 calls for service, primarily due to differences in the types of calls each service handled.

WA COLLEGE SPORTS SCHEDULE: Jan. 8-15, 2026

MOSES LAKE — College sports are back in full swing following the holidays as teams prepare to find a spot in the postseason. Check out where your favorite teams are playing this week.

Karlene Grace Utter

1946 – 2025

Kay, a loving and generous-hearted soul, lifted off Dec. 27. She was born Karlene Rutherford to Grace (Reinbold) of Davenport, Washington and L.W. Rutherford of Britannia Beach, British Columbia. In Yakima, Kay grew up in an apple orchard with her brother Ron and graduated from West Valley High. Kay furthered her education with a BS from Pacific Lutheran University, followed by medical technology studies at Tacoma General Hospital where she met husband Gary Utter. Married in 1968, Kay and Gary went on to have many adventures moving and traveling across the United States, building three homes, and renovating eight in four states.

Janet Ingrid (Olesen) Huff

Jan. 18, 1934 — Dec. 26, 2025

Janet Ingrid (Olesen) Huff, 91, was born Jan. 18, 1934, in Sunnyside, Washington, on the Porter Ranch, where her parents were tenant farmers. Janet was the youngest of three sisters born to Danish immigrant parents Morris and Ingrid Olesen. In 1938, the family moved to their own small farm in Sunnyside where Janet lived until college. She graduated as valedictorian of her high school class and earned scholarships to attend the University of Washington (UW). She graduated Cum Laude from UW with a teaching degree, earning the College of Education’s Top Senior award. Janet met George Robinson Huff in 1954 while both were attending UW. They were married on Dec. 17, 1955, in Seattle, and moved to Othello, Washington in March 1957 where she began her teaching career and George began his law practice. Janet taught kindergarten for 18 years followed by 10 more years instructing second-graders.