Moses Lake council votes to end support of sleep center

MOSES LAKE — The city of Moses Lake will end its support of the Open Doors sleep center June 30. Moses Lake City Council members made the decision in a unanimous vote at a special meeting and workshop on homeless issues Friday.

Mattawa woman arrested for daughter’s overdose death

MATTAWA — A Mattawa woman was arrested and booked into the Grant County Jail on suspicion of controlled substance homicide in connection with the death of her 16-year-old daughter in 2024. Ashley Perin Sandoval, 40, was arrested April 14 on suspicion of involving a minor in a drug transaction, distribution to people less than 18 years of age and endangerment with a controlled substance in addition to the homicide charge.

MLSD hires new transpo directors

MOSES LAKE — Longtime Moses Lake School District employee Dyan Ford has been named one of two people to lead MLSD’s transportation department. Ford will be the Director of Transportation,Personnel. Amiee Cook, currently director of transportation for the Prosser School District, will take over as Director of Transportation, Operations.

Moses Lake residents invited to chip and seal info night

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake residents are being invited to an open house to discuss the city’s proposed 2025 seal coat project from 5 to 7 p.m. April 29 at the Moses Lake Civic Center auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St.

Transportation options focus of Grant Transit

MOSES LAKE — The Grant Transit Authority may be working on a pilot project to provide on-request bus service to senior citizens, starting in selected areas of Grant County. That was one of the possibilities discussed during the GTA board’s annual review Thursday.

Quincy-area recreation area project still uncertain

QUINCY — The ultimate fate of Port of Quincy-owned property overlooking the Columbia River, originally intended for a recreation and wildlife viewing area, is still to be determined. Port officials purchased about 90 acres in 2013, with the intention of developing the site for camping, along with picnic tables, a building that could be used for small events and other amenities. But Port Commissioner Patric Connelly said the plans didn’t work out, and so far, plans to sell it haven’t worked out either.

Donation helps Confluence Health purchase new equipment

WENATCHEE — A donation from a longtime Wenatchee physician helped Confluence Health officials buy equipment for an upgraded patient monitoring system and simulators for emergency response.

Quincy public works to experiment with four-day week

QUINCY — Quincy public works employees will be experimenting with a four-day work week this summer, one of the provisions in a new contract between the city and the union representing public works. The new contract, which replaces the existing contract, was approved by Quincy City Council members Tuesday by a 5-0 vote. Union members had ratified it earlier. The contract will be in effect for four years.

Wahluke High students bring home SkillsUSA medals

MATTAWA — Wahluke High School junior Diana Barber said her performance in regional SkillsUSA competition left her a little unsure going into state competition. While she was satisfied with her performance on the test in the medical math category, she just wasn’t sure. “I try not to get my hopes up,” she said.

Public hearings set for Othello housing regulations

OTHELLO — The Othello Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. April 21 on amendments to city zoning regulations that would allow the establishment of transitional and other types of temporary and supportive housing within the city limits. A public hearing is scheduled for the April 28 Othello City Council meeting. Othello Community Development Director Anne Henning said state law mandates the changes. The city is not required to build what is called “STEP” housing, however.

Adams Co. Sheriff addresses driver’s license suspension

RITZVILLE — Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner has had his driver’s license reinstated; it had been suspended in mid-2023 over a traffic fine Wagner said he didn’t know he owed.

Grant PUD commissioners approve 20-year solar power production contract

EPHRATA — A solar power project that received a construction permit in 2020 is projected to be producing electricity by late 2027. Grant County Public Utility District commissioners approved a power purchasing agreement with Quincy Solar on April 8.

One road project completed in Quincy

QUINCY — It’s still early in the spring, but one transportation project in Quincy was completed last week. A bridge at the intersection of M Street Northeast and Road O Northwest reopened Friday. The bridge was widened to accommodate traffic turning onto or from Road O Northwest and the wooden railing was replaced with a metal guardrail. The bridge was closed while construction was underway. Quincy Administrator Pat Haley said in an earlier interview that typically the bridge railing was damaged about twice a year. Widening the bridge should better accommodate large vehicles turning at that intersection, he said.

Decision delayed on condemnation proceedings along proposed power line route

EPHRATA — Grant County Public Utility District commissioners will delay a decision on beginning condemnation proceedings for property along the route of a projected power line between Wanapum Dam and Quincy for six weeks. Commissioners voted to table a resolution that would’ve started the condemnation proceedings at the April 8 meeting, following testimony from residents along the proposed route.

Early-season roadwork, work on North Cascades Highway, continuing

MOSES LAKE — It’s getting warmer, ever so slowly, and road construction will be ramping up soon, but few projects are underway yet. Washington Department of Transportation crews have finished the first phase of clearing the North Cascades highway, but it’s not officially open yet.

New conservation district program offers sprinkler system analysis

MOSES LAKE — Residents of Grant and Adams counties who want to reduce their water use but who may not want to completely change their landscape – or do want to make changes - can get some help from the Columbia Basin Conservation District.

Challenges of homelessness prompting debate in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — The challenges around homelessness in Grant County and the Open Doors Sleep Center in Moses Lake, and how to address them, prompted the same reaction from Moses Lake Mayor Dustin Swartz and Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce Director Debbie Doran-Martinez. “It’s frustrating,” Doran-Martinez said.

Traveling to Spokane — mind your speed on I-90

SPOKANE — Drivers who are speeding on Interstate 90 between the Liberty Lake and State Line interchanges between now and the end of June may receive a notice from the Washington Department of Transportation. WSDOT will be installing “speed cameras” to identify cars traveling in excess of the speed limit.

Mattawa spring cleanup scheduled for this weekend

MATTAWA — Just as houses have a spring cleanup, so do cities. Mattawa’s spring cleanup is scheduled for this weekend.

Volunteers sought for Mattawa city cleanup

MATTAWA — Volunteers are being sought to pick up trash around public areas in Mattawa beginning at 8 a.m. Saturday. Cleanup will last all morning.

Suniga looking forward to job as Ritzville PD chief

RTIZVILLE — New Ritzville Police Chief Mike Suniga said he’s learned a lot over his law enforcement career. “I got hooked when I was an Explorer Scout,” he said. “It was just one of those things where I could see myself doing this and see myself making a career. And as I matured in law enforcement, I (thought), ‘How am I going to leave a lasting impact?’ I love helping people, and I love being able to solve problems, whether it’s through the criminal justice system or through other systems and programs that are available.”

Services, profitable and not, part of Quincy ambulance discussion

QUINCY — Quincy City Council members approved a contract increase with the city’s EMS provider April 1, but not before a discussion of ambulance transports, availability and profitability. The council voted 5-1 to approve the increase with Columbia EMS, a privately owned service. Council member Jeff Spence voted no.

Quincy examining truck restrictions in city

QUINCY — A public hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. April 15 at Quincy City Hall to take public comment on a proposal to change designated truck routes within the city limits. City hall is located at 104 B St. SW.

Grant County property tax statements issued

EPHRATA — Grant County property owners should be receiving 2025 property tax statements in the mail in the next few days, unless they’ve shown up already. Grant County Treasurer Darryl Pheasant said tax statements were mailed March 28.

Road construction ramping up for summer

MOSES LAKE — It’s still early in the spring and as a result still early in the road construction season, but there are some long-term projects already underway. Short-term projects are starting here and there around the region. Drivers heading north to Chelan who plan to take Highway 97A Monday will encounter traffic slowdowns at the Knapps Hill tunnel north of Entiat. Maintenance and inspection work will require flagger-controlled traffic.

Odessa groundwater funding in proposed Senate budget

OLYMPIA — A funding request for a section of the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Project has been added to the proposed Senate capital budget. If it’s included in the final capital budget, the EL 22.1 lateral would receive up to $44 million in funding at the request of Ninth District Senator Mark Schoesler, R – Ritzville.

GCHD presents challenging but important work, officials say

MOSES LAKE — The Grant County Health District has a lot of jobs and, said GCHD Administrator Theresa Adkinson, some of them are pretty difficult. “We have a hard job – I tell staff that all the time,” Adkinson said. “We do really hard things. We are part of really hard conversations. But we are also community members, and we too are invested in (the decisions). Everything that we put forward as a public health agency is impacting our own families and lives. We’re also living it.”

Grant PUD considering solar power agreement

EPHRATA — Grant County Public Utility District commissioners will consider purchasing the electricity produced at a proposed solar farm between the Grant County International Airport and Rocky Ford. Under the agreement with Quincy Solar, the PUD would receive all the electricity generated by the project. It's planned to produce 120 megawatts of power. The contract would run for 20 years.

Drivers asked to take precautions in road work zones

OTHELLO — Washington Department of Transportation officials are asking Washingtonians and visitors to exercise extra caution and follow traffic laws in work zones. Mike Koehn, Washington Department of Transportation supervisor for the Moses Lake and Othello maintenance crews, said he was reminded of that recently when he went out to a work zone on Interstate 90.

Construction projected by June on Royal City Lions Park soccer field

ROYAL CITY — The development of Royal City’s expanded Lions Park will begin with a new soccer field, scheduled to be ready for play in spring 2026.

QVMC move planning digs into details

QUINCY — It’s not really all that much fun to move – packing, boxes everywhere, stuff to get rid of, a million details to attend to. Possibly it’s easier when the move is a few hundred feet, but it’s also harder when the old building is in use right up until the moment it closes.

Strong hitting, pitching help Othello baseball defeat Chiawana 12-2

OTHELLO — The Othello High School baseball team used a strong pitching performance and some good hitting – including a three-run home run from shortstop Jordan Montemayor – to defeat Chiawana 12-2 in five innings March 29.

Grant PUD places limits on electrical demand from data centers

EPHRATA — Limits will be implemented on the growth of demand from data centers that get their power from the Grant County Public Utility District. Load growth limits may be applied to other large industrial customers, depending on how much power they’re requesting.

Westshore Drive, Vantage Bridge work signal start of construction season

MOSES LAKE — Spring brings with it new grass, flowers blooming, more sunshine and road construction. Most projects are scheduled to start later in the summer, but a couple are underway now.

Quincy's Kondo named Coach of the Year

Mentoring athletes toward a 'positive and wholesome experience' key for Jacks coach

QUINCY — Quincy High School girls head wrestling Coach Mark Kondo said that for him being a good coach started in the classroom. “The quality that makes a good teacher translates to making a good coach, as far as being organized, as far as being able to break learning down into meaningful segments and teach that, as far as building relationships,” Kondo said.

Othello man arrested after Moses Lake standoff

MOSES LAKE — An Othello man was arrested Wednesday afternoon for hit and run and outstanding warrants after he briefly barricaded himself in a Moses Lake home.

Report expected by October on Othello pool options, cost

OTHELLO — What to do about the Othello Community Pool will be the subject of a study that should be completed by October. A meeting of a community committee tasked with coming up with a recommendation is scheduled for Friday. Committee members and city officials will be meeting with consultants from NAC Architecture and Trinity NAC, Spokane, sometime in the next two weeks.

Overproduction, possible tariff retaliation - interesting times for tree fruit growers

WENATCHEE — An old saying – said to be Japanese, and said to be a curse – talks about living in interesting times. While it’s always an interesting time to be in the tree fruit business, times are especially interesting now.

Othello buys property for water treatment facility

OTHELLO — The new facility that will treat water from the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District system for use by Othello residents will be located along Lee Road. Othello City Council members approved the purchase of property for the project Monday. Othello Mayor Shawn Logan said the purchase was good for Othello, a big enough deal that he held a signing ceremony to highlight it.

Mattawa council looks at improvements to Wahluke grad parade

MATTAWA — Changes could be coming to the parade that follows Wahluke High School graduation.

More signs planned for busy Adams Co. intersections near Othello

OTHELLO — Additional warning and stop signs will be installed at 14 intersections in the Othello area. Adams County Commissioners approved $833,000 for the project Tuesday.

Port of Moses Lake OKs military training lease

MOSES LAKE — Military training exercises will continue at a section of the Grant County International Airport following the approval of a 25-year lease between the Port of Moses Lake and the US government for use of a section of the airstrip. Port commissioners approved the agreement Monday.

Quincy council approves land purchase

QUINCY — A vacant lot at the end of Third Street Southwest may become the home of the city of Quincy’s new public works shop. Quincy City Council members approved the purchase of the property at the March 18 Quincy City Council meeting.

Mattawa man arrested in connection with December shooting

MATTAWA — A Mattawa man was arrested and booked into the Grant County Jail Friday in connection with a December shooting. Diego Nunez, 20, was arrested on suspicion of two counts of first-degree assault. Nunez allegedly was involved in a Dec. 14 shooting in the 100 block of Columbia Avenue.

Cellarbration raises more than $250,000 for BBCC scholarships

MOSES LAKE — The annual Cellarbration for Education fundraising dinner March 15 brought in more money in 2025 than 2024. Cellarbration is the largest fundraiser for the scholarship fund of the Big Bend Community College Foundation.

Microsoft working to help protect IT systems of rural hospitals

MOSES LAKE — Information is valuable in the Information Age, to good actors and bad actors alike. And unlike precious metals or stacks of cash, people sometimes don’t know how valuable information is, or that it can be vulnerable to attack. Erin Burchfield of Microsoft Philanthropies said rural hospitals are an example.

Earned recognition

Othello girls wrestling coach Sammy Rocha CWAC co-Coach of the Year

OTHELLO — Sammy Rocha said he learned to coach wrestling from the best. Rocha, the girls wrestling coach at Othello High School, was named co-Coach of the Year in the Central Washington Athletic Conference. He shared the award with Mark Kondo of Quincy.

Two candidates announce for Moses Lake City Council

MOSES LAKE — Santiago (Jim) Perez and Joel Graves have announced their candidacy for the Moses Lake City Council.

Road work set for next week in Quincy

QUINCY — Spring is in the air, and that means, among many other things, the start of road construction season. Road crews will be doing some crack-sealing work at night along State Route 28 in Quincy beginning Sunday night. Drivers should plan for some delays through Wednesday night at least, according to a press release from the Washington Department of Transportation.

Funding a challenge for some Adams Co. projects

RITZVILLE — The second phase of a project to upgrade Schoonover Road that Adams County officials thought had received federal funding may not be getting it after all. A rules revision that allowed four bridges over the East Low Canal to qualify for complete federal funding also may have been eliminated.