CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities.
Recent Stories
Four-year colleges to visit BBCC morning of Oct. 31
MOSES LAKE - Representatives of 16 colleges will be available to discuss transfer opportunities at the Fall Transfer Fair from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Oct. 31 at Big Bend Community College.
Senior Expo '12 provides wealth of information
MOSES LAKE - Seniors could get information on everything from hearing aids to veteran's benefits at the Senior Expo and Enrichment Fair Thursday.
McDaniel named HR director at Samaritan
MOSES LAKE - Lisa McDaniel is the new human resources director at Samaritan Healthcare.
Health officials urge residents to get flu shots
EPHRATA - State health officials are urging residents to get a flu shot, and get it early if possible.
Columbia Basin Allied Arts season begins this week
MOSES LAKE - Season tickets are still on sale for the 35th season of the Columbia Basin Allied Arts performances. The season kicks off this Thursday with the visit of the Glenn Miller Orchestra.
Contaminated epidurals not sold in Washington
Area patients not at risk
WENATCHEE - Patients who have had epidural injections of steroids from clinics in Washington and Oregon are not at risk for meningitis; the Massachusetts company that manufactured the contaminated medicine did not sell any of it in those states.
Columbia Basin Skills center to open summer 2014
MOSES LAKE - The construction contract for the Columbia Basin Skills Center should be awarded around Thanksgiving, with the building ready for summer school classes in 2014. District Superintendent Michelle Price and project consultant John Aultman gave an update on the progress at the Grant County Economic Development Council luncheon Thursday.
Free BBCC class teaches aircraft maintenance
MOSES LAKE - Big Bend Community College offers a free three-week class for people who might be interested in an aviation mechanics career starting Oct. 26. Space is limited, so interested people should apply as soon as possible, said organizer Rebecca Milligan.
Fall Hiring Event scheduled for Oct. 17
Event attracts 23 permanent, seasonal employers
MOSES LAKE - Job seekers will have the chance to talk to prospective employers at the Fall Hiring Event from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Oct. 17, at Big Bend Community College. Booths will be set up in the ATEC building, 7662 Chanute St. NE.
Quincy man wins Teacher of the Year award
QUINCY - Agriculture teacher Mike Wallace circled the room as the sophomores worked, serving as the sounding board for the various ideas flung his way.
Skills center bids open in November
MOSES LAKE - A tentative date of Nov. 13 was set to open construction bids for the new Grant County Skills Center.
Warden artist turns art accident into triumph
Betty Johanson adapted her art to the situation
WARDEN - Think of being an artist, with a stoneware plaque that's one-fourth of a commissioned work that has to be finished and installed in about six weeks. It represents a summer's worth of thought and effort in design and execution.
Skills center to open summer 2014
MOSES LAKE - The construction contract for the Columbia Basin Skills Center should be awarded around Thanksgiving, with the building ready for summer school classes in 2014. District Superintendent Michelle Price and project consultant John Aultman gave an update on the progress at the Grant County Economic Development Council luncheon Thursday.
Hospital administrators to move to new office suite
MOSES LAKE - Samaritan Healthcare will move all administrative offices to the second floor of the hospital, a project that is projected to cost about $600,000. Hospital board members approved the project during the regular board meeting.
Overcrowding meeting sees many suggestions
MOSES LAKE - Comments from a Thursday community meeting seeking ideas to alleviate overcrowding in the school district's middle and high schools will be posted on the district's website. School officials hope the series of meetings produce a solution that will be implemented in the next school year.
House badly damaged in fire
Residents left about 15 minutes before fire reported
MOSES LAKE - No one was injured in a Friday morning fire that nevertheless destroyed a family home at the intersection of Harris and Alma roads near Moses Lake.
Smoky skies stick around for a while
Stagnant air traps forest fire smoke close to the surface
MOSES LAKE - It looks a little like rain out there but it's not, and all that smoke from regional forest fires is going to hang around for a while.
Samaritan Foundation receives $10,000
MOSES LAKE - The Samaritan Healthcare Foundation is closer to its goal of raising $500,000 for an upgraded computed tomography (CT) scanner, thanks to the Columbia Basin Foundation.
Ribbon cutting opens new Othello school
Tours of brand-new Wahitis Elementary at open house
OTHELLO - Othello School Board members cut the ribbon and officially opened the brand new Wahitis Elementary School Monday evening.
Local student places in national competition
WARDEN - Daniela Lino went to her first-ever national competition and came home with an eighth place award.
Bid for new skills center awarded in November
MOSES LAKE - The new skills center, which now has a new name, will go out to bid sometime in October.
Chuckwagon exhibition comes to Adams County
OTHELLO - Back in the day, the day being about 1886 or 1902 or so, the most important wagon in a cattle drive was the chuckwagon. Even though the old-fashioned cattle drive is long gone, chuckwagons still have their champions, and a group of them exhibited their wagons and their cooking skills at the Adams County Fair Friday and Saturday.
Adams County Fair ends on busy note
OTHELLO - From the stock sale to the parade to the rodeo, the Adams County Fair wound up with a whirl of activity Saturday.
Former BBCC administrators honored
SEATTLE - Longtime Big Bend Community College administrator Mike Lang was honored for his support of the Japan Agriculture Training Program (JATP) with an award from the Emperor of Japan.
Golf tourney to help education program
COEUR D'ALENE - Golfers still have time to register for a fundraising tournament Sunday that will benefit the Columbia Basin Herald's Newspapers in Education program.
Wilson Creek family searches for missing girl
Tori Diamond, 15, missing for 10 days
WILSON CREEK - Family members are seeking information on the whereabouts of a 15-year-old girl who disappeared Sept. 2.
Good time to be had at Adams County Fair
OTHELLO - Contestants in the open class flower show at the Adams County Fair will be greeted at the entry table by a familiar face with a new position. Ten-year-old Layken Sperl is the department's acting superintendent.
At secondary school, Gear Up program does its job
MOSES LAKE - Grants for focused projects are a part of school life; some of them work, some of them wither away. The Gear Up program, at least in the opinion of staff and participants at Columbia Basin Secondary School (CBSS), is working.
Annual 'Coats 4 Kids' drive starts Monday
Rotary collecting new, used-but-nice outerwear
MOSES LAKE - The Rotary Club and Cedar Street Cleaners are soliciting donations of new children's coats and used coats in good condition as the organization kicks off its annual Coats 4 Kids drive Monday.
Moses Lake to discuss overcrowding of schools
MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake School District patrons are being invited to a series of meetings, beginning Sept. 20, to look for ways to alleviate overcrowding at the high school and middle schools.
Moses Lake makes 'sustainable gains' in test scores
MOSES LAKE - Like most districts across the state, administrators found promising data and not-so-promising data in achievement test scores.
Lind-Ritzville schools focus on scores
Middle school math needs work, Roettger says
RITZVILLE - There were some good results and some not-so-good results in state achievement tests in Lind and Ritzville; the upheavals of building a cooperative district have lessened and it's time to focus on instruction, said Superintendent Robert Roettger.
Family and friends key to living a century
Sylvia Mabbot celebrates 100th birthday
MOSES LAKE - Sylvia Mabbot was born just before a classic World Series, won by the Boston Red Sox over the New York Giants, Boston's mayor John "Honey Fitz" Fitzgerald leading the fans known as the Royal Rooters to every game. It was right in the middle of a red-hot, three-way Presidential campaign, Theodore Roosevelt versus Howard Taft versus Woodrow Wilson.
Othello hospital, clinic discuss cooperation
OTHELLO - The hospital board and Columbia Basin Health Association board have started conversations about a new strategic plan designed to help the two work together more efficiently, and maybe save both some money.
Schools see ups, downs in test scores
OLYMPIA - Some Columbia Basin school districts saw some achievement test scores go up, others saw some scores go down, and others had scores that stayed about the same. Test scores for the 2011-12 school year were released Wednesday. The tests are taken in the spring.
Hospital CEO heads Army medical unit
EPHRATA - Just in case, the U.S. armed forces have built a backup system of medical units that can be activated if needed. The United States Army has such a Reserve unit stationed on the West Coast. And if the Army ever needs to activate the unit, the first person that will get a call is Robert Reeder.
Old Hartline School celebrates 90th birthday
HARTLINE - The annual town celebration and a 90th birthday party for the school will be the attractions Sept. 8.
Wahitis Elementary School opens its doors
Fourth elementary school in Othello
OTHELLO - Wahitis Elementary School in Othello still has that new building smell.
BBCC revives computer science
MOSES LAKE - Big Bend Community College will reopen a completely revamped computer science program to students when classes begin Sept. 24.
Support group for families of stillborns
MOSES LAKE - Eliana Grace Rodriguez was born Jan. 26, 2007 and Kaycen Morrison was born March 27, 2012. Their moms remember those dates; Eliana and Kaycen were born about five months into their mothers' pregnancies and did not survive.
Hospital CEO search to stretch into next year
MOSES LAKE - The search for a permanent chief executive officer for Samaritan Healthcare should begin in early October and take about six months.
Construction begins at Columbia Basin Hospital
Demolition could start this week
EPHRATA - A portion of the Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata will start coming down soon, possibly as early as this week, to be replaced with a new and much larger wing. Community members are being invited to contribute their memories on a hospital wall designated for good-byes.
Dirt starts flying at MLSD transportation center
Activity on site this week
MOSES LAKE - Construction activity could start as early as today at the site of the Moses Lake School District's transportation center on Yonezawa Boulevard.
Plans for old Lind church
LIND - It was a chance surf on the internet that changed the lives of P.J. Jacobson and her husband Jake.
Model airplanes take to the skies Sept. 9
'Fun fly' sponsored by Moses Lake club
MOSES LAKE - A group of radio-controlled airplane pilots will sponsor a fly-in for pilots and spectators Sept. 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at McKay Field, about one mile south of town on Baseline Road.
Vigil scheduled for victim
Delia Chavez died in Aug. 9 car accident
MOSES LAKE - A candlelight vigil and fundraiser in memory of Delia Chavez, 19, of Moses Lake, who died recently in a traffic accident, will be held Wednesday from 9 to 11 p.m. at Lakeview Terrace Elementary School, 780 South Clover Dr.
Payoff for hard work comes at stock sale
MOSES LAKE - For 10 months, and for dairy cattle, more than double that, 4-H and FFA livestock participants feed, water and work with their animals, hoping to see the payoff when the Grant County Fair rolls around.
Back on the right track with help from Job Corps
Students found new start at Moses Lake facility
MOSES LAKE - Cortnie Day and Codie Musick both believed their lives were on the wrong track. That started both of them on a journey that led to Moses Lake and, among other things, volunteering at the Moses Lake Lions Club food booth at the Grant County Fair.
First Canola delivery arrives in Grant Co.
WILSON CREEK - A sign of what the owners of Pacific Coast Canola hope are slightly changing times arrived at the grain elevator recently, with the first shipment of canola seed.
Drought, demand push wheat prices higher
Wheat selling near record levels
RITZVILLE - Despite an extremely volatile market, prices for wheat have trended up during harvest 2012, and are close to historic levels.