CHERYL SCHWEIZER

Registration open for agriculture workshops

MOSES LAKE — Registration is open for a pair of workshops designed to help farmers improve their land, set for late November. The workshops, one day each, are sponsored by WSU-Grant/Adams Extension.

Barn bazaar

MOSES LAKE — Julie Piper Phipps said the Piper Barn Show was a family project, and that was one reason she wanted to revive it.

Memories, artistry at Monroe House quilt show

MOSES LAKE — The quilt hanging outside Imogene Greif’s apartment at Monroe House was made by her mother about 1940, from scraps of worn dresses and aprons. “Looking at the quilt brings back many memories,” she wrote on the label accompanying the display.

Parks and Rec offers ice skating, hockey

MOSES LAKE — Early-morning ice skating lessons, a clinic for kids and teens who want to learn about hockey and making table runners are some of the classes sponsored during the week by the Moses Lake Parks and Recreation Department.

Enchanted evening 'South Pacific' comes to Moses Lake High School stage

MOSES LAKE — A classic tale of love and prejudice in World War II comes to the stage at Moses Lake High School with the production of “South Pacific,” scheduled for Nov. 10 through 12. Performances are at 7 p.m. Nov. 10 and 11, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at the theater, 803 East Sharon Ave.

Drop off point announced for Operation Christmas Child

MOSES LAKE — Churches and individuals donating to Operation Christmas Child can drop off the shoeboxes at the Lake City Foursquare Church, 333 North Central Dr., from Nov. 14 to 21.

Grant Transit Authority to celebrate 20th birthday

EPHRATA — The Grant County Transit Authority will return to its roots for its 20th anniversary celebration from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Ephrata Amtrak station, 90 Northwest Alder St.

Meetings for stewardship program scheduled

MOSES LAKE — The Grant County Conservation District is sponsoring a series of meetings introducing a program that will work with farmers to manage critical land use areas on their property. Meetings to explain the Voluntary Stewardship Program are scheduled in Quincy, Royal City, Warden and Mattawa.

Big Bend fall quarter enrollment up slightly

MOSES LAKE — Fall quarter enrollment at Big Bend Community College was slightly higher than enrollment in fall 2015. Summer quarter 2016 enrollment was up in terms of students on campus, but there were slightly fewer full-time students in summer 2016 as compared to 2015.

Allied Arts sponsors 'dramatic reading' of play Saturday

MOSES LAKE — Columbia Basin Allied Arts will present a “dramatic reading” of a play by University of Idaho professor and playwright Robert Caisley at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Wallenstien Theater on the Big Bend Community College campus.

Cold War film presentation Thursday at museum

MOSES LAKE — A classic film about the Atomic Age – and its worst-case scenario – will be presented at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium. “Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” is the finale of the current exhibit at the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center.

Mystery novel lecture set for Wednesday

MOSES LAKE — Mystery novels and the changing emphasis on victims and killers will be the subject of a lecture at 3 p.m. Wednesday at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium. Admission to “A Nicer Kind of Murder: Shifting Roles in Today’s Crime Fiction” is free.

Othello School Board to discuss levy, football field

OTHELLO — Othello School Board members will hold a workshop at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 to review the options for a maintenance and operations levy. Board members will also discuss options for the Othello High School football field and an ongoing project to upgrade the OHS tennis courts, among other possible construction projects.

Wanapum Village sold to Selah company

EPHRATA — Grant County PUD commissioners have approved the sale of Wanapum Village to Zirkle Fruit Company, headquartered in Selah. Purchase price was $4,005,000.

Recreation work beginning at Crescent Bar

EPHRATA — Work is beginning this fall on recreation improvements in the Crescent Bar area. Grant County PUD commissioners awarded a contract recently for $5,864,200 to Hurst Construction of Wenatchee for the first phase of work on Crescent Bar Island.

Dirt flies as replacement project continues

WARDEN — A massive project to replace irrigation wells with Columbia Basin Project water is moving along, moving plenty of dirt as it goes.

Moses Lake PUD office to be revamped for security

WANAPUM DAM — The Grant County PUD office in Moses Lake will get a security makeover, and the PUD office in Grand Coulee will be converted to drive-through only. The recommendations come after a security assessment by PUD officials.

Samaritan hires new chief operating officer

MOSES LAKE — Samaritan Healthcare officials have hired a new chief operating officer, scheduled to start work in January.

New CB Tech program unveiled Thursday

MOSES LAKE — The new criminal justice program at Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center will be the subject of a lecture by the instructor at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Moses Lake Civic Center auditorium. Retired Moses Lake Police Chief Dave Ruffin will talk about the program, and what it means for the future of law enforcement.

Columbia Basin Development League conference set for Nov. 3

MOSES LAKE — The effort to convert irrigation in the Odessa area from local wells to Columbia Basin irrigation project water will be the subject of two presentations at the annual Columbia Basin Development League conference, scheduled for Nov. 3. Conference presentations begin at 1 p.m. at the ATEC building on the Big Bend Community College campus.

CB Community Concert Association presents tenor trio

MOSES LAKE — A trio of tenors will take the stage at 7 p.m. Nov. 3 as the musical group Tenore performs at the Wallenstien Theater. The performance is sponsored by the Central Basin Community Concert Association.

Othello School Board to discuss levy, football field

OTHELLO — Othello School Board members will hold a workshop at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 to review the options for a maintenance and operations levy. Board members will also discuss options for the Othello High School football field and an ongoing project to upgrade the OHS tennis courts, among other possible construction projects.

Big Bend CC receives major STEM grant

MOSES LAKE — Big Bend Community College officials eventually will add two new transfer degree programs, one in computer science and one in manufacturing technology, as part of a $4.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Award-winning author to visit MLHS

MOSES LAKE — Author and comic book illustrator Gene Luen Yang will visit schools in central Washington, including Quincy and Moses Lake high schools. His visit is sponsored by the North Central Regional Library.

Banquet recognizes BBCC scholarship donors, recipients

MOSES LAKE — Big Bend Community College scholarship recipients and scholarship benefactors were recognized at the annual Star Night banquet earlier this month. The banquet is sponsored by the Big Bend Community College Foundation.

Trying hockey for free, sponsored by Parks and Rec

MOSES LAKE — Kids and teens will get the chance to lace up the skates, pick up a hockey stick and try the game for free for one hour Nov. 5. It’s a USA Hockey event, co-sponsored by Moses Lake Parks and Recreation.

Bonds, interest rates have impact on PUD reserves

EPHRATA — The question comes up at Grant County PUD budget hearings, sometimes at commission meetings, and even commissioners have asked. Why does the PUD need all that money?

Big Bend CC sponsors 'One Book, One College'

MOSES LAKE — Spokane author Jess Walter will read selections from his short story collection, “We Live in Water,” and answer questions about the book and the life of a writer at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 16 at Big Bend Community College. It’s part of the BBCC’s inaugural “One Book, One College,” a “college and community-wide reading club,” said BBCC librarian Libby Sullivan.

Park Orchard students win 'Active School' award

MOSES LAKE — Park Orchard Elementary recently received a federal award for its advocacy of physical fitness, and the efforts of its staff to get kids moving around, during PE and otherwise. Park Orchard is one of 544 schools across the country to receive the “Let’s Move” award for 2016.

'The Little Mermaid' opens Friday at Masquers

SOAP LAKE — A tale of pretty mermaids, handsome princes, evil witches and true love under the sea comes to the Masquers stage, beginning this weekend, as the company presents “The Little Mermaid.” It's the opening production of the 2016-17 season.

Comic books and their times subject of lecture

MOSES LAKE — Comic books and how they reflect their times will be the subject of a lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Moses Lake Civic Center.

Quincy hospital voters to consider levy proposal

QUINCY — Voters in Hospital District No. 2 (Quincy Valley Medical Center) will be asked to approve or reject a one-year, $1 million levy to help the district cut back on its debt.

Mammograms important to timely detection of breast cancer

Catching it early

MOSES LAKE — Doctors and a diagnostic imaging technician talked about what women can expect when they undergo a mammogram, and what happens if something is found during a seminar about breast cancer Oct. 12.

Conference to help girls reach goals set for November

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake chapter of Soroptimist International will sponsor a new conference designed to give high school girls the resources to get ready for college.

Surprise, support for Knolls Vista teacher

MOSES LAKE — Knolls Vista kindergarten teacher Brenda Britton said she suspected something might be going on. A few friends from school invited her for an early-morning cup of coffee. And her husband Patrick said he’d take their son to school. And there was that email that went around summoning the entire KV staff to a meeting Thursday morning. About a school event, it said, but Brenda said she thought that had all been settled, despite her friends' insistence to the contrary. And Brenda was right - it was all a ploy, a ruse, to surprise her with a school-wide show of support. Brenda is fighting breast cancer, and staff members had T-shirts made in her honor and wore them Thursday morning. (Fifth-grade teacher Jack McLauchlan wore a pink shirt with a natty pink bow tie in lieu of a T-shirt.) Brenda’s kindergarten class also got T-shirts and wore them Thursday. Each teacher gets a small stipend from the Knolls Vista PTO, and her fellow kindergarten teachers donated their stipends to pay for the class T-shirts. “What a tremendous amount of support,” Brenda said. It wouldn’t be possible for her to keep teaching without the support of family, friends and fellow teachers, she said. Her prognosis is good, she said, because her cancer was identified early. But because of her genetic history the treatment is pretty aggressive. She is undergoing chemotherapy - two treatments down, four to go, she said - followed by radiation. Patrick Britton said he was thinking about supportive T-shirts and called Brenda’s fellow kindergarten teacher Kim Francisco to see what the staff thought about it. Francisco said the staff was already thinking along the same lines. Patrick Britton said if he had some advice to give, it’s “get those mammograms done.” Early detection dramatically improves the chances of successful treatment, he said. Brenda lost her hair as a result of treatment (she wears a wig to school), “so I shaved my head,” he said. As her treatment requires her to give up things, he does too, he said, as part of his show of support. “What she can’t do, I’m not doing either, because she’s not alone.” The support of family and friends is important, Patrick Britton said, so that patient knows they are not alone. The Britton family has set up a GoFundMe account under the title, “Brenda Britton’s battle with cancer" to help pay medical expenses not covered by insurance.

Breast cancer survivors stress regular exams, taking control

MOSES LAKE — Stephanie Maiers-Chambers said the diagnosis of breast cancer was a horrible moment, but the outpouring of support after the diagnosis was overwhelming. “I’ve never felt so much love,” she said. Christin Boisse said she learned to speak up when she thought something was wrong. “Definitely be your own advocate when it comes to your health care.” Maiers-Chambers and Boisse were among the speakers on a panel of breast cancer survivors at “Breast Friends Forever,” a seminar Wednesday on breast cancer detection and treatment sponsored by the Samaritan Healthcare Foundation. A panel of physicians and an imaging technician talked about what patients can expect if they receive a cancer diagnosis. Stephanie and Christin were joined on the panel by Shirley Bartalle, a two-time survivor. “Real heroes,” said Angel Kneedler, director of the Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation. “My message to all of you is early detection,” Bartalle said. Early detection is the reason she was sitting there Wednesday night, she said. Bartalle said he first diagnosis came in 1999, when she was 53. “It showed up again on the other side” in 2011. Her doctors gave her a range of options for treatment, and she decided on a double mastectomy, with reconstructive surgery at the same time. In Shirley’s case, when the cancer recurred it was found before it spread to her lymph nodes. When the doctor gave her that news, “that was a huge day,” she said. Maiers-Chambers said her first indication something was wrong was being tired all the time. She had a mammogram, a follow up was required, then she received the diagnosis. “I couldn’t believe it was happening to me.” Her cancer had spread to some lymph nodes. “Nobody respects the lymphatic system until you have some removed,” she said. Her treatment included chemotherapy and radiation, and it was rough. But she received an outpouring of support. “My family was insanely amazing. Especially my husband,” she said. Friends rallied around, “people who didn’t know me very well sent me text messages.” Boisse developed inflammatory breast cancer, which affects about 1 to 5 percent of breast cancer patients in the U.S. It usually gets diagnosed later (stage 3 or stage 4), because it’s different from other breast cancers. She was pregnant when her symptoms appeared, she said, and her doctors suspected - and treated - other illnesses. That was when she learned, she said, that it’s important to find experts in her disease and ask as many questions as necessary. She ended up seeking treatment in Texas. “This is life or death stuff.” If people want to give to cancer causes, Christin said, she would suggest supporting research. Her type of cancer means “I will be in treatment for life,” she said, but advances in research mean the treatment won’t be as debilitating. “I’m here and can have a normal life,” she said. Support of family and friends has been vital while she was fighting the disease, she said. Christin and Stephanie said the support that helped them the most were the gestures people made - offering to care for their children for a few hours, volunteering to do some housework, fixing and dropping off a meal. “There are so many little things,” Boisse said. When people tell a cancer patient to call if they need anything, “we won’t call,” she said. “You just come.”

Wet, windy, weekend weather in Columbia Basin

MOSES LAKE — It’s going to be wet and windy out there this weekend. The National Weather Service has issued a wind warning for the Columbia Basin for Friday, calling for “windy and gusty conditions” through Friday night. It’s part of a series of storms that is expected to make it rain, or at least increase the possibility of rain, into early next week. The NWS forecast sustained winds of 20 to 25 miles per hour through Friday evening, with gusts 45 to 50 miles per hour. The winds are expected to die down after 8 p.m. - and then on Saturday, it’s going to rain. ‘It’s going to be wet everywhere,” said Steven Van Horn, meteorologist with the NWS Spokane office. It won’t be quite as rainy in the Columbia Basin as it’s expected to be in the Seattle and Spokane areas, but Saturday’s storm is expected to drop up to one-half to three-quarters of an inch locally, Van Horn said. The rain should be heaviest from late Saturday morning into Saturday night, he said. The good news is, it will warm up a little. Friday’s high is forecast for 62 degrees, and it’s supposed to top out at about 60 on Saturday. The rain tapers off Saturday night and Sunday, when the chance of rain falls to 40 percent. It’s forecast to be mostly cloudy but warm, 60 to 62 degrees, Sunday and Monday. The chance of rain ramps back up Tuesday, but partly sunny weather is forecast for Wednesday. Coastal regions and inland valleys on the west side are forecast to bear the brunt of the storm, with rainfall totals reaching 2 to 5 inches over the Cascades. The rain will get to Spokane by Saturday afternoon, and there’s a higher chance of rain continuing into Sunday and Monday.

Grant County PUD unveils 2017 budget

MOSES LAKE — The Grant County PUD’s budget for 2017 will be $307,301,000 with about 45 percent, $182 million, going to capital projects. Utility district officials detailed the proposed budget – not including 2017 electrical rates – at a public hearing in Moses Lake Tuesday.

Othello School District land purchase moves ahead

OTHELLO — The Othello School Board is scheduled to review a draft purchase and sale agreement for 78 acres of property along Lee Road at its Oct. 10 meeting.

Othello School Board approves 2016-17 budget

OTHELLO — Othello School District officials approved the budget for 2016-17 at a special meeting this week. The budget includes a $48,552,376 general fund. The general fund pays for most school operation, including salaries, supplies and school operation. The capital projects fund, which pays for construction projects, was budgeted at $3,440,000. The debt service fund pays back bonds issued for previous construction projects and was budgeted at $2,352,782. The Associated Student Body fund was budgeted at $457,100, and the transportation vehicle fund, which pays for new buses, was $275,000. The board also approved a new, two-year master agreement with the Othello Education Association (the union representing teachers) and a new agreement with the Public School Employees, the union representing classified staff. The board approved new contracts with the administrative staff at its regular meeting Monday and considered a new agreement with the district’s coaches. In other business, board members received a report on the district’s dual-language program at McFarland Middle School. Dual-language instruction in Othello means classes in English and Spanish for all students in the program. District officials are working on a dual-language program at Lutacaga Elementary, with the goal of providing dual-language instruction to some students through high school. Assistant Superintendent Pete Perez said the program at the middle school and Othello High School will grow as the program at Lutacaga grows, and that eventually about 25 percent of the middle school’s student body will be in the dual language program. But right now there are few resources available for dual-language instruction, Perez said. At the sixth grade level there’s a lack of Spanish-language books and materials, and Othello teachers are translating some of their own materials, Perez said. Currently there’s no dual-language instruction in math and science. District officials are looking at various solutions, including more materials for students in Spanish and teachers and extra training for teachers. Hiawatha Elementary principal John Wiseman presented some information about the school following a site visit from the board. Board members are visiting each school in the district during the school year, spending time talking to teachers, students and parents Sept. 6. Hiawatha's test data for 2015-16 has been released, and the school didn't meet the district or state standard in language arts or math. There were some bright spots, he said - fourth- and fifth-grade students showed improvement over the previous year.

Firing up the fair Adams County Fair opens Wednesday

Opening day is busy Adams County Fair

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PUD commissioners discuss customer privacy policy

Discussion of what's needed from customers, and what's not Grant County PUD

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Othello School Board OKS 2016-17 budget

Othello School Board

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'Boots, Chaps and Cowboy Hats' Adams County Fair opens Wednesday in Othello

Rodeo, demolition derby, livestock sale among attractions Fair

OTHELLO — Livestock and exhibits, the annual rodeo, the annual demolition derby, the parade, bed races and competition among Dutch oven cooks will be among the highlights of the annual Adams County Fair, beginning Wednesday and continuing through Saturday

Grant County unemployment up between June and July

Jumped eight-tenths of 1 percent between July 2015 and July 2016 Unemployment

MOSES LAKE – Unemployment in Grant County shot up eight-tenths of one percent between July 2015 and July 2016, although it rose much less, three-tenths of one percent, between June and July 2016.

Missed rule change leads to audit finding for Potato Commission

Administrators didn't know about change in pension reporting rules

MOSES LAKE — The Washington Potato Commission didn’t know about new guidelines for reporting pension funds, and as a result made mistakes on its pension fund reporting, according to an audit report from the Washington State Auditor’s Office.

Moses Lake man applies ultrasound to livestock

Bob Patacini receives Department of Agriculture award

MOSES LAKE — The interesting thing about technology is that its applications turn up in unexpected places – at least they’re unexpected to begin with. But really, in the end those applications aren't so surprising.

Moses Lake board OKs teacher, staff contracts

MLSD

MOSES LAKE — Teachers and classified staff in the Moses Lake School District will receive raises for the 2016-17 school year. Moses Lake School Board members approved agreements with the unions representing certificated (teachers) and classified staff at the regular meeting Thursday.

School bells signal end of summer

School Bells

MOSES LAKE — Summer might not be officially over until mid-September, but summer is really over when school starts.

Othello School District budget reviewed at meeting

OTHELLO — The general fund budget for the Othello School District for the 2016-17 school year will be $48,552,376 for the 2016-17 school year. The general fund pays salaries and most district operations and maintenance costs.