CHERYL SCHWEIZER

Wireless, broadband discussed at PUD meeting

EPHRATA - Grant County PUD will be able to offer additional broadband options to its ISP (internet service provider) customers, possibly as early as February. The ISPs then will be able to offer those options to retail customers.

Grant PUD commissioners to consider rate policy

Review could take up to three months

EPHRATA - Grant County PUD commissioners will spend two and a half to three months reviewing the PUD rate policies, and the assumptions underlying the policy, before moving on to set rates for 2016.

Shoreline decision to come in January

Grant County PUD may open portions of shoreline, or wait until spring and open it all

EPHRATA - Grant County PUD officials will announce some time in January whether or not any part of the Columbia River shoreline between Wanapum Dam and Rock Island Dam will be opened for public access before the water is raised back up to normal operating levels.

Inslee details education budget proposal

Proposed $2.3 billion for teacher pay, basic school support, higher education

MOSES LAKE - Gov. Jay Inslee revealed some details of his education proposal this week in a teleconference at four schools including Moses Lake. But Inslee declined to specify how he would pay for the $2.3 billion program, saying that would be explained at a news conference today.

Othello Christmas basket project ramping up

Donations accepted through Dec. 19, distribution Dec. 20

OTHELLO - It's become a tradition in Othello, just like kids getting a picture with Santa, and clubs, businesses, churches and individuals all over town are getting ready.

New boutique opens in Moses Lake

Deane Duncan wanted to give her business an urban feel

MOSES LAKE - Deane Duncan said she wanted her new shop Hotoveli to look like a boutique customers would find in downtown Seattle or downtown Los Angeles. And it's a mix of antique display cases and repurposed materials, the clothing, accessories and home decor for sale has a midtown-Manhattan vibe.

Dexter leads Bennett in MLIRD voting

MOSES LAKE - Kris Dexter is leading Tom Bennett in early results of the election for the one contested seat on the Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District (MLIRD) Board of Directors.

Tractors, combines featured in Ag Parade

MOSES LAKE - Tractors, stackers, combines and trucks will be decorated to the nines and then roll down Third Avenue Friday, a tribute to the season and the agriculture industry. The Ag Appreciation Parade starts at 7 p.m. Friday and will be celebrating its 20th anniversary.

Quincy Community Christmas Concert Sunday

QUINCY - Yuletide carols will be sung by a choir (possibly including the "Christmas Song") and vocal and instrumental soloists will take the stage at the annual Community Christmas Concert, sponsored by Quincy Valley Allied Arts. The curtain goes up at 6 p.m. in the performing arts center at Quincy High School, 16 South Sixth Ave.

Quincy Christmas Bazaar scheduled for Saturday

QUINCY - The Quincy Community Center will sponsor its annual Christmas Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the center, 115 Southwest F St.

Grant County unemployment 5.6 percent in September

OLYMPIA - Statistics released by the Washington Employment Security Department show Grant County's unemployment rate was below the state unemployment rate at the end of September.

Dam repairs continue at Wanapum

WANAPUM DAM - Grant County PUD officials should start raising the water behind Wanapum Dam sometime before the end of 2014. Construction work to repair a cracked spillway pillar and stabilize the rest of the dam is expected to last through March or April 2015.

Moses Lake hosts state FFA contests

Competitors judge potatoes, tackle tractor driving course

MOSES LAKE - Future Farmers of America participants from 17 schools navigated a tricky course on a tractor or tested their expertise in potatoes at state FFA contests held Friday at the Grant County Fairgrounds in Moses Lake.

Irrigation project to expand, add 31 miles of canal

Columbia Basin Project expansion already has added 13 miles to East Low Canal

MOSES LAKE - New development in the Columbia Basin Project will allow farmers in the Odessa Subarea aquifer to start replacing ground water irrigation systems with surface water systems. The East Columbia Irrigation District board voted Monday to allocate project water for 17,639 acres that currently use ground water.

Judy Warnick leading in bid for state Senate

Big lead over challenger Mohammad Said

MOSES LAKE - State representative Judy Warnick has a commanding lead over Ephrata physician Mohammad Said in the race for the Washington state Senate's 13th District in unofficial results released Tuesday night.

Schaapman leading in PUD commissioner race

QUINCY - Incumbent Grant PUD commissioner Larry Schaapman, of Quincy, is leading in his race for a full six-year term in unofficial election results released Tuesday night.

Incumbent Bob Bernd leading challenger in PUD race

Bernd has about 70 percent of the vote in unofficial results

MOSES LAKE - Incumbent Bob Bernd is leading challenger Noah Zemke in the race for PUD commissioner in unofficial election results released Tuesday.

Juanita Richards new BBCC trustee

Moses Lake woman appointed for five-year term

MOSES LAKE - Juanita Richards, of Moses Lake, was appointed to the board of trustees at Big Bend Community College. Richards will serve a five-year term.

Senegal native clears up misinformation

Abdoulaye Bamba Dieng says facts about Africa often scrambled

MOSES LAKE - Abdoulaye Bamba Dieng said he wants to make sure people have got the facts, the big facts about Africa and diseases like Ebola. Dieng is a native of Senegal, on the west coast of Africa.

Honor musicians meet for concert

Biannual concert brings together high school musicians from throughout north central Washington

MOSES LAKE - Band and choir participants from 30 north central Washington schools filled the Moses Lake High School gym with music Tuesday night, as the high school hosted the biannual NCWMEA Honor Festival. The daylong workshops and evening concert were sponsored by the NCW Music Educators Association.

Grant PUD proposes raise in 2015 rates

EPHRATA - Grant County PUD rates will increase by 2.4 percent for residential customers, and 3.5 percent for irrigators. Large industrial customers (rate class 15) will get a five-tenths of 1 percent rate increase. The 2015 rate proposal was reviewed, and was the subject of a lively debate, at the regular meeting of the PUD commissioners Tuesday.

Grant PUD proposes raise in 2015 rates

2.4 percent residential rate increase

EPHRATA - Grant County PUD rates will increase by 2.4 percent for residential customers, and 3.5 percent for irrigators. Large industrial customers (rate class 15) will get a five-tenths of 1 percent rate increase. The 2015 rate proposal was reviewed, and was the subject of a lively debate, at the regular meeting of the PUD commissioners Tuesday.

Moses Lake gleaners ensure food doesn't go to waste

Gleaners harvest everything from asparagus to zucchini

MOSES LAKE - Sometimes the field, or the orchard, isn't empty when harvest is over. Sometimes a gardener just can't get to all that produce. There's not time or energy to get to it all, but it would be a shame to let it go to waste. There is another alternative, however, and that's to contact the gleaners.

Samaritan budget probably will include rate increase

MOSES LAKE - Samaritan Healthcare patients probably will see a rate increase in 2015.

Katie Duncan crowned Moses Lake Roundup pageant queen

Will represent Moses Lake Roundup throughout state

MOSES LAKE - Katie Duncan, of Ellensburg, was crowned Miss Moses Lake Roundup 2015 at the annual rodeo banquet Saturday.

Upgraded Priest Rapids fish hatchery opens

PRIEST RAPIDS DAM - The idea of raising fish to replace fish - and not just replace fish, to increase the fish population along the Columbia River - dates back almost to the beginning of development along the river. Some of the lessons of that century-and-a quarter have been cemented into the upgrades at the fish hatchery at Priest Rapids Dam.

Upgraded Priest Rapids fish hatchery opens

PRIEST RAPIDS DAM - The idea of raising fish to replace fish - and not just replace fish, to increase the fish population along the Columbia River - dates back almost to the beginning of development along the river. Some of the lessons of that century-and-a quarter have been cemented into the upgrades at the fish hatchery at Priest Rapids Dam.

Pink potluck to recognize breast cancer survivors

Peninsula Elementary tradition, no bribery allowed

MOSES LAKE - The staff room at Peninsula Elementary School was all pinked out Wednesday morning - pink cookies, cupcakes with pink frosting, pink fruit salad, even pink spaghetti. It was the staff's way of recognizing breast cancer survivors, women who are fighting the disease and those who have lost the battle.

Moses Lake bond committee gives options to board

Second high school part of both recommendations

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake School Board members will choose between two options for a construction bond, if they choose to offer a bond. Volunteers on a committee appointed to examine the options for a possible bond couldn't decide and voted to send both options to the board at their final meeting Tuesday.

Gordon Ebbert dies at 101

Was aviation booster, helped found local Civil Air Patrol

MOSES LAKE - Gordon Ebbert learned to fly in 1929, helped found the Civil Air Patrol in Grant County in 1953, and was a pilot until the FAA wouldn't let him fly alone any longer. A pioneer in aviation in Grant County, Ebbert died Monday evening at 101.

Larson Recreation Center events, activities canceled

Ice skating lessons, hockey tournaments canceled

MOSES LAKE - Ice skating lessons, activities and events at the Larson Recreation Center have been canceled following a decision by the Moses Lake City Council to close the building.

Brick oven puts its own spin on pizza

How to make pizza one of those things that will be debated forever

MOSES LAKE - There's a certain kind of cachet attached to a brick oven, at least when it comes to making pizza. Some gourmets will insist on it - handmade pizza crust and all that, and just watch those guys flip that pizza around. It's all in the bricks.

Grant County PUD details 2015 budget

Rate increase proposed for PUD customers, ranging from less than 1 percent to 3.5 percent

MOSES LAKE - The Grant County PUD is projecting it will spend about $237.8 million in 2015, when all the bills and income are added up. Utility district officials reviewed the 2015 budget for PUD customers at a public hearing in Moses Lake Thursday night.

Grant County PUD candidate details positions

EPHRATA - Incumbent PUD commissioner Larry Schaapman said he's learned a lot in two years on the board, and wants to continue to put that knowledge to work. Schaapman was appointed to the board in 2012, and is running for a full four-year term in the general election Nov. 4.

Bernd, Zemke vie for PUD commissioner position

Noah Zemke challenging incumbent Bob Bernd

EPHRATA - Two-term incumbent Bob Bernd, Moses Lake, will be challenged by Noah Zemke, Moses Lake, for a position on the Grant County PUD board of commissioners.

PUD 2015 rates to be set Oct. 28

Rate structure factors in cost-of-service study

EPHRATA - Grant County PUD staff tentatively projected that revenue from residential customers will have to go up by 2.4 percent in 2015. The projection was part of a presentation on rates at the regular commissioners meeting Tuesday.

Quincy hospital levy on November ballot

QUINCY - Voters in the Quincy Valley Medical Center district will be asked to approve or reject a $2.2 million, one-year maintenance and operations levy in the general election Nov. 4.

Kiwanis distributes dictionaries to third-graders

Tenth year of Dictionary Project in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE - Okay. Let's see.

Administrators discuss health care, health insurance

Rotary members get chance to talk to local health care leaders

MOSES LAKE - Administrators at three Moses Lake health care facilities answered questions about health care, health insurance and the cost of it all during a Wednesday meeting of the Moses Lake Noontime Rotary.

Tractor pulling competition Saturday

Tractors pull loaded sled as far as they can

MOSES LAKE - The Columbia Basin Antique Power Association will sponsor tractor pulling competition Saturday and Sunday at the Grant County Fairgrounds. Admission is free.

Unknown costs for schools with Initiative 1351

Initiative would require more teachers, support staff, classrooms

MOSES LAKE - It's still unclear how the state, or local school districts, would pay for the changes required by an initiative mandating smaller classes in public schools, and that's the problem, according to local school administrators.

Peninsula students can walk to school Wednesday

National Walk to School Day emphasizes physical fitness, pedestrian safety

MOSES LAKE - Even Peninsula Elementary School students who ride the bus will have the chance to walk to school on National Walk to School Day Wednesday.

Moses Lake parents tell son's story to raise awareness

MOSES LAKE - Mason Valdez was about a month old when his mom and dad, Macela Crozer and Adrian Valdez noticed something was happening. Or rather, not happening.

Big Bend to hold fall job event

About 30 prospective employers, colleges and agencies slated to attend

MOSES LAKE - Big Bend Community College will sponsor its Fall Hiring Event from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 15 at the ATEC building.

Film scheduled for Moses Lake showing

'Dryland' depicts challenges of Lind wheat farmers

MOSES LAKE - A film depicting the challenges of two Lind-area wheat farmers, their families, friends and community, will be shown at 7 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Moses Lake Museum & Art Center.

First-graders learn about agriculture on Farm Day

MOSES LAKE - The horse stood quietly and let the first-graders pet its nose, but the little pig was not so cooperative.

Moses Lake High School pool reopens in October

MOSES LAKE - The swimming pool at Moses Lake High School will open for public use sometime in October, possibly as early as Wednesday, Oct. 1.

Learn healthy habits at Health & Wellness Expo Saturday

MOSES LAKE - Healthy living will be the topic at the second Central Washington Health & Wellness Expo, scheduled for 8 am. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the ATEC building at Big Bend Community College.

Repairs continuing at Wanapum Dam

Goal to fill pool part of the way by end of the year

WANAPUM VILLAGE - Grant County PUD officials still plan to raise the Columbia River behind Wanapum Dam before the end of the year. No date has been set for raising the water level.

Bond survey distributed to Moses Lake taxpayers

Online copy available now, by-mail copy by Sept. 29

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake School District taxpayers can access an online copy of a district-wide survey to determine what they think about a possible construction bond at the district's website and its Facebook page.