JOEL MARTIN

Hard-earned success

BBCC students step into the world armed with diplomas and courage

MOSES LAKE — Genuine success is neither quick nor easy, as the students who graduated Thursday from Big Bend Community College attested. There's a simple story I remember when I was younger,” Associated Student Body President Pedro Lopez said, alternating between English and Spanish. “It's about a kid who plants a seed. At first nothing happens. They water it every day, but the ground still looks the same. They start to wonder if anything is happening at all. They think about digging it up to check, that maybe it didn't work. Maybe nothing is growing. But they keep watering anyway.

BBCC’s final TRIO students prepare to move on

Federal funding cuts end program

MOSES LAKE — For more than 30 years, Big Bend Community College’s TRIO Student Support Services has helped low-income and first-generation college students succeed. On Tuesday evening, it came to an end. “Without TRIO, I would not have had the support that I needed to get to where I am today,” said Adrian Deleon Marmolejo, one of 77 students graduating this year from Big Bend Community College’s TRIO SS program. “Coming from a home that severely affected my mental health and my grades in high school, I never thought I would succeed in higher education, but when I met the TRIO team, their passion for what they do helped me realize that I can do the same.”

BASIN EVENTS: June 19-27

COLUMBIA BASIN — School is out, and summer officially arrives this week. Here are some ways to make the most of the season. June 19 Soap Lake Food & Folk Festival Live music, local food, workshops, craft vendors, family activities, and community gathering. Hosted by Friends of the Lower Grand Coulee in partnership with Cloudview Farm and Soap Lake Creative District. Free and open to all ages. Soap Lake Creative District Friday, Cloudview Farms Saturday. Info: tinyurl.com/solawafff.

Home Center changes ownership, but not quality

MOSES LAKE — After 31 years, The Home Center in Moses Lake is changing hands. “(Owner) Roger (McSteen) was ready to retire,” said Wendy Cox, who has taken over the store with her husband Ron Cox. “Instead of selling or trying to find new jobs for everybody, we decided that we would take on the monster.” Wendy is well equipped for it, she said. She’s been with the company for 28 years, and the general manager for about 15 years. McSteen started out with the original Home Center store in Stanwood, north of Seattle, and owned it for 53 years, she said. Another location, in Ephrata, opened in 2004, according to Columbia Basin Herald archives. Both the Ephrata store and the store in Stanwood closed a few years ago, Wendy said, leaving only the Moses Lake location.

Farmers day out

Growers, scientists and others turn out for Lind Field Day

LIND — The 108th Lind Field Day had something for everyone, at least everyone who has anything to do with wheat farming. Which is a lot of people in Adams County. “I hit this (event) every year and I’ve probably been coming here for 20 (years),” said wheat grower Darrell Miles. “I come here for a variety of stuff, to see what’s coming down the line for new varieties and what’s replacing the old varieties.” The Lind Field Day brought in about 250 farmers, as well as businesses that serve farmers and a smattering of agricultural scientists from Washington State University. After about an hour of coffee, doughnuts and networking, guests split into two groups and toured the wheat fields, stopping for presentations by WSU scientists on new wheat varieties, fungicides and insect control. They rode on a motley variety of vehicles: some buses, and some flatbed trailers with aluminum bleachers attached.

Cars, fireworks and goat tying to grace this year’s Royal City Summerfest

ROYAL CITY — This year’s Summerfest, which takes place July 10-11, will feature a new activity: goat tying, organized by the Royal Ranchers 4-H group. “It’s pretty cute,” said Summerfest Committee Chair Jill Larsen. “It’s for younger kids. There’s a goat staked in the middle of a pen and toddlers run in and take a ribbon off the goat’s tail and then come back to the line. The (children with) the fastest times get prizes.” The goat-tying will be among the activities kicking off the festivities at 6 p.m., along with a touch a truck hosted by Royal Slope EMS and the Dean Callahan Memorial Car Show. The show was renamed this year, in honor of a pillar of the Royal City community who passed away in November, Larsen said.

ACH builds a college-ready culture with AP program

COULEE CITY — With a 2026 graduating class of 21, Almira/Coulee-Hartline High School is one of the smallest in the area, but its advanced placement, or AP, program rivals those of much larger schools. “Our colleague at College Board (the organization that oversees the AP program) noticed that since 2019, our tests, both our test scores and the amount of tests we were administering for the examinations had risen significantly,” said ACH Counselor and English teacher Jennifer Goetz. “They were starting to look at wanting to encourage access and equity in rural schools, and they approached us and said, ‘What are you doing?’” AP classes allow high school students to do college-level work in high school, which gives them college credit alongside the high school credit, according to College Board, and if they continue on to college, allow the students to skip some of the more basic classes other freshmen have to take.

Hanging it up

Frontier Middle School science teacher retires after 34 years

MOSES LAKE — After 34 years, Steve Gjefle has hung up his last classroom ceiling tile. “It’s a good time (to retire),” Gjefle said. “At 66, it’s time to go, let somebody else take the reins and start driving the wagon down the road.” Gjefle spent yesterday, his last day of teaching, right where he spent his first: in the eighth-grade science classroom at Frontier Middle School. He had originally thought he’d teach high school, he said, but when he finished his education and started looking around for work, he stumbled on Frontier, and he’s loved it ever since.

Two youths stabbed in altercation Saturday

MOSES LAKE — A fight between juveniles at an event venue Saturday left two hospitalized with knife wounds, according to a statement from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. At about 8 p.m., first responders were called to a location in the area of Road N and 8 Northeast outside Moses Lake, according to the statement. They learned that two juveniles, 15 and 16 years old, had been stabbed in a fight among multiple juveniles during a celebration at the venue. Both youths were transported to Samaritan Healthcare, according to the statement. Because the investigation is ongoing, it was unknown Monday what triggered the fight or how many other people were involved, according to GCSO Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman. The juveniles’ medical status was also unknown.

Help on wheels

Cross-country bike riders donate home repairs along the way

OTHELLO — Sometimes help comes in the strangest of ways. For some homeowners in need of repairs, it can come wearing an orange T-shirt and riding a bicycle.