NANCE BESTON

Protesters express frustrations regarding ICE, Venezuela Saturday

MOSES LAKE — Area residents gathered on Stratford Road in Moses Lake to protest the recent deaths of Renee Nicole Good, 37, of Minneapolis and Kieth Porter, 43, of Los Angeles. Both incidents involved Immigration Customs Enforcement agents. They also expressed frustration regarding the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Oliver’s first council meeting, several resolutions passed

EPHRATA — Mayor Steve Oliver led his first Ephrata City Council meeting Wednesday night, with council passing several resolutions regarding tourism funding, vactor truck enclosure project and amending the grant application for A Street.

Soap Lake to establish a tourism committee

SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake City Council unanimously approved the creation of a Tourism Development Committee to handle city tourism funds at Wednesday's council meeting.

GCAO had a transformative 2025

MOSES LAKE — Grant County Animal Outreach achieved several goals in 2025, including groundbreaking on a new facility, nearly 300 adoptions and successes in community outreach. Challenges presented themselves in the form of the agency’s current outdated facility and animal hoarding.

Soap Lake Events Committee to meet

SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Community and Senior Center will host its second meeting for the newly formed Events Committee on Tuesday, Jan. 13, at 5 p.m. This initiative aims to revitalize community engagement through family-friendly events. “We really want to focus on family-friendly and all ages events for our community,” volunteer Genevieve Gray said. The committee was created in response to community members expressing their desire to restart events that had previously been successful in bringing people together. Gray said it’s important for community involvement in the committee.

Grant County Health District mandates overdose reporting

MOSES LAKE — In a move to enhance community health and safety, the Grant County Health District has implemented a policy requiring healthcare providers to report all opioid overdoses starting in Jan. 2026. This change, which centers on real-time data collection, comes as a response to the growing opioid crisis affecting the region, marked by rising overdose deaths and emergency medical service responses. The decision to classify overdoses as a reportable condition received unanimous support from the Grant County Board of Health, which approved it through Ordinance 2025-04. The GCHD has noted that while certain diseases are already mandated to be reported to local health authorities, overdoses have not been subject to similar requirements at the state level. The new reporting protocol is hoped to bridge the data gap. Dr. Alexander Brzezny, the Grant County Health Officer, said this matter was urgent.

Ephrata Fire Department reflects on 2025

Increase in calls, new equipment and future EMS funding challenges

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Fire Department experienced a busy year in 2025, responding to a total of 513 calls for service. Fire Chief Jeremy Burns provided an overview of these calls, revealing that approximately 65% were related to Emergency Medical Services, while only 10% were actual fire calls. The remaining 25% fell into various categories such as fire alarms, elevator rescues and hazardous conditions. “The bulk of our responses still falls right in that close to 70% category of EMS calls, which is where we’ve been training for years,” Burns said. In comparison to previous years, Burns indicated that call volume saw a slight increase. The department previously contracted with American Medical Response ambulance services, during which their call load averaged around 550 calls. After switching to Lifeline ambulance services in July 2023, Ephrata witnessed a reduction of almost 100 calls for service, primarily due to differences in the types of calls each service handled.

One arrested for suspected Grant PUD wire theft

MOSES LAKE — On Jan. 3, Grant County Public Utility District filed a complaint with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office after noticing a hole cut in the chain link fence at the Wenatchee Drive substation. On Tuesday night, GCSO arrested Jeffrey Hughes, 50, of Moses Lake, for suspicion of stealing copper wire from Grant PUD, according to GCSO.

GCFD 7 expands EMS, training programs

SOAP LAKE — As part of a concerted effort to improve emergency medical services, Grant County Fire District 7 has announced significant expansions to its coverage and operational capabilities. Under the leadership of Chief Erick Brittain, the district is now providing Intermediate Life Support in addition to its existing services, a move that is expected to greatly benefit the community it serves, said Brittain.

Upcoming community meeting for Ephrata schools

EPHRATA — The Ephrata School District is hosting two upcoming meetings to allow the community to ask questions and engage with district officials on the schools and the proposed $75 million bond. “Our schools are the heart of Ephrata,” Ephrata School District Superintendent Ken Murray wrote in a statement. “This bond will secure the next 40 years of our community’s K-8 schools and set up Ephrata High School for the next phase of improvements. It would allow us to replace outdated buildings, strengthen safety and create learning environments that support students now and for decades to come.”