December 23, 2024
December 23, 2024
RITZVILLE — Students, teachers, staff and parents in the Lind-Ritzville School District may have the chance for a shorter school week under a proposal being circulated by the district. Superintendent Don Vanderholm said the change could affect the student body of 566 and 104 staff in both towns. Student currently attend classes Monday through Friday. Under the proposal, students would get an equal amount of instruction time under, but instruction would take place over four days instead of five. “Early last year, I...
Move over Love's Travel Stops, there's a new competitor in town. Maverik Adventure's First Stop is officially open at the Interstate 90-state Highway 261 interchange, just across the street from Love's ravel Stop. Pictured, local Maverik store manager Stanley Steiber stands with a large photo at the gas station and convenience store celebrating the Palouse. See story on Page...
RITZVILLE — Area residents can expect a “green” Christmas on Wednesday as temperatures hover near those often found in early spring. According to National Weather Service Meteorologist Steven VanHorn, only mountainous areas are expected to snow this Christmas.. “We did get some snow across a lot of the Inland Northwest, mostly north of I-90 and in the basin,” VanHorn said last week. “We got snow from [Highway] 195 down to Pullman. Accumulations were light overall. We had about 2 inches in Airway Heights and...
RITZVILLE - Big Bend Electric Co-op's charitable arm announced several grants to organizations around the region on Dec. 19. Caring Neighbors grants were awarded to groups in Othello, Lind, Ritzville, Mesa and other locations. The grants are funded from donations by co-op members who have authorized rounding their bills up to the nearest dollar. The following grants were announced Dec. 19: • Othello Church of the Nazarene (Helping Hands) -$2,000 to help fund emergency...
ODESSA — An irrigation contractor and Inland Power and Light Co. were exonerated last week by a jury in a civil lawsuit over failed systems. After a five-day trial and four hours of deliberations, a Lincoln County Superior Court jury in Davenport found in favor of Inland Power and Light Co.; not-for-profit Mitchell, Lewis and Staver Co.; and Foremost Pump and Well Services. The two companies and the not-for-profit agency were defendants in a lawsuit filed by Walter Family Grain Growers Inc., owned by Colley Walter. Walter...
RITZVILLE — The City Council unanimously agreed to a new standard of amendments and addendums to the city’s personnel policy effective Jan. 1. The change has affected city Section 7-12, outlining a holiday policy, which calls for 12 paid holidays per year — New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Native American Heritage Day, Christmas Day, the day after Christmas Day and one floating holiday. “The floating holiday is to...
Jail Log RITZVILLE – The Adams County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office reported the following individual in custody from Dec. 19-25: Dec. 18 Rojelio Alvarez-Mejia, 20, Second-Degree Theft. Booked into the Franklin County Jail. Land Transactions RITZVILLE – The Adams County Assessor’s Office reported the following land transactions during Nov. 30 - Dec. 13: Dec. 13 Angela Garza and Eva Garza, Othello, 835 Spruce St., Othello, to RBE Enterprises Corp., Othello, $300,000. Dec. 12 Fencecreek LLC, Othello, Parcel Number...
100 years ago The Ritzville Journal-Times Dec. 25, 1924 FIVE DEAD IN STAGE SMASH CHEHALIS, WASH. - Five persons were killed and two probably fatally injured when a big tree, uprooted by a high wind, fell from a bluff across a Chehalis-Morton stage. The dead are: Dan Shuler, farmer; Shuler's 7-year-old son; Buck Belcher, farmer; W. S. Kaiser, garage man; and S. N. Chapman, 60, school teacher. Chapman is a resident of Harmony and the others are from the Klickitat Prairie...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced $300 million in assistance to distressed direct and guaranteed farm loan borrowers. The funding announced Friday, Dec. 20, is expected to provide assistance to more than 12,800 distressed direct and guaranteed Farm Loan Programs borrowers, officials said. “USDA has always been committed to standing by our nation’s farmers and ranchers, especially in their most challenging times,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “At USDA, we are not only...
ODESSA — A March 19 trial date was set Monday in Lincoln County Superior Court for a burglary case involving a property near the Adams County line. Shannon D. Awtry, 55, of Othello, is charged with second-degree burglary. A readiness hearing is scheduled for Feb. 25. The defendant waived her right to a speedy trial in Lincoln County Superior Court on Tuesday, Dec. 17. The case stems from a Dec. 29, 2023, investigation when Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy C. Stei responded to assist Adams County Sheriff’s Office Cpl....
RITZVILLE — Adams County department directors received a wake-up call from Prosecuting Attorney Randy Flyckt during a budget hearing Dec. 17. The conversation began when County Commissioner Mike Garza requested “some education” from those attending, citing his promise to voters to be “fiscally responsible.” He appeared uneasy by the unpredictable traps, and expenses, that can spring, putting a balanced county budget out on a limb. “The unknown are the unknowns,” Garza said. “What if we don’t amend the...
RITZVILLE — After months of road, site work and building construction, a new convenience store and gas station has opened at the Interstate 90-state Highway 261 interchange. Maverik Adventure’s First Stop officially opened at noon Dec. 17. The Ritzville location is part of a corporation that includes locations in the Spokane, Cheney, Tri-Cities, Couer d’Alene and other nearby areas. Store manager Stanley Steiber moved from Nevada into town during October to manage his third Maverik location. The brand-new store has...
RITZVILLE - It's not too soon to start planning for the 250th birthday of the United States. Lorraine Ralston on Dec. 17 spoke to Adams County commissioners about planning for the nation's semiquincentennial coming in 2026. Ralston is the owner of Ralston International Event Management in Gig Harbor, hired as the America 250 state Coordinator through the state historical society. The celebration marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, she said, noting...
When a person volunteers in a community you never know what issues might arise and take extra time out their life. There were some issues that came about at the Depot Museum and we needed to move items and clean things up. All is right again and the help received is very much appreciated. There were some items that were moved that brought back some very fond memories. One of those items was a NE District ‘B’ basketball Championship trophy from 1963. I remember being at...
RITZVILLE — The Broncos boys basketball team went 1-1 last week, falling to NE2B competitor Asotin, but edging Class 1A Connell Against Connell on Dec. 21, Lind-Ritzville/Sprague (3-3) opened with a 20-15 first quarter lead and expanded the margin by outscoring the Eagles 22-12 in the second quarter. At the half, the Broncos led 42-27. The Eagles rallied in the second half, closing the gap by 8 points in the third quarter and 5 more in the fourth. But the rally wasn’t quite enough and the Broncos held on to edge the...
COLFAX - The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague boys wrestlers opened league at the Colfax Boys Scramble on Wednesday, Dec. 11. Carson Kubik, Aydon Morgan and Brock Tracy led the Broncos; team scores were not reported. Wrestling at 285, Tracy pinned both of his opponents with a total time of 60 seconds. He pinned Kyron Clovis of Asotin in 31 seconds and then Riley Cook of Asotin in 29 seconds. Morgan, on the mat in the boys 175B weight class, won his opener by forfeit over Braxton...
RITZVILLE — Three Broncos and nine Huskies have been ranked in state wrestling polls. Seniors Wyatt Rosman, Carson Kubik and Brock Tracy all earned rankings in the Washington Wrestling Report for B schools. Rosman is ranked No. 12 at 144, Kubik is No. 4 at 150 and Tracy is No. 4 at 285. As team, the Broncos were ranked 23rd; Tonasket, Okanogan and Goldendale were the Top 3 ranked teams, respectively. From Othello, nine grapplers are ranked among Class 2A schools. At 113, juniors Daniel Gonazalez is ranked No. 4 and...
In the aftermath of the catastrophic fire which gutted Paris’ Cathedral of Notre Dame in 2019, President Emmanuel Macron announced it would be rebuilt within five years and promised it would be “more beautiful than before!” Macron, who remains head of a divided French government, saw restoration of the 13th Century church as a way to restore national pride and unite fellow French citizens. When interviewed just before Notre Dame’s massive doors re-opened on Dec. 7,...
When Jay Inslee first successfully ran for governor in 2012, he told Washington voters – and here’s the quote – he “would veto anything that heads the wrong direction, and the wrong direction is new taxes in the state of Washington.” Once Inslee took office, his pledge to not raise taxes was quickly broken. In fact, our outgoing guv has routinely called for tax hikes of one type or another. For years, I’ve said Inslee “never met a tax increase he didn’t...
President-elect Donald Trump is claiming a special mandate by winning the popular vote, though only by a little over 2 million (1.5%; and getting below 50% of total popular vote) compared to President Joe Biden’s winning margin of about 7 million (4%; 51%) over Trump in 2020. If the electoral college had already been scrapped, would the popular vote have been significantly changed by the candidates campaigning in all states, not just battleground ones? Why did Washington state have its’ lowest turnout in 28 years? Why...
Every Who down in Whoville had tablets galore, and smartphones and headphones and gadgets and more. But the Christmas I knew, in my growing-up days, Was a season of magic in far simpler ways. No dinging devices, no faces aglow from the light of a screen, stealing the show. Instead, there were voices, warm and sincere, Sharing stories and laughter at this time of year. We gathered together—a family, one whole — To watch stop-motion classics that captured the soul....
Christmas preparations are in full swing in many Inland Northwest homes. Turkeys over 15 pounds will be set to thawing in the refrigerator by Saturday morning, Sunday for lighter weight turkeys. Cookie baking and candy making will be weekend tasks, amid gift wrapping and last minute decorating. Make-ahead dishes like Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu and Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole, are perfect for busy days. Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole 2 Tbsp butter 2 boneless chicken...
Mabel Adams was sitting in the day room at the Rest of Your Life retirement home when the children came in. She smiled and so did all the others in the room except for two who didn’t know what was going on. The old-timers in the home knew the kids were coming and had put up Christmas decorations around in the day room and on the doors of their own small apartments and on themselves. Mabel had been reminded several times by the staff that morning that the kids were coming over, this being necessary as Mabel’s memory...
Herbert "Herb, Herbie" D. Haase Apr. 6, 1937 –Dec. 15, 2024 Herb passed away peacefully at home on Dec.15, 2024. Born April 6, 1937 to J.John and Bertha (Kron) Haase in Ritzville, Wash. Herbert graduated from Washtucna High School in 1955 and went on to attend Wenatchee Valley College. He then transferred to Kinman Business University, during his second year he was drafted into the Army. Herbert graduated from Kinman Business University by correspondence courses in 1961...
