Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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RITZVILLE - Local agriculture officials say this year's wheat harvest has been lacking due in part to unusual weather early in the growing season.. Ritzville Warehouse Co. – which pairs with Odessa Trading Co. – officials gave a negative report on the harvest this year, remarking that it was a low-yield year with high protein. Although the final cutting of this year's harvest are not complete, company officials were less-than-positive about harvest results. A strange fre...
LIND — With Councilman Robert Dew excused and Councilwoman Myra Horton attending via phone call, the town council postponed making changes to its rules and procedures. The rules and procedures were presented by Clerk/Treasurer Barbara Pence during a meeting Tuesday, July 25. Pence proposed expanding on the confidentiality of executive sessions, as well as additions to rules for encouraged versus prohibited behavior during meetings. She also attempted to expand the town’s code of ethics as they relate to public forums – such...
ELTOPIA — With world politics and economics unstable, agriculture leaders are noting the value of local commodities has increased, but so have costs. The U.S. Wheat Association reported a rise in wheat pricing by an average of 23 cents. Corn rose 20 cents and soybeans rose 29 cents in their third weekly price report for the month of July. The report noted the price hikes may be due in part to the European Union’s request that the ban on Ukrainian wheat imports be extended as well as the subsequent Russian bombing of the Ukr...
OTHELLO - The Adams County Sheriff's Office are planning several events to meet and learn more about constituents as part of the National Night Out campaign. Families and friends can come enjoy free food, games and an outdoor movie while they get to know their county's enforcement team at the events. The Sheriff's Office will be on the Columbia Basin Health Association campus, 475 N. 14th Ave., Othello, from 5-9 p.m. Aug. 12. After that, deputies will be in Washtucna at...
LIND — While residents wound down after a sunny summer day, the race for town council position Nos. 4 and 5 began to wind up during a candidate forum July 17. Modeator Robert Meader gave the candidates an array of questions to test where they stand on major issues, as well as how they handle the pressure of tense questioning. Five Position No. 4 candidates attended – Christopher Olson, Jamie Schmunk, Heather Reed, Richard Baldwin and incumbent Myra Horton. Richard Baldwin formally withdrew from the race due to personal iss...
PASCO — Benton Franklin Health District officials have issued a warning for the West Nile virus after detecting it in the Richland area. A mosquito in Richland tested positive for the virus July 21, officials said. More than a week prior, multiple mosquitos tested positive for the virus in the Grandview area of Yakima County. Those are the first instances of West Nile being detected in the state this year, officials said, noting no cases have been reported in people or animals, so far, this year. The virus has not been d...
LIND — A local woman believes town officials need to be more transparent when conducting the public’s business. During the July 11 Town Council meeting, resident Briana Osborn, who is also running for Town Council Position No. 5, called for more transparency. During the meeting, she noted having several disputes in the past with the council regarding public access to meetings, During public comment, she suggested the council create a public social media page and post recordings of the meetings, noting the recordings would be...
CONNELL — The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office confirmed July 11 that remains found six miles east of the city are those of a 2019 homicide victim. The remains of Estella Torres-Rodriguez, 52, were recovered between Connell and Kahlotus in a remote location, the Sheriff’s Office confirmed. Torres-Rodriguez was reported missing in 2019. Sheriff’s Office Cmdr. Marcus Connor said the remains will be returned to her family in the near future. Torres-Rodriguez was last seen March 28, 2019, and listed as missing the followi...
LIND — The petition to recall Mayor Paula Bell was dismissed in Adams County Superior Court on Wednesday afternoon, July 12. The decision comes as voters are headed to the polls to elect town council members. Three residents filed a petition to recall Bell on June 27, 2023, alleging she hired the current Clerk/Treasure Barabara Pence without informing the past council of Pence’s criminal history, as well as obtaining a bond for the clerk/treasurer without council approval. Adams County Superior Court Judge Steve Dixon rul...
OTHELLO - A familiar face in the Police Department has been sworn in as the city's new top cop. Former Assistant Police Chief David Rehaume, 60, was promoted and sworn in June 3 as the new chief during a regular City Council meeting. Rehaume replaces Phil Schenk, who retired after eight years. It's a "great honor" to become chief, Rehaume said last week. Rehaume, an Othello High School graduate and longtime resident, has been serving Othello for 34 years, starting out as a...
LIND — The Town Council approved a work order to provide an analysis of Well No. 7 during its meeting Tuesday, July 11. Work order No. 4 allocates $9,493 for labor toward the total $44.250 cost of the well project. The town has already approved funding for most of the rest of the project, officials said, noting it is also a qualifier for a future USDA grant to cover refurbishment of the well. Previously, the Department of Agriculture had advised the town that it was not under emergency status yet and needed to prove an e...
PASCO — An old organization is making a comeback in Washington state, bolstered by woke shifts in Washington State University Extension Office’s 4-H and school-based Future Farmers of America programs. Washington State Grange, founded in 1889, is now providing an alternative way for rural families to participate in fairs statewide. Grange is a rural organization that unites rural families with agricultural programs, community halls and activities, and more statewide. The Benton-Franklin Fair in Kennewick was initially hes...
CONNELL - North Franklin Heritage Museum plans to remodel the condemned building that used to house a historical bank. The work will cost an estimated $400,000, so museum officials are asking for community donations. The Jesse L. Colley American Legion Post No. 195 was struggling to maintain funding for the upkeep of the building at 307 N. Columbia Ave. leading to its acquisition by the Heritage Museum on June 12. To add to the struggle, the building recently had its roof...
RITZVILLE – The Lind-Ritzville School Districts online program has graduated its first student. Thomas Bache-Wiig graduated from Lind-Ritzville Academy earlier this month. Bache-Wiig graduated from the academy, with the full support of his family, including his father who “came all the way from Maine,” Superintendent Don Vanderholm said. Bache-Wiig was comfortable with the online format from the beginning, the superintendent said, noting that the student “buckled down” and never missed a weekly meeting or goal-sett...
ODESSA — A local entrepreneur is opening a new restaurant in downtown Odessa. Nate Lathrop opened 410 Burgers at the intersection of Birch Street and First Avenue on Friday, June 30, just in time for the Odessa Car Show over the holiday weekend. “I think every town should have a burger shop,” Lathrop said, noting he had grown up watching the town’s burger shop struggle and finally close. The opportunity to open a restaurant sort of “fell into our hands,” he said, when speaking about buying the property with business pa...
LIND - An East Adams Rural Health mobile care unit will be here Thursday, July 27. The unit will park at City Park, 317 E. Second St. The clinic is taking new patients and will be providing checkups and introductions to the health care for Lind-area residents. "Come see us to establish care, follow-up closer to home, or just check things out," East Adams Rural Health said in press release. This will be its first time; the mobile clinic already visits Sprague once a month....
RITZVILLE — The local middle and high school agriculture program has received a statewide honor. The Lind-Ritzville middle and high school agricultural program was recently selected by the Washington Association of Agricultural Educators as the “Outstanding Program(s)” for the year 2023. High School Principal Kevin Terris spoke highly of the teachers – Lori Sanderson and Andy Williams – noting the program deserves the award due to the teachers’ ability to “connect the two communities of Lind and Ritzville in a fun and compe...
RITZVILLE — Spokane and Liberty lake-based dermatology practice Clinic 5C plans to expand services in general dermatology here. The providers are open to seeing new patients and will be visiting the first Friday of every month at East Adams Rural Hospital, in addition to the patients they currently see at Dr. Sackmann’s Family Practice. They also have travel clinics in Colfax and Newport. At Clinic 5C, there are five providers, Desiree Barclift, PA-C, and Richard Herdener, MD, will be the primary care providers for the are...
BURBANK - Several members of the congressional House Energy and Commerce Committee spent Monday in Eastern Washington, specifically to learn about the importance of dams on the Snake and Columbia Rivers. Committee Chairwoman Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, was joined by as Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Chairman Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Oregon, and Rep. Mike Collins, R-Georgia, for a tour of Ice Harbor Dam, the lower-most Snake River Dam The...
BASIN CITY — Freedom Rodeo preparations are in full swing. This year, the rodeo returns to the July 4 holiday – performances are set for July 3-5 – after being moved up last year to be able to facilitate Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association affiliation. Rodeo performances are at 7:30 p.m. on July 3 and 5; and at 12:30 p.m. on Independence Day, July 4, in the arena at 100 Park Drive. This year, the venue will feature new additions to the arena as well as improvements to surrounding seating areas and spaces for admin...
BENGE - A former Adams County resident has written a book about childhood on a Macall-area sheep ranch in the late 1930s. Richard W. Etulain, 84, a professor emeritus at University of New Mexico, has released his new book, "Boyhood Among the Woolies: Growing up on a Basque Sheep Ranch." The history professor's book is about his childhood growing up in the scablands – his family homestead was in the Macall area. Born in Wapato in 1938, Etulain was brought home to a "isolated a...
KENNEWICK — The Lind-Ritzville High School Future Farmers of America chapter placed second in the state team Meats Evaluation last month. The high school team also had several high-placing individuals at the 93rd annual state convention. Alyssa Williams placed third, Zoe Galbreath fourth, Taylor Galbreath sixth and Jonathon Stromberger ninth. Approximately 2,000 FFA members gathered to learn and compete in Career and Leadership Development at the convention. Of the 30 Career and Leadership Development events at the c...