Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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HARRINGTON - With available activities outside the home seemingly decreasing each day, golf remains a game that can be played without any close contact to anybody. As of press time, the Harrington Golf and Country Club remains open as long as golfers are willing to practice safe social distancing. "We're going to be open as long as we are allowed to be," manager Melissa Gilmore said. "When you are on the golf course, you aren't within six feet of one another unless you ride... Full story
OLYMPIA — Convicts working in a “Gentling Program” to help calm wild horses? That’s what Washington Ninth District Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy would like to see. Dye, whose Ninth District includes Adams County, introduced House Bill 2579, which unanimously passed the House of Representatives last Wednesday. It now heads to the Senate. The bill would establish a study to be executed by the state Department of Corrections to evaluate and report on the feasibility of implementing wild horse training at the Coyote Ridge Correct...
KAHLOTUS — Local high school student-athletes will continue to participate in the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague athletic combine. Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Athletic director Greg Whitmore announced last week the decision to remain this week. The School District was considering other options, including joining a combine with Connell High School. The Journal first reported on this issue when Kahlotus appeared on a Washington Interscholastic Activities Association list in January as a Class 1B school, instead as a part of the 2B c...
RITZVILLE — For the second time in less than six months, Big Bend Bowling Alley is in danger of closing. Owner Todd Young says he will have to close the downtown entertainment center April 31 if a new owner isn’t found. “Leagues run through April,” Young said. “We won’t close before that.” In October, Young said he would have to either sell or close by Dec. 31 so he could head back home to North Carolina. He thought he found a buyer. Young was contacted by a party interested in purchasing the alley, he said. They agreed t...
RITZVILLE—Due to safety concerns over COVID-19, Gov. Jay Inslee has ordered all K-12 schools closed statewide from Tuesday, March 17, until at least April 24. Gatherings of 250 or more are now prohibited statewide, as well. The order comes after Inslee had perviously ordered schools in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties to close. While there are currently no lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Adams County according to the Washington State Department of Health, the Adams County Health District released a statement Thursday s... Full story
RITZVILLE - With a state of emergency declared due to the coronavirus outbreak, local schools are preparing for the epidemic to strike here. On Monday and Tuesday, the Colville School District became the latest - and closest - school district to announce closures due to the virus that was first reported in the Wuhan area of China. Eight districts canceled classes on 12 campuses in the last two days. Colville's decision to shutter schools followed closures in Western Washington...
RITZVILLE - As COVID-19 - popularly known as the coronavirus - continues to spread across the country, including Washington state, officials here are continuing to prepare for a local outbreak. Should an outbreak occur, East Adams Rural Healthcare CEO Corey Fedie says the critical access hospital stands ready. "[The hospital] has the ability to take care of these patients in special isolation rooms with Negative Pressure Ventilation," Fedie said. "This type of room is...
RITZVILLE -Only four golfers turned out for the Lind-Ritzville/Spague golf team last year. This year, new head coach Bryce Court has seen that number grow to 10. When the season starts, eight Broncos will be competing in golf for the very first time. Dirk Dahlman and Molly Hane are the team's only returners. Both golfers advanced past the sub-district round last year and were eliminated at the district tournament. Dahlman was one stroke away from making state. "Dirk shot a...
RITZVILLE - Lind-Ritzville/Sprague baseball head coach Jason Hilzer didn't hesitate for a heartbeat when asked what his goals are for his team's 2020 season. "We're going to compete in every game," Hilzer said before the team's second practice of the year. Hilzer says 15 players turned out for the team this season, down one from last year. He's pleased with that number and says that it includes three fifth-year seniors who started playing varsity baseball in eighth grade. "We...
RITZVILLE -The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague softball team opened practice last week with 22 players aiming to get the Broncos back to the postseason this year. The Broncos graduated four players last season, including league MVP Lacey Miller, who is playing NCAA softball for Knox College this season. While 10 girls are playing high school softball for the first time, and over half the squad are freshmen and sophomores, coach Todd O'Brien is feeling pretty good about his team's...
RITZVILLE - Another winter sports season is over for the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague athletic combine, which also includes Washtucna and Kehlotus. While the spring sports coaches are already busy preparing for their season, The Journal asked Athletic Director Greg Whitmore to look back at the eventful basketball and wrestling seasons. "All in all, it was a successful season." Whitmore said. "It isn't always all about the championships." A successful season includes providing a...
LIND — Mayor Paula Bell will host a community potluck from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 14 at Lind Elementary School. Town and area residents can attend to get to know each other. “Many of us live here but work elsewhere,” Bell said. “The farming community was focused here … Now, we have some people who live here and drive to Spokane, or live here and drive to Moses Lake. “Several people live here and work at the prison [in Connell]. “It’s just a come, meet and greet thing.” Attendees are asked to bring a dish to share, th...
RITZVILLE —It’s been a while, but East Adams Rural Healthcare is about to be fully staffed with nurses. “We’ve had nursing positions open for a significant amount of time,” Chief Nursing Officer Jennifer Pepperd said at Tuesday’s Hospital Board meeting. “We’re talking 18 months to two years.” In her written report to the board, Pepperd says she hired three new nurses, including a full-time day nurse, a full-time night nurse and a part-time day nurse. She also wrote that she had one more interview to do for a per diem nurse....
RITZVILLE - Less than a half -year into his second term, Mayor Gary Cook has decided to resign. His last day will be March 31. Mayor Pro Tem pore Dennis Chamberlain will assume mayoral duties on a temporary basis beginning April 1. Under city statutes, the council will then have 90 days to assign someone to finish out the first two years of the term. Then, in 2021, a new mayor will be elected to serve the final two years. This will allow a new four-year term to start in 2023...
RITZVILLE - The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague girls basketball team may have been eliminated from the Northeast 2B district tournament last week, but they still have a state-wide award to celebrate. The Broncos won the WIAA 2B Academic State Championship for girls basketball by having the best GPA at their classification. But their success doesn't end there. Their combined GPA of 3.98 was higher than all of the other winter-sport state champions of every classification, of any gender...
SPOKANE --- The Lind-Ritzville boys basketball team saw its season come to end last Thursday with a loss to Kettle Falls after a desperate full-court shot at the buzzer just missed. The Broncos lost 52-49 in the consolation bracket of the Northeast 2B district tournament. The Broncos were playing in the loser-out game after falling to St. George's in the semifinals. "Obviously we are disappointed," LRS head coach Dustin Arlt said. "Being that close to making it to regionals,...
SPOKANE - "We just couldn't shoot the ball." That's how Lind-Ritzville/Sprague head coach Steve Wellsandt summed up his team's struggle at the Northeast 2B district tournament. The Broncos' season came to an end after losing to Northwest Christian Thursday 39-30 at West Valley High School in Spokane.. On Monday morning, Wellsandt was still struggling to adjust to his team's elimination. "I'm still not over it, really," Wellsandt said. "After the season we had, we just didn't...
LIND --- Code enforcement continues to come up at Lind Town Council meetings. The council has taken the last several weeks to review town ordinances 11-01 and 11-02, which deal with what role a code enforcement officer would play. Councillor Jim Dworshak said he’d like discussions to progress so that the council could start to take action at the next meeting on Feb. 25.. “I do not think that things as we are doing them now are effective at this point,” Dworshak said. “We need to carry it further to start eliminating distrac...
RITZVILLE - Seven months after moving across Main Street into a newly remodeled Snyder Block Building, Uniquely Washington is shutting its doors. Owners Dennis and Mary Chamberlain made the announcement last week on Facebook. "We have heavy hearts about this, but, we will continue to support our town and business district," Dennis said on Facebook. He told The Journal more about the decision and upcoming closure. "Making the decision was hard on Mary and me," Dennis said....
LIND — The Mid-Columbia Ninety-NInes, a group of women pilots in Washington and Oregon, want to paint the word “LIND” on the tarmac of the local airport. At its most recent meeting, the Town Council gave the group its conditional permission to do so. The Mid-Columbia Ninety-Nines is a chapter of the Ninety-Nines: International Organization of Women Pilots, an organization commonly referred to as The 99s. Aileen Coverdell of the local 99s spoke at the Feb. 11 Town Council meeting. “One of the activities we do is airmarking air...
RITZVILLE — All four levies asked for by the Lind-Ritzville School co-op are being approved by voters in the special election Feb.11. The co-op asked for two levies in Lind and two in Ritzville, including a replacement levy for each district. Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Superintendent Don Vanderholm reached out to The Journal. “On behalf of both school boards, staff, and administration, I want to thank you very much for your generous support in passing the levy proposals put before you on Feb. 11,” Vanderholm said. “Beca...
SPOKANE - The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague girls basketball team dropped to the consolation bracket of the Northeast 2B district tournament Tuesday after falling to Colfax, 45-36. The Broncos struggled to score throughout the game and was held to zero points in the third quarter. "We didn't get into offense very well the whole game," head coach Steve Wellsandt said. "We only had eight field goals and no threes. It's pretty hard to win when that happens." The girls will now take on...
SPOKANE VALLEY - If the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague boys basketball team is going to advance to the regional tournament, it is going to have to do so through the consolation bracket of the district tournament at West Valley High School in Spokane. The Broncos fell to St. George's 61-42 in the semi-finals of the Northeast 2B district tournament on Tuesday. "We hung in the first half and if we could have shot a little better and finished some makeable shots we could of had a halftime...
RITZVILLE - Twenty-eight members of the Lind-Ritzville Future Business Leaders of America team traveled to Spokane Valley for the winter regional conference earlier this month and returned with 25 trophies. The conference was attended by 13 schools and 433 students. Adviser Steve Greenwalt said he was pleased with the effort he saw from his students. "Students have worked really hard on these events and have prepared very well for them," Greenwalt said. Students who finished...
RITZVILLE - In the past two editions of the Police Profile Series, we met officers who served in law enforcement in the military before becoming police officers. Today, we meet a third. But Sergeant Mark Cameron's story is a little different. Cameron served in the U.S. Air Force from 1997 to 2006. Unlike Ritzville police officer Matt Carlson, who joined the military to help him become a police officer later on, Cameron wasn't thinking about a civilian police job yet. Instead,...