Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 690
At Superintendent Matt Ellis’ recommendation, the Lind and Ritzville School Boards agreed by consensus to relocate high school students to Lind during the next school year. During the March 26 meeting, the two boards did not discuss the relocation of students, merely agreed with Ellis’ recommendation. During the 2018-19 school year, Lind-Ritzville High School students will attend classes in the current Lind-Ritzville Middle School. Seventh and eighth grade students will also remain in the building, while sixth grade stu...
Effective April 1, The Ritzville Adams County Journal will now charge for the publication of obituaries. In the newspaper’s 131 years, obituaries have been placed free of charge. Due to the amount of editorial space dedicated to obituaries, the staff made a financial decision to charge for placement of obituaries in order to offset costs. For years, The Journal has been dedicated to reducing the financial stress to families who are dealing with the loss of a loved one. As costs steadily rise for the company, it has become nec...
To the applause and cheers of hundreds, Kierstin Witt was named the 2019 Distinguished Young Woman of Lind-Ritzville on Saturday night. Alongside Witt, Chelsie Watterson was named the First Finalist and Else Gielisch received Second Finalist. With a new venue location, members of both the Lind and Ritzville communities packed into the Lind-Ritzville Middle School gymnasium in Lind to celebrate the accomplishments of the five candidates participating in the program. The five...
During the Feb. 22 Adams County Public Hospital District No. 2 meeting, the Board of Commissioners reviewed the District’s financials and voted to create a board-run website committee. CEO/CFO Gary Bostrom provided the financial update for the commissioners, reporting that the month’s revenue is showing over budget by $123,173. The District’s unaudited numbers show a net income of $26,293 for February, and a year to date income of $22,293, compared to last year’s net income of $5,930. Bostrom informed the commiss...
Caravan Health’s Sue Deitz presented to the Adams County Public Hospital District No. 2 Board of Commissioners on Feb. 22 regarding the district’s interest and possibly joining an Accountable Care Organization (ACO). While not currently mandatory for hospital districts to join an ACO, CEO/CFO Gary Bostrom noted in the future, it could be a requirement for the district. ACOs are groups of hospitals, doctors or other healthcare providers who provide care to Medicare patients. Deitz explained Medicare is trying to keep the...
The Lind and Ritzville School Boards had the opportunity to participate in a safety presentation from the Ritzville Police Department during their meeting on Feb. 26. The Ritzville School Board also approved the Value Engineering Study for the modernization of Lind-Ritzville High School (LRHS). The Ritzville Police Department, represented by Sergeant Mark Cameron, conducted a presentation regarding active shooters. With the recent school shootings throughout the country, RPD contacted the school to host the presentation for...
Adams County 911 Communications personnel, represented by Kevin Swartz and Angie Fode, hosted a 50th anniversary of 911 reception and presentation on Feb. 15. Swartz led the event, discussing the history of 911 in the United States, as well as highlighting aspects of the service for the future. Swartz explained the history of 911 begins with the invention of the phone, as it provided a tool capable of notifying others of an emergency in a timely manner. In 1900, Lars Ericsson invented the first mobile phone because he lived i...
In its second year in Ritzville, the Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPs) organization continues to help mothers with young children by providing advice and support during the child’s early developmental years. Mothers are welcome to join the MOPs group from conception until their children are in kindergarten. Lindy Brierly has been the local program coordinator for the past two years. She became involved with MOPs when she lived on the west side of the state, and wanted to start a group here. Brierly moved to Ritzville in 2006, a...
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos ended their season on the hardwood at the District Tournament following losses to the Liberty Lancers and the Davenport Gorillas. While the Broncos ended their season on a loss, Head Coach Dustan Arlt said he is pleased with the team’s performance in the tournament and their dedication to the program to have a successful season. The Broncos first matched up against Liberty on Feb. 13 and were handed their first loss of the District T... Full story
The Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce held the annual general membership meeting on Feb. 7, with more than 30 residents, business owners and local leaders in attendance. The meeting served as an opportunity for the board members to introduce themselves, and discuss the projects and activities slated for the upcoming year. The board of directors and roles for the current RACC board are Karen Cady, president; Mary Chamberlain, vice president; Marsha Smith, secretary; Donna Perelli Matlock, board member; and Julie Flyckt,...
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos had an exciting outing in the first week of the District Tournament, and were able to secure two victories to improve their standings in the competition. The Broncos first matched up against Wilbur-Creston on Feb. 6, a team they held to a single field goal during their meeting in the regular season. But the Wildcats were focused on avenging the league loss, and created problems for LRS, who narrowly managed to earn the District win with a buz... Full story
Following four consecutive losses, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos were still able to secure a third-place seed in the NE 2B South League standings. The Broncos fell to Reardan, Liberty and Colfax during the past weeks outings, following a league loss to Asotin. The Broncos faced up against Reardan on Jan. 30 and narrowly missed capturing the win, as the Indians took the 35-34 victory. Head Coach Dustan Arlt said, out of the past two seasons, this was the most... Full story
The State Auditor’s Office presented the initial draft of the accountability audit to the Adams County Public Hospital District No. 2 Board of Commissioners on Jan. 25. The Spokane-based audit team submitted the audit to the state for approval, where it will be publically published with the complete report, as well as information about the findings. The accountability audit is for the calendar years of 2015 and 2016. During the report, it was stated there were no exit items or findings, but there was one management letter. T...
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos are on the final stretch of the regular season, with only three games remaining until postseason competition. After a win against Tekoa-Rosalia and a loss to Asotin, the Broncos need to emerge victorious in the upcoming games to secure third place in league standings. The Broncos went on the road on Jan. 26 to face TR and returned home with a 72-44 victory. Head Coach Dustan Arlt said the Timberwolves are a tall and athletic team, which...
With eight days between competitions, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos returned to the hardwood on Jan. 18 to host Wilbur-Creston before continuing on the falling day to face Kettle Falls. The Broncos had a strong start on Friday night, racking up a quick 10-point lead over Wilbur-Creston. LRS maintained the lead for the entirety of the game, eventually earning a 44-21 league win. Head Coach Dustan Arlt said the Broncos then seemed to struggle with scoring late in the first... Full story
The Lind and Ritzville School Boards heard from administrators and students on Jan. 22 about updates regarding facilities in the districts, as well as ongoing programs and activities within the schools. In regards to the modernization of Lind-Ritzville High School and the relocation of the students, Superintendent Matt Ellis summarized the school board’s discussions surrounding the topic. The awareness for the need to relocate the students began in July at the recommendation of the architects, who encouraged the Ritzville Sch...
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos had a competitive week against league competitors the Davenport Gorillas and the Northwest Christian Crusaders. The Broncos hosted Davenport on Jan. 9, and came away with a 45-42 league win. LRS was able to control the tempo of the game from the beginning, but the Gorillas never let the Broncos earn a significant lead. Head Coach Dustan Arlt said defeating Davenport was a quality league win for the Broncos, and one they needed to move up in...
After two recent special meetings, a local Steering Committee recommended two potential options of consolidation for the upcoming school year. Due to renovations at Lind-Ritzville High School (LRHS), set to begin this summer, the students will need to move their educational studies to a different location within the Lind-Ritzville Cooperative School Districts. The Steering Committee is comprised of teachers, union representatives, school administrators and parents. All of the meetings were held as a special school board...
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos had successful outings on the hardwood, posting a nonleague win before playing a competitive first half against the league’s top team, St. George’s. The Broncos played in the rescheduled Columbia-Burbank game on Jan. 2, a less than ideal day for competition after the winter break and New Year holiday, Head Coach Dustan Arlt explained. The match up proved to be just what LRS needed, and they returned home with a 49-43 victory. The two tea...
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos had one outing during the winter break to compete in a nonleague game against Dayton on Dec. 30. The Broncos were initially scheduled to play Columbia-Burbank on Dec. 28, but dangerous weather conditions postponed the game until Jan. 2. Head Coach Dustan Arlt said after nearly a week without competition, he was concerned about how the Broncos would perform against Dayton. The nonleague game served as an opportunity for the LRS team to jump back into competition and prepare for tough...
The Adams County Public Hospital District No. 2 Board of Commissioners unanimously approved to recruit a PA or nurse practitioner, as well as the purchase of a new hematology analyzer. The Commissioners also voted in board members to serve for the upcoming year. CEO/CFO Gary Bostrom explained the provider the District thought would be joining the staff changed their mind. He said the doctor was only interested in emergency room work, and did not want to work in the clinic. Bostrom asked the Commissioners to approve...
Following two league losses the previous week, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos bounced back to earn two consecutive wins. The Broncos earned their first win of the week in a nonleague contest against St. John-Endicott before securing a league win against Mary Walker. The Broncos hosted SJE on Dec. 19, and after a competitive start, slowly pulled away to earn a 53-33 victory. Amidst a poor shooting night, Head Coach Dustan Arlt was happy the team recorded a win, but had...
The past week of competition for the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos showed them how tough this year’s league competition will be, as well as areas of weakness as a team. The Broncos played three games: first earning a win against Reardan, before suffering back-to-back losses to Liberty and Colfax. On Dec. 12, the Broncos went on the road to face an improved Reardan team, and Arlt said the Indians will be a team to watch the remainder of the season, as well as next year. The B... Full story
The Lind and Ritzville School Boards reviewed a schematic design proposal for the modernization of Lind-Ritzville High School from Architects West during the board meeting on Dec. 18. Ed Champagne presented the design submittal to the school board members, and explained the schematic is based on the needs identified in the educational specifications that were provided during the previous month’s meeting. The design will follow the existing footprint of the building, with the exterior walls remaining in place, but the i... Full story
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos hosted two games last week, and continued undefeated in league competition with a win against Tekoa-Rosalia on Dec. 8. Earlier in the week, the Broncos suffered a narrow loss in a nonleague contest against Tri-Cities Prep. Head Coach Dustan Arlt said TCP was better than expected, primarily on offense, and the Broncos struggled to keep tempo consistently during the 71-74 loss. The Broncos edged out to seven-point lead at halftime, but Arlt...