Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 589
OLYMPIA - The Washington Department of Ecology issued a drought emergency for nearly all of the state July 14. Seattle, Tacoma and Everett are excluded from the drought declaration, as they have stored water, according to the DOE. A drought emergency declaration means water supply is projected to be below 75% of average, and there is a risk of undue hardship to water users and uses. With a formal drought declaration in place, DOE is authorized to take certain measures for the purpose of providing emergency drought relief,...
RITZVILLE - The Lind-Ritzville-Sprague Broncos baseball team was honored at a banquet last week, with individual athletes named for awards. Owen Telecky, a junior, won the CY (young) award for the Best Pitcher. Senior Jay Harder won Silver Slugger for Best Hitter. Sophomore Cooper Miller won Most Improved. Chase Galbreath, also a sophomore, won the Coaches Award. The Broncos baseball team is coached by Jason Hilzer, assisted by Dustan Arlt....
RITZVILLE – A banquet honoring the Lind-Ritzville-Sprague Broncos football team held last week named individual players for awards. Captains Awards went to seniors Carson Ayers, Doug Morris and Jay Harder. Blake Esser, a sophomore, was named Most Improved. The Most Inspirational award was given to Doug Morris. Cooper Miller, a sophomore, was named Special Teams Player of the Year. The Spirit of a Bronco award was given to Jay Harder. The Broncos are coached by Greg W...
RITZVILLE - Northeast 2B league basketball teams named their All-League players, with three Bronco girls and two Bronco boys receiving this distinguished honor. For the NE 2B Girls All League Basketball, Bronco Dakota Killian, a junior, was named to the 1st Team. Senior Janaye Wilkie was named to the 2nd Team; and Julia Klein, a senior, was named to the 3rd Team. The girls are coached by Steve Wellsandt, assisted by Shannon Court. For the NE 2B Boys All League Basketball, Bron...
RITZVILLE — Adams County Fire Protection District No. 1 Board of County Commissioners enacted Fire Danger Burn Restrictions during a special meeting Tuesday, June 29. Resolution 2021-1 restricts unauthorized open burning, unauthorized recreational fires and the burning of all combustible materials which may include, but are not limited to, outdoor burning of yard vegetation or waste, non-emergent agriculture burning, exploding gun targets, bullet tracer rounds, fire pits, any open flame; and fireworks. The restrictions are i...
RITZVILLE - Cooling centers for those in need of a place to spend the hottest hours of the day have been set up in Lind and Ritzville by the Adams County Health Department. Zion Philadelphia United Church of Christ is open for those needing to escape the heat from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and the Lind Grade School Gym is open as a cooling center from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. The cooling centers opened Tuesday, June 29. Pastor Janel Rieve said she received an email from Karen Potts, RN, with...
LIBERTY – Two Broncos competed in the NE 2B League wrestling championships, with Brandon Davis taking first place at 126 pounds, and Gabe Smith finishing third at 220 pounds Friday, June 18. Davis was in his sophomore year and Smith was a freshman. "This is Gabe's first year wrestling," Head Coach Jason Hilzer said. "He turned out last year halfway through the year, so he only got four matches. So between the two years, he got one full season. He didn't wrestle as a little g...
DAVENPORT – The Lind-Ritzville-Sprague Broncos ended their boys basketball season with a 59-45 loss to Davenport during a play-offs game Monday, June 14. "We got off to a good start and led 11-4, but we really struggled on both ends of the court after that, and Davenport started pulling away late in the third quarter," said Head Coach Dustan Arlt. "It was probably the most we struggled all year in a game, and the first one we weren't right in it at the end." The Broncos f...
RITZVILLE - Residents of Rose Garden Estates were treated to root beer floats and country music under blue skies Wednesday, June 16. Charlie Root of Moses Lake brought his guitar, banjo and a large repertoire of old time country hits - some dating back to the 1800s, such as Stephen Foster's "Oh Susanna." "They know a lot of the songs I sing," Root said. This was Root's first visit back to the Rose Garden since February 2020, a regular entertainer for the residents prior to...
LIND - U.S. Highway 395 was partially closed twice in two days following truck crashes that coated the roadway with oil and asphalt. The first crash occurred Thursday, June 18, near southbound Milepost 75, and the second Friday, June 19, near northbound Milepost 78, according to the Washington State Patrol. Thursday's 1:15 p.m. incident involved a northbound tanker truck carrying hydraulic oil, the patrol reported. The vehicle entered the median and overturned, spilling the th...
LACROSSE - The four graduates making up LaCrosse High School's Class of 2021 earned $95,056 in scholarships. The students earned the following awards and scholarships: Zoe Bailey, Valedictorian: LaCrosse High School Female Athlete of the Year, Torgeson Memorial Award, Washington State Honors Award, LaCrosse Community Club Scholarship, Kelli Scharpenberg Memorial Scholarship, LaCrosse Masonic Scholarship, Urgel and Virginia Bell Memorial Scholarship, LaCrosse Scholarship...
RITZVILLE – The Lind-Ritzville-Sprague Broncos took second place in the NE 2B League Basketball Championship when they fell to the Liberty Lancers 46-77, at home Saturday, June 19. "We just couldn't shut them down," Head Coach Steve Wellsandt said of the Lancers. "They shot 58% from the 3-point line. We were just under 40% for 3-pointers, but on 2-point field goals we were just under 30%. So it was not a good shooting night inside the paint." Dakota Killian led in scoring f...
RITZVILLE - The Ritzville Water Park opened at noon Wednesday, June 16. Donna Kessler, in her fifth season as pool manager, said 160 people attended opening day. The crowd increased to 220 Thursday, with temperatures climbing almost 10 degrees higher than opening day. "Today we're getting even more people," Kessler said Friday afternoon. "Every day it increased." Kessler said the capacity is 130 people at a time, with the Water Park currently operating at 50% capacity due to...
RITZVILLE – Both the 7th and 8th grade Lind-Ritzville-Sprague boys basketball teams went undefeated this season. The teams, comprised of one 7th grader on the varsity team and a few 8th graders on the junior varsity team, are coached by Dale Anderson and Alan Field. “Both teams went undefeated, which was really cool,” said Anderson, who coaches the varsity team. “It's a pretty athletic team. Defensively is what I was really pleased with. The most points scored against us in one game was 27. We kept them under 30 points....
RITZVILLE – Adams County is liable to the Washington State Department of Revenue for $683,076 after a renewable energy contractor in Adams County applied for and was awarded a refund of state and local sales taxes paid. According to Washington State RCW 82.08.962, 50 percent of state and local sales taxes paid on sales of machinery and equipment used in generating electricity using wind, sun and other renewable sources can be remitted to purchasers who paid the sales taxes. The exempt purchases can apply for machinery and e...
LIND - A day after an oil tanker crashed on U.S. Highway 395, law enforcement are dealing with a second incident. U.S. Highway 395 northbound was closed at Milepost 78 at about 4 p.m. after an asphalt truck overturned, the state Department of Transportation said Friday afternoon, June 19. Today's crash was three miles north of the oil tanker crash, officials said. The closure began shortly before 4 p.m. and remain in place until further notice, officials said. Motorists were...
LIND - A tanker semi carrying hydraulic oil overturned on U.S. Highway 395 at Milepost 75 shortly before 1:30 p.m. Thursday, June 17, spilling oil into the median and onto the southbound lanes. Both lanes were blocked until shortly after 4 p.m. The driver was headed northbound on Highway 395 when he allegedly looked up at something on the hillside, crossed the median, and overturned on the southbound lanes. Both the driver and passenger were able to climb out of the vehicle...
LIND – Eighth-graders celebrated accomplishments over the past year at their promotion at Lind Middle School Wednesday, June 9. Several students took turns at the podium, with Fredy Granados welcoming family members and friends to the ceremony. Brody Boness spoke for the Honor Society, and Alyssa Williams discussed FFA achievements. Savannah Caruth spoke of joys inherent in the RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) Club, and Emilia Klewin spoke for the ASB (All Student Body). A...
RITZVILLE – The Broncos hosted a league wrestling tournament with Chewelah, Colfax, Pomeroy, Liberty and Davenport competing Tuesday, June 8. Wrestling for the Broncos was Brandon Davis at 126 pounds, and Gabe Smith at 195 pounds. In a match in against Chewelah's Justice Acosta in the 138 pound weight class, Davis was pinned in the first round. Davis went on to pin Reardan's Noah Hamilton in the third round. Smith pinned Colfax wrestler Jerry Ottinger in the first round. S...
RITZVILLE – The girls' basketball team enters this week's play-offs seeded number one, with a home game against St. George's Tuesday, June 15. "We were in a 3-way tie with Liberty and Davenport, and since we beat both of them, it gave us the number-one seed," said Head Coach Steve Wellsandt Monday morning. "It will be good to play at home." Wellsandt said the games are single-elimination, but if they win Tuesday they will face the winner of the Colfax/Kettle Falls game T...
RITZVILLE – Lind-Ritzville High School juniors and seniors who volunteered to be Link Leaders as mentors for incoming freshmen in the fall had the opportunity to show the Class of 2025 around the school last week. This is the second year the high school is taking advantage of the program that assigns groups of eight to 10 incoming freshmen to two junior or senior Link Leaders. The leaders go through 12 hours of online training to prepare them for the role of mentors. Link Crew Advisor Kathy McAnally said students have a d...
LIND – Council members and Mayor Paula Bell held an executive session during their June 8 meeting, after which councilwoman Kathy Vedder made a motion to offer Steven Thompson the fulltime position with the City Public Works Crew at $23 per hour with full benefits. While new to employment with the town, Thompson is not new to Lind; as he grew up there and is a lifelong resident. Council also approved increasing City Public Works Crew member Cagney Wills' wage to $16 per hour, following reports she is doing excellent work. W...
RITZVILLE – Senator Mark Schoesler (R-Ritzville) attended the Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ meeting in Ritzville last week, the first in-person meeting for the organization since COVID pandemic restrictions began. The following day, Schoesler took part in the Washington State University Variety Pacific Northwest crop tour, held at Ron Jirava’s farm near Ritzville. That was followed by a meeting with the Adams County Wheat Growers. “It was great to be with fellow farmers in person again,” Schoesler said of his bu...
RITZVILLE – Thirty-three graduates making up the Lind-Ritzville High School Class of 2021 graduated at an afternoon ceremony on the athletic field Saturday, June 5. Principal Kevin Terris presided over the event, with music provided by the school band directed by Jennifer York. Terris said when he arrived in Ritzville in 2018, the teaching staff told him of the special characteristics of the sophomore class; a class with "so much enthusiasm, pride and potential." "They have n...
SPRAGUE – Seven students graduated in the Class of 2021 from Sprague High School, with each one of them playing a role in the afternoon commencement ceremony Saturday, June 5. Samuel Michels gave the welcome and led the Pledge of Allegiance. Malea Canaday gave the Valedictorian speech, followed by Salutatorian Kelsey Billigmeir. Canaday also gave recognition to parents. Future plans of graduates were covered by Billigmeir and Kylee Longie. Introducing class speaker Mac M...