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Articles written by Sarah Stephens


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  • Court goes above and beyond

    Sarah Stephens, The Journal|Updated Nov 24, 2021

    RITZVILLE – Ritzville high school social studies teacher, Bryce Court was recognized by the high school for going "Above and Beyond" the last week of October. Before coming to teach in Ritzville, Court taught in Idaho for ten years and Oregon for six years. He began his tenure at Ritzville high school three years ago. Court worked with school officials to devise an academic schedule that would fit the new scheduling requirements. The high school used to have seven periods a d...

  • Wheat-Lind Coffee House opening soon

    Sarah Stephens, The Journal|Updated Nov 4, 2021

    LIND – The Wheat-Lind Coffee House will open downtown Nov. 13. Owner Heather Reed, 31, is a former Wenatchee resident who hopes to bring "community and coffee back into the area," she said. Reed moved to the area after purchasing a house and wanted to start a business. "I am always helping others start a business," she said. "But I have always wanted to start my own." Reed said that after she learned that Kendra's coffee house had gone out of business at 103 N. I St., she d...

  • Lind boy juggles motocross with school

    Sarah Stephens, The Journal|Updated Nov 4, 2021

    LIND - A local boy is finding time to get straight As in his sixth-grade classes while racing motocross around the state. Merrick Shepard, 11, is a lifelong Lind resident and a sponsored Motocross Champion. He is the son of Vernon Shepard, an Adams County Road Department grader operator, and lifelong Lind resident Megan Shepard, the chief nursing officer at Odessa Hospital. Merrick said his sport helps him keep his grades up. "It also helps me in math, like fractions when...

  • Lind boy overcomes challenge returning to gridiron

    Sarah Stephens, The Journal|Updated Oct 26, 2021

    LIND – Like other 16-year-old boys, Lind-Ritzville High School junior Nicholas Labes likes to hunt, play sports and hang out with friends. But due to a mysterious blood clot in his leg, being a normal teenager has been a challenge over the last year. Nick is back on the football field after a year of health issues that took him off the gridiron as a sophomore. "The first day of football practice last year, Nick came home complaining about pain behind his left knee," his m...

  • Former resident, promoted at Eastern campus

    Sarah Stephens, The Journal|Updated Oct 26, 2021

    CHENEY – Courtney Bilodeaux, has been named Associate Athletic Director for Academic Success for Eastern Washington University. Bilodeaux, 30 lives in Cheney with her husband, Jordan 31, and her sixteen-month-old daughter. Her husband also works at the Eastern campus as Voice Administrator for the campus network. She has one sister and her parents are Stacy, a Spokane police officer and Shannon Roark, an Eastern alumnus who works on campus as an Associate Director of Financial Aid. Bilodeaux has two dogs and is an avid o...

  • Caring Neighbors donates over $9,000 in funds to area projects

    Sarah Stephens, The Journal|Updated Oct 26, 2021

    RITZVILLE – Caring Neighbors recently donated nearly $9,000 to help with area projects. The non-profit group donated $1,000 to the Dr. Frank R. Burroughs Home and Depot museum to purchase signs for the antique farm equipment display. "Each piece of equipment has a story behind it," organization President Dale Anderson said. Five signs were made in his deceased brother Don Anderson's memory. John Rankin, Flying Arts Ranch artist and local businessman, not only has redone the s...

  • Bronco Inn wins award

    Sarah Stephens, The Journal|Updated Oct 26, 2021

    RITZVILLE – The Best Western Bronco Inn in Ritzville won the highly acclaimed M.K.Guertin award at a recent convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. The locally-owned Bronco Inn is one of sixty-nine North American hotels to receive this award. The award was presented on October 7th at a ceremony attended by hoteliers, corporate staff, and senior leadership. Hotels that receive this award are believed to best represent the Best Western founder's vision. These hotels are believed to e...

  • Sprague names king, queen

    Sarah Stephens, The Journal|Updated Oct 19, 2021

    SPRAGUE – A local girl who moved here four years ago from Cheney has been crowned Sprague High School Homecoming queen. Senior Chloe Melton, 17, moved here in eighth-grade. She is involved in several school clubs including the Environmental Club, Future Farmers of America and trapshooting. During her free time, she likes to ride horses, trap shoot and play softball. She also likes to hang out with friends, play hide and seek strategy games such as Fugitive, and go to lake bonfires. Melton admits she had some stiff c...

  • Lind-Ritzville enthrone their nobility

    Sarah Stephens, The Journal|Updated Oct 19, 2021

    RITZVILLE — A local girl said it is a “real honor” be have been named 2021 Lind-Ritzville Homecoming queen. Sydney Kinch, 17, a senior, said she believed there was a good chance she would be elected because she was a princess in the royal court her sophomore year.. Kinch is the daughter of farmer Joe Kinch and Ritzville Warehouse secretary Natalie Kinch. She is involved in many school activities and clubs, including Associated Student Body, Future Business Leaders of America and National Honor Society. She’s also one of the...

  • Washtucna crowns royalty

    Sarah Stephens, The Journal|Updated Oct 19, 2021

    WASHTUCNA – A girl who moved to Eastern Washington two years ago has been named Washtucna High School Homecoming queen. Noveli “Noe” Longatti, 17, who moved to Pomeroy from California in 2019, reigned over local Homecoming festivities last week. She is the daughter of therapist Kellie Lassiter, a therapist and UPS driver Todd Longatti. "Being senior Homecoming queen means that I got through all the hard stuff and became the student I wanted to be," she said, noting her selection was a surprise. Longatti said she has atten...

  • Drought conditions affecting most wheat farmers

    Sarah Stephens, The Journal|Updated Oct 19, 2021

    RITZVILLE – Drought conditions affected most Eastern Washington wheat farmers during this past growing season. While statewide yields are down by 40%, the North-Central region is down by 50%. Wheat production remains the same at 2.3 million acres, officials said. Moreover, 2021 yields plummeted to 39.1 bushels per acre, down from 72.4 bushels in 2020. Official statewide data is being released in December. The lack of rainfall is causing high protein content in soft white wheat, according to Michelle Hennings, Washington W...