Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 60
Jimmie Snyder Field on the campus of Lind-Ritzville High School was decked out with color and readiness to host the 14th annual Undeberg Track and Field meet. Grandparents, community members, visitors and track aficionados began passing the ticket booth at about 10 a.m.-just about the same time the heavy clouds spewed hail and a shot of light rain on the grandstand and facilities. But spirits were not dampened by moisture, although a strong wind lasting throughout the day...
Hungry on Main Street? Fear not, for more help is coming soon. Scott and Lori Gorman have been busy renovating the old gym at 202 W Main Ave. into a friendly, open, airy space which will be the home of "Memories Deli and Hidden Treasures." An existing set of partitions neatly splits the space with a long hallway that distinguishes the two functions apart from each other, but also gives easy access to both. A perfect set-up for what they have in mind. And what is that? On the...
Sunshine came early over the hills of Lind on Sunday, June 9. All was quiet after the Combine Derby the previous day, so the morning held no indication of the Coaster Cars Derby set for later in the afternoon. By early afternoon, however, action picked up on the Lind Smart's Hill racetrack. Coaster Cars began to arrive-carried on flatbed trailers of their sponsors-and hay bale safety barricades were placed at the finish line to keep errant coaster cars on the track. A hay...
The Lind Town Council met for a regular meeting on June 11, as the Town was awarded a grant to put together a traffic plan and discussed potential concerns over a proposed festival. Steve Nelson, an engineer from Century West Engineering, joined the meeting via speakerphone. He reported Lind had been awarded a $55,000 grant by Quarto to put together a Town traffic plan. That document would then be used as a springboard for future work on road improvements. A letter of the award from Adams County will be forthcoming, and the...
There's a new sign in town: "Gigamedics," which marks the new location of Ritzville Computers after they moved a couple of blocks south on Main Street from the corner of Division Street and Main Avenue. Cory Bartlett, proprietor of Gigamedics, explained how he got the rather unusual name. He and his daughter were discussing potential names, and began kicking around doctor-related names because they wanted a name that reflected the world of computers while at the same time...
The Lind Town Council held a regular meeting on May 28, as the council discussed the recent ordinance to ban tiny houses, as well as preparations for the Lind Combine Derby weekend. Community member Barbara DeVore was in attendance to ask for an explanation why tiny homes are not being allowed in town and why there are restrictions on the size of houses that can be constructed. Councilmember Rose Elkington explained that the council is trying to avoid transients. The council discussed the various reasons the ordinance...
Ritzville has gained what every small town needs: a deli where sandwiches make your mouth water. Scott and Lori Gorman have opened Memories Deli and Hidden Treasures. The hidden treasures-type places are not uncommon in small towns all across the country, but a good deli ... now that's a treasure in itself. And the Gormans offer a variety of wraps, salads, and sandwiches using a wide variety of ingredients so as to satisfy the taste buds of anybody. Their space is clean,...
Savannah Evelyn Perez, valedictorian of the 2019 graduating class from Washtucna High School, commented that the graduation ceremony was the smallest any audience members will ever attend. And so it was; Perez was the only senior to walk the aisle of the Washtucna gym in step with a piano version of Pomp and Circumstance. (The other senior graduate chose to attend a ceremony elsewhere.) Though the rural school is small, the respect, affection and appreciation for Perez...
Track isn't an easy sport. You're very alone-run, throw, jump-all by yourself. No offensive line to block for you, no open teammate to pass your shot to, no outfielder to back you up or catch your pole in the vault. Alone-out in front of everyone in shorts and a light jersey. It isn't like football where you cover everything up-including your face-so no one is quite sure when you either do well or make a mistake. And track is not much of a team sport; the only "team" in track...
The East Adams Rural Healthcare (EARH) Board met on Thursday, May 23, as it discussed new hires, its relationship with a recruiting firm and the future of the Washtucna clinic. CEO Gary Bostrom reported that Dr. Anthony Anderson has been hired to join the team of doctors, and would briefly come to the meeting for introductions, which he did. He will be working in the Emergency Room and doing hospital work until insurance companies approve his credentials. He met with Brandon Cline, managing editor of the Journal, for an inter...
A large, red riding Arena seems misfit among green and brown rolling hills, but that is the focal point of the Iron Legacy Ranch located south of Ritzville and east of Highway 261. The Ranch opened on May 4, 2019 with a public BBQ, facility tours, horse demonstrations, campfire and a square dance. Over 300 visitors attended. Ryan and Heidi Tracy own the ranch, helped by their four sons-Gus, Colby, Wes and Brock-who work as ranch hands. Heidi's parents, Phil and Lisa Peterson,...
The facade of the Eagles Aerie on Washington Street changed in May this year. The recent facelift is simply one of many renovations the Hall has undergone in the history of the facility. The Journal sat down to talk with Steve Meye, head of the trustee group that is responsible for the care, maintenance and operation of the local Eagles Aerie #2739. He is also chair of the Renovation Committee. At one time, the building housing the Eagles was split: the north end was the home...
Last Friday afternoon marked the start of the final path at the District Meet for track and field athletes seeking a place at the 2B State Championships. The pathway to State is shaped like an hourglass, and the District Meet is the pinched narrow point of the path. The Sub-District meet held in Ritzville ten days prior moved at least eight competitors in each event further along. The District Meet passed only four competitors in each event to the championships at Eastern...
Two members of the Ritzville Golf Team rode with Coach Nick Weishaar to the Meadowood Golf Course near Liberty Lake last Monday, May 13, with hopes of keeping alive a tenuous opportunity to move on to the State Meet. They came close, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. The route to the State Golf Championship is slightly more complex than other sports, and a positive result this time was “not in the cards,” said Weishaar. “They gave up strokes when you can’t give up strokes.” Weishaar explained that this year, to qualify for...
Jimmie Snider Field was awash in color and activity for the last time this season on May 7, as 13 track and field teams sent their athletes to the Sub-District Meet to vie for limited slots on a path toward an ultimate place in the State Championship Meet in three weeks time. The top 12 finishers in each field and distance running events, plus the top eight finishers in each track lane event move on to the District Meet for a final opportunity to punch their ticket to State....
A quorum was present for the Lind Town Council meeting on the evening of March 15, as discussion centered around the Town's water system and tiny house zoning. Kathy Vedder was not present but was monitoring via speaker phone. Steve Nelson from Century West Engineering made the council aware that Lind had qualified to apply for a Community Development Block Grant, and that the Town intended to apply for the maximum amount available, $750,000. The proposed use for the funds...
The following track and field athletes have qualified to move into the District Track and Field Meet on Friday and Saturday, May 17 and 18 at Central Valley High School. More information will be included in next week's issue: Sydney Kinch (100m dash, 200m dash, Pole Vault, Long Jump) Spencer Gering (200m dash) Julia Klein (400m run, 800m run) Conrad Ziemer (400m run, 800m run, Long Jump) Linnea Schafer (1600m run) Brooke Coons (100m Hurdles) Sam Michels (3200m run) Brynne...
The calendar page has turned to May, sunny days prevail, and the Track and Field season is moving to an end after a delayed start due to snow-covered tracks and fields. Now the meets are gateways to State and results of competition determine who can continue to chase State medals. The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague track team has operated this season with one senior, a few juniors and filled out with sophomores and freshmen. Seven men and ten women have been available to compete for the Broncos, which has resulted in only a one-time...
Lind’s Town Council met on April 23 with a plethora of topics on the agenda. A council quorum was present, and councilmember Kathy Vedder was excused from the meeting. Councilmember Rose Elkington shared the research she did regarding the Town’s rating and homeowner’s insurance rates being increased. Community member Gary DeMoss had attended the prior meeting and questioned the council why the Town’s rating had gone down. Elkington explained that when a town is protected by a volunteer fire department, it affects a reducti...
Softball... play for the fun of it? Yes, that's happening almost every Wednesday evening in a casual women's league. It's been going on for years, maybe decades. They play every Wednesday evening at 6:30 in one of six eastern Washington towns: Ritzville, Odessa (which has two teams), Wilbur, Grand Coulee, Wilson Creek and Davenport. It has all the hallmarks of an organized league, but sometimes it becomes a scheduling operation to match up teams. The idea is to play each team...
In a quiet evening on the Fairgrounds, after a very windy Ritzville day which included the major Undeberg Track Meet at Jimmie Snider Field, some 80 to 100 folks parked on the grass, crossed the bridge, passed by five large BBQ grills and turned the corner to enter the Knuth Building for the annual Wampum fundraising dinner and auction for the Wheat Land Communities' Fair. As the inside of the renovated building filled, so did the hum of locals greeting each other, taking in...
A cloudy rain-threatening day covered the Spokane Falls Community College campus as 67 teams converged for the Van Kuren Track and Field Invite on April 13. Lind-Ritzville sent a portion of the track and field team, because entries in each event at a meet this large are limited. A number of LRS competitors were listed as DNS (Did Not Start), so final results for the team were sparse. Sparse doesn't mean futile, however, as the youngest LRS team members scored the only team...
LRS’s golf team has traveled both south and north in the past two weeks. Last Tuesday, April 16, found the team traveling to the far southeast corner of Washington to match strokes with host Asotin at a Clarkston golf course. The team is down to four members for the rest of the year: two men and two women. At Clarkston, Morgan Brausen shot an 88 for the 18-hole course. Dirk Dahlman more than matched him with his own 85. On the women’s side, Molly Hane carded 126 – which matches the score needed for a woman to compete in the s...
The Lind-Ritzville golf team traveled north to Colville’s Dominion Meadows Golf Course on Tuesday, April 9, for their first match of the season. Three earlier scheduled matches had been cancelled due to winter’s late snow melt. This match was initially scheduled for a 10 a.m. start, but in the morning, the first tee time was changed to noon, and given the many competitors who showed up, the rounds were changed to nine holes in the interest of time. Only four of the seven members of the Lind-Ritzville group made the trip; Mor...
The Lind Town Council held a regular meeting in the Council Chambers on Tuesday, April 9. A quorum was present;, with councilmember Kathy Vedder participating via speakerphone. Mayor Paula Bell asked councilmember Jim Dworshak to give a brief recap of the previous meeting regarding a resident’s water usage. Dworshak explained that it is not feasible to reduce the resident’s water bill at this time due to the Town’s current financial situation, in that in addition to charging enough to pay for water use, there is also oblig...