Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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Though most of the sewer problems the Ritzville City Crews have been dealing with stem from tree roots because of the mild winter, Public Works Director Larry Swift asks residents to avoid putting things in the toilet that don’t belong. “It’s unbelievable some of the stuff we find,” he said. Throughout the years city crews have found several different items, either in the pipes themselves or at the sewage treatment plant. Items include aerosol cans, clothing, as well as whole apples and potatoes. Items that should not be...
With the departure of Grace Shelby as the director, the Adams County Development Council (ACDC) began their search for a replacement last fall. The ACDC faced a problem, however, of not being able to offer a salary that would be competitive as a director so the position was reorganized, to work more closely with Adams County Economic Director Stephen McFadden. The ACDC filled the position of Manager and Business and Marketing Specialist with Joey Hanson, with Dec. 1, 2014, being her first day on the job. Her primary...
After taking the third seed into the Sub-Regional Tournament the Lady Broncos lost their first game to the number one seed, the Colfax Lady Bulldogs. This put them into a loser-out game against their league rivals and the number four seed from the District Tournament, the Reardan Lady Indians. After a few minutes of scoreless play the Lady Broncos got on the board and by the end of the first quarter, LRS held the lead 12-7. They continued to deny the Lady Indians scoring...
With a plan of expanding 4-H outreach to youth in the Lincoln, Adams and Grant counties region Lauren M. Hrncirik started as the new 4-H Youth Development Regional Specialist. As the Regional Specialist, Hrncirik works to identify where the extension can improve, facilitate new connections within the region and identify the level of service within each community. The ultimate goal for the program is growth. “Right now I’m doing a lot of connecting with community partners and...
After suffering a 48-45 loss to the St. George’s Dragon the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos faced the Colfax Bulldogs in a battle for fifth place and the last berth into the Sub-Regional Tournament. Head coach Dustan Arlt said the fact the Broncos were playing against a team that went 18-2 during the regular season spoke to how difficult the league competition was this year. The Broncos got off to a good start against the Bulldogs and at the end of the first quarter both teams...
On Friday, Feb. 12, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Lady Broncos prepared to take on the Reardan Lady Indians for the third and fourth place seeds into the Sub-Regional Tournament. The Lady Broncos took control of the game early over the Lady Indians and after the first quarter held a 17-12 lead. The second quarter was completely dominated by the Lady Broncos, who scored an additional 21 points and held the Lady Indians to just seven points before halftime. The Lady Broncos opened...
The game of football is inherently violent. With players, whether they are high school, college or professional level athletes training with the purpose of hitting their opponents there are bound to be injuries. None are more concerning than those to the head. This struck particularly close to home in 2009 when Valley Christian athlete Drew Swank collapsed after taking a hard hit to the head during a game in Washtucna. Swank had suffered a concussion earlier in the season but had been cleared by his family’s doctor to play i...
The Adams County Sheriff’s Department may have the option of housing inmates in the Sunnyside Police Department’s prison pending an agreement between the county and the City of Sunnyside. Sheriff John Hunt and Adams County Prosecutor Randy Flyckt presented the commissioners with a contract from the City of Sunnyside concerning the housing of inmates. Flyckt reported only two minor changes after his examination of the original contract received. He recommended the commissioners approve the chairman’s signature on the revis...
Despite the numerous improvements to the Ritzville Fire Department in response to the Washington State Rating Bureau’s inspection early last year, the Fire Safety rating of seven became official on Feb. 1. This means insurance rates in Ritzville are likely to increase by as much as 10 percent for personal insurance and 25 percent for business insurance rates based on statewide averages. If all goes to Fire Chief Jim Bostic’s plan, the rating will not stick for long. In December of 2014 Bostic sent a report to the rating burea...
Of the eight members of the Broncos mat squad only two are slated to move on into the sub-regionals tournament, as alternates. The rest of the Brronco squad was eliminated during the District 7/9 Sub-Regional Tournament held in Ritzville on Feb. 8 and 9. Josh Rosman started his tournament competition on Friday night wrestling at 120 pounds against Tristan Chantry from Selkirk. Rosman lost his first match and then wrestled on Saturday against Joey Rodgers of Garfield-Palouse....
After finishing their regular season with two difficult losses to the Colfax Bulldogs and the St. George’s Dragons, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos entered the District Tournament in Reardan on Feb. 4. Their first opponent was the Northwest Christian Crusaders who the Broncos beat earlier, during the regular season. The Crusaders lacked one of their best players during that game, Ryan Ricks, who returned for the tournament. Rick’s was not the deciding factor in the Crusaders 70-44 victory over the Broncos, however. The Bro...
With the conclusion of the regular season the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Lady Broncos moved on the next phase of competition, the District Tournament. In the first two contests the Lady Broncos and their opponents have been forced into overtime to decide the game. They faced their first opponent, the Davenport Lady Gorillas, on Feb. 4. The Lady Broncos jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter over their first tournament opponents. With an 18-9 lead at the end of the first...
During the Jan. 27 meeting of the Lind Town Council East Adams Rural Healthcare CEO/CFO Gary Bostrom; Hospital Commissioners Jerry Snider and Ross Heimbigner; and EMT Coordinator Roni Kinney met with council members to discuss the Lind ambulance. Currently the Lind ambulance is in Ritzville for repairs and the hospital district is considering permanently removing it from the town because there is no crew in the town to respond to calls. Even with the ambulance sitting idle, the maintenance costs have continued for the...
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos wrapped up their final week of regular season play against three league adversaries. They faced their first opponents, the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves, on Tuesday, Jan. 27, in Rosalia. Both teams were tied at 11 points by the end of the first quarter. “We did not start the best,” head coach Dustan Arlt said. In the second quarter the Broncos ramped up their defense and kept the Timberwolves scoreless for the entirety of the quarter. In add...
Last week the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Lady Broncos concluded regular season play against three league rivals. They started on Tuesday, Jan. 27, against the Tekoa-Rosalia Lady Timberwolves. The Lady Broncos started the game strong and took control over their adversary despite head coach John Galbreath’s worries that the Lady Timberwolves might rally for their senior night game. “We got off to a good start and then we never really looked back,” Galbreath explained By the end o...
Another business has opened its doors in downtown Ritzville. Jason Kiel has operated Wheatland Computer Services from his home since 2009 but it has grown to the point that he needed to move into an office. “It finally got to a point that I really grew out of the office out of my house and I needed to get some office space as I’ve continued to grow,” Kiel said. He has moved into a building on the corner of Division Street and Main Avenue. “If I was ever going to open an offi...
Generous donations from local businesses and organizations will help the Ritzville Fire Department continue to upgrade its equipment. Fire Chief Jim Bostic reported a total of $7,500 has been received by the fire department from the donations and a grant from Burlington Northern Santa Fe, who also purchased new air tanks for the department. Businesses and organizations contributing include CF Industries, Big Bend Electric Co-op, the Hospital Foundation, Caring Neighbors and one business owner who requested to remain...
With the unseasonal warmth and high amount of rainfall which closed many gravel roads in the county last weekend maintenance crews were working on erosion repair as well as wash boarding on gravel roads throughout the county reported Public Works Director Todd O’Brien. In addition to these projects O’Brien said maintenance crews would also be working on two bridge projects on the Dewald Road. County Engineer Scott Yaeger said on one bridge crews had replaced rotten girders and were working on re-decking the bridge. The second...
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos started last week’s games on Tuesday, Jan. 20, against the Connell Eagles. The Broncos jumped to an early lead, scoring 23 points in the first quarter to the Eagles’ 17. The Broncos’ scoring lagged in the second quarter and at the half they trailed by three points. The Broncos rallied and outscored their opponents in the second half to secure a 69-62 win over the Eagles. Dustan Arlt called the game a balanced effort. “Everyone individually and the team just played better,” Arlt explained. “W...
After a heartbreaking loss to Reardan on Saturday, Jan. 17, the Lady Broncos rallied to take down two non-league opponents and one league rival last week. On Tuesday, Jan. 20, the Lady Broncos hosted the Connell High School Lady Eagles. After the four quarters the Lady Broncos took the win 66-52 in a game that head coach John Galbreath said went well for his team. “I think we shared the ball extremely well,” he explained. With three players scoring double digits for the Lady Broncos, and three more very near double dig...
Ritzville resident Scott Morrill opened a trading card and sports memorabilia shop last year and is now in the process of assuming ownership of the thrift store, which occupies the same building in downtown Ritzville. The thrift store, previously the Red Closet Door, now comes with a new name under the new ownership: The Ritzville Thrift Store. The second half of the business is Scottie’s Card Shop. The previous owner, who started the store, decided to transfer ownership over...
Over the weekend, rain fell heavily throughout Adams County. During the regular meeting of the Adams County Commissioners, which was held on Tuesday due to the Monday holiday, Public Works Director Todd O’Brien gave his report on the rain’s effect throughout the county. He reported several of the county’s gravel roads had been closed over the weekend because of how saturated they had become. Crews were out on Monday checking the roads for damage. As of Tuesday O’Brien said many of the roads would remain closed for a couple...
After losing two league games last week the Broncos sit in the fifth place position in their league. The Broncos started last week facing the Wilbur-Creston Wildcats on Tuesday. Head Coach Dustan Arlt said he knew it was going to be a difficult game. The Wildcats have many senior players on the team and have been doing well this year. They currently hold the fourth place position in the league. Arlt said a rivalry between the two schools started during the football season,...
With only two games last week the Lady Broncos now have a record of 7-3 and are in fourth place in the league. They started the week on Tuesday facing the Wilbur-Creston Lady Wildcats at home. The Lady Broncos got off to a poor start against their opponents, putting up just four points on offense and allowing the Lady Wildcats to record 11 points in the first quarter. “We just had a slow start,” Head Coach John Galbreath said. Galbreath said the teams defensive intensity was...
In 1998 the last K-9 unit in Adams County retired. After a generous donation of $10,000 from Dan Nygard, the owner of the Othello Pronto Lube, and the allocation of $30,000 from the Adams County Commissioners out of the Drug Enforcement Fund, Adams County Sheriff John Hunt is able to work on bringing a K-9 unit back to the county. According to Hunt, there are commitments for more funding if it is required with multiple businesses in Othello that are interested in supporting the K-9 program. “Back when K-9 started in Adams C...