Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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The Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce (RACC) is hosting the November general membership meeting at the H.E. Gritman Center on Thursday, Nov. 14, beginning at noon. The cost for the meal is a suggested donation of $4. The guest speaker for the afternoon meeting is Curtis Johnson, the general manager of Love’s Travel Stops. Johnson is presenting a brief history of Love’s and how the business differs from other convenience stores. For more information, contact the RACC office at 659-1936 or by email at chamb...
The family favorite Turkey Bingo event returns to the C.J. Newland American Legion Memorial Hall on Saturday, Nov. 16, hosted by the Ritzville Lions Club. From 2-10 p.m., attendees have the chance to win a turkey or two, just in time for Thanksgiving. Aside from the 160 turkeys being awarded to bingo winners, individuals can also purchase raffle tickets to win cash prizes. Hamburgers, fresh pie and soft drinks are available for purchase from the kitchen from 2-9 p.m. Raffle tickets can be purchased for one dollar from...
The H.E. Gritman Senior Center is hosting an after-church fundraiser, Thanksgiving lunch and opening for Second Harvest during the month of November. The senior center is hosting the second after-church fundraiser on Sunday, Nov. 17, from noon until 2 p.m. The Sunday meal consists of beef stew, salad, rolls, Dutch apple pie and all the trimmings to make it a meal enjoyable for all. The cost is $10 for adults and $6 for children, and tickets can be purchased from board members or by calling 659-1921. The deadline to purchase...
The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) is returning with a mobile Community Service Office (CSO) on Wednesday, Nov. 20. The mobile unit will be on site from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the old Parkway Building on Main Avenue. The CSO unit has onsite representatives to offer assistance to area community members needing to apply for state assistance regarding cash, basic food, medical, and drug and alcohol treatment services. The Zion Philadelphia United Church of Christ (UCC) in Ritzville is working with DSHS to...
A night of bingo, endless popcorn and the opportunity to win a turkey, is a winning combination during the annual Turkey Bingo event in Washtucna on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Lions Den. Turkey Bingo is hosted by the Washtucna-Benge Lions Club and begins at 7 p.m. Hot dogs, chilidogs, soda pop and candy are available to purchase from the kitchen. Bingo is one of the Lions Club’s fundraisers, with proceeds used for projects in the community....
The Community Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner sponsored by the Ralston Grange will take place at the hall in Ralston on Tuesday, Nov. 19, at 6:30 p.m. The general public is invited with those attending asked to bring a potluck dish or two to share. The Grange provides turkey, ham, beverages and table service. Immediately following dinner a program, “Giving Thanks For Cowboys and Country” will be presented featuring cowboy musician, Charlie Root. Root was born in Phoenix, Ariz., but grew up in Western Washington. After a hit...
The deadline is approaching to enter photographs in the Spokane Ag Expo 2014 Photography Contest. November 29 is the final day to submit photographs depicting “Agriculture in the Inland Northwest.” Contestants are asked to submit either color or black and white prints with a minimum size of 8-by-10 inches and maximum size of 11-by-14 inches. Photos need to be mounted on cardboard or matting, not framed, with no more than four photos entered by a contestant. Included along with the photos, contestants need to submit their pho... Full story
Community members packed the C.J. Newland American Legion Memorial Hall on Saturday night to support the Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce and recognize local leaders for their outstanding efforts in the community. The annual Community Recognition Night and Auction drew around 80 people to the event, and raised an estimated total of $8,300. With decorations and a catered meal based around the “Evening in Athens” theme, those in attendance helped raise $6,000 to support the...
Every lawmaker representing Washington, Oregon, and Idaho urged the U.S. Energy Department to maintain an independent Bonneville Power Administration that puts Northwest power users first, in a bipartisan letter to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz sent Friday, Nov. 8. Led by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings, R-Wash., and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the 23 members emphasized the importance of correcting discrimination against hiring veterans that occurred at...
The annual 4-H Achievement Program for area 4-H members took place in Lind on Saturday, Oct. 26. Nearly 30 4-H members and leaders attended the program to celebrate and honor the achievements of local youth. During the program, Gold, Silver and Go for the Gold Awards were presented to 4-H members who excelled in their specific category. The selection process is based on the members’ project work, growth in the project area, citizenship, community service and leadership. Receiving Gold Awards for their horse projects are K...
The theme of “Where the Hell’s My Water?” brought in a record number of stakeholders from around the Northwest as nearly 180 attended the Columbia Basin Development League Conference and 49th Annual Meeting in Moses Lake last week. The conference focused on progress to date on moving irrigators from the Odessa aquifer to surface water and on plans for completing the second half of the Columbia Basin Project. At the annual business meeting Mark Stedman and Matt Hawley were elected to a three-year term on the board of trust...
Two high school seniors have been selected to represent Washington wheat farmers and will serve as the Washington Wheat Ambassadors for the upcoming year. Maya Wahl of Lind and Max Mielke of Davenport were selected after an initial written application process that also included submitting a short introductory video. Wahl and Mielke will each be giving a speech at the upcoming Washington Association of Wheat Growers Annual Awards Banquet on Nov. 14 during the Tri-State Grain Growers Convention in Spokane. The seniors will be...
Following a question and answer session and an executive session, the board of commissioners for Adams County Public Hospital District No. 2 elected to appoint Ross Heimbigner to fill a vacancy created by the recent resignation of Kirk Danekas. Heimbigner of Ritzville, and Don Sanger of Lind had submitted letters of interest, seeking appointment to the vacancy. Tuesday afternoon the commissioners conducted a special meeting for the purpose of interviewing both applicants. The candidates were each asked six prepared questions...
Though the LWK Tigercats’ eight-man football team did not earn a win this season, the athletes left the field with heads held high and celebrated six senior athletes Friday night. The Tigercats played the final game on the home turf in Washtucna against Garfield-Palouse, where the Vikings secured a 44-8 victory over LWK. The Tigercats began the evening by recognizing seven seniors and their parents who have been instrumental to the team. The students being honored prior to the game were athletes Joey Guske, Bo Rice, S...
The Lady Broncos haven’t seen the Yakima SunDome during the WIAA 2B State Volleyball Championships since 2007 when they captured a sixth place trophy. They’ll be there this year. The team delivered an impressive come-from-behind win in five sets during the first round of the regional tournament against Tri-Cities Prep last Saturday, and then defeated Reardan in four sets to earn that return trip to the state tournament. LRS will play at 9:45 a.m. Friday against Kittitas in...
Northeast 2B district Champions, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos have moved into the WIAA 2B state championship bracket. The Broncos’ first playoff test comes Friday night at home at 7 p.m. when they host the DeSales Irish of Walla Walla. The defending state champions have won 22 straight. They have manhandled their opponents, showed class by working to avoid running up scores for no reason and learned a few unexpected lessons along the way. Last Friday, the Broncos met N... Full story
Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce President John Kragt (right) presented the November Yard of the Month award to Oscar and Irene Olson. The couple resides at 508 South Columbia Street and the yard is best recognized for the tremendous amount of roses that surround the house in the summer months. The RACC board votes on and selects one yard in the Ritzville community every month to receive the award. -Journal photo by Katelin Davidson...
Usually I am glad to be right but I am not happy about finding out the truth about ObamaCare. I wonder what is going to happen to the millions of people who have received their insurance cancelation notices. Many of these people are going to have a black holiday season because of this program that we have been told about ad nauseam. Perhaps President Obama took lesson from his Hollywood friends as to being able to repeat the same statements that he now says weren’t exact. It makes me wonder if President Obama has a c...
On Oct. 15, Mayor Linda Kadlec and the City Council passed a resolution declaring the month of November “Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month” in Ritzville. Bravo to them for helping to raise awareness about this devastating disease and encouraging our elected officials in Washington, D.C., to make fighting pancreatic cancer a priority. The “Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act” was signed by President Obama in January, but sequestration is putting all medical research at risk. Even though the new law outlines the scienti... Full story
Growing up an “east coaster” I have witnessed many death and regeneration cycles of neighborhoods and cities. As we know Detroit, Cleveland and Gary are facing these cycles now and eastern Washington towns have had their share of past boom times with more to be revealed. I would like to see the town succeed – it has tremendous potential. The last 40-plus years of human activity, decisions and behaviors on the International, National, State and local levels have delivered a number of outcomes that seem to be resulting in th... Full story
Mr. Don C. Brunell is mistaken. ObamaCare cannot be fixed. There are Democrat members of Congress who want to find a way of papering over problems until after the 2014 elections but there are few if any Democrats who want it fixed in the sense Brunell discusses in his Ritzville Journal editorial of November 7. Find a Democrat who supports Brunell and you will have found a Democrat who does not understand the mess Congress created with ObamaCare. ObamaCare cannot be made sensible. Brunell writes: “Obamacare has some p... Full story
Thanks, Terri on the kudos, but there is one person who I feel was very important in the restoration of the Ritz Theatre. Thirty years ago, Herb Benzel made the decision to purchase the ailing Ritz Theatre at an estate auction. Herb, his wife Shannon, and their farm crew embarked on a three-year restoration (they worked in the winters when not in the field), and reopened in 1987 with Dan Geschke. If Herb had not had that vision, the building could have continued to deteriorate and been lost. He followed that project with the...
East Adams Rural Hospital (EARH) received the Top Performer Safety Award at the Washington State Hospital Association annual meeting. In addition to recognition for safety, our hospital received a check for $5,000. A big thank you to the EARH staff for a job well done! Recently, we have purchased and are starting the implementation process for electrical medical records. Once online, patients will be able to access personal medical information including current prescriptions. In October, EARH received two federal citations... Full story
Idarose Schelly Colwell died at the age of 96 on Nov. 10 in Ritzville. She was born Oct. 26, 1917, to Charles and Laura Buehler Schelly in Denton, Mont. They moved to Ritzville in 1918, and she lived here the rest of her life. She graduated Ritzville High School in 1935, and married Kenneth (Brick) Colwell in 1939. They joined his parents in building the Colwell Motel in 1950. She and Brick operated the motel until 1956, when she went to work at the Adams County ASCS office.... Full story
Barbara E. (Fode) Reams died at the age of 83 on Nov. 7. She was born on July 11, 1930, to Everett (Pete) and Elizabeth Streeter in Ritzville. She graduated from Ritzville High School in 1949, and married Alfred (Fritz) W. Fode on Sept. 21, 1949. They raised their family on a wheat farm in Lind, until Fritz passed away in 1978. On Jan. 11, 1992, she married Kenneth Reams of Kennewick. They moved to Ritzville, where they spent their summers and wintered in Hemet, Calif. She so...