Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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RITZVILLE — Local businesses are participating in a Sweetheart Shop throughout February, set up by the Chamber of Commerce. Similar to December's Jingle Bell Shop, customers shopping locally can enter the Sweetheart Raffle with purchases at participating businesses. Three prizes of Valentine's Day-themed gift baskets will be awarded in a raffle at the end of the month. Participating businesses include: Ritzville Drug Company, Pretty Good Grocery, Gigamedics, Mi Jalisco, M...
RITZVILLE – Fall sports practices are scheduled to begin Wednesday, Feb. 10, following conditioning last week. "We are excited to begin high school practices this week," Athletic Director Greg Whitmore said, advising athletes to dress for cold weather, and not come to practice if they are not feeling well. "If we have an outbreak (usually defined as two or more COVID-positive athletes and/or coaches), a pod, a team all fall sports or even the school may be forced to stop a...
January 29 DUI - South Taylor Road Othello Juan Pineda, 30, of Othello was arrested and later booked into jail for physical control of a motor vehicle while impaired following a call about a vehicle stopped on canal access roadway. Traffic Hazard - West Cunningham Road and South Danielle Road Othello Report of an open manhole. Public works fixed the issue. Standby Peace - 1000 block West Davis Road Ritzville Standby peace requested at the location. Due to call volume, service had a delayed response. Suspicious - 2600 block We...
WASHTUCNA – A teleconference ceremony at Washtucna schools celebrated achievements among the student body Jan. 28. Seniors Josh Crouse, Keegan Wright and Kori Curtis were recognized for being accepted into college for next fall. Curtis will be attending Central Washington University in Ellensburg; Wright will be attending Clark College in Vancouver, Washington; and Crouse will be going to Wyoming Technical College in Laramie, Wyoming. “My favorite thing about this small gro...
Joel Nels Anderson left us on February 1st, 2021. He was met by his beloved grandpa Joel Donald Blankenship and his twin sister Jennifer. Joel and his twin Jennifer were born October 9th, 1969 at the Ritzville Memorial Hospital. They joined their older sister Janelle. There are so many stories of Joel’s mischievousness’, so many stories. Joel was a handful… but a wonderful son and brother. Joel and Heidi met June of 1990. They would be companions for over 30 years until the da...
On Feb. 1, 2021, Janet Sue Camp, of Washtucna, went home to her Lord Jesus. Janet was surrounded by her family after a short battle with lymphoma. Janet was born on June 3, 1954, in Ritzville, Wash., to Lester E. Snyder and H. Marie Blasingame Snyder and was the youngest of the two children. She grew up on the family farm near Washtucna and lived there most of her life. She attended Washtucna School District and graduated in 1972. Janet then continued her education at...
Willard Carsten Hennings, 92, passed away peacefully at his home in Marengo, WA on February 1, 2021. He was born at his family’s farm, the Norris place, on January 24th, 1929 to Carsten Herman Hennings and Elizabeth (Boyd) Hennings, the youngest of six children. He said that he grew up with two “big bosses” and five “mini bosses”. The five mini bosses were the ones to apply the most discipline with his oldest sister Ann being the one with the babysitting duties. He attended...
In the early morning hours of February 2, 2021 and in the company of his wife and son, Richard Dean Noble died of natural causes. This followed years of struggle with his chronically sick and ever-weakening body and at last allowed him to be pain and disease-free and to instead be at home with his Lord Jesus. “Rich” was born August 16, 1959 in Libby Montana to William and Carolyn Noble. Growing up there with younger brothers Glenn and Lorin, Rich loved riding thru the woo...
Wrongful seizure of property In November 2018, a whistleblower wrote a letter of concern related to the seizure and sale of property seized in drug busts to commissioners, auditor, and prosecuting attorney of Adams County. The complaint was subsequently investigated by the State Auditors Office. We obtained a copy of the letter and the auditor’s report. We set about researching the several questions raised as to the ethics and propriety of how our Sheriff’s Office has handled seized property, and whether anyone has wrongly pe...
British historian Thomas Macaulay famously said, “The best government is one that desires to make the people happy, and knows how to make them happy.” That standard is clearly not what people are experiencing in Washington state. For years, leaders in state government have been increasing the tax burden and imposing ever-tighter regulations that limit personal opportunity, lower household incomes and fall hardest on working people, middle-class families and small business own...
OLYMPIA – A defiant Gov. Jay Inslee defended his phased plan to open businesses by so-called “regions” during a press conference last week. “Everybody can have a rational argument against what we’re doing, but you can’t argue with the results, which is that we are ahead of 45 other states,” he said. According to Inslee, that translates to an extra 8,000 saved lives in the state with more than 700,000 individuals already vaccinated. Inslee’s comments come as he finds himself under fire from Republican leaders, multiple counti...
PASCO – Franklin County Republican leaders are calling on Congressman Dan Newhouse to appear in person and explain himself in his decision to vote to impeach President Donald Trump. In a letter to the Sunnyside Republican, Franklin County precinct committee called out Newhouse for siding with Democrats in Washington, D.C., as well as failing to meet with them during his tenure in Congress. "We, the Precinct Committee Officers and Members of the Franklin County Republican C...
ST. JOHN – A pilot experiencing engine problems made an emergency landing Friday, Feb. 5, just outside of town. According to the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office, pilot Steven Krauss, 58, of Florida, was forced to land on Lancaster Road, near Kackman Road, about 10:25 a.m. Taking off at about 9 a.m., Krauss had left Felts Field in Spokane Valley in a 1977 Piper Arrow, the Sheriff’s Office reported. As he was nearing the area at 6,000 feet altitude, he began having engine problems, Undersheriff Chris R. Chapman said. Kraus...
RITZVILLE – County commissioners discussed a remodel of the Adams County Public Services Building in Othello at their Feb. 3 meeting, and will do a walk-through of the building Feb. 24. The Public Services Building, located at 425 E. Main Street, currently houses District Court Services and the Adams County Development Council, along with Integrated Health Care Services, which includes Behavioral Health, Developmental Disabilities, Emergency Housing and Public Health Services. A vacancy left in the building when the B...
OTHELLO – Karen Potts, spokesperson for Adams County Health Department said the COVID vaccine is currently available to anyone age 65 and older, and people 50 and older who also live in a multi-generational family. This is in addition to the people who were eligible during the initial phase, including health care workers, First Responders, people who live or work in long-term care facilities, and all other workers in health care settings who are at risk of COVID-19. “Eventually there will be enough vaccine for everyone in...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Washington state representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Dan Newhouse and Jaime Herrera Beutler voiced concerns over President Biden’s appointment of Suzi Levine as Interim Assistant Secretary of the Employment and Training Administration within the U.S. Department of Labor last week. Levine was serving as the head of the Washington State Employment Security Department when it was defrauded of more than $600 million of taxpayer dollars last year. In a Feb. 2 letter to Biden, the representatives said Lev...
RITZVILLE - The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Adams, Grant, Whitman and southern Lincoln counties. Hazardous winter weather will begin today with sustained winds of 20-24 mph and wind gusts up to 39 mph possible across the region. "Very cold wind chills are expected to accompany the winds," the outlook said, noting tonight's low will be about 9 degrees, with wind chills dipping to -8 degrees. Frigid temperatures are expected to continue...
1 years ago The Ritzville Journal-Times Feb. 10, 1921 INFANTS BODY FOUND BURIED IN STONE JAR The body of an infant was found last Thursday by Clarence Linville of Benge. It was contained in an earthen jar which had been sealed with sealing wax and buried in the yard near the residence. Alcohol had been poured into the jar to fill the void so that the body was in nearly a perfect state of preservation. Its origin is a complete mystery. Deputy C.Q. Lambert went out to Benge to...
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Senate approved a bill prime-sponsored by Senator Mark Schoesler of Ritzville, which will make it easier for rural towns to continue providing joint ambulance service. Schoesler’s proposal, Senate Bill 5198, was passed by the Senate 48-1 Feb. 3, and will now go to the House of Representatives for consideration. A 2017 state law allowing rural ambulance-service providers to overcome personnel shortages by allowing those without first aid or medical training to drive the ambulance, left out amb...
RITZVILLE – Following Mayor Gary Cook's letter of resignation submitted to the city January 27 the city is again calling for anyone interested in being mayor to send in a letter of interest by Feb. 25. The qualifications to run for mayor are to be a register voter and a resident of the city for at least one year. Mayor Cook's resignation becomes effective March 31. “I would like the council to think about moving forward, and I put it in your capable hands,” Cook told council members at their Feb. 2 meeting. Council membe...
RITZVILLE – A jury trial in the case of Grayson Douglas Wrae Morris scheduled for February 23 has been continued by Superior Court Judge Steve Dixon to April 27. Morris is being held in Adams County Jail on $3 million bail. Morris is charged with one count of murder in the first degree and one count of burglary in the first degree with a firearm enhancement. Morris, 27, is the prime suspect in the May 14, 2020 shooting death of his father, Douglas Morris at his home in R...
RITZVILLE – City council members unanimously agreed to accept an offer to settle with contractor Kirby Hunt in a lawsuit before the State of Washington over the Well No. 9 pump station. The $750,000 cash settlement will be paid to the City of Ritzville water fund. In the settlement, the city agreed to allow Kirby Hunt to retain the non-working pump originally installed in 2015, and that this settlement resolves all claims which remain or could have been made in the pending lawsuit. “The city has been embroiled for sev...
LAMONT — A requested two-year replacement educational programs and operations levy continued to fall short Wednesday, Feb. 10, following a tally of late-arriving ballots in the special election. As of 3:51 p.m., the measure that would have collected $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed property valuation each of the next two years was failing, 24-28, garnering only 46.15% support. If approved, the tax levy was expected to bring in $130,000 in 2022 and $132,000 in 2023. The owner of a home valued at $200,000 would have paid $500 in t...
OTHELLO – An all An alleged illegal alien will be tried March 23 in the slayings and dismemberment of two women whose remains were found in an abandoned vehicle last month. Mauricio Nava-Garibay, 28, believed to have been living in Othello, is facing charges of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon enhancement and second-degree murder in the slayings of Dora Elia Martinez, 57, and her daughter, Guadalupe Martinez, 30, records show. A jury trial has been set for 9 a.m. M...