Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday that he’ll drop the statewide coronavirus-mask mandate March 21. Inslee said that’s the day when he believes it’ll be safe to remove mask mandates and not overwhelm hospitals. “It would not be safe to do this today,” he said. “We will be removing the mask mandate in our schools and public indoor spaces as of Monday, March 21.” Students may still be required to wear masks on buses. The governor added that he will not end his emergency proclamation at that time, declining to offer a date...
OLYMPIA – In an effort to tackle gun violence and strengthen public safety, the state Senate passed legislation Feb. 9 that bans the sale of high-capacity magazines – anything over 10 rounds – but doesn’t prohibit the use of high-capacity firearms already in possession. “High-capacity magazines make it easy for shooters to inflict maximum damage by allowing more shots to be fired without needing to pause to reload. Because of this we see these accessories favored by mass shooters,” said Sen. Marko Liias D-Everett,...
RITZVILLE – An Adams County District Court judge is expected to hear oral arguments Thursday, Feb. 17, in a motion for a change of venue in the trial of a local political activist who allegedly attacked a state senator. In a Feb. 8 hearing, Adams County District Court Judge Andrea Russell instructed defense attorney Carson Van Valkenburg to file the change of venue motion by Feb. 11 in the case against Glenn R. Stockwell, 64, of Ritzville. Stockwell a former candidate for v...
RITZVILLE – The Broncos last wrestler was eliminated from the post season Saturday, Feb. 12. Myra Miller lost two bouts to end the wrestling season at the Girls Regional 4 tournament at Ephrata High School. Miller, a junior, was the last Bronco still on the mat looking for a state berth. Wrestling at 170 pounds, she opened with a loss by pin to senior Jenny Garcia of Highland in 4:48. At the time she was pinned, Miller was leading the bout. Dropping to the consolation r...
It was quite a week for EWU Eagle alum Cooper Kupp. He earned the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award on Friday and on Sunday he was instrumental in rallying the Los Angeles Rams to a Super Bowl victory and came away with the Most Valuable Player of the game trophy. There are a lot of people that wanted the Cincinnati Bengals to break through to finally win their first Super Bowl. The last two times the Bengals were playing in the big game I was hoping they would win as...
Jail Log RITZVILLE – The Adams County Jail reported the following individuals in custody from Feb. 10-14: Feb. 10 James Hayduck, 53, third-degree possession of stolen property, third-degree theft, second-degree criminal trespass, making false/misleading statements and tampering with evidence Jonathan Glasson, 33, indecent exposure and second-degree vehicle prowl Feb. 14 Idalou Gomez, 56, fourth-degree assault-domestic violence Valentin Agustin-Ayala, 18, second-degree criminal trespass, possession of a controlled s...
SPOKANE VALLEY – The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague basketball teams fell to opponents Feb. 10 in the District 7 tournament at West Valley High School. After topping Jenkins (Chewelah) early last week, the local girls suffered their first loss in the double elimination tournament, falling to Kettle Falls, 45-38. Grace Fedie had 11 points in the loss, while Dakota Killian and Amelia Court each had 8. The loss set up a loser-out matchup against Asotin for Saturday Feb. 12, where the Bronco girls prevailed, 46-31. Killian led all s...
RITZVILLE – After more than two years of inactivity, the Cub Scout program is restarting. Cubmaster Jeff Kissler is restarting the Cub Scout Pack under the Inland Northwest Council of the Boy Scouts of America, headquartered in Spokane. Prior to 2020 scouting in Ritzville was conducted under the Grand Columbia Council, headquartered in Yakima. In a meeting Wednesday, Feb. 9, Marie Sprecher, Big Foot District commissioner and Summer Murphy, director of scouting from the I...
Maynard A. Lund passed away on Feb. 10, 2022 in Ritzville, Wash. A visitation will be held at Danekas Funeral Home in Ritzville on Feb. 18, 2022 from 9:00am-5:00pm. A Funeral Service will be held at the American Legion in Ritzville on Feb. 19, 2022 from 11:00am-Noon. After the service there will be a gathering at the Eagles Club in Ritzville....
Washington Sen. Patty Murray and Gov. Jay Inslee announced in October, they’ll listen to diverse viewpoints with open minds to recover salmon and potentially breach the four Lower Snake River dams. Their focus on restoring Snake River salmon and steelhead runs is too limited. It needs to be expanded to cover the entire Snake River drainage. Currently, the four lower dams---all in Washington---are targeted to determine if they should be torn down to improve ocean-going fish r...
Roundtree should be recognized There were some points in the story about Adams County Development Council getting a new director that were misleading. The story made it sound like we had no help since Stephan McFadden left the position, when in fact our manager, Janis Roundtree took over and ran things very well especially through all the challenges that COVID brought along with it. Janis was one class away from being able to sit for the exam for developer directors before she decided to move on to a better job. We lost a...
OLYMPIA – The amount of force a police officer uses must be “proportional and reasonable,” a bill approved recently by the State Senate says. The bill also specifies officers will also be allowed to engage in vehicular pursuits as long as there is “reasonable suspicion” when making a traffic stop. The Senate voted 31-18 on Senate Bill 5919 on Feb. 9 with a handful of Republicans joining the majority Democrats. The bill cleans up language adopted last year on the use of force that many in the law enforcement community...
At a recent press conference, Gov. Jay Inslee was asked several questions about the state’s nursing shortage, a problem that existed long before the COVID-19 era. Reporters were stabbing around at various solutions being proposed in the Legislature. Should we regulate hospital working arrangements? Should we limit what contract nurses are paid? How does the government protect nurses from burnout? Gov. Inslee summed up the concerns well: “The best solution is to produce mor...
OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday, Feb. 9, backed off some of his coronavirus mandates during a press conference. Inslee announced he is ending his call-up of the Washington National Guard, will allow non-emergent surgeries to resume and cut back on mask requirements. "We are lifting our outdoor masking requirements by Feb. 18," he said. "Today is not the day to lift all of our masking requirements." The governor said he'll make a decision on ending all mask mandates a...
1 years ago The Ritzville Journal-Times Feb. 16, 1922 Many fine costumes at Valentine Masque Ball The Valentine Day masquerade dance given under the auspices of the Fair Association at Community Hall Tuesday night was a grand success from every standpoint. About seventy tickets were sold and the floor was comfortably filled from 9:00 till 12:30. The costumes embraced almost everything imaginable. Many were very handsome and Indians, cowboys, cow girls clowns, policemen, etc....
RITZVILLE – Lawmakers representing the 9th Legislative District will host a digital “town hall” meeting Tuesday, Feb. 22. Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, and Reps. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, and Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, will be available to chat with constituents on a variety of issues from 6:30-8 p.m. Planned issues to be discussed include Gov. Jay Inlsee’s push for a long-term health care insurance tax, the state’s $8.8 billion reserve budget surplus, the state’s $2.2 billion reserve fund, tax relief, law enforcement reform bill...
RITZVILLE – Adams County commissioners sent a letter last week to lawmakers in Olympia supporting Senate Bill 5514, which would allow them to meet outside of Ritzville but remain in the county at least once a month. Senate Bill 5514, concerning increasing the frequency of county legislative meetings at alternate locations, passed the state Senate on Jan. 26 and is scheduled for a public hearing in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, Feb. 16. Currently under Revised Code of Washington 36.32.080, county legislative a...
CHENEY – Veteran journalist Bob Kirkpatrick has joined the Cheney Free Press to reinvigorate the newsroom and help bring a new look to the newspapers. Kirkpatrick came to the media industry later in his life. It had always been a passion of his. But he couldn't pursue it until his kids were grown and out of the house. "Growing up in the '60s, I developed a watchdog mentality of what's happening around me and felt there was a need for accountability," Kirkpatrick said. K...
SPOKANE VALLEY – A thin, eight-man roster wasn’t too much of a hindrance for No. 6 Lind-Ritzville/Sprague in the first round of the District 7 2B girls basketball tournament Monday, as the Broncos shut down the No. 11 Jenkins (Chewelah) Cougars early and often en route to a convincing 53-22 victory. The win sent Lind-Ritzville/Sprague into the second round of the tournament and set up a matchup with No. 3 Kettle Falls. The Broncos jumped on the Cougars’ throats right away,...
RITZVILLE – Unofficial results of the Feb. 8 special election show voters supporting local school levies. Ballots were counted Tuesday and Friday by Adams County election officials. In the Lind School District, both the replacement levy for support of educational programs and operational expenses, and a replacement capital levy for educational technology improvements are passing, with 65% and 68%, respectively. In the Ritzville School District, the replacement levy for support of educational programs and operational e...
RITZVILLE – Adams County commissioners heard reports from staff during a meeting Wednesday, Feb. 9. Adams County Public Works Director Todd O’Brien updated commissioners on recycling efforts at both of the county solid waste transfer stations. O’Brien said “cardboard and paint are being shipped out this week.” He added electronic waste, televisions, computer equipment, etc. are being shipped out soon. Both the Ritzville and Bruce transfer stations are registered collectors of electronic products by the state Departmen...