Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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While transitioning to a brand new billing software, the City of Ritzville hit a snag as it prepared to send out bills to water, sewer and garbage customers. The bills are normally sent at the first of the month, but will be delayed a few days. City Clerk/Treasurer Kris Robbins said she is not sure when the bills will be mailed. When the software technicians installed the billing program, key information about local accounts was left out. When city employees went to print this month’s billing, they noticed that almost e...
The Ralston Grange is sponsoring a “Super Bingo” night at the hall in Ralston on Saturday, April 12. All proceeds from the bingo games will go to The Ritz Theatre fund to help in the purchase of digital projection equipment. The hall opens at 4 p.m. and hot dogs, pie, popcorn and beverages are available for purchase from the Ralston Junior Grange/Ralston Rangers 4-H Club. Bingo will begin at 5 p.m. and continue until 7 p.m. The event is open to all ages and costs $1 per card, per game. Cash prizes will be awarded to the win...
As tax day nears on April 15, we’re reminded of the tremendous impact that decisions made in Washington, D.C., have on Central Washington families, farmers, and businesses. With many still searching for jobs or working twice as hard to pay the bills, the last thing Americans need is a higher tax bill from the federal government. Unfortunately, this Administration has repeatedly shown that its approach is to tax more and spend more. Americans deserve to keep more of their hard-earned money and they deserve a tax code that i...
The AAUW, Page Turners and Ritzville Public Library Book Clubs have announced the meeting dates and locations for the upcoming April book clubs. The AAUW Book Club is reading “The Hairstons: An American Family in Black and White” by Henry Wiencek. The group is meeting Wednesday, April 9, at 10 a.m. at The Ritz Roadhouse. The Page Turners Book Club, for children between the ages of eight and 12, are meeting on April 9 in the library basement at 4 p.m. The group is discussing “Chomp” by Carl Hiaasen. The Ritzville Public...
The Ritzville Public Library has a full schedule of activities for local residents to participate in during the month of April. The library is open six days a week, from 11 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Friday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. Aside from the monthly events, the week of April 13-19 also marks National Library Week. Additionally, the library is welcoming donations of gently used Legos, board games, puzzles, novelty baking pans and leftover craft supplies to use for...
A Ritzville resident has placed a sign outside of his home that declares “parking for resident only,” despite the fact it’s a public street outside his home on Fourth Avenue and Washington Street. Tuesday a citizen asked the Ritzville City Council if they intended to allow the parking restriction to be enforced. Mark Fowler said the sign’s owner had previously asked the pastor of the Nazarene Church to tell his congregation that they cannot park in front of the home. Public Works Director Larry Swift said the sign wasn’t...
The Washington State Survey and Rating Bureau (WSRB) will visit Ritzville on Tuesday, April 8. Fire Chief Jim Bostic said the agency will be here to review the fire department, the city’s water system and communication system. The review will determine what the city’s insurance rating should be. “They inspect and evaluate the fire defenses and building code enforcement of cities, counties, and municipal fire districts to develop and publish comparative classifications. These classifications can help the public in the goal...
The Washington State University (WSU) Extension Office previously housed out of the Adams County Courthouse is currently in the process of relocating its office space to Main Avenue in Ritzville. The Adams County Commissioners signed a lease agreement with the Ritzville Public Development Authority (RPDA) for use of office space at 205 West Main Avenue, effective April 1. The commissioners and the RPDA signed the lease agreement on March 17, with Commissioner Roger Hartwig making the motion with the second provided from...
Tom Balfe has come out of retirement and Nathan Bucher returns for the second summer to assist the city’s public works crew with the upkeep of the cemetery and other city owned facilities. Balfe, who retired from public works, long cared for the park and cemetery. Larry Swift, public works director, said the seasonal employees will help the crew keep up with a long list of current projects....
The next phase of the city’s walk and bike path will become a reality this summer. Tuesday city council members unanimously approved a call for bids for the second phase of the project. Bids will be opened on May 5. The project stretches from Division Street, along Bauman Road to Weber Road down to Jackson Street. It will include 1,000 feet of concrete sidewalk, 500 feet of bike path and 680 feet of hot mix asphalt. Council member Scott Yaeger said construction should begin the first of June and be completed by m...
In order to collect $26,000 in trail funds from Adams County for its walk and bike path project, the City of Ritzville has to be willing to do something for the county in return. Adams County Commissioners want the city to annex 3,300 feet of Weber Road that currently borders the Ritzville City Limits. As long as the council commits to completing the annexation within two years, the county will immediately provide the trail funds for the walk and bike path phase due to be constructed this summer. Council member Ben Cross was...
In July, the historic downtown business district will have public restrooms. Mayor Linda Kadlec announced the city is moving forward with the purchase of a prefabricated, handicap accessible restroom facility. She and council member Gary Cook have been researching since last November and have settled on a restroom building that is similar to the one located in the park in Harrington. Cook said Harrington’s leaders are very pleased with the quality of the restrooms. According to Kadlec, the project will cost about $40,000. T...
In about a decade, the Ritzville Police Department has hired, trained and then lost three entry-level police officers to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office. Ritzville Police Chief David McCormick contends the departures are primarily driven by the salary and compensation package offered by the sheriff’s office. To compound things, lateral entry police officers are not banging on the local department’s door looking for jobs either. When Hunter Klewin recently resigned to take a position as a sheriff’s deputy, McCormick opted t...
Doctor Valerie Eckley has notified East Adams Rural Hospital District No. 2 that she intends to leave her position in early August. Gary Bostrom, CEO of the district, said Eckley will continue to see patients until Aug. 6. According to Bostrom, Eckley is relocating to the west side of the state....
The Washtucna FFA chapter members competed in sub-districts and the District 9 events over the past month. At the sub-district Job Interview competition, Garret Correll, Brittany Gordon, and Nicole Harder competed. In the competition, Correll received fourth place, Gordon earned fifth place and Harder placed sixth. The same three students moved on to compete in the district Job Interview contest and Correll secured the top place finish and an opportunity to move on to compete at the Washington State FFA Convention on May 17....
STEM fields hold some of the world’s most important research positions and feature a wide variety of job opportunities for tomorrow’s future to discover. Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) continue to play an irreplaceable role in today’s growing society. It was with the future of science in mind that the Mobius Science Center of Spokane created a grant to fund the exploration of the scientific universe for local eighth grade students. The grant now includes monthly hands-on visits from Mobius Scien...
I had a very good reason for missing last week’s column. I was in the Phoenix, Ariz.: part of this world with brother Larry visiting family, Coach McLean and the Seattle Mariners. Before leaving I heard from a fair amount of people that said things like “Lucky you,” or “I don’t want to hear about it,” or “Bring back some warm weather with you!” Once again we had a great time and kept busy getting a chance to see some other parts of Arizona, and the weather was about 10 degree...
The SJELWK track and field team traveled to the District 9 1B/2B Meet at Clarkston High School on March 26. Out of the eight teams competing in the event, the SJELWK boys placed seventh with 36 points, and the girls’ team also finished in seventh with 27 points. Men’s Results 100: 11, David Alguea 13.00. 14, Stephen Erickson 13.40. 200: 12, Erickson 26.80. 12, Alguea 26.80. 400: 6, Adam Blakeley 58.20. 14, Alex Whitman 1:05.10. 16, Jacob Blakeley 1:06.80. 800: 4, Weston Miller 2:20.00. 7, Eric Harder 2:30.00. 8, Luke Bai...
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague track and field team competed in the Ezra Gordon Invitational at Colville High School on Saturday, March 29. At the LRS team’s first meet of the season, the boys placed 12th overall with 21 points, and LRS girls finished in seventh with 35.5 points. Senior athlete Ryan Whitmore led the boys’ team, finishing first in the 110-meter hurdles and second in the 300-meter hurdles. Whitmore also secured a sixth place finish in the 200-meter. For the girls, junior Kate Schell finished second in the 100...
The LRS Broncos took the court against Odessa-Harrington and Wilbur-Creston last week to officially kick off league competition. The Broncos swept both league matches; with the boys winning by forfeit against Odessa-Harrington 4-0, and the girls defeating the same team 5-0. Both of the Broncos’ teams won matches against Wilbur-Creston 4-1. During the girls’ match against Odessa-Harrington, the Broncos came out strong proving their strength as a team. The team started league competition on March 25. In the No. 1 singles mat...
Millions of unemployed college graduates are back where they started, living with their parents. Upon receiving their diploma, they find themselves saddled with crushing student loan debt and unable to find a job. More than 36 percent of those who have found jobs aren’t working in their chosen profession and many are working for minimum wage. At the same time, millions of good-paying jobs are going unfilled. Nationally, an estimated three million jobs are available in the skilled trades – electricians, plumbers, man...
The Lind-Ritzville FFA Chapter has a team of members making a return trip to the National FFA Convention in October to compete in Agronomy. This is the second consecutive year for the Lind-Ritzville FFA Chapter to send an Agronomy team to nationals, and the four years prior, the Lind FFA Chapter sent a team to compete. The chapter had three teams travel to Pullman on March 26 to compete in the state FFA Agronomy contest, and two Lind-Ritzville teams secured the top two places...
Florence F. Hart, 91, died in Ritzville on March 28. She was born in Ritzville to Henry Hilzer and Katheryn Pauley. She attended Ritzville schools through the eighth grade and then went to work to help the family. She later married Edwin Johnson and together they had two children, twin boys: Larry and Terry Johnson. She found her life’s work at Bafus Laundry and Dry Cleaning, where she worked until retirement. Later in life, she married Roger Hart and they spent 10 years t...
Marvin Frank “Mops” Schwisow died on the morning of March 30 at the age of 86, at the Life Care Center of Ritzville. He was born in rural Ritzville April 22, 1927, to Fred J. and Agnes (Schweer) Schwisow, He was baptized in the Emanuel Lutheran Church on May 15, 1927, with godparents Carrie Scwisow and Frank Schwisow. He enjoyed playing marbles, roller skating, boozing, ice skating at Finnel Lake, baseball, basketball, track, fishing and hunting. Later he played for the Rit...
Melvin Cree died on March 1, and services were held on March 7. A complete obituary is available at http://www.newtacoma.com/...