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Articles from the April 15, 2020 edition


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  • Whitman County chase ends in surrender

    Daily Bulletin|Updated Apr 21, 2020

    GARFIELD — A local man was booked into Whitman County Jail on Monday afternoon for eluding, driving with a suspended license and three warrants. Andrew Arland, 34, of Garfield, turned himself into deputies after several hours of eluding law enforcement on dirt roads on the east side of the county. The chase began about 11 a.m. when Garfield Town Marshal Joe Handley observed Arland driving a Toyota Tercel with a dented hood in town, a report said. Aware that Arland was w...

  • Spokane Jr. Livestock Show goes virtual

    Victoria Fowler, Gazette Reporter|Updated Apr 18, 2020

    The 2020 Junior Livestock Show of Spokane will be taking showmanship to the computer screens with a virtual experience for exhibitors. Due to the cancellation of all scheduled events for May at Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, the traditional livestock show was put in jeopardy. The Board of Directors of the Junior Livestock Show of Spokane made the decision on April 5 to move forward with a virtual format for the show and omit a livestock sale. "Going to a virtual show is...

  • Eastern Washington cancels in-person commencement

    John McCallum, Cheney Free Press|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    CHENEY — Eastern Washington University President Mary Cullinan has announced that the university's June13 commencement will be switching from an in-person ceremony to an online format as part of protective measures to slow the spread of the COVID-19 disease. “This year, unfortunately, the global pandemic has forced us all to reset gatherings, celebrations and holidays,” Cullinan said April 15 in a news release announcing the change. “We can’t hold a traditional commencement ceremony this spring.” The ceremony for semester and...

  • Expanded unemployment filing begins this weekend

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    OLYMPIA -- Beginning this Sunday, Washingtonians currently ineligible to receive unemployment benefits may get a chance to receive financial help. In a press conference this afternoon with Gov. Jay Inslee, Employment Security Department Commissioner Suzi LeVine said the state will begin to implement provisions of the federal C.A.R.E.S Act expanding unemployment benefits to independent contractors and others who typically don't qualify for benefits – including those who don't have the usually required 680 hours. Other a...

  • Cracks growing in Gov. Inslee's 'stay home' quarantine order

    Roger Harnack, Publisher|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    RICHLAND — Cracks are growing in Gov. Jay Inslee’s “stay home, stay safe” quarantine east of the Cascades. And the Tri-City area — the second most populous area east in Eastern Washington— is at the center of the uprising to lift “unconstitutional” mandates that restrict the ability to assemble, practice religion, access publicly owned lands and water, and more. The governor has ordered Washington state residents to "stay home" until at least May 4 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Richland resident Lisa Thomas has star...

  • Construction projects delayed due to coronavirus quarantine

    Katie Teachout, The Journal|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    LaCROSSE — Gov. Jay Inslee’s “stay home, stay healthy” quarantine has halted construction on railroad tracks. Upgrades were scheduled for the Hooper Railroad line near State Highway 26 in Adams and Whitman counties between Mileposts 25-42. The project included replacing ties, rail other track materials. According to project engineer Chad Simonson with the state Department of Transportation, all that remains to be completed on that project is two pedestrian crossings in LaCrosse. Simonson said the crossings are complet...

  • Bostrom: Hospital may lose $400,000 in monthly revenue

    Katie Teachout, The Journal|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    RITZVILLE — Hospitals statewide are taking a financial hit with Gov. Jay Inslee's order to suspend any non-essential services, and East Adams Rural Healthcare is doing their best to weather the storm. “We are still providing our swing bed, inpatient and emergency services, but our rehabilitation therapy and outpatient clinic services are very minimal right now, because folks should be staying at home unless they need care to prevent them from really having a detrimental effect to their health,” Chief Executive Officer Corey...

  • Duststorm a factor in I-90 crash

    Katie Teachout, The Journal|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    RITZVILLE — Charges are pending against a Moses Lake man following a multiple-car collision Saturday afternoon on Interstate 90. The crash, attributed to a large duststorm, occurred 20 miles west of the city at 2:08 p.m., the Washington State Patrol reported. "It [the duststorm] was about 700-800 feet wide coming across the road and at least an eighth of a mile long," said Mark Dykstra of Pete's Towing, which got called to the scene an hour later. "The wind must have been b...

  • Worst Seat in the House

    Dale Anderson, Special to The Journal|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    There comes a point when you run out of ideas for a sports column because there are no sports to talk about. So, I’m going to just talk about a few things I’ve noticed or witnessed or heard about. Let’s face it folks we are running out of patience. One of the first things I really noticed this week is that there is a change in my look. The first time it occurred to me I thought, “Jeez, there is something about me that looks a bit younger than usual.” After spending a moment...

  • Lind-Ritzville Alumni Banquet canceled

    Katie Teachout, The Journal|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    RITZVILLE — The annual Lind-Ritzville alumni banquet, scheduled for each Memorial Day weekend, has been canceled. This year’s banquet would have celebrated alumni celebrating 25-year, 50-year and 75-year graduates, as well as 2020 graduates. Lind-Ritzville High School Alumni President Colby Schell said the decision wasn’t made lightly. “It is with great regret that the Alumni Board has decided to cancel our 2020 Alumni Banquet because of COVID-19,” Schell said, noting the board is planning a double banquet for Memorial...

  • Obituary policy

    Updated Apr 16, 2020

    Free Press Publishing newspapers accept paid death notices and paid obituaries. Death notices cost $20 and may include name, age, date and location of death. The base cost for obituaries is $100 for up to 450 words and one black-and-white, one-column photograph. Obituaries of 451-700 words cost $150, including one photo. For obituaries exceeding 700 words, there is a $50 charge for up to an additional 250 words. Additional one-column photographs cost $10 each. Obituaries are paid biographies. As such, they should tell the...

  • Sherryl Evans

    Updated Apr 16, 2020

    Sherryl Sielaff Evans passed peacefully March 27, 2020, after a short illness. Sherryl was born in Ritzville, Wash., on Nov. 10, 1940, to Lester and June Sielaff. She went to Ritzville schools and graduated in 1959; she was awarded the creative arts award. She attended Eastern Washington College studying elementary education and art. In her junior year of college, she married Vince Evans of Ritzville. They made their home in Washtucna and Ritzville, where they farmed wheat....

  • Richard R. Rehn

    Updated Apr 16, 2020

    Richard "Rick" R. Rehn, 60, died Friday, April 3, 2020, at Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, N.C., after suffering a sudden stroke. He leaves his four children, Pierce, Aubrey, Packard and Cord Rehn, his three siblings, Jeanette Goulaska, Glenn Rehn and Cathy Rehn Vella; three grandchildren and a lifetime of friends spread around the world. Ricky was born March 1,1960, in Cleveland, Ohio, to the late Dot (Huhn) Rehn and the late Glenn Rehn Sr. He spent his childhood...

  • Letter to the editor policy

    The Journal|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    The Ritzville Adams County Journal publishes letters of civic nature relating to area, state and national issues and politics. Letters should be limited to 250 words, and any cited facts should be attributed to the source of information. Letters may not contain personal attacks, profanity or cite other media. Please keep letters to a single subject. We do not publish “thank you” letters; contact our advertising staff. Writers will be limited to one letter per month. No chain letters — those are letters written by one perso...

  • Letters to the Editor

    Updated Apr 16, 2020

    Government overreach needs to be reined in Gov. Jay Inslee’s house-arrest order for the populace, Proclamation 20-25, is in conflict with the Bill of Rights. Our rights of the free exercise of religion, of the people to peaceably assemble, of due process of law, as well as our Ninth Amendment rights to pursue happiness by earning a living and to travel freely outside of our homes are sacred. These individual rights are enshrined in the Constitution of the United States. Under the Supremacy Clause, the Constitution p...

  • Start comeback with homebuilding

    Sen. Mark Schoesler, The Journal|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    More than 230,000 small businesses across our state have been shut down since March 25 by order of Gov. Inslee. While the executive branch does not view these employers as being essential, I and my Senate Republican colleagues recognize the value of these businesses to the families they support, the communities they serve, and the economic activity they generate. We recognize how these employers have already suffered from being forcibly closed and how offers of government...

  • Adams County emergency dispatch log

    Katie Teachout, The Journal|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    March 27 Weapon offense, 2200 block of West Sielaff R, Othello. Cesar Garza, Jaspe Rodriquez and Alejandro Ramos III arrested and booked into jail. Abandoned vehicle, 500 block NE Street, Lind. Burglary, 2100 block West Mood Road, Othello. Damage to a fence, nothing stolen. Harassment, 200 block East Fifth Street, Lind. Social media threats, 2300 block West state Highway 26, Othello. . Traffic hazard, 200 block East Fifth Street, Lind. Chevrolet pickup parked too far from the curb. Suspicious vehicle, South Benge-Washtucna...

  • Adams County Land Transactions

    Katie Teachout, The Journal|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    Jessie N. Dominquez, Othello, to Manuel Perez Septimo and Virginia Pineda Esteban, Othello — 805 S. 4th Ave, Othello. $245,000 Joe Tolley, Othello, to Joe Tolley and Trisha M. Tolley — 2090 W. Romona Rd., Othello. $0 Ted and Merideth Tschirky, Pasco, to New Hatton, LLC — property in Adams County. $232,100 Lisa Heimbigner-Moore, Spokane, for the estate of Lowayne Heimbigner, to Patrick H. and Patricia J. Gies, Othello — property in Othello. $25,000 Bertha M. Munoz, Othello, to Oscar O. Munoz and Sebastian O. Munoz, Othello...

  • Friday Night Lights

    The Journal|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    RITZVILLE - The community celebrated the Class of 2020 on April 10 with a new take on 'Friday Night Lights." Instead of football, students, families and area residents hit the horns as they drove by Lind-Ritzville High School. High school stadium lights were turned on for 20 minutes, 20 seconds. The driveby celebration was in honor of the graduating class that lost its last quarter of high school due to Gov. Jay Inslee's stay-home quarantine order. It was also a way to...

  • Police officer on leave after fatal shooting

    Updated Apr 16, 2020

    By Katie Teachout The Journal RITZVILLE - A local police officer is on paid administrative leave and his actions under review after he shot and killed a man Saturday evening at Love's Travel Stop and Country Store. As of press time Monday night, neither the name of the officer nor the deceased had been released by authorities. The incident is under investigation by the Central Basin Investigative Team. It's standard procedure for an officer involved in a shooting to be placed...

  • Washington state to release 950 inmates from DOC

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee and Department of Corrections Secretary Stephen Sinclair have announced plans to release up to 950 state inmates from facilities who are part of population vulnerable to COVID-19, including nonviolent individuals due to be released within the coming weeks and months. The move comes after a state Supreme Court ruling April 10 instructing the Department “to take all necessary steps to protect the health and safety” of incarcerated individuals in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and submit a repor...

  • GSI, Avista host Eastern Washington telephone town hall

    FROM STAFF AND NEWS SOURCES|Updated Apr 16, 2020

    SPOKANE – Greater Spokane Inc. (GSI), Avista, Inland NW Partners and other organizations supporting the regionwide business recovery efforts under the umbrella initiative InlandBizStrong, are hosting a Telephone Town Hall on Friday, April 17 at 11 a.m. Pacific Time. The call is a live question and answer format where participants can ask questions directly to the leaders of two important Washington State agencies – the Department of Commerce and the Employment Security Division – engaged in the economic recovery of our regio...

  • West Coast states form recovery pact

    John McCallum, Managing Editor|Updated Apr 14, 2020

    OLYMPIA -- Washington, Oregon and California governors announced they have agreed on a shared vision to reopen their states economies and provide unified efforts to control COVID-19 in the future. The pact is based around dealing with the severe acute respiratory disease sweeping the nation and the world that is built on three principles: Health of residents, using science and data instead of politics to drive decisions and being more effective through a unified approach. "We are announcing that California, Oregon and Washing...

  • Investigators identify law enforcement, subject in fatal shooting

    Roger Harnack, Publisher|Updated Apr 14, 2020

    RITZVILLE - The Columbia Basin Investigative Team has identified the man shot and killed by police Saturday night as Shawn Lee. Lee, 49, hometown not released, was shot in the parking lot of Love's Travel Stop and Country Stores, 1370 N. state Highway 261, by officer Jeff Lane, said a report on the shooting released this morning. Lane is on paid administrative leave, standard operating procedure for an officer involved in a shooting. According to the report, Lee was passing...

  • Colfax hospital reduces staff to weather financial crisis

    Jana Mathia, Editor|Updated Apr 14, 2020

    COLFAX–With Gov. Jay Inslee's order for hospitals to suspend non-essential services, local hospitals are tightening their financial belts in preparation of the shutdown impacting their bottom line. "Just like everybody, we're going to have to take a hit," Whitman Hospital and Medical Center spokeswoman Laurie Gronning said. Rural hospitals are seeing very few coronavirus cases. Elective medical procedures have been shutdown. And rural residents have been told to stay away f...

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