Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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Lind residents and dedicated civic volunteers Howard and Phyllis Heil have received the honor to lead the grand parade in Lind on Saturday, June 8. The couple will proudly ride through the town they love, leading the annual parade at 11 a.m. While the designation of grand marshals came as a surprise to the couple, they both look forward to kicking off Saturday’s festivities as the town’s representatives. The Town of Lind has always been home for Howard, while Phyllis mov...
The Zion Philadelphia Congregational United Church of Christ (UCC) is set to host the celebration in honor of the 125 years of Congregational History in Ritzville on Sunday, June 9. Beginning at 3 p.m. a narrated program is available, accompanied by song and verse with a special reenactment of a Brotherhood meeting. The congregational history of the church began in 1881 with the arrival of a traveling missionary by the name of George H. Atkinson. Upon his arrival in the Ritzville community, Atkinson met the McKay family....
The Wheat Land Communities’ Fairgrounds has been rented for a private party this weekend. The event is known as the Third Annual Eastside Red & Gold Party. Hosted by the Adams County Amigos Motorcycle Club, the event is expected to attract a few hundred motorcycle enthusiasts. The event was previously held just outside the City of Ritzville at a private location. Police Chief David McCormick told the Ritzville City Council that he just learned of the gathering Tuesday morning. He had a copy of the event flyer and said he h...
Senator Mark Schoesler is tentatively scheduled to speak at the next general membership meeting of the Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce next Thursday, June 13, beginning at 7 a.m. at Jake’s Café. Schoesler hopes to make the early morning meeting on his way to the annual Lind Field Day, but notes that it is also the last day of the special session and may be unable to attend. The morning meeting will serve as an opportunity to hear Schoesler’s thoughts on the special session and for constituents to ask questions. All cham...
Any individual interested in participating in the Ritzville Relay For Life on July 12-13 is encouraged to register before June 10 if they want to receive a t-shirt. Currently, four teams are registered for the event and have raised over $2,000. The Ritzville Relay For Life committee and team captains meet on the third Monday of the month in the Best Western Plus Bronco Inn conference room at 6 p.m. Individuals are encouraged to register online at http://www.relayforlife.org/ritzvillewa. For more information or for assistance... Full story
Adams County Park and Recreation District No. 4 recently announced the opening day for the Ritzville Water Park is planned for Saturday, June 8, from noon to 8 p.m. Opening day is the last chance for discounted family season passes at $150 for a family of five. After Saturday, the rate is $175. The first session is scheduled for June 10-14 from 9-11 a.m. The second session classes are scheduled for 5-7 p.m. from June 17-21. Complete schedules for swimming lessons are available at the water park office. For more information...
The Ritzville Public Library is going to be closed on Thursday, June 13, from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. for staff training. The library will be open at 10 a.m. for the children’s summer reading program in the library basement and from 5-8 p.m. on June 13. The library staff can be reached at 659-1222....
Doctor Nona Hengen is reviewing the second edition of her popular book “The Shoe Box Letters” at the Harrington Opera House at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 15. The Shoebox Letters was inspired by a shoebox filed with letters written during the period between two World Wars. It is a story about two branches of a family; one that chose to come to America before the turn of the century, the other that chose to remain in Germany. In addition to the book review and signing, it is also the first showing of a dozen Hengen pai... Full story
Four youths have been banned from being at the city’s skateboard park and in Ritzville City Park. Three have been told to stay off the Ritzville Municipal Golf Course. Police Chief David McCormick told city council members Tuesday juveniles had been causing problems at several city owned locations. He said the lighting in city park had not been working properly during recent weeks, making it easier for individuals to vandalize the bathrooms. Last week the city crew repaired all the park lights and Avista installed a...
Adams County Superior Court Judge Brian Miller appears poised to rule in favor of the City of Ritzville in its efforts to address the crumbling old high school. At press time this week, the court was due to conduct a brief hearing Wednesday to review and possibly sign off on a plan presented by the city’s attorneys that would allow the city to convey the property to a new owner through a receivership. As part of the process any new owner would need to be able to demonstrate they have the resources and ability to repair or d...
The City of Sprague has announced the sponsorship of the Simplified Summer Food Program for area children. Attending children 18 years of age and younger will receive meals at no charge. Meals are available Monday through Thursday, an individualized sack lunch will be provided from 11:40 a.m. until 12 p.m. beginning on June 17 and ending on Aug. 15. All meals are served at St. John Lutheran’s Church located at 218 West Third Street in Sprague. For more information contact Judy Boutain with City of Sprague at 5...
Tommi Sue Swannack, an eighth grade student at Lamont Middle School, has earned a position on the Washington State/Provincial National Junior High rodeo team, for the second year in a row. Swannack is going to compete in the goat tying, breakaway roping and target shooting competitions. She is the daughter of Tom and Holly Swannack of Fishtrap, and recently competed in the Washington Junior High Finals Rodeo in Kennewick, where she won the finals average in both the goat... Full story
The Wall Street Journal and some smaller publications started writing about the studies that talk about dishonesty becoming more prevalent in the primary grades just as the Capital Hill problems appeared. Was it a coincidence? The problems have been there but I guess it was time to confront the issues. As an educator, I stressed the point that the truth is always obvious because the facts don’t change. Hearing the phrase, I take the Fifth, brought back memories of that term being used a lot of decades ago when members of o...
Jesus, the Messiah, did not say, “Do to others as you would have them to do to you,” as reported in The Journal last week. Instead He said something like those words but He completed his advice with “for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (or words much the same). The so-called Golden Rule is found in Matthew 7:12. Jesus is our teacher. He made clear that to follow the Golden Rule one had to study and become familiar with the Torah and the Prophets (the Hebrew Scriptures). Believers supposedly believe that Jesus and God... Full story
Concerning the East Adams Rural Hospital and the bond request that will be on the upcoming ballot: there are two very serious misconceptions still apparently common in the community, and it is vital that the correct facts be known. First is that we don’t really need a hospital with emergency room “because if it’s anything serious they’re just going to take me to Spokane anyway.” Who do you suppose “they” are? Do you reckon that if you collapse on your living-room floor clutching your chest, a MedStar helicopter will just mat... Full story
On behalf of the We Lind-Ritzville Group from Lind-Ritzville High School, we would like to thank everyone who was involved in the collection of money for the Garcia family in Lind as well as the foster kids in our communities. Thank you to the businesses who allowed us to place donation buckets in their buildings for such a long period of time. For those of you who donated money to these buckets, your contributions are greatly appreciated. The first money that was raised was donated to the Garcia family after the terrible fir... Full story
Eight students stood proudly in front of a large audience in Washtucna on Saturday, June 1, where they earned their high school diploma as the Class of 2013. Two students, Jared Stark and Amber Dainty, also celebrated completion of 12-years as students of the Washtucna Schools. The class was led by valedictorian Sam Harder and salutatorian Sawyer Hostetler who each took time to thank families, community members and school staff for supporting the class throughout the years.... Full story
The first ever graduation ceremony for Lind-Ritzville High School students was smooth sailing Sunday afternoon. Forty-five students from the communities of Lind and Ritzville have blazed a new trail, serving as the first to graduate together following the academic merger of the two school districts. The students processed into the Gilson Gymnasium in single file at the start of the ceremony and then gathered in front of a capacity crowd for an hour-long ceremony that featured... Full story
Adeline Olivia Seim died at the age of 91 on May 29 surrounded by family. She was born on Dec. 19, 1921, to Harry and Nilsina Olson in Fergus Falls, Minn. She was employed as a manager of a Sears store after graduating from high school in 1941. She married Howard M. Seim on Nov. 22, 1943, in Fergus Falls. The Seim’s served at many Army bases in the U.S. during his tour of duty. They settled in Ritzville in 1947, where they founded and operated Seim Builders Supply and Lumber Y...
Harold Schoessler died at the age of 94 on May 27 in Spokane. A life long resident of the Ritzville area, he was born Oct. 9, 1918, to Jacob and Pauline (Schmidt) Schoessler, on the family farm 14 miles northwest of Ritzville. He graduated from Ritzville High School in 1937, and served in the U.S. Army as part of the first group called to duty from Adams County during World War II. He was in the last cavalry regiment formed by the U.S. Army, the 74th Horse Drawn Field... Full story
The Town of Lind is set to host thousands of visitors this weekend for the 26th Annual Lind Combine Demolition Derby. The annual event kicks off entertainment on Friday night with car and pickup races, before hosting a slew of events on Saturday at the Lind Arena. The weekend of derby action begins with the annual car races on June 7 at 6 p.m. in the arena. Due to the large amount of pickups registered to race in last year’s derby, pickup drivers are also welcome to race during the Friday night festivities. Before the S... Full story
Yrma Townsend died at the age of 96 on May 27 at Holy Family Hospital. She was born on Nov. 18, 1916, to Leeland and Lou Ella Sudderth in May, Texas. She was a long time resident of Ritzville, where she worked at the nursing home and then went on to work at the hospital as a Nurse’s Assistant Certified for many years. She lived very frugally and was very generous to all of her family whenever they needed her help. She had a unique sense of humor and brought laughter and s... Full story
Clark Ducey Sullivan died at the age of 80 on May 27 at his home in Washtucna. He was born March 11, 1933, to George and Hazel Long Sullivan in Washtucna. He attended Washtucna High School and graduated in the class of 1951. He attended Eastern Washington College for one year, before being drafted into the Army near the end of the Korean Conflict. Upon his discharge, he attended Spokane Technical School, earning an aeronautical degree. In 1965, he married Carol Link. They made... Full story
I’ve often wondered if my life would have been different had I been a better student. I also wonder what it would have been like to be 6 feet 2 inches, instead of 5 feet 7 inches, but that was out of my hands and I’ve accepted my fate and done okay. But a better student would have been interesting. I know I was behind from the get-go as I didn’t do Kindergarten and didn’t learn how to read until the first grade. Many of you must think I was clueless, but that’s where a l...
The Senate Ways and Means Committee met earlier this week for the first time during this special session, which has reached day 19 of the 30 days allowed by the state constitution. We took action on a handful of bills that are wrapped into the state operating-budget debate: one that would strengthen the state’s driving-under-the-influence law, another having to do with Washington’s estate tax and two more that basically reiterate our Senate bipartisan coalition’s position on support for higher education. Information on some...