Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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RITZVILLE — Six people were booked into the Adams County Jail on Monday, July 13, after Sheriff’s Office deputies executed a search warrant at home in the 1000 block of Rand Road. Cascandra Rand was arrested and booked for alleged unlawful possession of a weapon, the Sheriff’s Office reported. Darian Morgan was apprehended on a Department of Corrections warrant. Mark Chamberlain was arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm and Noe Duarte was arrested for illegal narcotics on a Violation of the Uniform Contr...
RITZVILLE — Lind-Ritzville School District Superintendent Don Vanderholm is requesting parents and guardians of students to fill out a survey regarding the return to school in the fall. In a July 14 letter to parents and guardians, Vanderholm stated while the school district hopes to host all students in as "as close to normal" on-campus learning experience as possible, health and safety requirements will likely force administrators to adjust schedules. They will also be required to implement on-campus practices including d...
RITZVILLE — Conceptual designs for the Downtown Revitalization Project will be presented Wednesday, July 22, in a Zoom meeting from 3-5 p.m. The City of Ritzville has partnered with the WSU Rural Initiative and Innovia Foundation on the revitalization project to stimulate new business development and jobs, as well as improving streetscape for community gatherings and events. The project kicked off with a design phase workshop in the fall of 2019. A second workshop held at the end of February, 2020, gave city staff and c...
OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee threatened to roll back openings of businesses and activities Tuesday, July 14, due to the reported increase in coronavirus cases state wide. During a press conference, he said residents should not be surprised if the state followed the actions of California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom in recent days ordered bars, restaurants and other businesses and activities closed after an increase in cases there. “The situation we are in is unsustainable,” he said. “We have to reduce the numbers… We have to find s...
OLYMPIA – The Washington Secretary of State's office released a statewide, online voters' guide for the upcoming primary, with votes due Aug. 4. Republican candidate for governor Loren Culp claims information his campaign manager submitted to the office of the Secretary of State on three separate occassions was not included in the voter's guide. The Secretary of State's office responded to the claim by stating emails allegedly submitted by Culp's campaign manager May 20 and M...
RITZVILLE – Less than a week after nearby Basin City hosted it’s Freedom Rodeo, the Ritzville Rodeo Association is pulling the plug on the 51st Pro-West Labor Day Weekend Rodeo here. “The Ritzville Rodeo Association is sad to announce the cancellation (of the rodeo),” association spokeswoman Julie Hartz said Wednesday, July 8. “The rodeo committee has discussed the pros and cons of holding rodeo while trying to keep our community safe,” she said. “With all that in mind, the committee had to make one of the toughest deci...
RITZVILLE — Four people remain in the Adams County Jail after being arraigned Tuesday, July 14. Their arrests, and the arrests of two others, occurred Monday, July 13, after multiple agencies executed a search warrant at a residence in the 1000 block of Rand Road and discovered drugs, stolen property and unlawful possessions of firearms. Darian Jeanie Arlene Morgan, Noe Duarte, Triston David Duplichan, Glen Oscar Gilbert Jr., Marcus James Chamberlain, and Cassandra Charlene Hope Rand made their first appearance before the A...
RITZVILLE – A public hearing on the city’s critical resource area overlay plan update is set for Tuesday, July 21, at 7 p.m. Comments on the proposed plan can be submitted in writing to city clerk-treasurer Julie Flyckt by 5 p.m. July 21, or citizens can participate in the public hearing by joining in on the conference call. Details to call in can be obtained through city hall or on the city’s website. Council members discussed the plan at their July 7 meeting, with Alicia Ayers of SCJ Alliance Consulting Services detai...
I’ve been talking to a few people and they say to me, “Must be hard finding something to write about isn’t it?” When it gets down to sports topics it sure seems that way. I’m not a NASCAR expert or big fan so watching an entire race is a bit much but I bet I saw at least a half hour of it on Sunday. But after a couple of wrecks and flipping through the channels I almost missed the wild last two laps. The race sort of reminded me of a trip my wife and I made to Spokane o...
RITZVILLE – Heidi Hunt has been named Auditor of the Year, an honor bestowed on her by Secretary of State Kim Wyman. Wyman said Hunt has been instrumental with her work on the VoteWA project and consistently working toward harmony between the Washington State Association of County Auditors (WSACA) and the Office of the Secretary of State. Wyman presented the award to Hunt during the 2020 WASCA conference, held online this year. "This county auditor asks good questions, is a...
July 4 Fireworks – 2200 block West state highway 26 Othello • Fireworks complaint. Domestic – 600 block South Andes Road Othello • Report of possible attack and vehicle theft. Complainant advised she did not want contact. Standby Peace – 2800 block West Bench View Lane Othello • Request for assistance with removal of a vehicle from private property. Traffic Hazard – West Bench Road Othello • Othello Police Department called regarding an SUV and lane travel somewhere near the location. Suspicious – West state highway 26...
RENTON – The WIAA (Washington Interscholastic Activities Association) met July 7 and pushed back the start of fall high school sports by two weeks. Football, previously scheduled to start August 19, will start Sept. 5; with other fall sports beginning Sept. 7. These start dates, over Labor Day weekend, would allow for games to begin no sooner than September 18. The Washington State Health Department and Governor Jay Inslee's office have not yet approved football to begin in a...
RITZVILLE – The Wheat Land Communities Fair Board met after the Wampum annual fundraiser July 12 to discuss options for the upcoming fair. "We are still planning on offering a youth livestock show and sale, and are considering other possible opportunities, while keeping community health and safety in mind," Lori Williams, Livestock Sales Manager said. The sale is planned for Saturday, September 5. The Fair Board is made up of President Fritz Coon, Janet Manke, Aaron and J...
OLYMPIA – Ballots for statewide primary elections are scheduled to go in the mail July 17. Thirty-six candidates are running for governor, a record for a statewide race according to the office of the Secretary of State. The previous record for candidates in a Washington governor’s race is 15, set in 1924 and repeated in 1996. Candidates pay a filing fee equal to 1% of the job’s yearly salary; in the case of the governor’s office, that would be $187,353 as of July 1, or 1% of $187,353. According to Washington state law, a cand...
GRANDVIEW – A Washtucna man was arrested for hit-and-run after his vehicle was struck on Interstate 82 about two miles west of the Grandview late last night, July 9. Salvador Munoz-Gonzalez, 43, of Washtucna, is facing a possible charge of hit-and-run. According to the Washington State Patrol, Munoz-Gonzalez was the victim in the crash that occurred about 11:36 p.m. near Milepost 71 of westbound Interstate 82. Munoz-Gonzalez was westbound in a Hyundai Sonata when he was struck from behind by 19-year-old driver Manuel DelGadil...
ELLENSBURG – Kaiden Quigley, of Othello, Washington, was recently initiated into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the nation’s oldest and most selective all-discipline collegiate honor society. Quigley was initiated at Central Washington University. Quigley is among approximately 30,000 students, faculty, professional staff and alumni to be initiated into Phi Kappa Phi each year. Membership is by invitation only and requires nomination and approval by a chapter. Only the top 10 percent of seniors and 7.5 percent of jun...
RITZVILLE – The Lions Club is holding their annual chicken barbecue Friday, July 24. The event, held each year during the harvest, will take place out at the Wheat Land Communities Fairgrounds chicken shack. This year, especially, will be take-out only; and all COVID-19 precautions will be followed. The event takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and pre-ordering is definitely recommended, as the Lions Club sold out last year. They are cooking 200 chickens this year. Orders can be placed by calling 509 660 0935. The cost is $...
What once seemed inevitable is now growing unlikely – a special session to balance the state's budget. This is why it was so important to act before the new spending increases took effect on July 1. Once we started the new fiscal year, the likelihood of a special session dropped. By waiting until August, the September revenue forecast is just around corner. Then after September, the November election is just a jump away. Then the temptation to delay until January becomes even...
SPOKANE – Wheatland Bank has promoted Ritzville native Dione Jantz to Senior Vice President/Loan Operations Manager Jantz has been with Wheatland Bank for nearly 25 years, serving in numerous roles. Since 2005, she has served as the Loan Operations Manager and is responsible for overseeing bank-wide loan operations and compliance, as well as the bank's team of loan processing personnel. Jantz was born in Ritzville and still has strong ties to both the Ritzville and Lind c...
LIND – The city opened bids for the Community Development Block Grant waterline project July 2, and is expected to announce the winning bid at their July 14 city council meeting. Patrick Sheehy of Century West Engineering, attending the June 23 council meeting via telephone, said the cemetery water line project is proceeding, with the pipe almost all installed, and the cement slab for a building to house the pump to be poured in the next week. Mayor Paula Bell reported she has not received any responses from financial i...
KAHLOTUS – T.J. Harder is excited to be carrying on the farming and ranching tradition started by his family generations ago. After graduating as the LaCrosse Class of 2020 Valedictorian, Harder is putting in long hours on the family wheat farm before he heads to Washington State University in the fall, where he will double-major in Agricultural Economics and Business. "College will be way harder (than high school), but I'm hoping it will be fun," Harder said while taking a s...
Stay home orders have prompted people to pursue a variety of activities they may not have otherwise. For Dylan Nails, 20, Colfax, that includes running for Washington State Governor. "I think the youth are really underrepresented in politics," said Nails, a 2018 Colfax High School graduate. Nails is running to show that youth have something to bring to the table of politics and to promote youth involvement in government. "I definitely want to be a voice for Eastern Washington...
RITZVILLE – John N. Marshall is running for re-election as Adams County Commissioner District No. 1. Marshall, who has made Ritzville his home since 1985, has been in the position for two terms, almost eight years. He said he is running because he does not want to leave the county without experienced leadership. With one commissioner about to retire and another one in office just two years, Marshall said he feels an obligation to stay, in order to maintain some continuity. "Th...
RITZVILLE – The Wampum dinner, held each year to raise funds for the Wheat Land Communities Fair, saw an increase in numbers of dinners sold Sunday, July 12. The event, catered by Rollin' Coal Barbecue, sold 180 dinners to go. "We usually have between 125 and 150 people attend, so we plan on 130," said Lori Williams, Livestock Sales Manager. "With the regular Wampum dinner we have a bar and it's typically an adults-only event. This year we saw more families, and some new f...