Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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RITZVILLE - Chief Scott Kembel and half a dozen volunteer firefighters responded to a call at 203 West Cherry Avenue when a transformer on a power pole blew Saturday afternoon, April 24. Neighbor Bruce Johnson, of 204 West Cherry Avenue said he didn't see it happen, but he heard it. "It scared the heck out of me," said Johnson, adding his neighbor from 203 West Cherry Avenue came to the door and said she smelled smoke, asking him to call her daughter. "I called 911," Johnson...
RITZVILLE – The high school golf team is showing improvement after two tournaments. Head Coach Bryce Court said they had an 18-hole match against Asotin at Quail Ridge, a course with a Par 71 and a rating/slope of 69.5/125. Double Par rules are in effect, so a golfer is not allowed to shoot higher than a double par. Freshman Hunter Dinkins shot a 96, sophomore Nick Labes shot 106, freshman Lance Williamson shot 116, and freshman Ayden Alfonso and sophomore Blake Esser both shot 125. "The conditions were windy and all p...
RITZVILLE - A fire alarm in the Adams County Courthouse sent employees outside, with volunteer firefighters arriving quickly on scene Wednesday morning, April 21. The "all clear" was given after it was discovered a smoke alarm went off in the records room....
COLFAX — Lind-Ritzville athletes came away with several first-place finishes in the Colfax Track and Field Jamboree Tuesday, April 13. Competing with Lind-Ritzville and Colfax were Asotin and Liberty (Spangle). Sophomore Hayen Melcher took first in the 100 meters race, finishing in 12.67. Freshman Brock Kinch took second, at 12.92. Eli Michels, a junior, took first in the 1600 meters, at 5:33.39, a personal record. For the girls, senior Janaye Wilkie took first place in High Jump with a personal record of 4'10". Wilkie's j...
RITZVILLE – Juan Garza, Administrator of Adams County Juvenile Services, reported to Adams County Commissioners, asking for additional assistance Wednesday, April 7. Garza said dealing with gangs was taking up most of the department's time. “At the end of 2019, we started to see a rise in gangs coming in, even in the middle school age,” Garza said, presenting a notebook of gang-related graffiti in the community from 2020. He presented a notebook of graffiti from 2021, stating four months into the year, the notebook is alrea...
RITZVILLE - A restroom is being built in the city cemetery off Division Street. The unit will be added to the side of the storage building already in place and freshly painted by Eagle Scout Chase Galbreath. Public Works Director Dave Breazeale said by utilizing materials leftover from past projects, the restroom will only cost the city about $1,000. It will feature a single toilet, and be closed during the winter season like all the city restrooms, in order to prevent frozen...
RITZVILLE – The city will celebrate Arbor Day today, Wednesday April 14. "Last year we didn't have an Arbor Day, and this year we wanted to incorporate kids," city councilman and Tree Board member Mike Schrag said. "The city invited kids to plant trees in the park and enhance the walking path. There are about 35 dead trees, so this year in that area we would like to enhance that." Public Works Director Dave Breazeale said he had his crew tear out the old, broken down irrigation system along the Main Street walking path f...
RITZVILLE – Police are looking for leads on who left a cat with her legs zip tied together on Railroad Avenue April 5. The police were called around 2 p.m. when an employee at a local business discovered the animal crying for help. Officer Tom Gracie responded, cutting the zip ties off. "I asked him what would happen now, and he said there was nothing more he could do," Michelle Haggart said. "It appeared to be a stray, but he was also concerned for its well-being, seeing a...
RITZVILLE – Curtis and Julie Templin have their hands full with lots of mouths to feed on the farm these days, with the arrival of goat kids and lambs throughout the month of March; and a calf on April 1. Julie Templin, who works in dining services at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, said she took the month of March off to be home during the births. She was relieved when her cow delivered right before her return to work April 1, early in the morning. "I was so happy t...
RITZVILLE - City council members voted unanimously to approve the annexation of Grainland Acres following a public hearing at their April 6 council meeting. There was no public comment during the public hearing. The annexation is of Lots 1 and 2 of the Heineman Short Plat #2, located adjacent to the City of Ritzville next to Interstate 90 and Highway 261. A comprehensive plan and zoning map amendment were also approved. Lot 1, approximately 84 acres, was designated to General...
RITZVILLE - Caring Neighbors recently donated $9,500 to eight local non-profit organizations. The Ritzville VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) was awarded $2,000 to assist disabled veterans. "That was very gracious of Big Bend Electric and Caring Neighbors to award us that grant," VFW Commander Jeff Kissler said. "We are going to use the funds towards building a wheelchair ramp for a disabled veteran here in town who is a VFW member." Kissler said they would begin working on the...
RITZVILLE – East Adams Library District Board of Trustees recently hired a new library director, replacing former director Kylie Fullmer. Ms. Venesia Adams started with the library March 29. "She moved here from Texas, and we are thrilled to have her," Board of Trustees member Christina Heater said. Adams said she drove up from Dallas, where she did librarian work as well as in ministry as an ordained non-denominational/apostolic minister. Adams said she liked the idea of comi...
City warns about low water pressure RITZVILLE – Residents on city water can expect low pressure this week, as the water standpipe is being inspected and the tank has to be drained, City Clerk-Treasurer Julie Flyckt announced Monday. "This will cause low water pressure from today until the standpipe is refilled," Flyckt said. "We are expecting to have the standpipe inspection complete by this Friday (April 16). Flyckt said the low pressure will be similar to what residents expe...
Washtucna Community Church Pastor Kris Bottino completes her annual Easter painting of That NW Bus in Washtucna Saturday, April 3....
RITZVILLE – "It was find a home or go to the glue factory," Curtis Templin (pictured holding the horse) said. "I retired and just had to find something to do," McDonald said of his farrier services. A 1965 graduate from Ritzville High School, McDonald said he worked in the Arctic in "the oilfield that supplies the 900-mile pipeline," before returning to Ritzville a decade ago....
LIND – Hagen Carlson received a check from Big Bend Electric in the amount of $800 towards his fundraiser to purchase oxygen machines for school gymnasiums. Carlson, a fifth-grader at Lind Middle School, began working on the fundraiser under the guidance of his teacher Jody Terris. "It was very exciting opening the check and realizing Caring Neighbors at Big Bend had given me such a big amount," said Carlson. Terris said Carlson planned to contact the company that sells the o...
RITZVILLE – The Ritz Theatre opened for the first time in over a year, with Warner Bros.' Tom & Jerry playing April 2-4. Austin Iverson of Odessa and Mireya Huitron of Ritzville, who met through Huitron's best friend, hit the Ritz for a Saturday night date....
RITZVILLE – City council met for a special meeting to select an interim mayor Thursday, April 1, following the resignation of Mayor Gary Cook March 31. Mayor Pro Tem Scott Yaeger directed the meeting. City Councilwoman Debbie Chapman and former Mayor Linda Kadlec both wrote letters to the city expressing interest in the position. Councilman Dennis Chamberlain and business owner Aimee Guiles also both expressed interest before withdrawing their petition for the position. T...
RITZVILLE – Second-grade teacher Chelsea Kneale was chosen for the Above and Beyond Award, presented by Principal Cindy Deska at the Lind-Ritzville School Board meeting. "Chelsie has been a rock star this year with not only her in-person students, but her remote students as well," Deska said. "She currently has six students who are remote and 14 students in person every day. She has had as many as nine remote learners during the year. She has been committed to providing q...
LIND – In their school board meeting Tuesday, Mar. 30, Lind and Ritzville members unanimously approved an emergency waiver of high school graduation credits. This is in addition to a policy already in place which authorizes the superintendent to grant waivers of a maximum of two elective credits required for high school graduation based on an individual student's circumstances. The purpose of the emergency waiver is "to provide an equitable mechanism that prevents students from being unduly impacted by unforeseen d...
LIND – The Lions Club hid more than 1,000 eggs in the city park for their annual Easter Egg Hunt. The playground in the park was taped off into four categories: ages 1-3, Preschool and Kindergarten, Grades 1st, 2nd and 3rd, and Grades 4th, 5th and 6th. Dispersed among the candy-filled eggs were "Golden Eggs" filled with $10 and $20 dollar bills in each category. Finding cash prizes inside the eggs were Vera Dahl, 10; Alex Ashley, 6; Dylan Van Slyke, 4; Saylor Wahl, 4; G...
RITZVILLE – Part of Interstate 90 was closed for much of Sunday, due to high winds and blowing dust. The closure began at 3:30 p.m. and lasted until the late evening, with the Department of Transportation announcing I-90 reopening between milepost 182 east of Moses Lake and milepost 222 in Ritzville around 9:30 p.m. in both directions. The Department of Transportation reported near-zero visibility due to high winds and flying dust. Hakobyan Harut-Hakobovich of Brooklyn, New Y...
LIND – Councilperson Jim Dworshak presented information on quiet zones at the Mar. 23 town council meeting. Dworshak said for a quiet zone to be in place, the town would have to accept full accountability, and insurance would be $150,000 per track. In the event of an emergency on the track, the horn would still sound. The funds to cover the insurance would have to come out of the water, sewer and garbage accounts, causing an increase of $88 per month per utility user to cover the cost. The quiet zone would have to be placed o...
RITZVILLE – The dilapidated McElroy Coulee Bridge south of Ritzville on Highway 261 is getting replaced. The bridge is located at milepost 57.7, at the junction of Leisle Road and Highway 261, in between Harder Road to the north and Franz Road to the south. The contract was awarded to Shamrock Paving Inc./Murphy Brothers of Spokane, who began the project March 8. "The project is ahead of schedule and on budget," Project Superintendent Randy Wicks said. According to D...
WASHTUCNA – The school's All Student Body (ASB) will be sponsoring a Drive Thru Easter Egg Hunt Friday, April 2, from 4 - 5:30 p.m. Participants are asked to drive by the Washtucna school, and volunteers will give adults bags full of plastic Easter eggs with candy already in them. Then, it is up to participants to hold their own hunt any way they want to celebrate. Kids do not need to be present when the eggs are picked up. Participants are encouraged to open the eggs Easter weekend. There will be notification of winning one...