Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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As you probably know by now, we have a new CEO at the District, Mr. Corey Fedie. This paper will be telling you about Corey, but I will say that he has made a great first impression with everyone, and is brimming over with the ideas and enthusiasm that made him the Board’s choice. We have not lost touch with our CEO of seven years, Gary Bostrom, who remains with the District in the capacity of Chief Financial Officer, working off-site (a common arrangement for smaller Districts). This is, I feel, a good time to reflect on h...
What happens in China, doesn’t always stay in China. In fact, when it comes to tough new garbage and recycling restrictions, they may migrate elsewhere sooner than you might think. For example, Shanghai is one of the world’s largest cities with 26.9 million people. It is suffocating under mountains of trash its residents generate daily. It lacks an effective recycling and disposal system. “Instead, it has trash pickers to sift through the waste, plucking out whatever can b...
On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed, and the United States of America was established. Last week, families across the country celebrated this momentous anniversary with firework displays, parades, and barbeques. Many of us prayed for the men and women who sacrifice their lives to protect our independence and make our country stronger, but few reflected on the real reason we observe our country’s most patriotic holiday. The original British colonists came to the colonies seeking freedom and o...
Dear Friends, The 9th District spans all or parts of six counties, and on the Fourth of July that means many celebrations spread across a lot of territory – at last count, six parades plus other community gatherings. One person can’t attend all of them, but my seatmates in the House and I try to get in as many as we can. With that background, here’s how I spent this year’s Independence Day. It’s important to get going early, and the Othello Rotary leads off with a breakfast in the park. As I drove to Othello from Ritzville...
When my parents graduated from high school in 1936, a college education was too expensive for the son of a copper miner and the daughter of a plumber. Eighty years ago, our country was in the middle of the Great Depression and teens took odd jobs to help put food on the table and pay the family bills. In those days no bank would lend money to college students. Following World War II, there was new hope for veterans. The GI Bill paid for veterans to complete their college or...
This Fourth of July, America will celebrate its 243rd birthday. Our country has come a long way since 1776, and there is still more progress to be made. Our independence and our patriotism are what set the United States apart from the rest of the world, and we have a lot to be thankful for. As we gather with our family and friends to celebrate our freedom, we should also celebrate some of our nation’s finest treasures: our national parks and public lands. Washington state is fortunate to be home to 15 National Park Service (N...
June is National Dairy Month, and Washington has many reasons to celebrate. Washington is home to almost 400 dairies, nearly 275,000 cows, and 18,000 dairy jobs. In fact, while Washington may be known for our iconic apples, dairy is our second leading commodity, valued at $1.2 billion. Growing up in Sunnyside, it isn’t hard to believe that Washington is a national leader in milk production. The region is filled with and surrounded by family-owned dairy farms and larger-scale processing plants, like Darigold, that help c...
Hopefully, when American and Chinese leaders meet to resolve trade differences, talks won’t breakdown and result in a new round of tariffs or product restrictions. It is in both nations’ interests for presidents Trump and Xi Jinping to find common ground. Our state has lots riding on those negotiations. The Brookings Institute points out that Washington would be “the worst off” of any state because 154,000 people are employed in industries that would be affected by new Chi...
During the 1992 presidential campaign, then-candidate Bill Clinton famously intoned, “I feel your pain,” reassuring voters he understood what they were going through. Since then, similar statements of empathy have become a staple for politicians. But it doesn’t always ring true for every constituent. Take family business owners, for example. Family businesses account for 50 percent of U.S. gross domestic product, generate 60 percent of the country’s employment, and account...
People from all over the world come to the United States for a chance to live a better life. Some are coming here to work, some are coming to reunite with their families, and some are escaping corrupt governments. We should welcome them with a strong legal immigration system. What we should not allow are the criminals that take advantage of the loopholes in our immigration laws. Drug dealers and sex traffickers exploit our lack of border enforcement and outdated technologies, and children are “rented” and bought as “fr...
During World War II, the American GI earned the reputation for being innovative, adaptable and resilient. Nowhere was that more evident than the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944. For example, Gen. Maxwell D. Taylor, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, was assigned to drop paratroopers and land gliders behind the German lines on Normandy. They needed to secure roads and bridges for Allied tanks, artillery and supply trucks once the Nazi forces were dislodged from their...
This past week, we commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Normandy, otherwise known as D-Day. Many of us know D-Day as an event that eventually resulted in victory for the Allied forces in World War II. Thousands of brave American soldiers sacrificed their lives for the greater good and helped to secure the freedom we enjoy today. While it can be easy to think of the battle in terms of numbers – the date (June 6, 1944), the length of the shoreline (50 miles), the number of casualties (more than 10,000) – it is imp...
Dear Friends, It’s been a little more than a month since the Legislature adjourned. I was back at the Capitol about 10 days ago for a meeting of the Select Committee on Pension Policy, but for the most part I’ve been able to stick pretty close to the farm here in Adams County – or at least stay within the 9th District. An appointment in Pullman recently gave me an opportunity to drop in at the Pullman chamber and visit with executive director Marie Dymkoski. Earlier this week I split a day between the “Partnership on the Pal...
Last January, Boeing was poised for another record year. The company’s order book burst at the seams. Things seem to be going Boeing’s way. In 2019, Boeing planned to step up deliveries of KC46 aerial refueling jets to the U.S. Air Force and the new 777 composite-wing jumbo jet was entering its critical test phases with plans to begin deliveries within the next two years. Boeing’s contracts for new aircraft climbed to 1,500 Dreamliners (787) and over 5,000 Max (737) jets. The...
The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) motto is, “Caring for the land and serving people.” That is exactly what the students of USFS Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers do. With 25 locations across the country, these Civilian Conservation Centers (CCCs) provide skills and job training to “at-risk” young people who need a hand up to find gainful employment or receive their high school GED. Students are taught real skills they use to serve and bring economic prosperity to their local communities and our national forests. Central...
On April 21, 1962, the Seattle World’s Fair opened. The “Century 21 Exhibition” ran for six months, drew 11 million visitors, turned a profit and left the Northwest with a wonderful Seattle Center. Well over a half century later, many of the fair’s landmarks remain and the Center’s 73-acres is a gathering place for people from all walks of life. It is Seattle’s Central Park. The Space Needle has become Seattle’s landmark. Conceived in an architect’s notebook, it was construc...
On Memorial Day, we honor our nation’s servicemembers who have given the ultimate sacrifice. We surround their families and loved ones with prayers and support. We lay flowers on memorials, make visits to monuments, and we pay tribute to their service by lowering our flags to half-mast. While it may be easy to associate Memorial Day weekend with barbeques, a day off from work or school, and the start of summer, we cannot forget that there is a reason we observe this day – and each of them have a story. Our military mem...
There are dams that should come down and those that shouldn’t. Hopefully, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducts its review of the 14 federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers, that will become abundantly clear. That review is expected to be ready for public comment in late 2020. Here is the difference. Demolishing the two dams on the Elwha River west of Port Angeles was a good thing. They were built in the early 1900’s to bring electricity to the Olympic Pen...
Summer is nearly upon us. Where does the time go? Memorial Day weekend is a special time for the Ritzville community, with the annual alumni celebrations, car show, concerts and Art in the Park. It seems fitting that I send out an appreciation for those who have helped make this possible. First, Chad Hoeft and crew from Columbia Bank volunteered their time and resources to refurbish the planters downtown for the summer. They spent hours cleaning out and replacing needed potting soil and other things to prepare them for the...
“Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy.” A lot of people don’t realize exactly how many small businesses are all around us. Whether it be a storefront on Main Street in downtown Ritzville, the local fruit stand off the highway in Selah, or an online boutique operating out of Winthrop, it is very likely that someone you know can call themselves a “small business owner.” Last year, I had the honor of meeting Mike Mauk, who owns Mauk Fishing Stuff. Mike has always loved fishing, but he was tired of his fishi...
Dear Friends, I’ll start by congratulating the thousands of WSU students who were awarded degrees this past Saturday, at the end of the 2019 spring semester. And by thanking the state Department of Transportation’s branches in Spokane and Wenatchee for putting several “variable message signs” here and there along US 195 and SR 26 with safety reminders for travelers heading west from Pullman. We want Cougar Nation to be safe! Speaking of travel, Governor Inslee must be taking a break from his job-hunting visits around the nat...
Montana’s legislature took the unusual step of exempting older, less-valued mobile homes from property tax as a way to stem homelessness. The bipartisan legislation, which Gov. Steve Bullock signed into law last week, aims to keep people in their homes. It exempts mobile and manufactured homes worth less than $10,000 and at least 28 years old from taxation starting next year. In Montana, a state with just over a million people, there are more than 22,000 residences where o...
Last week, the House voted on legislation that would force the President to participate in the Paris Climate Agreement to reduce carbon emissions in the United States and the world. On the surface, this bill paints a pretty picture: reducing our carbon footprint. However, this federally-mandated top-down approach will not help advance that goal. I celebrate the fact that the United States is leading the global community in reducing carbon emissions, but President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement because other...
Easter Sunday is the holiest day for observant Christians worldwide. It is the day followers of Jesus Christ celebrate his resurrection, and many believers choose to be baptized or receive their first communion on the special day. It is the day on which Christians celebrate the central tenets of our faith, which is why the coordinated suicide bombings on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka that targeted minority Christians at four churches as well as foreigners at four hotels shocked that island nation and the world. The terrorists ta...
The exciting news is that your District has settled on a new Chief Executive Officer to take over from retiring CEO Gary Bostrom. The new CEO is Mr. Corey Fedie. He comes to us from the Kit Carson County Health Service District in Burlington, Colorado, which, like us, is a Critical Access Hospital with a 24/7 Emergency Department. Corey was the finalist in what was a grueling selection process, for we were fortunate enough to have several highly qualified applicants. Corey will formally begin his duties on June 10th, giving...