Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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The commissioners of East Adams Rural Hospital District No. 2 asked two candidates seeking a position on the hospital board to explain, “What are your qualifications for this position?” (Ritzville Journal, Nov. 14, Page one). Did the commissioners really believe Ross Heimbinger and Don Sanger were not qualified to stand for election for the position to which they were now seeking by appointment? Does Commissioner Eric Walker’s personal question of the candidates hint that he refuses to accept the result of the bond issue of a...
I am astonished at our presidents’ lack of diplomacy as he is forced to battle one crisis after another. The drone strike that killed the Taliban leader came just one day after peace talks were to commence. The Pakistani leader Imban Khan had warned the U.S. Ambassador that American drone strikes should not be carried out while Pakistan was trying to hold peace talks and especially no Taliban leader should be targeted. Mr. Khan added that he felt that the U.S. was trying to deliberately scuttle the peace progress. He made t...
Usually I am glad to be right but I am not happy about finding out the truth about ObamaCare. I wonder what is going to happen to the millions of people who have received their insurance cancelation notices. Many of these people are going to have a black holiday season because of this program that we have been told about ad nauseam. Perhaps President Obama took lesson from his Hollywood friends as to being able to repeat the same statements that he now says weren’t exact. It makes me wonder if President Obama has a c...
On Oct. 15, Mayor Linda Kadlec and the City Council passed a resolution declaring the month of November “Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month” in Ritzville. Bravo to them for helping to raise awareness about this devastating disease and encouraging our elected officials in Washington, D.C., to make fighting pancreatic cancer a priority. The “Recalcitrant Cancer Research Act” was signed by President Obama in January, but sequestration is putting all medical research at risk. Even though the new law outlines the scienti... Full story
Growing up an “east coaster” I have witnessed many death and regeneration cycles of neighborhoods and cities. As we know Detroit, Cleveland and Gary are facing these cycles now and eastern Washington towns have had their share of past boom times with more to be revealed. I would like to see the town succeed – it has tremendous potential. The last 40-plus years of human activity, decisions and behaviors on the International, National, State and local levels have delivered a number of outcomes that seem to be resulting in th... Full story
Mr. Don C. Brunell is mistaken. ObamaCare cannot be fixed. There are Democrat members of Congress who want to find a way of papering over problems until after the 2014 elections but there are few if any Democrats who want it fixed in the sense Brunell discusses in his Ritzville Journal editorial of November 7. Find a Democrat who supports Brunell and you will have found a Democrat who does not understand the mess Congress created with ObamaCare. ObamaCare cannot be made sensible. Brunell writes: “Obamacare has some p... Full story
Thanks, Terri on the kudos, but there is one person who I feel was very important in the restoration of the Ritz Theatre. Thirty years ago, Herb Benzel made the decision to purchase the ailing Ritz Theatre at an estate auction. Herb, his wife Shannon, and their farm crew embarked on a three-year restoration (they worked in the winters when not in the field), and reopened in 1987 with Dan Geschke. If Herb had not had that vision, the building could have continued to deteriorate and been lost. He followed that project with the...
We all want to see our town come back to some of its former life and flourish. This community is very lucky to have a person like John Rankin with all his many talents, putting forth a huge amount of his time and skills to bring our theater back to its former glory. He is one of the few people I know who, wanting to see this town rise again, jumps in there and gets the job done when something needs fixing. He kept the Ritzville Art Gallery functioning doing most, if not all, of its fix-it’s the three years it was open. So t...
According to a report published in part in The Journal, the Critical Access Hospital (aka East Adams Rural Hospital) does not now “provide a safe and secure environment for the provision of patient care.” Let us parse those words a bit. The commissioners and administration of EARH No.2 are not providing a safe and secure environment for the provision of medical care for their own families, friends, neighbors or anyone else unfortunate enough to have need of the facility. The current condition of the hospital, an unsafe env... Full story
Living and doing business in “Small Town USA” isn’t always easy. We’re fortunate to be situated near an interstate highway where much of our business comes. If Ritzville is the heart of Adam’s County, I-90 is its artery. The arrival of a new business is a welcome sight to our community. New businesses bring in new opportunities for citizens and business owners alike. Love’s and Carl’s Jr. is our most recent addition. It brings with it the promise of greater business opportunities as it appeals to a different market than w... Full story
It seems like all the hype about the new Love’s store is all-good, but for other local businesses in the town, it has been quite an eye opening experience on how they have been promoting their new business. After several visits from the Love’s personnel, they have shocked several local businesses in Ritzville. From coming into the local c-stores, and many other types of stores, and asking to go through stores and write down prices. Really? To almost harassing employees to come and apply at their company, before all these sma... Full story
Soon we will be heading to the polls to vote on several important issues. I want to address Initiative 522, the labeling requirements for genetically engineered foods. According to the American Association of Advanced Science, Genetically Modified (GM) foods have been tested extensively and there has been no proof of these products being any more dangerous for human consumption than non-GM foods. In fact, GM has allowed farmers to use less dangerous sprays and pesticides over the past 20 years and to produce larger crops for...
This is a big shout out to the great service at the Fairway Café. Great management by Mary Marshall. Great food and service by Kassy Kinch and Taylor Belgarde. We hope you stay open through the winter months. And to the folks living in our fair city, we encourage you to have your next lunch at the Ritzville Golf Course. You will be treated very well. Miles Athey Ethel Rott Ritzville...
President Obama continued his war on guns recently by having his Secretary of State John Kerry sign the papers to potentially cement an agreement with the U.N. for worldwide gun control. Why in the world would we want anything to do with an organization where we have most countries who are not our friends or allies? The U.N. has been working for nearly 15 years to force its gun banning Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) on the United States. Now, thanks to Obama, they are closer than ever. Even if we prevent two-thirds majority of the...
Were you surprised when the results showed that the American adults scored below the International average on a global test? The U.S. scored 16th in reading skills, 21st in math skills and 17th in problem solving. Wow! We need to create more ways to reach adults to upgrade their skills. Otherwise adults will be stuck at the current level that they are working and will not be able to climb up the ladder to produce better results. We are considered to be the richest country in the world but we are $16.7 trillion in actual debt... Full story
Let us try and simplify the reason for the ridiculous name-calling and questionable actions that are taking place. It is because the Republicans want to balance the budget, and the Democrats don’t want to. Perhaps we should define some terms. Budget is what they hope to collect in revenue and that is hopefully going to match the expenses for that year. If the revenue doesn’t match the expenses, then we go further in debt. Our debt will be $17 trillion dollars on or about Oct. 17. We now take one dime, one nickel and one pen...
Hospital really not needed. Let me define what I suggested early in building an emergency room, lab and heliport. The emergency room is there to get serious cases ready for transport to a Spokane hospital and to also service the people that have medical problems during the hours that the clinic is closed. It is well known that insurance companies only pay to put people in the hospital that have serious illnesses. Spokane has all the facilities to accommodate these people. I left out the word new, in my last letter when referr...
Most people are aware that if you change your mind a lot it could make people have doubts about your character. We live in a rapidly changing world where instant communication gives us information that can cause us to wonder if our first impressions were correct. Because of this, I try not to make hasty decisions. Our President changed his mind a lot recently and these have been regarding important issues. I don’t remember the year that we went to instant communications, but it has been with us long enough that we should k...
Two recent supporters of the plans of EARH District No. 2 commissioners appear unable to address the concerns of those who are not so enamored with the current plans of the hospital commissioners. In fact, they seem to need to invent and misstate the opinions of those they oppose. Perhaps we could seek clarity if not agreement. Once upon a time, the commissioners decided to build a new hospital. They stashed money in some fund, while asking the voters of District No. 2 to vote for operating and maintenance monies. The... Full story
Let’s get down to the real Hospital issues. 1. I truly believe we need a critical access hospital in this community. I do not agree that another bond issue combined with the tax dollars that have already been collected should be spent on a new hospital facility. We should meet the State and Federal requirements and, as Jerry Snyder said when he was running for office, “Save our hospital.” 2. The voting public is expecting this hospital to remain open. If the board and administration does not heed the 45-day warning and the d...
Since I was referred to by name in a letter last week, I suppose I should say something in response. The writer seemed, in a confused way, to feel that any suggestion that some members of the community may be misinformed about the hospital facility and the proposed bond issue is not “logical.” But, just as one small example, as recently as two weeks ago a letter appeared in this paper claiming emphatically that “all we need is an emergency room, lab and a heliport;” that is like saying I don’t need arms and legs, just fing...
Once you believe you have seen it all, the Government steps to a new low. At the Sept. 18 City of Sprague Council meeting, the City Council passed Resolution No. 273 “Council meeting public comment policy.” This Resolution established the public may only comment at the end of the Council meeting during the “Public Comment Period,” but at this same meeting Mayor Mike Evans stated there would be no more “Public Comment Periods” during Council meetings. Thus in one City Council meeting the public has been completely silenced. M...
Are the “Friends of East Adams Rural Hospital” really friends of the present hospital? They appear to be friends of passing a huge, long-term bond to pay for a NEW hospital. They are now trying to re-educate us and convince us how wrong we were to vote against the last bond. According to Mr. Eric Walker: “The points that seem to be heard most so far are: – too expensive, big and/or fancy; – not enough of the extant reserve fund was committed; – hate the site, must have Weber Road. The logic of those thoughts is immaterial;...
The railroads have announced that they can haul grain in 110 car unit trains for less money per ton, then barges on the Snake River can transport it. Almost immediately the fish people want to tear out the Snake River Dams. They say that they want to restore the salmon and steelhead runs to what they used to be. How in the world were they able to count the fish before the dams were in place? There were a lot of fishermen in the Washtucna and Kahlotus areas that fished the Snake River in the Lyons Ferry area that spent a lot... Full story
On Sunday night Mother Nature came to Ritzville. In the morning light we saw the aftermath of her fury and were left with are jaws dropped. The night of the storm, Larry Swift stopped by the Fire Station and told me that the City might need help in the morning. Monday morning I grabbed a saw and asked him where to start. He told me to go to the City Park and start cutting. I got there about 7 a.m. and for the next hour, I was by myself. I thought, it will take a month to clean this up by myself. Soon a farmer stopped by and...