Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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Our thanks and admiration goes to Washtucna for participating a second year in the America in Bloom awards program. Special thanks go to Lora Hille, Washtucna in Bloom Chair and all their members, city staff, participants, sponsors and volunteers for organizing a full day of remarkable tours and meetings on July 18. We have enjoyed meeting and spending time with many of you as you showcased all the reasons Washtucna should be proud. America in Bloom envisions communities as welcoming and vibrant places to live, work, and...
Like many of you, we were long-time dentistry patients of “Doctor Doug” and then of Dr. Tracy. After Dr. Tracy left, we, like many, were adrift for a while. Now, however, Dr. Brenden Davis of Northwest Oral Health comes regularly to East Adams Rural Healthcare, where he and his staff provide full-service dental care. I am writing because I am not sure how many people know about Dr. Davis. My feeling is that during the period when we were without a local dentist, families may have drifted into the habit of using out...
The Washtucna Pioneer Cemetery commissioners would like to thank community members and volunteers for your continued support. Last fall, with the help of volunteers and their machinery, we were able to reconstruct the southeast corner of the cemetery that had fallen down the bank. This summer, maintenance is going smoothly with contracted services from Steve Farrow for lawn maintenance and Mike Phelps, Sr. for irrigation maintenance. We have our regular bills for water, electricity, fuel, and equipment maintenance. To keep...
Many years ago, before 1940, most states had students take a test when they finished the eighth grade. If they passed the test, they could go on to high school. If not, they could keep trying to pass it until they were 16. When they were 16, they were told to go get a job. I have copies of the test that was very difficult. Looking recently at the percentage of students that graduated from college after four years it is very obvious that we possible have too many young people that are not college material. Perhaps high...
On Sunday, June 11, the Jawbones RV Travel Club of the Lewiston/Clarkston Valley (13 recreational vehicles and 25 people) motored through your town for a three-day campout at the Wheat Land Communities’ Fairgrounds. As we pulled in, we were all pleased with our accommodations: green well-manicured grass, spacious hookups, building with a kitchen for our meetings and potlucks, walking trails, right price, and friendly and helpful groundskeepers Dan and Leslie. Our members thoroughly enjoyed walking through your town and spotti...
An article in the May 4 Journal by Brunell regarding Amtrak shows that he has limited knowledge of the Rail industry. His statements are not completely accurate but like many others, reflect his “party line” preference to end long distance rail passenger service except the NE corridor boondoggle. Sen. McCain (R) Arizona, is not only one of the most vociferous anti Amtrak politicians, but his voting record itself has been anti Rail heavily subsidizing all other modes of transportation. Included in my educational background is...
I would like to thank Mr. Paul McAnally and Pastor John Hunsberger for planning and hosting the five alcohol and drug awareness forums held in downtown Ritzville at the Soul Café. My husband and I attended two separate sessions, and we both found them very informative and helpful. The first session hosted a panel of local law enforcement officers and the owner of one of the local marijuana shops. The panel for the second session included an Adams County substance abuse counselor and a local physician who spoke on the...
We are all well aware of the road problems caused by the snow melt and the additional rain, but the folks who live “out in the boonies” on dirt roads are particularly aware of the situation. We are some of those folks and we deeply appreciate the work done by Steve Wellsandt (Maintenance Supervisor, Ritzville Area 1) and his crew. They have worked long hours, even after dark and through blinding rain and snow, to keep the roads passable. They have done a fantastic job, in awful conditions, and no one could have done it bet...
The law is the law, or is it? I believe that most of you have heard of someone getting a ticket or being arrested and then nothing really happened. During my lifetime, I have seen people get by without going to jail or paying a fine. Over the years police officers and judges have considered the facts or the person’s social standing to make those determinations. I have no problem with that unless the laws are felonies or something worse. What we have to keep in mind is that our laws locally and nationally have been changing v...
Has anyone noticed the Washington State D.O.T. has found a very novel and inexpensive way to solve the problem of our deteriorating federal interstate highway system. The solution was simple, just lower the speed limit. Carried to extreme this would eventually lower the speed to a dead stop. Which means the libs on the left side of the state could push through a rapid transit system costing 10 fold what it would cost to fix the roads. See how happy the EPA is. No more nasty pollution. We could have electric trains powered by...
President Trump inherited a mess! The problems are not just from President Obama! The immigration problem started prior to World War II when people were needed to work in the fields as men and women were needed for the war effort. Our infrastructure goes back to Ike’s presidency as his program made it so nice to travel! Too many thought that program would last forever! Our military decimation goes back the Clinton Era, and the Bush-Obama war efforts used without adequate replacement. L.B.J was the first administration that e...
Upon reading all of the comments and letters from all of the democrat supporters claiming the republicans were holding up progress all of these years we have finally got the safest and best country to live in. Now since we have President Trump in office all you read and hear is it’s Trump’s fault, he’s to blame for everything. So under these circumstances we only have one person to watch. Our economy is sure to improve because of all of the money that the democrat’s are spending on travel expenses, and the money being s...
I would like to begin this letter by expressing my extreme gratitude to the residents of Ritzville and to all of those members of the community that decided to vote in the Feb. 14 election. Your decision to improve the school’s facilities and the learning environments within our schools is an investment that is indicative of a community who views its children as its most precious resource. I believe the impact of this decision on our students is invaluable. The gift that the community of Ritzville has given to our students c...
None of you have a problem with me pitching a tent on your front lawns, do you? Since none of you seem to have a problem with illegal immigration (aliens); you couldn’t possibly object, right? Once I get my tent sent up; please be sure to leave your front door unlocked. After all, I will need to take a shower, do laundry; and, oh, be sure to stock your refrigerator. I will need something to eat. You don’t mind do you? When you go into to town, be sure and pick me up a bus pass and I’ll need you to pick me up some perso...
On Feb. 14, the voters of Ritzville will be asked to vote on the bond to upgrade the Lind Ritzville High School, Grade School and school grounds. I am urging you to vote yes. I have had the privilege of working as a school-counseling intern at all four schools in the Lind-Ritzville community. The majority of my time has been spent in the high school. Imagine my shock when the first true cold wind and bitter temperatures of the year rendered teaching and learning impossible. Everyone was dressed in winter jackets, gloves and h...
In the last six months, mistakes have been made with our prescriptions. The first time we were given two prescriptions that were not ours. The second time two prescriptions again were given to us that were not ours. The third time my husband received half the prescription for his heart problem. The bottle showed a full prescription. We caught this problem right away and received the rest of his medication. We were told by the pharmacy that they must have grabbed the wrong bottle and forgot to count them. A few weeks ago...
We would like to use this opportunity to clear up some public confusion regarding our business plans for Soup It Up. In Aug. 2016, we closed our doors to our downtown location because of the physical limitations of the building and poor working conditions. We began our search for a new location for our blossoming business. Over the past six months we have seriously considered several possible locations throughout Ritzville, only to be let down with financial issues, building issues or the like. It has been a very difficult...
You really missed out if you didn’t attend the high school play Jan. 26. It was the best one yet that Allison Nichols directed. The cast: Caden Liberty, as the stern principal, never waivers as a dictatorial rule monger, Kerra Ridgeway, as the got-it-all-together student caught between defending her siblings and expulsion, and the uniformed students speaking in a robotic chorus signifying boredom, submission, and conformity. As the play proceeds, one by one the actors begin to think independently and stand up to the p...
A century ago Teddy Roosevelt proclaimed that people who came to America and wanted to become citizens must be fluent in the use of English. He had a strong belief that language is what binds a country together. The fight for having English as our official language became more serious in 1968. La Raza, an organization that wants us to be multi-lingual who is backed by the blue party, was formed that year. Finally, a Hawaiian senator organized U.S. English in 1983. They presented Congress with a resolution in 1996. A poll was...
The holiday season makes us all aware of the blessings in our life and creates a time for individuals to reflect upon the gifts that we have been granted. As the Superintendent of the Lind-Ritzville Cooperative Schools, I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to spend time with the students within the district. Each child is a blessing and truly reminds me that serving our students is an investment in a brighter future. I have gotten to observe students excelling in the classroom and growing in a number of areas. I...
Whew! It’s finally over, except for the shouting. Much of that from people who have been use to getting too many free things from our tax dollars. There are probably a large number of reactions from people who have been influenced by the increasing gap between the red and the blue. I would like to remind you that we have elected previous presidents like Ronald Reagan who was very unpopular for the first two years! He was so unpopular that it cost the red party during the mid-term election. He had inherited a real mess from M...
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who voted for me for the position of County Commissioner. While I was unsuccessful in getting the position it is humbling to know that there was so much support. Hopefully our current board can move forward in a positive manner that will continue to make Adams County a great place to live and raise a family. I believe that it is important for us to support our small businesses and to have a well trained and equipped law enforcement so we can continue to grow and be...
With the renewed interest in the Columbia River Operating System, this is a great opportunity to remind the public the dams on the Snake River are state of the art facilities allowing salmon, clean energy, and cargo transportation to coexist. The Columbia River is one of the largest export gateways in the US, largely thanks to the Snake. Ten million tons of commercial cargo and nearly 67 million bushels of wheat are transported on the Columbia/Snake River annually, alleviating the burden on our road and rail infrastructure....
Each time I go to the store I am amazed at the increase in the number of craft beers and the number of flavored beers. I have seen orange, lemon, apple cider and even iced tea. The latest one I saw was root beer with an unhealthy amount of alcohol. Do you think as I do that this is a ploy to attract ladies and younger people to try something new that is less harsh then plain beer? There is a very old history to beer as the (workers or slaves) that built the pyramids were paid by allotments of beer. If they worked really hard...
Were you aware that Ritzville’s largest revenue source is sales tax? Like me, you probably thought that property taxes would be No. 1 on that list, but actually it places a distant second. Also, did you realize that if you buy items on the internet, Ritzville gets the sales tax revenue (Win No. 1)? So shop at home or from home. Either way, Ritzville benefits, and when your town benefits, so do you. When we realize adequate sales tax revenue, we don’t have to consider raising property taxes (Win No. 2) to cover expenses tha...