League breaks attendance record, elects board

The theme of “Where the Hell’s My Water?” brought in a record number of stakeholders from around the Northwest as nearly 180 attended the Columbia Basin Development League Conference and 49th Annual Meeting in Moses Lake last week. The conference focused on progress to date on moving irrigators from the Odessa aquifer to surface water and on plans for completing the second half of the Columbia Basin Project.

At the annual business meeting Mark Stedman and Matt Hawley were elected to a three-year term on the board of trustees.

Nine board members will be returning for another three year term including Steve Connors, Warden; Clark Kagele, Odessa; Rick Miller, Pasco; Alice Parker, Royal City; Orman Johnson, Connell; Dale Pomeroy, Warden; Reid Phillips, Ritzville; Jeff Schibel, Odessa; and Eli Stahl, Ritzville.

The remainder of the Board includes: Milt Johnston, Ellensburg; Jake Wollman Jr., Warden; Ron Fode, Moses Lake; Heath Gimmestad, Moses Lake; Mark Booker, Othello; Kevin Lyle, Othello; Mike LaPlant, Ephrata; John Moody, Ephrata; Bernie Erickson, Ritzville; Joe Gross, Marlin; Richard Stevens, Soap Lake; Bill Wagoner, Quincy; Andy Erickson, Moses Lake; Charles Lyall, Mattawa; John Preston, Warden; and David Stevens, Wilson Creek.

The Columbia Basin Development League promotes the orderly extension of irrigation infrastructure to eligible lands within the Columbia Basin Project.