2013 in Review: Take a look at the year’s top headlines

The past 12 months were a busy time in the area. The headlines for the year were a mix of the good, bad and unexpected.

Here is a look back at the new headlines that appeared in The Journal in 2013.

January

A rather unique changing of the guard occurred in the Adams County Superior Court when Judge Richard “Dick” Miller ended his tenure in the swearing in ceremony where he passed the gavel to his brother, Brian Miller. Brian was successfully elected into the role of superior court judge in the 2012 primary election.

The Project 56 committee presented the Ritzville School District with a check for $130,000 to be used with the funds collected from the capital levy to complete the all-weather track at Jimmie Snider Field. The donation allowed the school district to move ahead with hiring an architect to begin the track renovation process.

February

Tragedy struck the Lind community on Feb. 26 when a house fire displaced a family and claimed the life of three-year-old Amy Allison Garcia. The Lind and Ritzville communities rallied around the family and donations poured in to help support the family, which had seven other children residing in the home at the time of the fire.

After nearly 10 years of studies and debate, Adams County Public Hospital District No. 2 found itself at a crossroads. The district had to decide whether to bring the existing, 60-year-old hospital building up to code compliance or construct a new hospital.

March

The Love’s Travel Stop and Country Store appeared to be a sure thing following the Ritzville City Council’s unanimous support of a resolution approving the development agreement between the company, the city and the landowner, Galbreath Land and Livestock, Inc. The agreement cleared the way for construction along State Route 261 across the roadway from Big Bend Electric Cooperative.

The Board of Commissioners of Hospital District No. 2 unanimously voted in favor of placing a bond on the ballot.

The general obligation bond was for the public to decide if the hospital should move forward with the construction of a new hospital in Ritzville. Commissioners discussed the need for a new hospital instead of repairing the old one, since the costs balance out at an estimated $10 million.

April

With the motion picture industry doing a national mandate of the conversion of 35-millimeter film to digital projection systems, The New Ritz Theatre faced an expensive price tag to make the necessary upgrades in order to keep running movies at the single-screen theater. The Kramer family teamed up with the Ritzville Downtown Development Association in an effort to preserve the theater and begin fundraising to purchase the new digital equipment.

Following the hiring of Kearsley Construction last October, the Lind community began seeing construction of the new $3.2 million wastewater treatment facility alongside Highway 21 after a groundbreaking ceremony at the site on April 15. The project is 90 percent funded by the Centennial Grant Program through the Department of Ecology.

May

A 15-year-old juvenile was booked into Martin Hall on May 11 following an investigation after fire crews and law enforcement officers responded to a bush fire next to the old high school near the Ag Shop in Ritzville. After the fire, investigators realized a bulge in the side of the old high school building and city officials feared the structure may collapse and closed a portion of Division Street.

Forty-five students prepared to make history as the first class of Lind-Ritzville High School, with the class being led by three valedictorians and three salutatorians. The graduation ceremony in Gilson Gymnasium marked the completion of the first successful year of the Lind and Ritzville academic cooperative.

June

Ritzville citizens were briefed about the upcoming construction projects in the community during a public forum in mid May. The projects included the drilling of a new well, construction of a water booster pump system and multiple road construction projects stemming from Baumann Avenue to First Avenue.

The Lind Community Garden and Education Center began to take shape with a donation from the Columbia Basin Foundation in late June and community garden directors began encouraging more residents to become involved. The garden is located near the Lind Pool and allows residents to grow their own produce in a small garden plot, free of charge