Serving Franklin County, WA
Serving Franklin County, WA
Sorted by date Results 1 - 22 of 22
OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee declared an emergency drought for most of the state July 14. The drought affects every county in the state but excludes an area that encompasses most of King County, half of Snohomish County, and Tacoma by itself. It stretches from north of Everett to south of Kent. Tacoma is the only area in Pierce County not impacted by the drought, according to the state. "Many areas of (Washington) are currently under the stress of these extreme drought c...
COLFAX – Fifteen people are charged with furnishing liquor to minors after a Washington State University (WSU) student died of alcohol poisoning in 2019. Samuel H. Martinez, 19, of Bellevue, was a pledge to the fraternity Alpha Tau Omega on Linden Street in Pullman. He died on Nov. 12, 2019, during a fraternity event. The Wittman County coroner ruled his death as accidental acute alcohol poisoning. Martinez was last seen to be alive at 2 a.m. on Nov. 11 while sleeping on h...
It’s time to decide if you want a COVID vaccination. If you want to take a precaution to help you avoid contracting COVID, then you can accept a free vaccination. If you don’t want a new COVID vaccine, you can turn down the free vaccination. It’s that simple. You are free to decide what you want to do with your body. The ugliest side effect of the COVID vaccinations is the nasty, bullying attitude affecting some people. I keep speaking with people and business owners about how...
OLYMPIA – The Office of Firearm Safety and Violence Prevention was launched March 25 to address community gun violence. It is part of the Department of Commerce and is a “statewide effort to coordinate evidence-based intervention and prevention strategies.” “The office’s work will be directed at the highest risk populations of perpetrators and victims in the highest risk communities,” stated Penny Thomas, a representative of the department of commerce. “The office will focus on community gun violence disproportion...
PULLMAN – Washington State University starting quarterback Jayden de Laura was arrested for allegedly driving while under the influence on Saturday, Feb. 6, and has been suspended from the team. The 19-year-old was allegedly spotted on College Hill running through a stop sign on Colorado Street and driving the wrong way on Thatuna Street, Police Operations Cmdr. Jake Opgenorth said. De Laura was stopped at 2:13 a.m. He failed a field sobriety test and refused to take a B...
PASCO – A driver allegedly failed to yield to a car on U.S. Highway 395, about 4 miles north of the city, causing a collision Sunday afternoon. Ezequiel Briceno Morfin, 23, of Pasco, was driving a gold 1991 Toyota Previa north on SR 395, according to the Washington State Patrol. Armando A. Bustos, 60, of Pasco, was driving on Phend Road toward the highway in a grey 2018 Nissan Altima. Bustos allegedly failed to yield the right of way and struck the passing Toyota, reported t...
PASCO – A Pasco man died from a collision Saturday morning when a pickup was driving in the wrong direction on Interstate-182. The highway was closed during the investigation and reopened around 5 a.m., according to Washington State Patrol Trooper Chris Thorson. Jamin D. Sovy, 37, of Pasco, died when his 2014 gray Toyota Corolla collided with a white 2019 Chevrolet Silverado pickup. He was not wearing a seatbelt. The pickup was driving west in the eastbound lanes of the h...
PASCO – Learning to be a police officer can be a lot of fun. The Franklin County Sheriff's Office offers the Explorers training program for kids 14 and up to learn about roles in law enforcement. "It gives them a firsthand view of what law enforcement does," said Deputy Jacob Safford. Safford and Deputy Scott Wright volunteer their time to run the program that is part of Boy Scouts of America and part Washington Law Enforcement Exploring Advisors (WLEA). The local program i...
COLFAX — Incumbents Sen. Mark G. Schoesler and Rep. Mary Dye are leading the races for 9th Legislative District positions. Schoesler, R-Ritzville, is running unopposed after Democratic candidate Jenn Goulet dropped out of the race. Scheosler received 7,805 votes in the first count, and Goulet 6,077 votes. Dye of Pomeroy, the Position No. 1 lawmaker, is running against Libertarian Brett Borden. Dye leads with 8,824 votes; Borden trails with 4,071 votes after the first count. Meanwhile in the Position No. 2 race in the same d...
PASCO – New jobs and new companies is the intention of the Port of Pasco in hiring a new economic development and marketing director. Stephen McFadden replaces Gary Ballew at the Port of Pasco as the director after Ballew took a new job as vice president for economic development for Greater Spokane Incorporated business group. "I am excited to join the Port of Pasco team. The Port's development areas are diverse and evolving in a region that has seen incredible growth. The T...
PASCO -- Police entered a Pasco home during a standoff to find the suspect hiding in a crawl space on Tuesday. A man wanted on arrest warrants barricaded himself in a Pasco home, west of the Walmart on Road 68. The SWAT team surrounded the home to arrest Juan R. Sanchez, 40, of Pasco, stated Pasco Sgt. Rigo Pruneda. They spent about five hours on Tuesday trying to get him to leave a house in the 7900 block of Saturna Lane safely. SWAT entered the house at about 5 p.m.and...
PASCO – Nov. 9 is the first day of school for Pasco pre-kindergarteners through second-grade, and then different grades follow at later dates. The Pasco School District Board of Directors agreed to have students return in-person for part of each week using the district's "Blended Learning" or AA/BB model during their regular meeting on Tuesday. The model splits the student populations into two groups. Group A attends school on Mondays and Tuesdays, has Wednesday off then c...
PASCO – A car in west Pasco was unlocked and two males stole a purse with credit cards, using them at two stores early Thursday morning. The car and cards owner reported the theft early Thursday morning and by 7:05 a.m. the cards were being used at Fred Meyer, according to police. About 20 minutes later they were using them again at the Pasco Walmart and were caught on video walking out of the store "They had a car, but they parked it clear over by McDonald's," stated p...
CONNELL - Four people were hurt when three semi-trucks, a pickup, and a car collided on State Route 395 near the Adams County line Wednesday. Stephan W. Meuchel, 44, of Longview, may face charges of negligent driving in the second degree, according to the Washington State Patrol. He was not wearing a seatbelt and was taken to East Adams Rural Healthcare. Meuchel was driving a 2018 Freightliner semi-truck with a trailer north when his truck left the road, returned but...
PASCO – The emergency sirens on Thursday are the annual tests. The alarms are to sound between 10 a.m. and noon, followed by test text messages on the CodeRed emergency notification system, according to Pasco police. "Officials from the Benton and Franklin County Emergency Management agencies, Energy Northwest, and the DOE conduct the tests annually, and will repeat them enough to ensure that each siren is working," stated police. People should be able to hear the sirens a...
PASCO – A stolen gun was dropped by a pair of car prowlers in Pasco when interrupted by a victim. A Charter Arms Bulldog Pug .44 revolver and box of Hornady Critical Defense ammo was recovered by police at a home on Road 78. A man woke up after his dogs began barking around 2 a.m. on Friday. He activated his security alarm when he saw a man in a hoody in his pickup. "He went outside to confront the suspect, only to find there were two of them, and they were now in the neighbor...
PASCO – A dog bite revealed a hidden suspect under a house on North Owen Avenue in Pasco on Wednesday afternoon. Antonio Lopez Alfaro, 34, of Pasco, was arrested for kidnapping, assault in the second degree, and robbery in the second degree, according to Pasco police. The Tri-Cities Regional SWAT team and Pasco K-9 officer Josh Madsen and his partner K-9 Elan surrounded the house in the 200-block of North Owen and used a public address system in an attempt to convince A...
KENNEWICK - What do you want to see in the Port of Kennewick's Waterfront District? Communities are asked to take part in developing the plan. The port is creating a Waterfront District Master Plan to guide development for the next 15 to 20 years. The plan is to create a "cohesive vision for integrating Clover Island, Columbia Gardens Wine and Artisan Village, The Willows, and Cable Greens," according to port officials. It would connect to the Port of Pasco's land on the...
PASCO – Mail-in ballot security is not an issue for Washington State after 9 years of all elections using the system. Sending ballots by US Postal Service has become a national controversy. There is a fear that election security could be compromised. It was suggested as a safer method than having people gather at polling places under rules to stop the spread of the COVID virus. Franklin County voters are used to receiving their ballots in the mail, filing them out, then m...
PASCO — Pasco police released a video with body camera footage of a police shooting on May 17 that left one suspect dead and another injured. The suspects were believed to have been involved with a homicide in Pasco last April. The investigation led police to a house on North 12th Avenue where the suspects exited into an ally and allegedly fired pistols at officers. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) continues investigating the shooting. Chief Ken Roske and our Public I...
PASCO - A Pasco police detective shot a man armed with a pistol, hiding in the back of a car, on Friday afternoon. Police officers stopped a vehicle on the offramp from highway 182 to Road 68 just after 3 p.m. According to police, 33-year-old Santiago Ayala-Pineda was allegedly trying to hide in the back of the vehicle but was spotted by officers. Ayala-Pineda had a warrant for his arrest by Kennewick police for suspicion of assault in the first degree while using a weapon. Of...
PASCO — The buyer of an Xbox was taken for a ride when the seller stole his cash and dragged him down the street on the outside of a minivan. The buyer said he would meet the seller after agreeing to an online purchase. They met Tuesday morning in the parking lot of the 7-11 convenience store on Road 44 in Pasco to trade cash for the video game system, according to the Pasco police. "After he had seen and touched the (Xbox), he passed the cash to the seller and reached in thro...