Serving Franklin County, WA
Serving Franklin County, WA
Sorted by date Results 1 - 19 of 19
WASHTUCNA -A regional landfill in the works for more than three decades is about to break ground. Waste Management announced last Friday, March 3, that it hopes to break ground on a 550-acre landfill later this month; a time and day have yet to be announced. Company Senior Manager of Business Development Ken Gimpel said the project has been on the drawing board since the late-1980s. "It has been sitting dormant until about the last year-and-a-half or so, until we decided it's...
As a senator representing rural Washington, I understand the importance of accessible healthcare for all residents, regardless of where they live. Unfortunately, for far too long, rural communities in Washington have struggled to access the care they need. The challenges they face include a shortage of medical professionals, inadequate infrastructure, and limited resources. Residents often have to travel for hours to reach the nearest hospital or clinic, and even then may not...
Second-grade Hiawatha Elementary School teacher Lauren Rathbone was recognized March 9 for her efforts to lock down the school while police apprehended a man on the playground. Police ordered the man to stop, but he ran onto the playground, records show. Witnessing the chase, Rathbone called the school in to a lockdown, police said. "Her prompt action made the best of a potentially dangerous situation," police said, noting the teacher was awarded the Chief's Award of...
Clearwater Supply, 1086 S. First Ave., Othello, hosted its annual Farming Kickoff lunch and barbecue on Friday, March 10. The firm invited area farmers, community members and law enforcement members to attend the event marking the start of the spring season....
LIND - The Northwest Rally Association opened its 2023 racing season March 4-5 in Lind Lions Club Arena. Here are the results of the event: Saturday, March 4 Prepared RWD - Ryan Payne, 1981 Toyota Corolla, total time 9:13.640 Modified RWD - Dan Hipwood, 1986 Toyota MR2, total time 7:39.260; Gabriel Schaar, 1983 Toyo9ta Celica GT, 8:00.868; David Gergeron, 1987 Porsche 944, 8:03.974; Daniel Bergeron, 1980 Triumph Tr7, 8:07.297; Calvin Lindenmayer, 1977 Datus 280z, 8:09.828;...
OTHELLO — Two men were arrested March 9 for possession of a stolen vehicle. Serafin Rangel-Sambrano, 38, and Jose Joaquin Juarez-Ramirez, 34, both of Othello, were arrested for possession of a vehicle stolen from Ellensburg. At about 5 p.m., Adams County Sheriff’s Office deputies received information that a stolen vehicle was near the intersection of South 14th Avenue and West Lee Road, Othello. At approximately 7:20, a license plate reader on a patrol car in the area read the stolen plate in the 3009 block of South Rey...
CHENEY – Eastern Washington University and its athletic director, Lynn Hickey, are being sued by basketball coach Wendy Schuller. The lawsuit accuses the university and Hickey of age and gender discrimination. In a court filing Feb. 7, Schuller’s legal representatives outlined factors for the lawsuit. Among them are a pattern and practice of age and sex discrimination in employment, and in education and athletic opportunities, unequal pay, and unequal access and inadequate women’s facilities, according to Spokane Count...
OLYMPIA - A popular .22 caliber rifle in Eastern Washington would be classified as an "assault" weapon under a proposed law making its way through the Legislature. The manufacture, distribution and sale of any so-called "assault weapon" would become illegal if a bill passed by the state House of Representatives clears the Senate and is signed into law. Substitute House Bill 1240 defines "assault weapons" by brands and models, and generally as semiautomatic weapons with...
PASCO — Fishermen can expect more Coho, Chinook and sockeye salmon to return to the Columbia River and its tributaries this season. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife’s forecast is based on environmental indicators such as ocean conditions, numbers of juvenile salmon that migrated to marine waters and numbers of adult salmon that returned in past years. About 84,800 Upper Columbia River summer Chinook are forecasted to return in 2023, representing about 120 percent of the 10-year average return and higher than las...
Who would have ever imagined that a fashion would prevail whereby women would purposely choose to look “not pretty?” I am past 80, no longer pretty and right in style. I just wish the green-, purple- and orange-haired people would add a big red nose, which would be a sign that it’s OK for their audience to “Laugh Out Loud (LOL).” Amazed in 2023. Nancy Parry Moscow, Idaho...
Do patients have a right to know if an insurance plan is going to force them to use a mail-order pharmacy or the insurance-owned mail order system during open enrollment? Do patients have a right to chose who they receive medical and pharmaceutical care from? As a pharmacist at a local independent pharmacy, I have been fielding questions from patients using Kaiser Permanente insurance, who began receiving letters indicating they must transfer their prescriptions to a Kaiser pharmacy for continued coverage. Starting in...
Elizabeth Ann Rogers May 20, 1937 Elizabeth Ann Williams was born to Mack Olif Williams and Florence Elizabeth Wheaton in Colby, Kan., on May 20, 1937. She graduated from Colby Community High School in May of 1957. She was a majorette, played percussion and sang in the choir. She worked at the local drug store and soda fountain. She moved to Richland, Wash., to live with her sister, Shirley, and brother-in-law, Myron Hankins, attended Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Wash.,...
We all need to understand climate science. Climate fundamentals are simple: Sunshine warms the Earth, and the Earth radiates heat back into space as infrared. Earth’s temperature results from how much radiant heat gets trapped by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. GHGs are trace gases but have a disproportionate influence on temperatures. Nitrogen, oxygen and argon represent 78%, 21%, and 0.9% of our atmosphere and are not greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases only make up a fraction of the remaining 0.1%; gases such as c...
Tekoa High School sophomore Alexis Taylor, 15, of Tekoa, served as a page in the state House of Representatives from 19-24 at the state Capitol in Olympia. Taylor was sponsored by Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy. The student lives in the 9th Legislative District represented by Dye. During her tenure as a House page, Taylor wrote a mock bill for a later school start to give students more time to sleep in and be well-rested for their classroom studies. Dye represents eastern Franklin...
The Vehicle Miles Travelled tax, or VMT, is once again raising its ugly head in Olympia in the form of House Bill 1832. It has been rebranded the "Road Usage Charge" (RUC), a more benign term, one that supporters hope will breeze by an unsuspecting public keen to reject any bill with the word "tax" in it. But it is a tax; a new tax on the miles you and I travel. And, while the bill talks about it being voluntary for now, the general authority granted to state agencies to...
OLYMPIA — The Senate on Friday, March 3, unanimously approved a measure introduced by 9th District Sen. Mark Schoesler that aims to help school districts address maintenance needs. Senate Bill 5403 passed 48-0. The bill would allow school districts to create a “depreciation subfund” that can receive a transfer of up to 2% of a district’s general fund each fiscal year. “This bill provides another way for school districts to handle building- or facility-maintenance needs,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville, who represents...
Too many Puget Sound lawmakers never look beyond their grocery stores to understand the struggle of our farmers to keep those stores supplied. That’s why Sen. Mark Schoesler, Rep. Joe Schmick, and I work so hard in Olympia to advocate for our fellow farmers, educate those in power who have no clue about agriculture and we fight against policies potentially devastating to agriculture. We understand the importance of our state's agricultural industry, the jobs they provide in W...
WASHTUCNA — Expect to see more Washington State Patrol troopers on the road from March 9-19. The agency will be operating its Washington State University spring break emphasis in Spokane, Whitman, Grant, Kittitas and Adams counties as students leave and return to Pullman. The emphasis will focus on U.S. Highways 195 and 395, State Highway 26 and Interstate 90. Troopers will be focusing excessive speed, distracted driving and impaired driving during the emphasis. “Our primary mission is to ensure that everyone enjoys safe tra...