Serving Franklin County, WA
Serving Franklin County, WA
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 34
LIND - A day after an oil tanker crashed on U.S. Highway 395, law enforcement are dealing with a second incident. U.S. Highway 395 northbound was closed at Milepost 78 at about 4 p.m. after an asphalt truck overturned, the state Department of Transportation said Friday afternoon, June 19. Today's crash was three miles north of the oil tanker crash, officials said. The closure began shortly before 4 p.m. and remain in place until further notice, officials said. Motorists were...
LIND – City council passed a new tax levy for 2021 at their Nov. 10 meeting, following a public hearing in which no one was in attendance. Councilperson Rose Elkington motioned to submit for the maximum levy, in the amount of $74,727. Councilperson Myra Horton seconded, and the motion carried. Also discussed in the public hearing was a proposed budget, which Mayor Paula Bell said still needs a lot of work, and she requested council members to assist in making some of the budget decisions. Council members passed a motion i...
RITZVILLE – Lind-Ritzville Cooperative Athletic Director Greg Whitmore announced Sunday, Nov. 14, basketball and wrestling camps will be postponed until further notice and the weight room closed. “It was in response to the governor’s mandate, even though it doesn’t start until Wednesday,” Whitmore said Monday, Nov. 15. “We just decided it’s best. We’re bringing in athletes from different counties, different towns and different circumstances. Our focus needs to be, right now,...
LIND – The townhas been without water for at least the last 48 hours, and residents are helping each other out by delivering water to those who need it. Resident Denise Snead gave kudos to local farmers Donna Bidek and Roger Smart for delivering water to residents, adding "this water project has been a nightmare." Janice Dennis said Smart and his daughter, Sophie, were driving his water truck around town, giving water to families in need. "This is what being good neighbors i...
CONNELL — A multiple-vehicle collision involving three tractor-trailers sent several people to the hospital Wednesday evening, Oct. 21. Stephan W. Meuchel, 44, of Longview, was charged with second-degree negligent driving after his northbound 2018 semi left the roadway near Milepost 63, about 8 miles north of the city in rural Adams County, the Washington State Patrol said. The crash occurred about 7 p.m. Meuchel allegedly overcorrected and slid broadside before his truck came to rest on its top on the northbound right s...
OTHELLO – The city was awarded $1,350,000 in grants from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Funding Board, which will be used to improve Lions Park. The city plans to use the funding to replace 1950's playground equipment and playground surfacing with a new Pride Rock Playground. Both the equipment and surface will make the area accessible to people with disabilities. Landscaping and furnishings will also be added to offer shade and comfort during Othello's hot summers. The city will also be using part of the f...
RITZVILLE — Gov. Jay Inslee is refusing requests to declare a drought emergency in the state. Two wheat industry officials — Washington Association of Wheat Growers President Ryan Poe and Washington Grain Commission Chairman Mike Carstensen — requested the emergency drought declaration June 15 in a letter to the governor. A drought emergency declaration would give affected farmers access to additional governmental resources. "As the extremely hot temperatures have reminded us, much of Eastern Washington — including our whe...
LIND - A tanker semi carrying hydraulic oil overturned on U.S. Highway 395 at Milepost 75 shortly before 1:30 p.m. Thursday, June 17, spilling oil into the median and onto the southbound lanes. Both lanes were blocked until shortly after 4 p.m. The driver was headed northbound on Highway 395 when he allegedly looked up at something on the hillside, crossed the median, and overturned on the southbound lanes. Both the driver and passenger were able to climb out of the vehicle...
LIND — A day after an oil tanker crashed on U.S. Highway 395, law enforcement are dealing with a second incident. U.S. Highway 395 northbound was closed at Milepost 78 at about 4 p.m. after an asphalt truck overturned, the state Department of Transportation said Friday afternoon, June 19. Today's crash was three miles north of the oil tanker crash, officials said. The closure began shortly before 4 p.m. and remain in place until further notice, officials said. Motorists w...
RITZVILLE – Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, attended the Washington Association of Wheat Growers’ meeting here last week, the first in-person meeting for the organization since COVID pandemic restrictions began. The following day, Schoesler took part in the Washington State University Variety Pacific Northwest crop tour at Ron Jirava’s nearby farm. That was followed by a meeting with the Adams County Wheat Growers. “It was great to be with fellow farmers in person again,...
LIND – Council members and Mayor Paula Bell held an executive session during their June 8 meeting, after which councilwoman Kathy Vedder made a motion to offer Steven Thompson the fulltime position with the City Public Works Crew at $23 per hour with full benefits. While new to employment with the town, Thompson is not new to Lind; as he grew up there and is a lifelong resident. Council also approved increasing City Public Works Crew member Cagney Wills' wage to $16 per hour, following reports she is doing excellent work. W...
LIND - A tanker truck and trailer carrying hydraulic oil overturned on U.S. Highway 395 at Milepost 75, 19 miles south of Ritzville, shortly before 1:30 p.m. Thursday, June 17, spilling oil into the median and onto the southbound lanes. Both lanes were blocked until shortly after 4 p.m. The driver was headed northbound on U.S. Highway 395 when he allegedly looked up at something on the hillside, crossed the median, and overturned on the southbound lanes. Both the driver and...
COEUR d' ALENE – A man from Lind has been sentenced to over 26 years (322 months) in federal prison after being convicted by a federal jury on six federal drug and firearms charges. Christopher Bounds, 38, was sentenced in U.S. District Court April 28, after a federal jury found him guilty of the following, last August: Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin; Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine; Possession with intent to deliver heroin; U...
LIND – Mayor Paula Bell reported David Christian resigned April 13, and advertisements for his replacement had no response as yet, at the April 27 council meeting. She reported Chris Miller has also submitted a two-week notice, with his employment to end May 7. Council approved hiring Cagney Wills for full-time employment at $15 per hour, with retro-pay beginning April 24. Bell reported Wills had performed the rounds at the treatment plant Saturday and Sunday, April 23-24. Bell reported ongoing problems at the lift s...
WASHTUCNA — The School District will host a second public forum to discuss a possible move to a four-day school week at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 27 in the school gymnasium, 730 N.E. Boone St. The public forum will be followed by the regular School Board meeting at 7 p.m. Spokeswoman Lora Hille said the meeting will be informational with opportunities for input and to have questions answered. Prior the the coronavirus outbreak, only the Bickleton School District in Klickitat County instituted a standard four-day educational w...
WASHTUCNA – The school's All Student Body will be sponsoring a Drive Thru Easter Egg Hunt from 4-5:30 p.m. Friday, April 2, for youth in Washtucna and Kahlotus. Participants are asked to drive by the Washtucna school, and volunteers will give adults bags full of plastic Easter eggs with candy already in them. Then, it is up to participants to hold their own hunt any way they want to celebrate, officials said. Kids do not need to be present when the eggs are picked up. Participants are encouraged to open the eggs Easter w...
LIND – Councilman Jim Dworshak presented information on quiet zones at the March 23 Town Council meeting. Dworshak said for a quiet zone to be in place, the town would have to accept full accountability, and insurance would be $150,000 per track. In the event of an emergency on the track, the horn would still sound. The funds to cover the insurance would have to come out of the water, sewer and garbage accounts, causing an increase of $88 per month per utility user to cover the cost. The quiet zone would have to be placed o...
RITZVILLE – An Othello man pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of his son, in Adams County Superior Court on Monday, Mar. 22. Felipe Tapia-Perez, 27, remains in the Adams County Jail on $50,000 bail following the death of his 4-year-old son. His trial is scheduled for April 27. According to court documents, Tapia-Perez had driven to the home of Perla J. Arteaga-Ochoa, the mother of his three children, to pick up his kids for the weekend on Feb. 27. Tapia-Perez was sitting in his vehicle a...
WASHTUCNA — The School District is considering going to a four-day educational week on a permanent basis starting with the 2021-22 school year. A community forum is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 30 to hear from the community about the possible change. The meeting in the Washtucna High School gymnasium, 730 N.E. Booth St., will include a question-and-answer session. Both in-person and online participation is available. Those attending in person should arrive 15 minutes early for a temperature check and c...
OLYMPIA — Sen. Mark Schoesler is frustrated by the complete closure of the Legislative Building and other Capitol campus buildings to the public during the 2021 legislative session. Buildings on campus have been closed to the public since last March, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But following the break-in of the nation's Capitol, Gov. Jay Inslee has fenced in several buildings and deployed a contingent of nearly 1,000 National Guardsmen and Washington State Patrol troopers t...
RITZVILLE — Three people were involved in a two-vehicle collision this morning, Nov. 25, on the icy surface of westbound Interstate 90, eight miles east of the city. Dyllin Hoisington and Jayden Whittenberg, both 18, were traveling from their home in Newport when the collision happene around 6:34 a.m. "We drove over some black ice and I'm pretty sure we were trying to get into the other lane," Whittenberg said. The car they were driving lay on it's roof on the shoulder of the...
LIND — A USDA grant will cover the costs of the proposed Vulcan Street Waterline Repair Project. During a Sept. 8 City Council meeting, Patrick Sheehy of Century West Engineering said grands of $30,000 and $150,000 have been offered; the council approved of accepting the grants. According to Sheehy, the work will be don before winter. The project follows completion of the cemetery waterline project. In other projects, the city is upgrading water lines along Lutcher, Sixth, and Seventh streets, he said. Well No. 8 is also b...
LIND – Dust storms that began just before noon on Labor Day caused multiple crashes and had area roads closed through early evening hours Monday, Sept. 7. Sgt. Ethan Wynecoop with Washington State Patrol said the multiple car crashes, which were all dust-related, resulted in no serious injuries. "It was absolutely a mess. You couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of you," Wynecoop said. "Almost every state route through our patrol area here had crashes of one sort or a...
RITZVILLE – After wrapping up railroad track maintenance in Franklin County last week, the world's largest undercutter has moved to adjacent Adams County. The train will remain in Adams County through the remainder of the week, according to Burlington Northern Santa Fe's Dwayne Streeter. "It's the world's biggest, fastest undercutter," Streeter said of the train that moved from Pasco to Ritzville last Wednesday. "The RM802 UC01." The undercutter cleans the ballast u...
RITZVILLE – U.S. Bank will be temporarily closing it's Ritzville branch Friday, August 28. "The Ritzville location has operated on a limited basis since the onset of the COVID-19 public health crisis, and will temporarily close to allow staffing resources to be used in other ways to support our customers," said Vice President Evan A. Lapiska Thursday, August 27. "We will continue to serve customers through our other branches in the area, including lobby service in H...