Serving Franklin County, WA
Serving Franklin County, WA
Sorted by date Results 1 - 20 of 20
LIND – The combined Lind and Ritzville school boards unanimously approved adding the Harrington to the existing Lind-Ritzville/Sprague/Washtucna athletic combine during a meeting Monday, May 23. Earlier in the month the Harrington School Board voted to accept an offer to join the combine, by a 3-2 vote. In other business, Lind-Ritzville Superintendent Don Vanderholm reported the combined school district currently has five open positions, including athletic director, which c...
ELLENSBURG – Work is beginning on an update of the Quad-County Human Services Transportation Plan. The last update to the plan was 2018. The Quad County Regional Transportation Planning Organization is made up of Adams, Grant, Kittitas and Lincoln Counties, and the state Department of Transportation. The organization has contracted with People For People to help identify improvement opportunities for public transportation in the four-county region. In a virtual meeting March 14, two-dozen representatives from t...
OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee rescinded face covering requirements for most indoor spaces, effective March 12. The requirement remains in place for healthcare settings, long-term care facilities and correctional facilities and jails. Under federal mandates, masks are still required on public transportation, including busses and airplanes. But they are not required on school buses. Schools have additional guidance concerning COVID-19, including providing quick access to testing. C...
OLYMPIA – A Senate resolution honoring agronomist Bill Schillinger passed Feb. 21. Senate Resolution 8645 honors Schillinger for his service to farmers; it was introduced by Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville. Schillinger is a longtime research agronomist who retired from Washington State University in January. "It's with sadness that we see Bill retiring but for all of the incredible work over 30 years, we wish Bill the very best and say, 'Thank you,'" Schoesler said in a s...
RITZVILLE – The trial of a man accused of attacked state Sen. Mark Schoesler has been moved to a different city and county following a change of venue hearing last week. Glenn R. Stockwell, 71, of Ritzville, allegedly assaulted on Schoesler, R-Ritzville, last October. His trial on related charges was moved last week from Adams County District Court in Ritzville to Lincoln County District Court in Davenport, where Judge Dan B. Johnson will preside. In her oral argument, Feb. 1...
OLYMPIA – Sen. Mark Schoesler’s bill reimbursing fees for rural youth development programs has passed the Senate. Senate Bill 5643, introduced Schoesler, R-Ritzville, and sponsored by six other senators, unanimously passed in the Senate, 49-0, on Feb. 15. If signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee, the bill would reimburse all or a part of enrollment fees for youth-development programs in agricultural education, such as 4-H and FFA. The bill is intended to help sustain 4-H and other youth-development programs in state by sub...
RITZVILLE – The Bronco and athletics communities are coming together to help a local county and his family. As of press time, a donation account for Jason Hilzer had raised more than $7,000 from 60 donations. The funds come as Hilzer readies for a bone marrow transplant. In July 2021, Hilzer – a Lind-Ritzville/Sprague assistant football coach, and head wrestling and baseball coach – was diagnosed with leukemia. Hilzer has been missing from the field and the mat, but is often mentioned by Lind-Ritzville athletes and coach...
RITZVILLE – Dr. Charles M. Sackmann gave the medical staff report at the East Adams Rural Hospital Board meeting, Jan. 25, noting transferring patients to other hospitals in the region is a problem. Hospitals in Spokane and the Tri-cities are near capacity, and may not be taking transfers from rural hospitals, he said. “Unless a patient presents at the ER at Sacred Heart in Spokane, they probably can’t get a bed there” Sackmann said. That leaves local hospital staff calling around the state – to Harbor View, Swedish a...
MONROE – A memorial scholarship is being established in the name of Jackson David Weaver, who passed away from leukemia on Dec. 16, 2006. Jackson's father, Reid Weaver, is a 1979 graduate of Lind High School, a retired police officer from the city of Monroe and a former instructor at the Washington Police Academy. His father was a school principal in Warden and mother worked as a Nurse in Moses Lake. In addition to Jackson, Reid and his first wife, have two other grown c...
RITZVILLE – Citing increased coronavirus cases, East Adams Rural Healthcare is prohibiting patients from having visitors at its 903 S. Adams St. hospital and clinics. The hospital announced its new coronavirus-related restrictions Jan. 13. “Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in and around our community, we will be stopping all visitors to our acute and swing patients at this time,” officials posted to hospital social media. “One caregiver may still accompany patients who need assistance for clinic visits, as well as one...
OTHELLO – Two men are in the Adams County Jail in connection with a drive-by shooting near Othello. Eddie Barajas, 34, is charged with reckless driving, drive-by shooting, possession of a stolen firearm and carrying a concealed pistol without a permit, court records show. Kevin Morris, 26, is charged with attempted first-degree murder, drive-by shooting, possession of a stolen firearm and unlawful possession of a firearm, records show. At a Jan. 7 court hearing, Adams County Superior Court Judge Andrea Russell set bail for B...
RITZVILLE – Lind and Ritzville School Boards met Dec. 16 in Ritzville and performed a number of year-end organizational tasks. The Ritzville board elected Reid Phillips chairman and Greg Galbreath vice-chairman. The Lind board re-elected Jani Melcher chairwoman and Adam Labes vice-chairman. The boards set 2022 meeting dates to be the fourth Monday of each month, with the exception of December 2022, when that day falls on Dec. 26, the observed day for Christmas. In even numbered months, meetings will be in the Lind-Ritzville H...
RALSTON – An Washtucna teenager has died from injuries he sustained in a crash Wednesday, Dec. 22, on state Highway 261. Jeffery S. Zupan, 18, of Washtucna, died at Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane, the Washington State Patrol reported Thursday, Dec. 23. The crash occurred around 1:50 p.m., about 9 miles south of Ritzville, the patrol reported, noting the two vehicle collision was near Milepost 53 of Highway 261, south of Ralston. According to the patrol, Zupan was n...
LIND – A local man is being held in the Adams County Jail on $50,000 bail for allegedly violating a protection order and resisting arrest and assault. Charles William Rushing, 46, of Lind, was arraigned in Adams County Superior Court on charges of protection order violation-domestic violence and third-degree assault and resisting arrest, records show. He was arrested Dec. 14, in connection with an assault in progress in the 100 block of West Third Street, records show . According to the Sherriff’s Office, Adams County dep...
OTHELLO – A bicyclist was injured Dec. 15 in a collision with a pickup on state Highway 26. The crash occurred at 5:30 p.m. near Milepost 39, about a mile west of the city. According to the Washington State Patrol, Wayne S. Allen, 48, of Seattle, was westbound in a 2019 Ford F350 pickup truck, at the time of the crash. The bicyclist, Marco A Martinez, 29, of Othello, was riding westbound on the shoulder of the highway, but crossed into the westbound lane of travel as the pickup approached, the patrol reported. He was s...
RITZVILLE – The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague boys (0-1) and girls (0-2) basketball teams both fell to Tri-Cities Prep on Tuesday, Nov. 30. The Bronco boys lost to the Jaguars, 57-54. Chase Galbreath had 18 points and J.T. Kelly had 14 in the losing effort. The boys team was also scheduled to play Medical Lake (0-1) at home Tuesday night, Dec. 7; The Journal went to press before the game started. The local girls also fell , 43-38. Hannah Chang led all girls on the court with 20 p...
OTHELLO – The Adams County Commission expected to open bids for the lease of 34 acres adjacent to the County Fairgrounds in Othello during its Nov. 15 meeting. But no bids were received. The property was granted to the county, and under the terms, cannot be sold. It is occasionally used for overflow parking during the fair, officials said. It is in the interest of the county to have a tenant use the land during the growing season to control weeds, officials said. With no bids, the board decided to re-advertise the lease. T...
HATTON – Three write-in candidates have swept the local election in what appears to be an organized effort to unseat incumbents in ths small Adams County town just north of Connell. The official results were certified Tuesday, Nov. 23, by the Adams County Canvassing Board. Justine Pherigo won election to the mayoral race. Meanwhile, Rhea Isaac won Town Council Position No. 1 and Ignacio Mendoza won Position No. 3. The only hold over from the previous council appears to be Terri Case, who won election to Council Position N...
LIND — Incumbent Paula Bell has a 7-vote lead over challenger Jamie Schmunk, 59 to 52, in the mayoral race. Challenger London Dew trails incumbent Rosemary Elkington by 5 votes, 52 to 57 in the Town Council Position No. 1 race. And for Position No. 2, incumbent Mike Wold, with a 19-vote lead, appears to have beaten challenger Sheri Marlin, 64 to 45. For Position No. 3, challenger Laura Dew holds a 10-vote lead over incumbent Richard Baldwin....
RITZVILLE – A political activist has been arrested in connection with an assault on Sen. Mark Schoesler. Glen R. Stockwell, 71, of Ritzville, a former candidate for various elected offices, was arrested Monday morning, Oct. 11. At press time, he was being held in the Adams County Jail on possible charges of fourth-degree assault, harassment and disorderly conduct, records show. The 64-year-old Schoesler, R-Ritzville, was assaulted in the city, officials said. According to p...