Serving Franklin County, WA
Serving Franklin County, WA
Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 460
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...
OLYMPIA — Farmers and ranchers will likely continue to be taxed on agricultural diesel fuel after House and Senate committees last week failed to advance exemption bills. Senate Bill 5728, introduced by Sen. Perry Dozier, R-Kennewick, and co-sponsored by Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, didn’t make it out of the Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee. House Bill 1780, introduced by Republican Reps. Joe Schmick of Colfax and Mary Dye of Pomeroy met a similar fate in the House. The bills were designed to imp...
WASHTUCNA – Near 50 people turned out Thursday, April 20, for a ground-breaking ceremony for a new landfill more than 30 years in the making. Waste Management managers and employees joined local dignitaries and residents at the 550-acre site off Mullan Road. Company Senior Manager of Business Development Ken Gimpel said the project has been on the drawing board since the late-1980s. "This has been a long-time coming," he said at the beginning of the event that included a l...
RITZVILLE – Westbound Interstate 90 traffic was slowed for more than four hours Sunday, April 9, following a two-vehicle crash. According to the Washington State Patrol, the crash occurred about 1:26 p.m. in the passing lane of the interstate when a vehicle and a U-Haul truck towing a boat and trailer collided. The impact sent the boat into the median. The vehicles collided near Milepost 223, between the Ritzville and Schoessler Road exits. Neither the cause of the crash nor the names of those involved were released. The p...
OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to sign multiple new firearms restrictions into law in the coming two weeks. House Bill 1143 passed the Senate 28-18 on Saturday, April 7. That bill is now before the governor. On the same day, House Bill 1240 passed the Senate, 27-21, and is now back before the House to reconcile changes between the newest version and one passed by the House earlier this year. A reconciliation vote is expected to come quickly, as the only difference between the bills House Bill 1143, when signed into l...
OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to sign multiple new firearms restrictions into law in the coming two weeks. House Bill 1143 passed the Senate 28-18 on Saturday, April 7. That bill is now before the governor. On the same day, House Bill 1240 passed the Senate, 27-21, and is now back before the House to reconcile changes between the newest version and one passed by the House earlier this year. A reconciliation vote is expected to come quickly, as the only difference between the bills House Bill 1143, when signed into l...
SPOKANE VALLEY – Avista ratepayers will face higher bills beginning July 1 if a proposed rate hike is approved by the state Utilities and Transportation Commission. Avista has requested price adjustments, including electricity rate hikes that will increase its revenues by 6%. The request to increase the rate to comply with state regulations that require Avista to either obtain an authorized increase or return or rebate money to ratepayers if the utility has a deferral balance of $30 million or more. The rate increase would l...
OTHELLO — A local man was arrested for robbery after deputies used a Taser to subdue him following a pursuit. Andres Garza, 35, of Othello, was booked into the Franklin County Jail on Friday, March 31. He is facing charges of first-degree robbery, unlawful possession of a firearm, attempting to elude police, and second-degree driving while license suspended. He was also wanted on three outstanding misdemeanor warrants out of Adams County. According to an Adams County Sheriff’s Office report, deputies searching for Garza fou...
CONNELL — The March drought report shows good news for farmers across much of Washington state and Franklin County. According to the report released earlier this month, the state is drought-free. But, some "abnormally dry" areas remain. Conditions remain abnormally dry in the Othello area, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, a division of the USDA. But with a better-than-average snowpack and rain in the forecast, farmers should be ready for the spring g...
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...
OLYMPIA — Coyote Ridge Corrections Center inmate may have an opportunity to learn how to care for horses under a bill that passed the House of Representatives on Monday, Feb. 27. House Bill 1543, introduced by 9th Legislative District representative Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, passed on a 95-0 vote. The measure now goes to the Senate for further consideration. The bill directs the state Department of Corrections to study and develop a wild horse training and farrier program at the prison. The measure would set up a program similar t...
OLYMPIA - Under a bill making its way through the Legislature, irrigation districts would be required to move to all-mail ballots for elections. Senate Bill 5709, introduced by Sen. Nikki Torres, R-Pasco, would eliminate polling places and absentee ballots for election of irrigation district directors. The bill passed the Senate, 47-0, on Tuesday, Feb.28. The bill now moves to the House. According to state officials, the measure applies to about 100 irrigation districts,...
CONNELL — A recent study by SmartAsset shows that Connell is the most affordable city for homeowners in the state of Washington. The financial analysis released by the company used an "affordability index" comparing costs of ownership to income. Costs considered in the study include closing, property taxes, insurance and mortgage payments. Connell's affordability index was the highest in Washington state at 53.76. The study showed the average closing cost is $4, 174 in the city and the average annual property tax is $...
OLYMPIA — Farmers and ranchers will be likely continue to be taxed on agricultural diesel fuel after House and Senate committees last week failed to advance exemption bills. Senate Bill 5728, introduced by Sen. Perry Dozier, R-Kennewick, and co-sponsored by Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, didn’t make it out of the Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee. And House Bill 1780, introducted by Republican Reps. Joe Schmick of Colfax and Mary Dye of Pomeroy met a similar fate in the House. The bills were designed to...
HATTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering a grant award to a local company to expand fertilizer production. Perfect Blend, LLC, manufactures organic plant food at its 771 Kulm Road location northwest of Hatton. The company has applied to the USDA for a grant to help build a 4,000-square-foot addition to increase capacity. Details on the amount of the grant being considered and other information has yet to be released by the USDA. The project is one of 21 the USDA is considering; USDA officials are expected t...
VERNITA — A Pasco man was hospitalized Thursday, Jan. 26, following a crash that killed another driver. The Washington State Patrol is withholding the name, age and hometown of the driver pending notification of next of kin. The crash occurred near Milepost 42 of state Highway 24, between Richland and Vernita Bridge at about 3:33 a.m. Thursday, the patrol reported. The driver of a 2006 Chevrolet Colorado was westbound on the highway about 20 miles west of West Richland, the patrol reported. Jeffrey D. Lewis, 40, of Pasco, w...
RITZVILLE — A local lawmaker says two environmental laws from the Democratic-controlled Legislature and Gov. Jay Inslee that took effect Jan. 1 are already causing a fuel price increase. Republican Sen. Mark Schoesler or Ritzville, who represents the 9th Legislative District, said the Washington Independent Energy Distributors Association is reporting the increase in less than a week of new laws taking effect. Wholesale gasoline and diesel prices have risen statewide as a result of the “cap-and-tax” law and the law creat...
RITZVILLE — Dryland wheat producers will meet Jan. 24 to hear presentations from a number of speakers. The producer meeting runs from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the American Legion hall, 106 W. Broadway Ave. The program includes presentations on: Soil-Active Herbicide Application in Fields of Fallow, presented by Larry Lutcher, a Morrow Count y, Ore., agronomist. Wheat, Weeds, Wireworms: A Look Back Over the Last 25 Years, presented by Ritzville agronomist Aaron Esser. Winter Whe4at Variety Selection for Low Rainfall Regions, p...
CONNELL — Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposed 2023-25 budget includes about $15 million for the Connell Rail Interchange Project. The budget includes $10 million previously approved by the Legislature in 2015 as well as an additional $5 million in the upcoming biennium. Approximately $500,000 have already been spent for design and engineering on the project that would upgrade the 100-year-old railroad interchange. Local officials said the funding is an important step to improve the growing rail activity through Connell where the Col...
OTHELLO — A local man was hospitalized Sunday night after he was struck by a car early Sunday morning, Jan. 15. Augustino P. De Los Santos, 23, of Othello, was transported to the local hospital after he apparently walked into the path of a vehicle at about 2:31 a.m., the Washington State Patrol reported. His condition was not immediately available. According to a patrol report, De Los Santos was walking on the eastbound should of State Highway 26 before walking into the roadway near Milepost 46. He was struck by an e...
OTHELLO — A local man was booked into the Benton County Jail after being arrested for multiple crimes Jan. 5. Ruben Cantu Jr., 29, was booked into the jail on charges of second-degree vehicle prowl, second-degree theft, second-degree possession of stolen property, resisting arrest, identity theft and second-degree burglary. He also had outstanding warrants, records show. Benton County Jail records showed Monday, Jan. 16, that he remains in custody without bail. Cantu is facing the charges in Adams County Superior Court in R...
RITZVILLE — A local lawmaker has introduced legislation to create the Washington State Commission on Boys and Men to address the well-being of boys and men across. “There are many issues that impact men and boys. Yet, there is no unified voice that would tackle these issues at the state level,” 9th Legislative District Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy said. “If adopted, this legislation would create the first of its kind boys and men’s commission in the nation right here in Washington state.” Dye represents Whitman, Lincoln, southern...
Washington state has high tax rates — gas, property, you name it. Government agencies collect billions of tax dollars annually from residents and businesses here. So why then are government agencies taking Washington taxpayer dollars and buying goods and services out-of-state, goods and services that are readily abundant in Washington? Those agencies are penalizing state taxpayers (residents and businesses) for paying the high taxes the agencies collected under burdensome r...
WARDEN — The Washington State Patrol is investigating an alleged alcohol/drug-related Sunday afternoon crash, Jan. 22, that left four people injured. Othello residents Breanna Rodriguez, 20, Rafael Sanchez Andrade, 24, Alvin Korrell, 70, and Gloria Korrell, 59, were all transported to Good Samaritan Hospital in Moses Lake for treatment of crash-related injuries, the Washington State Patrol reported. The crash occurred at about 1:37 p.m. Rodriguez was westbound in a 2008 Lincoln MKX on state Highway 170 approaching state H...
RITZVILLE — The Bronco girls basketball team closed out the year with two wins the week before Christmas. The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague/Washtucna/Harrington girls dunked Columbia (Burbank), 48-32, on Tuesday, Dec. 20, and edged Tri-Cities Prepartory, 44-41, on Wednesday, Dec. 21. On the road against the Columbia Coyotes, the Broncos came out on fire, running up a 15-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Coyotes cut the margin, outscoring Lind-Ritzvillle, 12-8. At the half, the Broncos led the C...