Serving Franklin County, WA
Serving Franklin County, WA
Sorted by date Results 201 - 225 of 460
LIND – A couple Whitman County entries are listed among the competitors in the annual Combine Derby this weekend. Two day of thrills will dominate Lind on Friday and Saturday, June 10-11, as the annual Combine Derby returns after a two-year hiatus. Most of the combines come from Adams County, but there are entries from Hooper and LaCrosse. And a couple of the combines have drivers from Western Washington. “It’s a good time,” Lind Lion’s Club member and derby spokesman...
PASCO – Did the Franklin County prosecuting attorney embezzle more than $6,000 over the last 10 months or was it a simple mistake? That’s a question referred to the State Auditor’s Office on June 28; the agency has been asked to determine if Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney Shawn Sant embezzled $6,420.84 between September 2021 and June 2022. It’s also a question that brought heated discussion during the June 28 Franklin County Commission meeting. The investigation was opened after Franklin County Auditor Matt Beaton...
OLYMPIA – The state Commission on Judicial Conduct has admonished an Adams County judge for his behavior in a year-old Whitman County hearing. In a six-page admonishment June 24, the commission found that Adams County Superior Court Judge Steve Dixon violated Canons 1 and 2; Rules 1.1, 2.2, 2.3(A) and (B), 2.8 (A) and (B); and the Code of Judicial Conduct. The admonishment amounts to a letter being placed in his judicial file, without any further discipline. It follows a June 8, 2021, hearing where Dixon presided as a v...
"But the Constitution does not authorize agencies to use pen-and-phone regulations as substitutes for laws…" U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch wrote that and more in his 19-page concurring opinion in the West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (Case No. 20-1530). The Supreme Court ruled, 6-3, that the EPA cannot create over-reaching "laws" that bound entire industries; the ruling was released Thursday morning, June 30. The leftwing champions of so-called "...
BURBANK — A motorcyclist was taken to a Richland hospital Tuesday after his Harley-Davidson struck another vehicle. Rodney D. Sackett, 64, of Irrigon, Ore., was eastbound on state Highway 730 at 6:38 a.m. on his 2008 Harley-Davidson approaching Wallula Junction at the time of the crash, the Washington State Patrol reported. John L. Mattila, 55, of Weston, Ore., was westbound on U.S. Highway 12. Sackett turned onto westbound Highway 12 at Wallula Junction and struck Mattila's 2007 Kenworth construction truck and 2011 Smith d...
LIND – With names like "General Lee," "Let's Go Branden" and "The Bandit," politics were on full-display Saturday along state Highway 21. Dozens of "Trump Country," Trump 2024" and patriotic flags flew along the highway as motorists honked and waved entering town. Anti-President Joe Biden flags waved from high atop farm combines, pickups and campers. But it wasn't the anti-Biden sentiment that brought thousands of people to town, it was the 33rd annual running of the Lind C...
LIND – Thousands of people lined the downtown streets Saturday morning, June 11, for the town's annual Kiddie and Grand parades. The parades drew dozens of entries, including politicians, combines, classic vehicles, tractors, bands and floats. Here are a few of the images from the event....
LIND – Two day of thrills will dominate town Friday and Saturday, June 10-11, as the annual Lind Combine Derby returns after a two-year hiatus. “It’s a good time,” Lind Lion’s Club member and derby spokesman Mike Doyle of Lind said Monday. “You’ll never experience the action and thrills of cars, pickups and combines all at one place.” The derby takes place at the former rodeo arena on state Highway 21; camping is available. The action gets underway Friday with car and pickup racing. Gates open at 5 p.m.; time trials follow....
SPOKANE — A Spokane man was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison after using social media to entice a 13-year-old to produce sexual images for him. U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Fainyan Kain James Kimmerly, 22, of Spokane, to 12 years in federal prison, and to serve the remainder of his life on federal supervision after release, court records show. Kimmerly pleaded guilty earlier this year. According to court documents, in the summer of 2019, Kimmerly used Facebook to communicate with a 13-year-old whom h...
I’ve never been a fan of the new ban on plastic bags and straws in our state. Subconsciously, I always knew it was a designed scheme to get more money out of people shopping in stores or having a beverage at a gas station or fast food stop. As you know, the politicos in Seattle and Olympia said that wasn’t the case. They said it was necessary to help eliminate the number of plastic straws and bags along our roadways, ending up in our streams and plaguing our landfills. The...
PASCO — The city is receiving a $100,000 grant from the state Department of Commerce to help alleviate the shortage of affordable housing. The city is among several in the area receiving funds from the agency's $1.7 million Housing Action Plan grant announcement. Other area cities receiving grants include Prosser and Mattawa, $75,000; and Ritzville and Pullman, $25,000. Walla Walla is receiving $50,000 to implement its existing action plan and Othello is getting $25,000. Commerce officials said one study shows a shortage of m...
WALLULA – With the best spring Chinook run since 2015, the state has extended the fishing season. The extension begins May 24, officials said, noting the run forecast for spring Chinook upstream of the dam will be about 180,000 fish. Before the season started, officials projected a return of only about 123,000. Already this season, this is the 11th best spring run over Bonneville Dam since 1980. “We continue to see strong counts daily, which supports the increased run size estimate leading to more fishing opportunity,” state...
TOPPENISH — A Pasco man was transported to a local hospital after the vehicle in which he was a passenger overturned Thursday evening, April 21. Jesus Barajas Arechiga, 33, of Pasco, was transported via ambulance after the 5:25 p.m. crash on U.S. Highway 97, according to the Washington State Patrol. The driver, Luis G. Garcia, 33, of Yakima, was also taken to the hospital, the patrol said. Garcia is facing a driving while under the influence charge in connection with the c...
PASCO — A golf ball-sized dent turned into a politically charged brouhaha during the Franklin County commission meeting Tuesday morning. By a 2-1 vote, commissioners approved covering the $5,600 repair of a small dent on a Franklin County Coroner's Office vehicle. Commissioners Clint Didier and Rocky Mullen approved the expenditure from the general fund; Commissioner Brad Peck opposed it. The vote came after a lengthy, interruption-filled presentation by County Auditor Matt B...
MESA — An Idaho driver was injured Tuesday, April 12, after his car slammed into the rear of a tractor-trailer on southbound U.S. Highway 395. Matthew C. Campbell, 39, of Boise, Idaho, was transported to a Pasco hospital following the 5:55 a.m. crash near Milepost 42, the Washington State Patrol reported. Campbell was cited for second-degree negligent driving, the report said. At the time of the crash, Campbell was southbound in a 2008 Lexus three miles south of the city w...
ELTOPIA - Sen. Mark Schoesler received the True Patriot award Saturday, April 9, during the Franklin County Republicans annual Lincoln Day Dinner. It was the third award of the week presented to the Ritzville Republican representing the 9th Legislative District, which includes Adams, Franklin, Whitman, Southern Spokane and other counties. In addition to the True Patriot award, Schoesler received the Legislator of the Year award from the Hunters Heritage Council and a golden...
VERNITA – Hillclimb racing returns to Rattlesnake Ridge from May 6-8 following two years of being shuttered. The Washington Nitro Nationals returns with gasoline, methane and nitrous-oxide motorcycle racers putting their machines and their skills against a 1,000-foot course at the intersection of state Highways 241 and 24, conveniently located between Yakima and Hanford, north of Sunnyside. The North American Hillclimbers Association Pro Hillclimb Series event in at the now r...
COLFAX — Whitman County is the most recent to join the bandwagon opposing a local income tax. On Monday, March 21, county commissioners unanimously voted to oppose any effort to implement a local income tax within its jurisdiction. Whitman County’s move follows similar action in 11 other counties in the state. Adjacent Lincoln, Spokane and Franklin Counties previously passed resolutions opposing any local income tax. The growing opposition comes on the continued efforts by Western Washington Democrats and Democrat-controlled...
POMEROY – Two Eastern Washington lawmakers are irate that Gov. Jay Inslee is pushing wind and solar farms on the region without providing for local input. Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, and Rep. Mark Klicker, R-Walla Walla, said Monday, March 28, that it's unconscionable the governor vetoed portions of House Bill 1812 that would give local leaders and opportunity to challenge wind and solar farm placement. The governor vetoed sections 19-22 of the bill establishing an independent e...
IWACO — The state will open white sturgeon season on the lower 40 miles of the Columbia River beginning May 11. State Department of Fish and Wildlife employees are working with their counterparts in Oregon to allow fishing for white sturgeon from May 11 through June 4 at the mouth of the river to the Wauna powerlines. Adjacent Washington tributaries will also be open for sturgeon fishing those days. Sturgeon fishing closes at 2 p.m. daily. Fishermen may keep white sturgeon measuring 44-50 inches from the tip of their nose t...
PASCO — A local woman was injured following a crash last Wednesday night, March 30, on Interstate 182. Alma L. Camero, 59, of Pasco, was transported to a Richland hospital for treatment of injuries she sustained in the crash, the Washington State Patrol reported. Meanwhile, Paulo Orozco, 31, of Pasco, if facing pending charges related to the 9:53 p.m. crash, the patrol said, noting either alcohol or drugs was a factor. According to the patrol, Orozco was eastbound in a 2011 Ford F250 pickup on the interstate when he struck a...
SPOKANE - The Columbia (Burbank) boys basketball team entered this morning's fourth-place trophy game optimistic about its chances against the Colfax Bulldogs. But Colfax put on a scoring clinic posting 35 points more than the Coyotes to win the game for the state 2B fourth-place trophy. The Coyotes fell, 80-45, and are coming home with a sixth-place finish. John Lustig led all scorers with 34 points for Colfax, followed by teammate Damian Demler with 31. The Coyotes top...
TACOMA – Four Othello grapplers brought home to Adams County medals Feb. 19 from the state Mat Classic XXXIII wrestling tournament in the Tacoma Dome. Alexis Monday grabbed silver for the Huskies at girls 115 pounds, the highest of any Adams County wrestlers. In boys action, Isaac Campos won bronze and Victorino DeLa Cruz fifth-place at 106. Teammate Marcos Zuniga was fifth at 113. Monday led the Huskies with 24 team points. She opened with a bye, then pinned Lafediya Eldridge...
TACOMA - A Chiawana girl won the state girls 135-pound wrestling title Saturday, Feb. 19, at Mat Classic XXXIII in the Tacoma Dome. Alanna Haney, scored 30 team points, was the only Chiawana girl to reach state. Her team points were good enough for the Riverhawks to finish 25th overall out of more than 100 teams. Haney opened the tournament with a bye and then pinned Cassidy Sylves of Ballard in 1:51 to reach the quarterfinals on Friday, Feb. 18. She then pinned Amailee Niz...
TACOMA - The Chiawana boys wrestling team won the state 4A title Saturday, Feb. 19. The Riverhawks amassed 166.5 points, beating Sunnyside, 149 points, for the title. South Kitsap was third with 109. Pasco boys finished 16th overall with 38.5 points. The Riverhawks had eight medalists. Chiawana's champions included Isaiah Medina at 113 pounds, Darion Johnson at 182 and Isaiah Anderson at 195. Daeton Johnson earned a silver medal at 113 and local bronze medalists included...