Serving Franklin County, WA
Serving Franklin County, WA
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RITZVILLE — Teenage pregnancies have declined in Adams County at a higher rate than any other county in Washington over the last five years. According to a recent health study, the teenage birth rate dropped 18% during that time. Adjacent Franklin County also saw a healthy decline in teenage birth rates. There, the rate dropped by 14% over the last five years, the study reported. Yakima County wasn’t far behind, with a decrease of 13%. And adjacent Grant County declined by 12%, the study reported. Health officials said the...
RITZVILLE - Big Bend Electric Co-op's charitable arm announced several grants to organizations around the region on Dec. 19. Caring Neighbors grants were awarded to groups in Othello, Lind, Ritzville, Mesa and other locations. The grants are funded from donations by co-op members who have authorized rounding their bills up to the nearest dollar. The following grants were announced Dec. 19: • Othello Church of the Nazarene (Helping Hands) -$2,000 to help fund emergency h...
It was a July afternoon in 2011 when a car bomb exploded just a few blocks from Robert Ullmann's office. Because it was the summer, only two employees from Kanvas, his nonprofit that manages 64 child care programs around Norway, were at their desks on the third floor of a narrow, nondescript building in central Oslo. Although the floor-to-ceiling glass windows shattered when the bomb exploded at 3:25 p.m., both members of his team were unhurt. When I arrived at Ullmann's...
CHENEY – A new bill introduced by Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, seeks to boost public safety by increasing the number of police officers across Washington. Holy's proposal, Senate Bill 5060, asks for $100 million to create a grant program, to help local and tribal governments hire police officers. The funding would come from the state general fund. "Crime is a growing problem in our state," said Holy. "Washington ranks among the worst states in several categories, including m...
COLFAX — A local lawmaker is co-sponsoring a pair of bills that would give some workers in Washington state a reprieve from the long-term care tax. Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, is co-sponsoring the bills with Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia. The bills would reopen a limited opt-out period for WA Cares and let individuals who have paid into the program transfer benefits to a spouse. WA Cares deducts 58 cents per $100 earned for every worker to fund a limited lifetime benefit – up to $36,000 – for long-term care costs. Befor...
As America's population ages and some state populations are expected to decline, demographic shifts may profoundly reshape the country's colleges and universities. Academics have long worried about the enrollment cliff, a multiyear decline in traditional college-aged students following an anticipated peak in 2025. Although the total number of undergraduate students at America's universities rose steadily from approximately 7.3 million in 1970 to around 18 million in 2010,...
RITZVILLE — Students, teachers, staff and parents in the Lind-Ritzville School District may have the chance for a shorter school week under a proposal being circulated by the district. Superintendent Don Vanderholm said the change could affect the student body of 566 and 104 staff in both towns. Student currently attend classes Monday through Friday. Under the proposal, students would get an equal amount of instruction time under, but instruction would take place over four days instead of five. “Early last year, I sta...
OLYMPIA — With a new year just around the corner, a host of new statewide laws will soon impact Washingtonians’ wallets beginning Jan. 1. Here are some of them. Minimum wage The state’s minimum wage – already the highest state-level minimum wage in the nation – will increase 38 cents. According to the state Department of Labor & Industries, the minimum wage will rise to $16.66 an hour next year, a 2.35% increase over the current minimum wage of $16.28. The increase applies to workers age 16 and older. Employers may pay 85% o...
LIND — Living in the town of Lind is about to get more expensive. The Town Council approved ordinances earlier this month that raise monthly base rates for water, sewer and garbage. Ordinance 24-06 raised the rate on trash collection, setting new minimum charges of $22 for 95 gallons of trash, $100 for 2 yards, $170 for 3 yards and $220 for 4 yards. And beginning Jan. 1, Ordinance 24-07 raises the cost for water by 1.73% Under the new rate, those with a meter size smaller than 1.5 inches will have a monthly base rate of $...
OLYMPIA – When Gov. Jay Inslee took office in 2013 after stating in the 2012 election race that new taxes weren’t “the right direction,” the state Legislature approved a $38.4 billion budget for the biennium. With less than a month before stepping down from office, Inslee is proposing a $78.8 billion operating budget that comes with $4 billion in new taxes to fund it, including a wealth tax. The approach is in contrast with how the Legislature responded to a massive budget deficit during the Great Recession, when lawmake...
LIND - The Lind budget was tabled, brought back to life, tabled again, and thoroughly argued. But on Thursday night, Dec. 26, the town council chose to pass it by a 3-1 vote. Councilman Jeremiah Shea opposed the budget plan. The numbers for Ordinance 24-09 include a Current Expense Fund of $290,430 with 10 additional expenses making a grand total of $2,105,647.91. The break in the very palpable log jam started forward motion about one hour and six minutes into the meeting. Cou...
The Adams County Sheriff's Office conducted a school-shooter training last week at McFarland Middle School in Othello. The planned exercise was critical for preparing deputies for emergency responses, Sheriff Dale Wagner said. The training followed a previous threat to shoot up Ritzville schools....
HATTON — The Washington State Patrol is stepping up its patrols from Nov. 21 to Dec. 1 as university students and others hit the road for Thanksgiving. The emphasis will focus on State Highway 26, linking Colfax to Othello and other cities. It will also include expanded patrols on U.S. Highways 195 and 395, as well as Interstate 90. District 4 troopers in Spokane, Whitman and Adams counties and District 6 troopers in Grant and Kittitas counties will be focusing on speeding, driving too fast for conditions, d...
OLYMPIA – State Department of Fish and Wildlife employees will fly drones over known pygmy rabbit locations on state and federal lands to test the effectiveness of tracking pygmy rabbits from the air. The agency will also fly drones over private lands, with permission, the agency said, noting the targeted areas will be in Grant and Douglas counties. Flights will occur from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. beginning next month and continuing through October 2026. Flights will depend on w...
BASIN CITY — Charges may be pending against a man believed to have led law enforcement officers on a high speed chase across areas of Franklin and Adams Counties. The name of the suspect has yet to be released, as the case is still being investigated, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office reported. The details of the Saturday, Nov. 16, incident have been forwarded to the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for possible charges. The investigation stems from a chase that began when Franklin County deputies pursu...
LIND — Mayor Paula Bell was excluded from an executive session that took place during the Nov. 12 Town Council meeting. Just over an hour into the meeting, the assembly broke for the executive session. The council voted 4-0 to exclude the mayor. “We are having an executive session with the council attorney regarding issues that we are having,” Councilwoman Anna Dobbins said. “I will be in attendance,” Mayor Paula Bell said. “No,” Dobbins responded. “You are not invited. I make a motion that Paula be not invited to the executi...
LIND — An attempt to set fees for public records access remains in limbo after the Tuesday, Oct. 22, town council meeting. During debate on Resolution 24-07, “Policies and Procedures for Public Records Requests,” Mayor Paula Bell pushed to set copying fees at 50 cents per color page and 15 cents per page for black-and-white. She also pushed an effort to charge requestors for staff time in providing records owned by the public but maintained by the town. That did not sit well with Councilwoman Anna Dobbins, who noted charg...
RITZVILLE — A local teenager will appear in Adams County Superior Court on Monday, Nov. 4, in connection with threatening to blowup Lind-Ritzville schools and shoot classmates. Donald G. DesJardins, 14, of Ritzville, will appear before Judge Andrea Russell to answer to one count of threats to bomb, a Class B felony. He was arrested Oct. 22 and booked into Martin Hall juvenile detention center on $10,000 bail. Authorities have yet to say if he will be tried as an adult. P...
HATTON - A woman wanted in Franklin County was apprehended Oct. 27 in Adams County on Oct. 27 and turned over to Pasco police. Natalie Ingrid Malex Parsadanian, 25, of Finley, was arrested following a high-speed pursuit that ended in a crash in Adams County. Parsadanian was driving a dark-colored BMW and reportedly armed with a shotgun and threatening suicide by cop, records show. As she fled northbound from Franklin into Adams County, she crash and was taken into custody....
OTHELLO - A high-speed pursuit in excess of 100 mph ended abruptly Oct. 25, when the driver lost control of his Toyota pickup and crashed on state Highway 17. Driver Jacob Arceo, 25, of Pasco, and passenger Tatianna Seideman, 20, of Oldtown, Idaho, were both injured and transported to the local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Arceo is facing possible charges of first-degree driving with a suspended license and reckless driving. The incident has been...
Age: 66 Hometown: Colfax Family: Married to Kim Schmick for 42 years. Education: Relevent or Volunteer Experience: 17 years in this current position Candidates have been given a 100 words to answer each question and answers have not been edited. Question 1: In recent years, state agencies have used purported habitat and wildlife concerns as a reason to implement new regulations on farmers and ranchers. Those regulations have impacted the livelihoods or rural residents. What wo...
Age: 55 Hometown: Manson, Iowa Family: Married to Dr. Stephen Thew, raised our four children in Spokane County (one died in 2022). Education: Relevent or Volunteer Experience: No political experience. Relevant professional experiences include practicing as a board certified emergency physician for about 15 years, then teaching predominantly Health Policy and Law and Professionalism as a Lecturer-MPH for Eastern Washington University, and most recently serving as a staff attorn...
OTHELLO — A local man was airlifted to a Richland hospital after his car struck a truck Oct. 21 about sevens west of the city. Walter Gregorio Lopez, 21, of Othello, was flown to Kadlec Medical Center following a 2:58 p.m. crash on near Milepost 33 of Highway 26. According to the Washington State Patrol, Lopez was westbound in a 2012 Subaru Legacy. When a 1992 Kenworth truck and construction trailer slowed in front of him, rear ended the vehicle, the patrol said. The truck was driven by Jacob C. Valdez, 21, of Othello, who w...
OTHELLO — A local man was transported to a Richland hospital after his car struck a truck Oct. 21 about sevens west of the city. Walter Gregorio Lopez, 21, of Othello, was transported to Kadlec Medical Center following a 2:58 p.m. crash on near Milepost 33 of Highway 26. According to the Washington State Patrol, Lopez was westbound in a 2012 Subaru Legacy. When a 1992 Kenworth truck and construction trailer slowed in front of him, rear ended the vehicle, the patrol said. The truck was driven by Jacob C. Valdez, 21, of O...
RITZVILLE — A 14-year-old is facing at least one charge of threats to bomb or injure property following social media posts to shoot classmates and blow up schools. The boy was arrested today, Oct. 22, following an investigation into the threats reportedly found on social media last night. The threats prompted school officials to close campuses today. Police also called in a bomb-sniffing dog. This evening, law enforcement officials remain at some of the school campuses. Police have not identified the boy, citing Revised C...