Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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OTHELLO — A local man was booked into the Adams County Jail in Ritzville after leading deputies on a high-speed chase early Sunday. Uriel Romero-Gonzalez, 34, was arrested for attempting to elude a police officer and resisting arrest, the Adams County Sheriff’s Office reported. The incident began just after 4 a.m. when deputies attempted a traffic stop on a white BMW near the 900 block of South Broadway Avenue, an internet post said. The driver, later identified as Romero-Gonzalez, didn’t stop and deputies activated their...
By Jeremy Burnham The Journal RITZVILLE - Every seat was filled and some residents stood as more than 30 people squeezed into City Hall for a public meeting on turning the city into a train quiet zone last Thursday. The meeting was called for by Mayor Gary Cook, who said the purpose was to give everyone a chance to be heard. "It gave me the opportunity to let people have their say," Cook told The Journal after the meeting. Cook said he hoped the meeting would allow people to...
RITZVILLE - The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague boys and girls basketball teams said goodbye to their seniors on Tuesday. The girls team honored varsity players Brinley Moore and Eliza Galbreath. "Both of them are four-year players here," girls head coach Steve Wellsandt said. "Brinley worked her way up through the JV and has done a good job ... She understands what we need to do defensively. And all season long she has been a good outside shooter ... Eliza is a four-year starter. She...
- NOTE: Due to a trial this week, officers from the Ritzville Police Department had to postpone interviews for our Police Profile Series. In its place this week, we offer a profile on Dr. Warren Kragt, a community leader, chiropractor and businessman. RITZVILLE - Dr. Warren Kragt has been a part of the Ritzville community for a long time. Kragt, originally from Colfax, came to Ritzville in 1986 to fill a void in the community. "We had had chiropractors come and go," Kragt...
RITZVILLE - The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague wrestling team hosted an afternoon of matches Saturday to help coaches finalize seeding for Thursday's district tournament at Liberty High School in Spangle. The event didn't have brackets or champions. "It was a mix-and-match," Coach Jason Hilzer said. "Trying to see kids who are going to be in the same weight in the postseason so that we don't have an argument when it comes to seeding in this year's tournament. "So, we tried to match...
RITZVILLE - The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague girls basketball team had already wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the district before playing its final game at home against Colfax on Tuesday on senior night. The Broncos fell behind early and ultimately lost 50-48. The Broncos were slow out of the chute Tuesday falling behind 10-3. LRS head coach Steve Wellsandt took a timeout with 2:15 remaining and the Broncos responded. They scored on a fast break out of the timeout to make it 10-5....
RITZVILLE - Seniors led the way as the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague boys basketball team defeated Colfax 57-52 on Tuesday. Austin Thompson scored 21 points and had the game winning basket for the Broncos as he and three other seniors played their final game at Gilson Gym. The Broncos had a shaky first quarter. They stuck with Colfax early, trailing at one point 10-8, before giving up a run to fall behind 20-8. Thompson then scored back-to-back baskets, including a three pointer, to...
RITZVILLE - A jury in Adams County Superior Court has found Ritzville man Michael Anthony Kuest, 27, guilty of first-degree rape with a deliberately cruel aggravator, two counts of second-degree assault and one count of witness tampering. Kuest will be sentenced March 2; he's facing a maximum sentence of life in prison. In his opening argument, Adams County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney K. Peter Palubicki said the case would be about choices the defendant made. "Life is...
RITZVILLE - Lind-Ritzville High School students in Andy Williams' floral design class are creating roses made out of Hershey Kiss candies for an FFA fundraiser. Annika Holland, Iris Arrez, Madison Vlaske, Grace Fedie and Rosa Alfaro are the five students creating the gifts that blend flowers with candy. "We try to do arrangements for the different holidays across the seasons," Williams said. "We did Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Valentine's just kind of made sense....
RITZVILLE - Matt Carlson grew up here. But if you told him he'd be back working as a police officer, even he may be surprised, not about being a police officer though. He knew he was going to be in law enforcement since he was a teenager, but he never imagined it would be in his hometown. In fact, Carlson knows the moment he made the decision. "I was 16 and I went on a ride along with the Washington State Patrol here in Ritzville," Carlson said. "It made me want to be a...
SPANGLE - The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos wrestling team finished a distant fourth-place in the 1B/2B League-South wrestling tournament Thursday night, Feb. 6, at Liberty High School. Two gold medalists - Brandon Davis at 106 and Johnny Ryan at 113 - lead the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague team (153 points) that finished behind champion Liberty (Spangle) with 297 team points, runner-up Davenport with 246 and third-place Reardan with 168. The Broncos finished well ahead of...
RITZVILLE — Both Lind-Ritzville/Sprague basketball squads will be the No. 2 seed of Northeast 2B-South division at the district tournament this week at West Valley High School in Spokane. More importantly, both teams earned a first-round bye. The boys and girls Broncos will open play on Thursday. . The boys will take on Jenkins High School (Chewelah) at 8 p.m. in the main gym. Jenkins, the north division’s No. 3 seed, opened play on Monday by beating Asotin 61-37. The Broncos have not faced Jenkins this season. Should the Bro...
KAHLOTUS — The recent Washington Interscholastic Activities Association sports classification list for schools for the next four years raised some questions about the local district. On the list, Kahlotus High School is listed as an independent Class 1B school. The list shows Lind-Ritzville/Sprague-Washtucna as a separate Class 2B cooperative. But that doesn’t mean Kahlotus will be going its own way. Kahlotus School District Superintendent Gregg Taylor said no decision has been made to split up the current cooperative ath...
Ritzville Police Chief Dave McCormick has been in Ritzville for a long time. He was born in Germany when his family lived there while his father was in the military. When McCormick was a year old, his family moved back home to Ritzville and he has been here ever since, save a year or two. Now, McCormick has the responsibility to protect the community he has called home his entire life. That is a responsibility McCormick takes very seriously. "I went to school here," McCormick...
In last week's debut of the Police Profile Series we met Ritzville Police Chief Dave McCormick, who started law enforcement work at the age of 21. While starting a career in law enforcement early in one's life is common, Ritzville police officer Tom Gracie entered the field a little later in life. Gracie joined the Coulee Dam Police Department at the age of 40 in 2005. He then joined the Ritzville Police Department in 2010 and has been here for the past nine years. "I was...
LIND — Work is set to start in March on the Rattlesnake Flat wind farm. The project is being developed by Clearway Energy Group. Project development director Nick Benjamin said recently that mobilization will begin around March 1, with trucks arriving before March 5. Rattlesnake Flat is a 16.45 megawatt wind project to be constructed near Phillips Road. Blattner Energy will build the project. It’s the third that Blattner is building for Clearway, Benjamin said. Avista and Clearway have agreed to a deal that will see Avi...
RITZVILLE - The Wheat Land Communities' Fair received $1,000 through a Rural Community Grant from Northwest Farm Credit Services this week. The check was officially presented Monday. Lori Williams, a Wheat Land Communities' Fair board member, said funds will be used for maintenance of trees on the fairgrounds. "We truly appreciate Northwest FCS' commitment to reinvest in our communities," Williams said. "The grant funds received will allow for much needed tree maintenance of...
LIND — Citing several ordinances that are not being followed, the Town Council is considering hiring a code enforcement officer. A code enforcement officer would knock on doors of persons in violation of ordinances and inform them of what further action may be taken. The topic has been talked about at several town hall meetings going back to late last year. Most recently, the issue was brought up at the Jan. 14 meeting. The council agreed that before hiring an enforcement officer, members would have to agree on the details o...
KAHLOTUS — A local man was booked into the Adams County Jail after a high-speed chase Saturday. Jeffrey Grant Moore, 58, of Kahlotus, led law enforcement officers on a 38-mile chase at speeds greater than 100 mph early Saturday morning, shows a probable cause affidavit filed in Adams County Superior Court. He is facing possible charges of eluding a police vehicle, endangerment by eluding a police vehicle and third-degree driving while license suspended. The chase started in Othello, said a sworn statement by Othello police o...
The LRS Lady Broncos have taken two big steps toward wrapping up the No. 2 seed in the district tournament by winning two more league games. The Lady Broncos beat Asotin 53-13 on Saturday and Reardan 54-28 on Tuesday. The two wins make LRS 8-2 in league play, behind only Liberty. Liberty is 8-0 and handed LRS its only two league losses of the season. The loss by Reardan puts the school at 5-4 and drops the Indians from the No. 3 seed as Colfax picked up a win against Upper Col...
The trial of Ritzville man Michael Anthony Kuest, 27, is underway as jury selection began on Tuesday. The trial will proceed immediately after a jury is selected and seated. Kuest is facing charges in connection to an alleged incident on June 3, 2019, in which he is accused of raping a Spokane woman whom he invited to visit him in Ritzville, according to court documents. The Adams County Prosecutor’s Office filed formal charges on June 5, 2019. A series of continuances have caused the trial to be delayed from its o...
The Mid-Columbia Ag Hall of Fame officially inducted Adams County's Orvalla Hafer at a dinner ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 17 in Pasco. Hafer, who was honored with the "Pioneer Award," was inducted along with three other people or couples. Hafer's induction was particularly emotional, however, as she was being honored posthumously. Hafer was introduced by her grandson Jacob and her award was accepted by her daughter Holly Kenner. Orvalla Hafer and her husband, Raymond, settled i...
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague girls basketball team fought for most of the game, but fell to Liberty on Friday, 45-37 in Spangle. On Tuesday, the Lady Broncos defeated Tekoa-Rosalia 67-19 at home. Before the season, LRS head coach Steve Wellsandt identified the Liberty Lancers as his team's toughest opponent of the season. As the season progressed, Wellsandt said he feels his team has gotten closer and closer to where they need to be to compete with Liberty. On Friday, his...
Lind-Ritzville/Sprague athletic director Greg Whitmore talked about the benefits of intermittent fasting at a lecture that was open to the public he held this month at Lind-Ritzville High School. Besides his athletic duties–which includes coaching the Broncos football team–Whitmore has also taught health at the high school for 28 years. In an interview with The Journal in August, Whitmore said he was wanting to also bring health lessons to the general public. Part of this effort to teach health to the public included sta...
RITZVILLE - The Lind-Ritzville Schools co-op will hold two public forums on Jan. 30 for people wanting to learn more about the levies the schools are asking for on the ballot of the Feb. 11 special election. The first forum is at 5:30 p.m. at the Lind-Ritzville High School Commons in Ritzville. The second is at 6:30 p.m. at the Lind-Ritzville Middle School lunchroom in Lind. As The Journal reported last week, voters will be asked to approve or reject a replacement Educational Programs and Operation Levy and a new two-year...