Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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Two Ritzville residents, both of whom were subjects of a two-year investigation in Ritzville, were arrested in Moses Lake on the night of Nov. 12. Taylor Hermsmeyer-Rogers, 25, and Cassandra Rand, 19, were arrested on drug charges when police found them unconscious in an illegally parked car with drug paraphernalia in plain view. Ritzville Police Chief Dave McCormick told The Journal that the arrest came one day before the two suspects were scheduled to be arrested in Ritzville. Hermsmeyer-Rogers and Rand were two of the subj...
The Pastime Bar and Grill in downtown Ritzville was burglarized early in the early morning of Nov. 7. Ritzville Police Chief Dave McCormick confirmed that Walker Banry, 20, of Ritzville, has been arrested in connection to the break in. Pastime owner Aimee Guiles told The Journal some alcohol had been stolen, but that at this time, she is unsure how much. Guiles says her alarm system at the bar sounded and the Adams County Sheriff’s Office’s dispatch service was notified. Rit...
Two Ritzville residents, both of whom were subjects of a two-year investigation in Ritzville, were arrested in Moses Lake on the night of Nov. 12. Taylor Hermsmeyer-Rogers, 25, and Cassandra Rand, 19, were arrested on drug charges when police found them unconscious in an illegally parked car with drug paraphernalia in plain view. Ritzville Police Chief Dave McCormick told The Journal that the arrest came one day before the two suspects were scheduled to be arrested in Ritzville. Hermsmeyer-Rogers and Rand were two of the...
In The Journal's Teacher Profile Series, we have met teachers who always wanted to teach. We also met teachers who needed to figure it out in college. Today, we meet Lind-Ritzville High School ag teacher Andy Williams, a teacher who wanted to be a teacher early on, only to change his mind in college. It wasn't until after college that he realized his first calling was his true calling. "I wanted to be a teacher early on," Williams said. "But I didn't love taking all the...
Carley Stanford is in her first full year as a teacher at the Ritzville Grade School, however, she isn't a new face to students and parents. Before future teachers graduate college, they have to student-teach at a school. It's not common for a teacher to then get a job at that same school. However, that is exactly what Stanford did. She started student teaching at RGS in September of 2018 and finished in January 2019. She was immediately hired to finish the school year and...
Lind residents may be paying more for utilities soon as more discussion regarding the possible increase of prices was held at a public hearing before the regular town council meeting on Nov. 12. Currently, Lind residents pay $62 for water, $69.50 for sewage and $19.50 for garbage for a total of $151 a month. As previously reported, a town ordinance automatically raises the cost of water by 1.73% and sewage by 1.74% every year. Increasing garbage prices as well was previously discussed at a workshop meeting on Oct. 15, but...
Students from the Lind Elementary School walked with their teachers down the street last Wednesday to the Lind-Ritzville Middle School to join students there for the middle school's Veterans Days Assembly. Students honored several veterans, including their own principal, Darrell Lembcke, and guest speaker Command Sgt. Maj. James Blackheart of the U.S. Army. Blackheart told stories of his life in the military, but stressed that he wasn't there to recruit anyone. "I was telling...
Lind-Ritzville/Sprague's Linnea Schafer ended her 2019 cross country season by finishing 29th at the state championship in Pasco on Saturday. 112 girls entered the race. Schafer finished in 21:21.80. LRS cross country coach Morgan Hunt said that Schafer's goal was to finish in under 21:00. Schafer was the lone LRS athlete, male or female, to qualify for state. This is her second time qualifying for state. Last year, she finished 37th in 22:00. Schafer, a junior, will have one...
There will be no state birth for the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague volleyball team. The Lady Broncos had the third seed in the double-elimination Northeast 2B Conference tournament, but were eliminated in straight sets by Mary Walker on Nov. 7. Taylor Galbreath had eight assists and five kills for LRS. Macey Gines had 26 assists to lead the Chargers to a 25-20, 25-20, 25-23 win. The Broncos were in the consolation bracket after losing to Chewelah the prior week. The top four teams qualified for state. Advancing to the final of the...
A week after Lind-Ritzville/Sprague's Linnea Schafer was named All-League at the District 7 championships, Schafer finished No. 7 at the regionals in Chewelah, easily qualifying for the state championships this Saturday in Pasco. Schafer is the lone LRS athlete to qualify for state. The top 28 girls and the top 35 boys qualified. Schafer finished 21:07,71. She qualified by almost two minutes. The final qualifier finished with a time of 22:58.25. "[Schafer] had a big [personal...
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Bronco volleyball team hoped to advance to the state tournament by winning the Northeast 2B championship tournament. That’s not going to happen after LRS fell to Chewelah in the first round Tuesday in straight sets. Lily Kirry had 16 kills, two aces and two blocks as Chewelah won 25-15, 25-19, 25-15. Taylor Galbreath had eight kills and Ellie Gering had eight digs and three aces for LRS. The Broncos will still have a chance to advance to state. Four teams will advance and the third and fourth p...
The trial of Michael Anthony Kuest, the man charged with rape in the first degree in connection to an alleged incedent in June, has been delayed until January after Kuest saw another court-appointed attorney withdraw from his defense. The trial had been set for Oct. 22, but defense attorney Douglas Phelps requested release from the case earlier in the month. Kuest’s new attorney, Timothy D. Trageser of Spokane, requested the trial be moved back to give him time to learn the case and prepare. The trial had been scheduled to st...
An empty seat on the Lind School Board has been filled by Jim Weidemann. Weidemann was appointed by the existing board members on Oct. 28 and will serve through 2021, when the seat will be up for election. Weidemann moved to Lind about a year ago after retiring as a special education teacher in Nevada, a role he served in for 11 years. Altogether, he has more than 20 years experience as a full-time and substitute teacher. Weidemann told The Journal that he became interested in serving on the school board after being...
The Lind and Ritzville school boards voted to adopt 10 new policies at their monthly meeting on Oct. 28. Highlighting new additions is Policy 2409, which allows Lind-Ritzville Schools Co-Op Superintendent Don Vanderholm to create a program that recognizes and rewards students for learning a world language. Under the program, students will be able to earn high school credits by learning a language on their own and passing a proficiency exam. “We are excited to add language proficiency exams to our menu of credit options,” Van...
Senior night ended in disappointment for the home team as Lind-Ritzville/Sprague volleyball dropped its final regular season match of the season in a rematch against league-leading Liberty on Oct. 24. The Lady Broncos showed some signs of fight in the first two sets, but the stellar play of Liberty's Massie Burnham was too much as the Lancers won in straight sets, 25-14, 25-20, 25-12. LRS started sharp scoring the first two points, but Liberty answered back with a 5-0 run. A...
Lind-Ritzville/Sprague’s Linnea Schafer was named All-League as 2B teams from around the area competed at the 2019 District 7 cross country championships on Oct. 26 in Harrington. In the girls varsity race dominated by Kettle Falls--who had three of the top-four finishes--Schafer finished No. 6 in 21:39.2. Also for LRS, Julia Klein finished in 23:59.52 for No. 28, Mercedes Miller was No. 49 in 27:13.19, Cameron Woods was No.51 in 27:39.6 and Jordyn Fode was No. 61 in 39:24.01. Sixty-three runners finished the race. Mya E...
The stage is set for the Northeast 2B volleyball championships. The league is made up of the top four seeds of the north and south divisions of the Northeast 2B Conference. Lind-Ritzville/Sprague finished with the South’s No. 3 seed and will face off against the North’s No. 2 seed, Chewelah, on Nov. 5 in Chewelah. The complete seeding for the South are as follows: No. 1 Liberty, No. 2 Colfax, No. 3 Lind-Ritzville/Sprague and No. 4 Asotin. In the North, the seedings are as follows: No.1 Northwest Christain, No. 2 Che...
Some people get an idea of what they want to be when they grow up while they are in high school. Some people go to college to figure that out. Then, there are people like Morgan Hunt who have it all figured out by the time they are three years old. "I knew I wanted to be a teacher when I was three," Hunt said. "While other children were playing with barbies, I was playing school." By the time she was in high school, she told her mom that her dream job was to be an elementary...
After over a year of having a vacant seat, the Lind School Board is full again. The existing board of directors voted Monday to hire Jim Weidermann. Weidermann will serve through 2021, when the seat will be up for election again. Weidermann was interviewed by the school board in a closed-door session before the board meeting on Monday. Later, the board had an executive session to discuss hiring him. When they returned from the executive session, members voted to hire Weidermann. Weidermann was in attendance and took the oath...
The Lind-Ritzville/Sprague volleyball team was nursing a three-game win streak when it returned home to finish the season with three straight home matches. On Oct. 19, the third-place Lady Broncos hosted Asotin, a team they had just swept a week earlier. This time, however, Asotin returned the favor, sweeping LRS 25-21, 25-22, 25-20. Izzy Bailey had 18 digs for the visiting Panthers. Dakota Killian had nine kills and five blocks for LRS. A win for LRS would have meant at least a third-place league finish. The loss put the...
The finish line is in sight for Lind-Ritzville Sprague cross country runners. All that’s left on the schedule is the District 7 championships, regionals and state championships. Last week, the Broncos competed in a league meet in St. John and an invitational in Lakeside. Linnea Schafer continued her strong season for Broncos, leading the girls team in both races. LRS head coach Morgan Hunt has been pleased with Schafer’s performance this year. “Linnea Schafer is having a wonderful season,” Hunt said. “She really has been...
Students taking social studies at Lind-Ritzville High School are taking part in the statewide student mock elections. Social studies instructor Bryce Court has included the election and several lessons provided by the state in his curriculum. According to a press release from the office of Washington’s Secretary of State, the mock election is open until Nov. 5. “Voting is one of the greatest opportunities to make a difference in an individual’s community,” said Secretary of State Kim Wyman. “Having a chance to learn abo...
As active shooter situations continue to make national headlines, schools across the country are trying to prepare for such scenarios. In eastern Adams County, both the school districts and law enforcement are holding their own training events to stay prepared. The Adams County Sheriff's Office hosted officer training at the Lind-Ritzville Middle School in Lind on Oct. 19. The training involved all deputies from the Sheriff's Office as well as officers from the Ritzville...
Lind Mayor Paula Bell has started preparations for preparing the town’s 2020 budget by having the town council discuss how to handle utility rates at a special meeting on Oct. 15. Currently, Lind residents pay $151 a month for water, sewage and garbage. The charges breakdown as follows: $62 for water, $69.50 for sewage and $19.50 for garbage. A town ordinance automatically raises the cost of water by 1.73% and sewage by 1.74% every year. Garbage rates cannot increase without action by the town council and would require m...
Kevin Terris has just started his second year as principal of Lind-Ritzville High School, but he has been in education for longer than that. Much longer. "This is my 24th year in public education," Terris said. Terris started his career as a social studies and language arts teacher at the high school level. After about a decade of that, he became an athletic director and assistant principal. Then, 14 years later, he was hired by LRHS to be its new principal. A long career in e...