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Articles from the January 31, 2019 edition


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  • Benefit Dinner & Auction raises $40,000 for Swift family

    Steve Salins, Reporter|Updated Dec 19, 2019

    So ... you couldn't find an evening parking spot anywhere near downtown Ritzville last Saturday evening? Hordes of people streaming toward the Legion Hall? Well, you just got caught in a small town's heartfelt appreciation for one of their own who needed a bit of support in his fight against cancer. The Legion Hall was stuffed with dinner tables, auction items and more than 200 citizens who came to pay tribute and raise funds to benefit Larry Swift, the long-time Director of...

  • Updated Feb 4, 2019

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  • Broncos basketball loses pair of heartbreakers

    Brandon Cline, Managing Editor|Updated Jan 30, 2019

    It was a backbreaking weekend for the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos basketball team, as they lost a pair of heartbreakers on back-to-back days to fall to 2-7 in league play on the season. The Broncos traveled to Tekoa on Jan. 25 to take on the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves in the first of their two games on the weekend. LRS got the better of Tekoa-Rosalia in their first matchup of the season earlier this month, winning by 31 points at home. But there would be no blowout for the...

  • Lady Broncos sweep league games, playoffs begin next week

    Brandon Cline, Managing Editor|Updated Jan 30, 2019

    The Lind-Ritzville Lady Broncos surged ahead as the end of the regular season draws nearer, winning a pair of league games last weekend to improve to 6-3 in league play on the season. It was a dominating weekend for the Lady Broncos, which started with a road tilt against the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves in Tekoa on Jan. 25. In the teams' first matchup earlier this season on Jan. 11, LRS imposed their will on the Timberwolves at home, winning 68-28. And on Jan. 25, it was more...

  • Ralston Grange to host annual cribbage tournament

    Updated Jan 30, 2019

    The Ralston Grange will be sponsoring their Sixth Annual Cribbage Tournament at their hall in Ralston on Feb. 9. The event will start at 1:00 p.m. and is open to all. There will be a $5 entry fee, which will go toward cash prizes. No experience in playing cribbage is needed as there will be an opportunity to learn the game just prior to the start of the tournament. The Grange will provide beverages and popcorn; attendees are asked to bring snacks to share and a cribbage board if they have one on hand. Contact Damon Roth at...

  • Ritzville Police Department Dispatch Reports: Jan. 31, 2019

    Updated Jan 30, 2019

    Jan. 11, 17:58 — A report was received of a hit-and-run accident in the parking lot of the Gilson Gym. Both subjects were contacted and agreed to work the minor damage issue out between the two parties. Jan. 11, 22:18 — A complainant from an East First address reported a subject standing outside yelling, screaming and pounding on her trailer. When the officer arrived she told him she thought there were people underneath her trailer taking things off of it. The trailer was checked and the subject was advised there was not any...

  • Lind Gun Club Scores: Jan. 27, 2019

    Updated Jan 30, 2019

    6: Richard Kulm, Terry Utecht. 23: Pete Franz. 22: Carson Schlimmer. 21: Kirk Sager, Alan Schlimmer. 20 & under: Blake Bennett, Curt Franz, Mike Gering, Garrett Schlimmer, Ayden Franz, Anna Franz, Roger Hochstetler, Randy Franz, Kelvin Sager, Randy Kulm, Taylor Kerr, and Thomas Rosen. High Overall: Terry Utecht. High Handicap: Carson Schlimmer. Miss & Out: Mike Gering....

  • Ritzville Gun Club Scores: Jan. 27, 2019

    Updated Jan 30, 2019

    5: Scott Hennings, Scott Steinmetz, Garrett Frederick, Justin Ziebell. 22: Scott Yaeger, Travis Dewald, Jason Heider, Wed Frederick, Brian Kramer, Ryan Frederick, Jason Witt, Steve Telecky. 21: Mike, Stromberger, Mike Geschke, James Wahl, Tyler Frederick, Lance Repp, Travis Simonson, Jim Heider, Tim Wellsandt, Doug Wahl, Kyle Bauer, Adam Krause, Dale Swift, Chris Phillips, Palmer Phillips, Susan Dewald. 20 and under: Morgan Brausen, Harlee Hennings, Hayes Hennings, Gage Bauer, Karter Krause, Conrad Bauer, Wyatt Telecky,...

  • EARH holds first board meeting of 2019

    Steve Salins, Reporter|Updated Jan 30, 2019

    The Board of Commissioners for the East Adams Rural Healthcare (EARH) met Thursday, Jan. 24. The call to order was made at 5:30 p.m. Present were Chair Eric Walker, CEO Gary Bostrom; Jennifer Peppperd, Chief Nursing Officer; and Commissioners Ross Heimbidner, Stacey Plummer, Jerry Crossler, and John Kragt. Dr. Sackmann was unable to attend. The first order of business was to introduce Ms. Julietta Shapiro. Ms. Shapiro is the new PA-C and anticipates seeing patients soon. She was born in Cleveland, Ohio, raised in New York,...

  • Dueling clean energy bills proposed in state legislature

    Emma Scher, WNPA Olympia News Bureau|Updated Jan 30, 2019

    Democrats and Republicans both want to turn Washington into a clean energy state, but they just don’t agree on how to do it. House Bill 1211, proposed by Representative Gael Tarleton, D-Seattle, would require public utilities to provide all energy through non-emitting, renewable resources by 2045, or else face penalties. House Bill 1266, proposed by Representative Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, would create incentives for public utility companies that invest in renewable energy. “We shouldn’t pick winners and losers, we shoul...

  • Bill in state legislature would increase fines for texting motorists in school zones

    Sean Harding, WNPA Olympia News Bureau|Updated Jan 30, 2019

    A proposed bill would double the fine for motorists caught using a cellphone in a school, playground or crosswalk speed zone to up to $234 per infraction, or up to $468 for repeat offenders. Washington’s first law to address texting-while-driving went into effect two years ago, which also prohibited eating and applying makeup. “One of the primary crosswalks I sit at is Mill Creek Elementary,” said Christine White, a patrol officer with the Mill Creek Police Department. “I have seen people on their cell phones talking...

  • Legislative Commentary: Jan. 31, 2019

    State Senator Mark Schoesler, Ninth District|Updated Jan 30, 2019

    Dear Friends, Before the 2019 legislative session took up, Democratic leaders in the Legislature indicated that they shared our interest in addressing two major issues: improving the delivery of mental-health treatment and addressing the shortage of available (and affordable) housing. I was proud that members of our Senate Republican caucus had put good ideas on the table back in the fall, and hopeful that we could see early action on those priorities. Two weeks into the session, my colleagues in the Senate’s Democrat m...

  • Sprague High School announces first semester Honor Roll for 2018-2019 school year

    Updated Jan 30, 2019

    Fourteen students at Sprague High School were named to the Honor Roll for the first semester of the 2018-19 school year. Four of those students maintained a 4.0 grade point average (GPA): Senior Awson Wheeler, sophomore Malea Canaday and freshmans Laynie Brittain and Laura Miller. Other seniors who were named to the Honor Roll include Madison Miller, Hannah Brittain, Mya Linch and Kimberly Rios. Juniors who were named to the Honor Roll include Jade Rios, Alexis Gilchrist and Clayton Miller. Other sophomores who were named to...

  • Opinion: Look beyond border to solve immigration

    John McCallum, Cheney Free Press Managing Editor|Updated Jan 30, 2019

    We Americans like to think of ourselves as problem solvers of a sort. If something is wrong, or needs fixing, we feel we can get to the heart of the matter and figure out a solution that is best addressed to solve it. There is a problem with immigration in this country — legal and illegal. Always has been, and if we don’t figure things out, always will be. Spending $5.7 billion to build a great, big, beautiful wall — even a not-so-big and beautiful steel barrier — is not a solution. Never has been, never will be. There a...

  • Washington farmers need tariff relief

    Don C. Brunell, Business Commentator|Updated Jan 30, 2019

    The good news is Washington’s cherry crop is projected to be as good as 2018; however, absent tariff relief from the ongoing U.S.-China trade tiff, a key market will remain limited. When China’s tariff went from 10 percent to 50 percent last July, right in the middle of the harvest, exports to China went from the most profitable to the pits, Fox News reported. “Growers in Washington State, by far the largest producer of sweet cherries in the U.S., saw their bumper crop lose...

  • Broncos wrestlers finish regular season play, set sights on playoffs

    Brandon Cline, Managing Editor|Updated Jan 30, 2019

    The regular season is in the rearview mirror for the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos wrestling squad, as they now have their sights set on the postseason. The Broncos wrapped up regular season play with a South League match in Colfax on Jan. 26, with just three wrestlers participating for LRS that day. Freshman Johnny Ryan wrestled at 106 pounds in his two matches, like he has all season long. Ryan was trailing 7-3 in the second period of his first match when he got pinned by a wrestler from Reardan, who finished fourth in...

  • REACH sponsoring February food drive for Ritzville Food Pantry

    Updated Jan 30, 2019

    The Rural East Adams Coalition for Health (REACH) is sponsoring the Spread the Love food drive throughout the month of February. The drive is to support the Food Pantry, located in Ritzville, which serves the entire eastern Adams County area. Items suggested for donation include canned meats, canned beans, vegetables and fruit, powdered milk, crackers, cooking oils and spices, meat kits, granola bars, rice and pasta, peanut butter, applesauce, canned or shelf stable soups, stews and chili, and whole grain cereals. Donations...

  • Ritzville tow truck stolen, recovered in northeastern Oregon

    Brandon Cline, Managing Editor|Updated Jan 30, 2019

    A Ritzville tow truck was stolen and was later found—along with the driver who allegedly stole it—in a northeastern Oregon town last week. According to Ritzville Police Chief Dave McCormick, the department received a phone call from the manager or AA Auto Towing in Ritzville, who advised that his tow truck had been stolen sometime between 7:45 p.m. on Jan. 26 and 2:20 p.m. on Jan. 27. The keys had been left inside the vehicle, the manager said. The truck, a 2002 International 4000 recovery tow truck, is valued at nearly $50...