Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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RITZVILLE — Free potatoes donated by Washington potato growers will be given out next to Harvest Foods at 610 1st Ave in Ritzville Wednesday, April 29, starting at 9 a.m. The event was originally set to take place at ACE Hardware in Ritzville at 7 a.m. "We needed a bigger location from all of the feedback we have been getting," Brandy Tucker, Director of Marketing and Operations of the Washington State Potato Commission said Tuesday afternoon. "This way folks will be able to drive in and we can load them up and send them o...
RITZVILLE -- Drive along the Ritzville Golf Course on Division Street, and you will notice posters of Lind-Ritzville High School seniors of 2020, who are missing out on a number of milestone celebrations this year. Having the posters hung on the chain link fence for the community to view is a first-time event this year. Sarah Dinkins, a Lind Elementary School teacher with a graduating son said the event was organized by Kari Frederick, with other parents of graduating...
OTHELLO - A fire that grew to an estimated 150 to 200 acres after being started on private property was initially contained around 7 p.m. Thursday, April 23. Adams County Fire District 5 Chief Gary Lebacken said the call for the fire came in at 1:19 p.m., and about a dozen District 5 volunteers and paid staff turned out. "We had some mutual aid from Grant County Districts 10 and 11, the Bureau of Land Management, Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish and Wildlife,"...
KAHLOTUS - Businesses and churches could start returning to more-normal operations this week following an announcement April 20 that the Franklin County Sheriff's Office will not be enforcing Gov. Jay Inslee's "stay home" coronavirus quarantine. Sheriff J.D. Raymond not only said his deputies will not enforce the order, he also called the governor out for abusing his position and stripping away constitutional rights from law-abiding residents. "Our governor has overstepped his constutional powers and is trying to control us...
RITZVILLE — The motorist who died April 12 after an altercation with police was shot three times in the abdomen. Shawn Lee, 48, of Susanville, Calif., died at a local hospital from the injuries, according to updated information released by the Columbia Basin Investigative Team, which is reviewing the officer-involved death. Ritzville officer Jeff Lane fired the shots after first Tasing Lee, who was charging him while wielding a machete in the parking lot of Love’s Travel Stop and Country stores, according to the team. Lan...
Nick Labes, missing his freshman year at Lind-Ritzville High School, helps his father, Adams County Fire Protection District NO. 2 volunteer Adam Labes, burn brush in Lind on Saturday afternoon. Not pictured, but also helping out, is LIz Biermann....
High Low Prec. April 14 73 40 0.00 April 15 64 45 0.00 April 16 62 36 0.00 April 17 74 32 0.00 April 18 70 51 0.00 April 19 72 44 0.00 April 20 75 40 0.00 (Readings are for previous 24 hours) NOTE: Record of Climatological Observations from Moses Lake...
Markets Commodity Price Soft White Wheat, bushel....................................$5.48 White Club, bushel...............................................$7.18 Hard Red Wheat, bushel. ....................................$5.47 DNS, bushel..........................................................$6.16 Barley, ton.........................................................$140.00 Steers 500-600 lbs........................................$150-$160 Steers 600-700 lbs........................................$140-$150 * Wheat Prices...
LIND – Council members heard an update on the cemetery water line project duirng an online meeting April 14. Patrick Sheehy with Century West Engineering said 16 bids were received for the project; the lowest was from C&E Trenching of Pasco at $147,517. That was lower than the engineer's estimate of $208,000. Sheehy said that the contract was awarded to C&E Trenching last Thursday. Construction is expected to begin mid- to late-May. He has been in contact with Avista about s...
RITZVILLE — Health officials said Monday that there were no new confirmed coronavirus cases to report in Adams County. So far, 40 cases have been confirmed; only four in the Lind-Ritzville area....
RITZVILLE — Applications for the 2020 Ritzville Chapter AR PEO scholarship are now available on the Lind-Ritzville High School website under Counselor/Local Scholarships. The $1,000 scholarship is open to graduating female students at Lind-Ritzville High School. Applications are due Monday, May 4, and the scholarship will be awarded in June. For questions, contact Vicky Johnson at 509-659-0362....
WASHTUCNA — The Washtucna Alumni Association banquet scheduled for May 23 has been canceled. The banquet will take place next year, on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, where the 50-year alumni class of 1970 will be celebrated along with the class of 1971....
RITZVILLE — The Ritzville EMT annual flower sale will be taking place as usual this year, with social distances practiced for safety. The sale is from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 6, 7 and 8 at the ambulance station, 315 E. First St. “We will be implementing social distancing practices and requesting a limit of three customers at a time,” organizer Neva Malby said. “If someone is worried about the social distancing, arrangements can be made for deliveries in town if they contact me at the hospital the week before the sale....
CHENEY — The parent company of The Ritzville Adams County Journal is getting some support from Facebook to help keep news flowing. Free Press Publishing, the parent company of The Journal, is one of only two Eastern Washington media companies to have been awarded a $5,000 Facebook Journalism Project grant. "The grant couldn't have come at a better time," Publisher Roger Harnack said, noting media companies are struggling — several even closing — across the U.S. "The funds will help us continue to bring local news in our r...
SPOKANE — The 2020 Junior Livestock Show of Spokane will be taking showmanship to the computer screens with a virtual experience for exhibitors. The cancelation of all May events at Spokane County Fair and Expo Center jeopardized the traditional livestock show that attracts FFA groups from schools across Eastern Washington. The Junior Livestock Show’s governing board decided April 5 to move forward with a virtual format for the showing and omit a livestock sale. “Going to a virtual show is a learning experience for all of us,...
The Ritzville Adams County Journal publishes letters of civic nature relating to area, state and national issues and politics. Letters should be limited to 250 words, and any cited facts should be attributed to the source of information. Letters may not contain personal attacks, profanity or cite other media. Please keep letters to a single subject. We do not publish “thank you” letters; contact our advertising staff. Writers will be limited to one letter per month. No chain letters — those are letters written by one perso...
Shop locally and help out our businesses We all need to pitch in. Buy your groceries, gardening supplies, and take-outs here in our towns to help out our hard-working businesses and families. It’s vital for our communities’ well-being. And when this virus subsides, our town will be able to get back on their feet again. Let’s do more to support our local economy: get your car washed, buy a newspaper, support the drugstore....shop local. Marsha Smith Ritzville Quarantines have been used to saved lives Publisher Roger Harna...
My ninth-grade health class is finishing up a drug/alcohol unit through Google Meet that was disrupted by the current crisis and school closure. We are having some great discussions about tobacco, vaping, alcohol, marijuana, opioids and other drugs. It has brought some things to light that I want to remind everyone about: • Some of the more commonly abused drugs today are actually prescription medicines. I encourage all parents to check their medicine cabinet and secure t...
In this time of the coronavirus pandemic, we at The Ritzville Adams County Journal and Free Press Publishing are asking readers to send in community news. We'd like to publish more of those good news milestones - births, weddings, anniversaries and others. The fact these life milestones are occurring during such strange times make them no less significant; in fact, more memorable. While they will likely not be accompanied by the usual fanfare and family/community get-togethers, they will certainly have distinctions that are h...
RITZVILLE — Here are the calls for service for the Ritzville Police Department for April 2-13: April 2 14:42 — A call was received regarding four juveniles in the skate park. The out-of-town subjects were contacted and advised the park was closed until further notice. 17:17 — Caller reorted ongoing domestic harassment. The complainant advised that her ex-boyfriend would not leave her alone. She wanted help getting her clothing from an apartment and getting away from him. The subject was put in touch with New Hope, which...
LaCROSSE — A local girl has been selected as a semifinalist in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program. Lauren Stubbs was named as a semifinalist April 15. A Future Farmers of America participant, Stubbs was nominated for the award by Lisa Bauer. Only three Washington students made the list. The other students are Maddy Wagner of Odessa and Kenedee Mai Lam of Spokane Valley Technical. Nationwide, there are 621 semifinalists out of 5,600 students....
Jacob "Jake" C. Harder passed away April 13, 2020. Jake was a well-known and respected cattle rancher who concentrated his efforts on improving the Hereford and Angus breeds to give the consumer a higher quality product. In 1987, First National Bank of Spokane awarded him the grand champion award for a load of yearling steers. A true conservationist, in 1997, he received the wildlife farm of the year award from Adams County Conservation District and, in 1984, he received...
Amarant Marion Kanzler Cormier, 94, of Kernersville, N.C., passed away peacefully Wednesday April 8, 2020. With COVID-19 restrictions in place and limiting the number of people in groups to 10, the family will have a graveside service Saturday April 11, 2020, with Rev. Elliott Lutz officiating. A public gathering to remember and celebrate the life of Mrs. Cormier may be organized at a later date. A native of Ritzville, Wash., Amarant was the wife of the late Norman G. Cormier...
I think if you took a survey right now there would be a lot of people who would say let’s try to get back to some sort of semblance of what things used to be. I’m sure there would also be a fair amount that would say no way, far too risky. Like many of you I have seen a fair amount of news statistics about how many people have contracted the coronavirus and how many have died. Scary isn’t it? What usually isn’t brought up is the vast majority that have recovered. Those n...
OLYMPIA – Praising Washingtonians for their efforts in what appears to be a slowing of the spread of the COVID-19 disease, Gov. Jay Inslee announced some plans to reopen the state’s economy during a televised address Tuesday afternoon, April 21. In outlining some of the steps needed to reopen, and some specific businesses that could do so, Inslee didn’t directly address recent protests from residents frustrated with the restrictions. He also didn’t reference steps some local jurisdictions have taken to defy the orders...