Columbia Basin Development League elects 2015 board

Long time farmer from Connell, Orman Johnson, was elected Chairman of the Columbia Basin Development League, which was created in 1964 to support the federal Bureau of Reclamation’s Columbia Basin Project. Kevin Lyle of Cunningham was elected Vice Chair, Jake Wollman, Jr. of Warden was re-elected Treasurer and Jeff Schibel of Odessa was re-elected as Secretary.

Clark Kagele of Odessa was elected to the executive committee along with Heath Gimmestad of Moses Lake, Alice Parker of Royal City, and Dale Pomeroy of Warden.

Milt Johnston of Ellensburg will be immediate past chair. All positions are held until elections following the 2015 annual meeting.

Adams County Commissioner Roger Hartwig of Ritzville was newly elected to the Board of Trustees. Board members Mark Booker, Othello; Mike LaPlant, Ephrata; John Moody, Ephrata; and David Stevens, Wilson Creek were re-elected.

The remainder of the Board members includes: Bernard Erickson, Ritzville; Eli Stahl, Ritzville; Reid Phillips, Ritzville; Steve Connors, Warden; JJ Danz, Mesa; Andy Erickson, Moses Lake; Ron Fode, Moses Lake; Joe Gross, Marlin; Matt Hawley, Pasco; Rick Miller: Pasco; Chet Pedersen, Quincy; John Preston, Warden; Mark Stedman, Davenport; and Richard Stevens, Soap Lake.

The Columbia Basin Development League promotes the orderly extension of irrigation infrastructure to eligible lands within the Columbia Basin Project, and recent focus by the League is to prevent economic and environmental disaster by replacing Odessa Aquifer groundwater withdrawals with Project water.