Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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SPRAGUE – The primary race for Sprague mayor has one candidate holding a solid position to advance to the general election, while the second spot remains contested between three candidates as of press time. M. Shawn Coombs had 53 votes as of press time and is in first place. Sunnie Fortin was barely in second place with 23 votes, but Sprague business owner Dorothy Giddings was right behind with 19 votes with 10 ballots left to count countywide. Timothy Wilkens isn’t far behind Giddings with 16 votes, while fifth can...
DAVENPORT – A busy agenda as approvals were concerned was passed by a short-handed council, with just two members present in-person and two councilmembers attending via Zoom. Council passed three resolutions and two first readings regarding grant funding, ARPA dollars and budget amendments at its July 28 meeting. The first resolution passed established authority to execute distribution of Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act and Airport Coronavirus Response Grant programs. The second resolution e...
SPRAGUE-The primary race for Sprague mayor has one candidate holding a solid position to advance to the general election, while the second spot is hotly contested between three candidates. M. Shawn Coombs has 48 votes upon early returns and is in first place. Sunnie Fortin is barely in second place with 19 votes, but Sprague business owner Dorothy Giddings is right behind with 17 votes. Timothy Wilkens isn't far behind Giddings with 14 votes, while fifth candidate Trace De Gar...
SPRAGUE – The seat up for election with the most candidates in Lincoln County this year is that of mayor of Sprague. Five candidates filed during filing week in May, making the race one of just two nonpartisan races in the county with two finalists yet to be determined before the Aug. 3 primary. Sunnie Fortin, M. Shawn Coombs, Trace De Garmo, Dorothy Giddings and Timothy Wilken are all vying to take the Sprague mayor seat. Only Fortin and Coombs responded to multiple invitations from The Times to discuss their desires to run...
DAVENPORT – Dry and hot conditions dominating the weather cycle in 2021 have led many farmers in the Davenport/Harrington/Reardan area to start wheat harvest early, while others are sticking with a traditional start the first week of August. Many farmers in Davenport and Reardan started harvest this week, while several in the Harrington area started last week. Each farmer is different and starts on their own time, so there are exceptions to every rule, but generally harvest i...
DAVENPORT – 12 new laws changing the way law enforcement conducts its job that passed state legislature in May and went into effect Sunday, July 25 are causing concern and an adjustment period for local officers, sergeants, deputies, chiefs and sheriffs. The laws, which vary from restrictions on pursuing vehicles to banning chokeholds to requiring mental health calls to be responded to by mental health professionals or EMS workers instead of law enforcement will change the way many emergency calls and situations are h...
DAVENPORT – Since the COVID-19 vaccine became available to all adults in the United States in mid-April, debate and confusion has raged regarding vaccine requirements, HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) violations and rights and how that impacts employers, customers, businesses, schools and other regular walks of life folks have become accustomed to. The Times reached out to Lincoln County public health administrator Ed Dzedzy to separate fact from fic...
DAVENPORT – The school board approved two finance-related resolutions at its July 26 meeting. One was petitioning OSPI for a 2020-21 budget extension due to increased expenditures caused by the pandemic, and the other was approving the 2021-22 budget. The budget extension will raise general fund expenditures from $8,608,710 to $9,062,976, a rise of $454,266. The district must petition OSPI as a state requirement. “We’re required by the state to ask to spend more money than we originally thought,” business manager Leslie...
REARDAN – The school board officially dropped the "Indians" mascot from the district following the passage of House Bill 1356, which outlaws the use of Native American mascots or logos amongst public schools in Washington unless the nearest tribe grants permission for an exception. The decision was made at the board's July 28 meeting. A new mascot, however, wasn't yet chosen due to funding concerns. Superintendent Eric Sobotta informed present board members Jeff Anderson, R...
After a long five-year hiatus, the world’s greatest athletes have converged for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. When I haven’t been busy putting together this week’s paper, I’ve been watching these athletes compete in a bevy of sports while feeling insecure about my athletic shortcomings compared with the unbelievable feats achieved by the competitors. It’s an American tradition to sit on our couches and watch TV for six hours while wondering why we aren’t as athletic as...
DAVENPORT – City councilmembers discussed an ordinance placed before them that would give the local fire chief authority to enact a fireworks ban on the Fourth of July during times of extreme fire danger, such as the dry conditions oft discussed this year. The discussion took place at council’s July 14 meeting. Mayor Brad Sweet and Fire District No. 5 issued a ban this year which reduced firework usage in the city, but legally, the ban had no teeth. State law dictates that a municipality must have an ordinance written int...
DAVENPORT – The city has spent just 43% of its budgeted expenditures through the second quarter of 2021, leaving the city in the black through two quarters this year. $3,249,078 was budgeted for spending, and just $1,403,084 has been spent. $741,299 has been spent from the current expense fund, which pays for legislative and executive positions, law enforcement, fire, animal control, planning, building, park/pool and interfund transfers. Law enforcement was the highest expenditure at $159,094 aside from “all others (including...
DAVENPORT – Ballots for the Aug. 3 primary election were mailed to Lincoln County voters July 14, and most residents should receive their ballots July 15 or 16. For many voters, the only race that will appear on the primary ballot will be to appoint either Adam Walser or a write-in candidate as county prosecuting attorney. Walser, a Republican, is running unopposed for a one-year term as the prosecuting attorney. He was appointed prosecuting attorney in January after Jeff Barkdull was elected Lincoln County Superior Court Jud...
DAVENPORT – Wheat harvest may start as early as next week in the Davenport and Reardan area, which would be seven to 10 days earlier than normal. Though this is not certain until farmers officially begin to harvest, HighLine Grain Growers manager Beau Duff and his company expect an early start to the season. “It seems like harvest is 7-10 days early,” Duff said. “But we don’t know for sure until farmers actually start to harvest.” Typically, harvest in the Davenport area starts around the end of July into the beginning o...
DAVENPORT – Grandview Ranch, a 1,125+ acre property with a northeast high-bank border overlooking the Spokane arm of Lake Roosevelt, has sold for $3.2 million to two Spokane-based brothers who reportedly wish to use the ranch as a retreat for their family and grandkids to enjoy. The ranch had been owned by three friends based in Palouse under the business name Lakeview Orchards, Inc. The three friends went to Washington State University together many years ago and have been tr...
TELFORD – Life Flight helicopters who need to land at the Telford Rest Area to transfer or pick up a patient from an ambulance no longer must land in the parking lot and clear visitors out of the way. A new helipad at the rest area that was funded through this year's legislative budget through a special provision was unveiled by the Department of Transportation-Aviation Division, Life Flight, Lincoln County Fire District No. 7 (Creston area) and 13th Legislative District R...
LINCOLN COUNTY – A trio of sudden deaths hit Lincoln County last week, with all deceased being female. A 35-year-old woman in Reardan, an 80-year-old woman in Davenport and a woman in Odessa whose age was not disclosed all died last week. 35-year-old Melissa Gable was found dead just east of Reardan at a home on South Green Street at 1:15 p.m. June 29, according to Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office records. Deputy Chad Cunningham and Reardan Police chief Andy Manke responded to the death after Gable’s uncle reported his niece...
DAVENPORT – The burn and fireworks bans instituted by fire districts across Lincoln County over the Fourth of July holiday weekend appear to have done the trick in preventing catastrophic fires, as no firework-related fires were reported or required response in the greater Davenport/Harrington/Reardan area. Fire District No. 5, which covers the Davenport area, had no fires to respond to last weekend in city limits or district wide. “My phone was quiet,” District No. 5 chief Craig Sweet said. “Compared to what it could’v...
DAVENPORT – Lincoln County representatives and members of Teamsters Local 690 continued negotiations to update the Sheriff’s Office’s contracts for commissioned and non-commissioned officers for about 90 minutes at the county commissioner’s meeting Tuesday, July 6. No final agreement was reached in the session. The two sides had used two previous meetings to discuss potential amendments to each contract. Tuesday, the sides talked about the commissioned officer contract for an hour, and non-commissioned officer contract for ha...
REARDAN – Two motions and approval from council occurred, and the town is getting a $38,850 loan from the Department of Ecology to help finance a general sewer plan at Audubon Lake and the wastewater treatment facility here. The loan has a 1.2% interest rate with a 20-year term. It has an early payoff option. The total project costs $77,700, according to council documentation. It will evaluate the current wastewater collection system at the Reardan Wastewater Treatment Facility and identify what the town needs to do to s...
REARDAN – Byrne Bennett has made it his life's mission for the last several years to immortalize the story of his uncle, Medal of Honor recipient and Reardan native Joe E. Mann. Now, that mission is one step to completion. Bennett's historical fiction book telling the story of Mann, titled "A Greater Destiny," has been published and is available for sale. Mann posthumously received the Medal of Honor, the highest recognition a military member can receive, after jumping on a g...
DAVENPORT-Sheriff Wade Magers entered a not-guilty plea on all three criminal counts he's charged with at his arraignment Wednesday, July 7. Magers is charged with obstructing a law enforcement officer, making a false or misleading statement to a public servant and rendering criminal assistance in the third degree. The charges stem from a car crash involving Sheriff Magers' son back in February and the sheriff's alleged attempts to prevent authorities from learning that his...
DAVENPORT—County citizens celebrating Independence Day should use an option other than fireworks and other burns this year, all eight Lincoln County fire districts have said this week. The record-high temperatures, dry climate and high winds have forced all fire districts in Lincoln County to enact burn bans that include fireworks through the 4th of July. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Board of Commissioners and Reardan Police Department have said they won’t enforce burn bans with criminal punishments because an ordin...
DAVENPORT — After a two-year hiatus, Pioneer Days is back on the summer events menu. This year’s installment will take place July 16-18. The annual event that occurs every year during the third weekend of July was cancelled last year due to coronavirus mandates; it’s back on this year, with some changes. The Pioneer Days Parade, which is sponsored by the Lions Club, starts at 11 a.m. July 17. Check-in runs from 8-10 a.m. that day at Strate Funeral Home, 505 19th Street. The parade route starts at the intersectino of Morga...
It’s very hot and dry. Have you noticed? As a result, fire districts and authorities in Lincoln County and throughout Eastern Washington are asking that residents refrain from lighting fireworks as part of their Independence Day celebrations this weekend. It’s not the news we wanted to hear (especially for resident pyrotechnics inclined to drop $1,000-plus on patriotic explosions), but this year, it’s the right call. Fireworks, dry climates and poor decisions don’t mix. I’ve s...
