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Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Sorted by date Results 1033 - 1057 of 1311
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 – 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...
DAVENPORT--There's a good chance the high-temperature record held since 1928 will be broken on three consecutive days here this week. The National Weather Service is forecasting high temperatures of 107 degrees Fahrenheit here today (June 28), which would break the recorded high mark of 105 degrees set on July 26, 1928. If that record still holds today, it likely won't tomorrow, when temperatures are expected to reach an astounding 111 degrees. Wednesday isn't expected to be much cooler, with the high forecast reading 109...
DAVENPORT--The city has banned fireworks for Independence Day weekend as heat records here begin to fall, conditions remain dry and fire danger remains high. "After much discussion and speaking with all stakeholders, The city of Davenport has decided to not allow fireworks in city limits this year due to the extreme heat and dry conditions," mayor Brad Sweet wrote on Facebook. "We want everyone to be safe this season and have a Happy 4th." A burn ban has been implemented in Fire Districts 3-9. All bans include fireworks, with...
DAVENPORT-Three teachers with the district here celebrated their retirements at the conclusion of the 2020-21 school year after a combined 102 years here with the district. Jean Parsons, Karen Brewster and Rawleigh Fisk will head out of their educational careers, with most having plans to remain in the area in their post-career lives. Parsons was Spanish teacher Jean Parsons was employed by the district full-time in 1984, but was a substitute teacher for seven years prior,...
DAVENPORT-On the weekends, locals here may notice a new snow cone stand next to Hardy Hardware at the corner of Eighth and Morgan Streets. That stand is called Davenport Shaved Ice, and it is run by James Nealey and his 14-year-old stepson, Jaydon Otero. Nealey's family moved here from Spokane Valley in 2019. He went to College of Western of Idaho and graduated with an associate's business degree in 2016. He went to school after serving in the Army from 2006-10 before he...
DAVENPORT-Yes, this time the grand opening news is real. 6th Street Café and Pizza, a new restaurant aptly located on 6th Street between Morgan and Park Streets, is hosting its grand opening Friday, June 25 at 6:30 a.m. Owned by a local husband and wife, Ian Riley and Jessica Friedland, the restaurant will feature artisan pizza, gourmet coffee, gourmet ice cream, pastries and beer and wine on tap. "We think there's very good demand for something good and fresh," Riley said. Ri...
DAVENPORT – Libby Swiger and Payton Nachtigal are headed to nationals after top-four finishes in the Washington State High School Rodeo Association Light Rifle competition. The two local high schoolers will head to Lincoln, Nebraska for the national competition July 20. The top four finishers in the state event, which also include Mackinsey Dale and Jase Bustad, qualified for nationals. Finishers were determined by cumulative points between three regular season c...
DAVENPORT—Lincoln County Sheriff Wade Magers is scheduled for an arraignment in Lincoln County District Court Wednesday, July 7 after the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney charged Magers with obstructing a law enforcement officer, making false or misleading statements to a public servant and rendering criminal assistance in the third degree, according to District Court records obtained by The Times. Sheriff Magers is accused of committing the charges between Feb. 11-12 to prevent DUI charges being leveled against his son,...
