Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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CHENEY — Gov. Jay Inslee “strongly recommends” public and private students in 34 of the state’s 39 counties stay home this fall. His recommendation came during a press conference this afternoon, Aug. 5, in which he was joined by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal and state Health Officer Dr. Kathy Lofy. The governor said he was not issuing legally binding orders, but would expect school districts to heed his advice and that of state health offices as it relates to returning to campus while the Wuhan coro...
SPOKANE — Eastern Washington's incumbent Republicans are dominating initial returns in the Aug. 4 primary election. As of the end of counting Tuesday night, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Spokane, and Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, were sweeping away challengers. In the 5th Congressional District, McMorris Rodgers had 50.22% of the vote. Her nearest challenger was Democrat Dave Wilson with 24.415. Others in the race include Democrat Chris Armitage, 14.115, Republican S...
DAVENPORT – In the wake of the coronavirus and new state requirements to begin teaching “inclusive” sex ed to students as early as kindergarten, it’s shaping up to be a banner year for homeschooling. Last week, the Washington Homeschool Organization reported new parental interest in personally managing their children’s education had quadrupled. The reasons are varied, according to Director Jen Garrison Stuber. “Traditionally, homeschool families opt out of public education due to religious concerns and a desire to focus on...
Gov. Jay Inslee may order quarantines and business shutdowns, but he cannot enforce them. In agreeing with that argument – presented by attorneys for the governor – U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle ruled last Friday that Gov. Inslee cannot be sued for the “unconstitutional” quarantine of healthy residents, shutdown of otherwise viable businesses or mask mandates. According to the judge, state officials can only be sued if they are connected to enforcement of an alle...
OLYMPIA — The governor today followed Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s lead today, July 23, in cracking down on restaurants, bars and gyms, as well as expanding mask-wearing requirements. During a press conference, Gov. Jay Inslee announced a shutdown of indoor service at bars effective July 30. He also said bar and restaurant alcohol sales will not be allowed after 10 p.m., and ordered arcade, gaming and cardroom areas shuttered. State Secretary of Health John Weisman added an expanded mask order, requiring face coverings to be wor...
Welcome to the segregated public schools of Washington state. According to the “Reopening Washington Schools 2020 District Planning Guide,” some public school students are more equal than others when it comes to returning to the classroom in the fall. The previously released guide from the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction has come under fire on social media for its discriminatory approach to restarting schools this fall in the wake of the coronavirus sca...
BASIN CITY - What do you call it when more than 3,000 rural residents get together for the Fourth of July to rodeo, parade, dance and shoot off fireworks? Well, rodeo clown turned Freedom Rodeo announcer J.J. Harrison calls it a "cowboy protest," a protest in which ruralites build up America instead of tearing it down. Harrison, of Walla Walla, emceed the inaugural Freedom Rodeo on July 3 and 4 in this city of 1,100 people in Franklin County. The mask-optional "protest" rodeo...
OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee announced today that residents statewide will be required to wear a face mask effective Friday. “This is something we can get use to,” Inslee said, noting that a willful decision not to wear a face mask is “tantamount to a misdemeanor.” The governor balked, however, when questioned on how the state would enforce the requirement. “We just think people will respond,” he said. Inslee said the requirement stems from an order by the non-elected state Secretary of Health John Weisman. “COVID-19 sti...
BASIN CITY -- Local cowboys are buckin' the state's rejection of reopening Franklin County as the Fourth of July approaches. Despite the state's rejection of Phase 2 reopening in the wake of the coronavirus, residents are planning to kick up their heels for Independence Day. Two rodeo performances, a street dance, parade and fireworks are on tap as part of the Basin City Fourth of July Parade and Freedom Rodeo. The fun gets underway at 8 a.m. Friday, July 3, with rodeo slack. The first of two rodeo performances is set for 6 p...
Are government agencies and big tech tracking your every move via your smartphone? The answer is maybe. Gov. Jay Inslee has repeatedly said the state is using smartphone data to track interactions and travel as they may relate to coronavirus exposure and spread. That data may include time, date, location and even a “marker” for each mobile device. Indeed, anytime your cellphone is turned on, it connects to towers for telephone calls or texting. Using three tower connections, i...
WENATCHEE — Supporters and opponents of Gov. Jay Inslee’s quarantine measures will have to wait a little longer to see if the shutdowns will remain intact. Of the at least seven lawsuits seeking to end Inslee’s orders, two could have preliminary decisions coming in the next few days. On Thursday morning, Chelan County Superior Court Judge Kristin Ferrera ended a hearing by saying she’ll take hours of arguments under consideration before determining the fate of the case, filed by multiple plaintiffs, including former state R...
DAVENPORT — The state Department of Fish and Wildlife will allow fishermen to catch white sturgeon in Lake Roosevelt beginning Jun 15. The opening remains in effect from Grand Coulee Dam in Grand Coulee upriver to the China Bend boat ramp on Northport Flat Creek Road east of Barstow. The fishery includes the Spokane River from the state Highway 25 bridge upstream to 400 feet below Little Falls Dam, and the Colville River from the mouth to Meyers Falls Dam. The Kettle river is also open upstream to the Barstow Bridge. F...
OLYMPIA — The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is asking the public to submit written comment on a proposed target shooting rule update by June 10. The proposed rule update defines recreational target shooting, identifies when and where target shooting is allowed or prohibited, and describes allowable and prohibited targets for use on public lands managed by the agency. The proposed rule also defines a required backstop as an unobstructed earthen mound or bank at least 8 feet in height, which must stop the progress of a...
ODESSA - Eastern Washington residents are wearing medical masks these days due to the coronavirus pandemic. But longtime resi- dents recall that this isn't the first time they've seen masks covering faces. Some say they can recall the day the morn- ing that daylight turned to night – May 18, 1980. That was the day Mount St. Helens erupted. "It was pitch black," resident Mike Cronrath recalled. "If you put your hand in front of your face, you wouldn't have been able to see i...
Voluntary must have a different meaning inside state government offices. On Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee and other partici- pants in his coronavirus press conference said par- ticipation in a statewide contact tracing program would be voluntary. Under the program, anyone who tests positive for coronavirus would be contacted by the Washington National Guard, state Department of Licensing employees or other so-called “health professionals” to determine an infected person’s whereabou...
OLYMPIA — If you test positive for conoravirus, be prepared to be quarantined at home. That’s the message Gov. Jay Inslee shared during a Tuesday afternoon press conference on his plan for “contact tracing” of the virus. Under his plan, anyone who tests positive will be quarantined at home. Moreover, anyone in their immediate family and anyone with whom they’ve had contact, will also be quarantined in their homes. While the governor called the plan “voluntary,” he also acknowledged that the state will be keeping tabs...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS — The owners of a local tavern plan to be open from 2 p.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday despite the coronavirus quarantine. Village Tavern co-owner Jean Moore hopes other bars and restaurants will join her in opening in defiance of Gov. Jay Inslee's order shutting so-called "non-essential" businesses. The seating is spaced out, she said, noting she's planning to open those same 12 hours daily. The tavern is at 13119 W. Sunset Highway. Gov. Inslee's staff has not approved of any in-restaurant dining in the city or surrou...
Palouse Falls State Park has reopened for day-use activities. Location just south of Washtucna of state Highway 261, the park features two waterfalls, one is the 20-foot upper falls, the other is the 198-foot main falls....
OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee is now facing four lawsuits over his “unconstitutional” overreach in using the coronavirus pandemic as a reason to quarantine healthy Washingtonians. Two new lawsuits were filed Tuesday with attorneys Joel B. Ard and David K. DeWolf representing the plaintiffs in both suits. One of the new lawsuits was filed by Republican lawmakers Reps. Andrew Barkis of Olympia, Chris Corry of Yakima, Drew McEwen of Union and Brandon Vick of Clark County, among others. The lawsuit alleges that Gov. Inslee violated t...
SPOKANE — Several Lincoln County students have made the winter quarter honor roll for area community colleges based on their fall quarter grades. To make the list for the quarter, which ended in March, students had to maintain a grade-point average of 3.0 or higher. Lincoln County students making the grade include: Spokane Community College Davenport — Avalon Diviney, Jon Knittel and Daniel Moldrem. Edwall — Lillian Nielsen. Harrington — Christopher Wyatt. Reardan — Riley Blauert, Realm Pope, Logan Rosenlund, James Barris, D...
ODESSA - Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday gave a thumbs up to resuming outdoor recreation close to home, as long as participants keep their distance. During his press conference, he said residents could resume golfing, fishing, hunting and hiking and other outdoor recreation May 5. That's good news to small recreation venues in Eastern Washington that never fully shutdown under his quarantine orders due to the coronavirus quarantine. The governor declared a statewide emergency on...
RITZVILLE - Eastern Washington potato growers donated 20 tons of spuds to area residents Wednesday rather than throw them away. The potatos were grown primarily for restaurants. But with Gov. Jay Inslee shutting down dine-in eateries statewide, the demand for potatos has dwindled, leaving farmers with tons of spuds to give away or throw away. The quarantine orders have essentially shut down the economic engine of local potato farmers. On Monday, the first of several potato...
If you haven’t thanked a potato farmer today, you should. While the governor may consider farmers essential, his quarantine has destroyed the supply line to move farm products to consumers. The shutdown order that closed restaurants also took with it processing plants, the distribution chain and all the hard work Eastern Washington potato farmers had previously put into the ground. The result was on eye-sprouting display yesterday in Ritzville and this morning in Moses L...
DUSTY — A duststorm caused near-zero visibility and led to at least three crashes in the area Monday, April 27. According to the Washington State Patrol, three people were cited in a four-vehicle crash for allegedly driving too fast for conditions on state Highway 25 three miles west of town. The crash occurred when one driver slowed due to thick dust blowing off adjacent farm fields, the patrol reported. That vehicle was struck by another motorists, who was then struck by a...
Jeff Schibel of Odessa volunteers Wednesday at the potato giveaway in Ritzville. The spuds were grown by Eastern Washington farmers for restaurants. Under the coronavirus quarantine, farmers had a choice - give them away or throw them away. So, they gave them away. Another potato giveway was planned for this morning in Moses Lake....
