Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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CLARK – The Keller Ferry, also known as M/V Sanpoil, re-opened Wednesday, Aug. 4 around 5 p.m. after being shut down for four days for repairs. The ferry had previously opened July 29. That lasted about two days before the ferry was shut down again Saturday, July 31 due to more mechanical issues with no timetable for re-opening. Before the July 29 short opening, the ferry was shut down for 20 days for more repairs. Drivers from Lincoln County heading north had to take a...
A combine displaying the Wazzu Cougars logo harvests the field by the Washington State University Extension on the east side of Davenport Friday, July 30. Harvest has been ongoing in the area for many farmers in Davenport and Reardan for a couple weeks. Dry and smoky conditions have led to an early harvest for a majority of local farmers this year....
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...
DAVENPORT – Negotiations between Lincoln County and Teamsters Local 690 to update the Sheriff’s Office’s contracts for commissioned and non-commissioned officers continued for about 90 minutes during the county Board of Commissioners meeting Aug. 2. No final agreement was reached, but the two sides agreed to continue discussing matters Aug. 16 and Aug. 30. The meeting was the fourth negotiation between the county and Teamsters. During previous negotiations July 6, about an hour was spent on the commissioned officer contr...
DAVENPORT – 6th Street Café and Pizza and Romriell Dentistry are temporarily closed due to COVID-19 issues amongst employees. Both closed their doors last week and will be closed through the start of next week. COVID-19 rates had plummeted in Lincoln County by the beginning of July, but the widespread Delta Variant has caused a surge in local cases. The county had seen 25 new cases in a 14-day span as of July 30 and has had nine more cases this week, creating 34 new cases in a 19-day span. The county had almost zero CO...
DAVENPORT – Lincoln County had the state’s third-lowest unemployment rate in June, according to the Employment Security Department’s Labor Market and Economic Analysis report for that month released July 20. The county’s unemployment rate was 4.3%, a full percentage point lower than the state average of 5.3%. The only counties with a lower rate were Asotin County at 3.4% and Walla Walla County at 3.9%. The highest unemployment rates in the state were found in Pacific and Grays Harbor Counties, both at 7.4%. Lincoln County...
REARDAN – Nick Landt submitted his resignation from the Reardan-Edwall School District Board of Directors after almost 12 years on the board. The remaining and present board members accepted his resignation at the board's June 28 meeting. Landt said he resigned to avoid a conflict of interest as his wife, Shannon Landt, a longtime substitute teacher in the district, looked to apply for the position being vacated by Larae Peterson. He said his proudest accomplishment he h...
Smoke affects the normally spectacular view of Lake Roosevelt into Ferry and Stevens Counties from Seven Bays. The picture was taken from the point where Fish and Wildlife Officer Curt Wood was checking a black bear trap during a ride-along Friday, July 30. Smoky skies have persisted into this week....
SEVEN BAYS – The life of a local Fish and Wildlife officer can take one from Clark to Seven Bays, or from Seven Bays to Sprague, or all the way into Spokane County by Medical Lake and Airway Heights, as The Times learned Friday, July 30 when invited on a ride-along for the day with Lincoln County Fish and Wildlife officer Curt Wood. The day started with a drive to Seven Bays via Hawk Creek Road and Miles Creston Road to inspect a bear trap that had been planted there for a...
INCIDENT LOG Editor’s note: Most items in this section reflect the starting point for response by local police and emergency agencies. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office does not release names of individuals who report possible criminal or suspicious activities to dispatchers or alleged victims for this column. July 25 Traffic stops: 5 A caller complained about people speeding on Miles-Creston Road near her house, saying the speeding cars were close to causing accidents. A collision was reported at Fort Spokane where a you...
ODESSA – A lack of communication and differing approaches among members of the Odessa Chamber of Commerce board of directors has led to an organization and a community in uproar, with Deutschesfest 2021 only two months away. A community meeting held in mid-July, according to some attendees was quite vitriolic in nature. One immediate result was that board member Jax Allen announced to her fellow board members that she was unwilling to continue as a member of the board. Another board member, Michelle Melgren, had already r...
MALSTROM AFB, Mont.– Casey Schlomer, a graduate of Odessa High School in 2016, now has tangible proof from the U.S. Air Force of her promotion to the rank of senior airman. She recently received the certificate shown above from her superiors. Casey is stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana, home of the 341st Missile Wing of the Air Force Global Strike Command, where she works in security enforcement. Casey is the daughter of Amy and Kevin Schaefer and J...
Thursday, July 29, the Summer Reading Program concluded with Kris Moritz, leader, with two assistants, Evie Mann and Erica Bailey. During their reading and learning session the children seemed intrigued by some of the creatures: blobfish, goblin shark, bird-eating tarantula, Japanese spider crab and the dugong (a cousin to the manatee). One of their crafts was making animals out of play dough, which allowed them to express their creativity. The final project had guidelines....
ODESSA – The 2021 downtown Odessa Christian Music Freedom Festival, sponsored by Rolling Thunder Pizza and benefiting the local Odessa Guitar Ministry for Kids, was held July 24 in downtown Odessa. The festival began in 2019 and has grown exponentially despite the pandemic year of 2020, which led to the event being broadcast via Facebook live and drawing a larger regional audience. By January of 2021, a full lineup of visiting bands from Idaho and Spokane and plenty of local talent was in place for this year’s event. The gues...
Summer 2021 has produced a very long string of hot, rainless days. I have said on a number of occasions, we skipped July and went straight to August in the weather department. Thankfully, most days have been blessed with cool nights. As an early riser, the cold mornings make me think comfort food, but by noon the idea of macaroni and cheese has turned into pasta salad. Tuck this recipe for Super Macaroni & Cheese away for the first true autumn day. Clarene Haynie shared this...
ODESSA – Elizabeth Hayashi, daughter of Pastor Jon and Michelle Hayashi is studying filmmaking at Vanguard University in Costa Mesa, Calif. Now home in Odessa for the summer, she calls upon a number of Odessa residents to be extras in her short film project entitled Mirrors. Acting as pew-sitters and potluck-meal attendees for the film, those participating get a glimpse of the hard work, attention to detail and the many takes and retakes involved in each film scene. Lighting and background are as important as actions and d...
Keller Ferry reopened July 29 at 11 a.m. following mechanical repairs to the Sanpoil ferry. Smoky air in the region this past weekend and into Monday ranged from “unhealthy” to nearly “hazardous” and temperatures again soared past 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Mainline water pipe installation beneath Odessa streets continues this summer as contractors work with the town and with CenturyWest Engineering of Spokane on a major infrastructure project....
Patrick W. Smith age 59, died June 5, 2021 in Phoenix Ariz. He was born May 4, 1962 in Renton, Wash. to George and Patricia Smith. Burial with full military honors at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Wash. on August 9, at 9:00 AM....
There was some good news recently coming out of a meeting concerning a 2019 law creating a state-run, long-term-care program to be funded through workers’ paychecks starting in January. In case you’re not in the loop, a payroll tax of 58 cents per $100, with no income cap, begins Jan. 1 to fund the Washington Cares Fund. Statutory employees earning $50,000 a year will pay $290 annually, those who make $100,000 will contribute $580 each year, and so on. Some workers who pay...
Response to a Trump presidency In response to “If Trump is president again, then what” (see letter to editor in July 15, 2021 issue of The Record), first of all he would make our country energy independent again by: 1. Completing the Keystone pipeline (lowering gas prices for the lower-income, hard-working American citizens). 2. Bringing the natural-gas pipeline from Alaska through Canada to millions of American citizens’ homes (cutting their utility bills and dealing with some of the concerns about “clean green energy...
ODESSA – The Board of Directors of Odessa School District #105 met in the high school library (also available via ZOOM) on Wednesday, July 28, 2021, preceded by a workshop in the district office at 5:30 p.m. to discuss staffing considerations. The meeting was publicized by posted notice and notices presented to the administration, union presidents, board members and the newspaper. Board chair Ed Deife opened the scheduled budget hearing at 6 p.m., during which school Superintendent Dan Read gave a brief overview of the 2...
Massive forest fires in the western parts of our country are not only choking us with layers of thick smoke, but are leaving behind millions of acres of scorched hillsides, ridges and valleys. Simply, there are not enough trees to absorb CO2 and prevent erosion. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, record wildfire seasons in recent years have destroyed millions of trees. Many forests have burned so severely that natural regeneration is not possible, which makes replanting...
RITZVILLE – Police are looking for assistance in finding the thieves that stole approximately 5,000 pounds of hay last week from the Wheatland Community Fairgrounds. Chief Dave McCormick said the theft occurred between 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 28, and 6 p.m. Thursday, July 29. Between 50-60 bales of second-cutting alfalfa was stolen, he said. The bales were bound with blue bailing twine; each weighed about 92 pounds. The bales were stolen from a stack near East Olive Street, b...
ODESSA – The primary election held August 3, 2021, was of limited interest to Odessa area voters. Only two items appeared on ballots received by local citizens. One was for Adam Walser, running unopposed, for the unexpired term of Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney. The position is that vacated by former prosecutor Jeff Barkdull of Davenport, when he was elected Superior Court Judge in the last general election. The other race to be decided by Odessa voters was for the Town of Odessa’s Councilman No. 4 position. Inc...
Construction efforts continue throughout the town of Odessa as contractors install water mains and then repair roadways. Here the work is being done on South Fourth Street....
