Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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There’s an old story about Elizabeth Willing Powel, the wife of the Philadelphia mayor, asking Benjamin Franklin, as he left the Constitutional Convention, “Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?” To which Ben Franklin supposedly answered: “A republic, if you can keep it.” This legislative session, which started on Jan. 11, will require you as a citizen to work harder than ever to keep our representative democracy…well…representative. Access to democracy is a majo...
While the coronavirus and its devastating effects on people and economies worldwide were unfortunately the top 2020 stories, the massive impact of western wildfires can’t be ignored. It was catastrophic. The National Interagency Fire Center’s western states tally shows a record 8.6 million acres were incinerated in 2020 compared with 4.6 million acres in 2019. In Washington just over 700,000 acres were burned; however, California and Oregon were not as fortunate. By com...
The Sept. 21, 2017, Davenport Times had a headline that read: “Harrington’s 2017 Honored Citizen — Scott McGowan: If you need help, this is who you call.” In this story, the Harrington Lions Club honored McGowan with the following depictions: “He typically knows the best way to fix anything; he will help out anyone. He is Harrington’s fix-it man.” Randy Behrens praised McGowan for his assistance saying, “He provided knowledge and manpower in addition to the tools and parts. Without his assistance, our golf course would no...
Finally! The last week of 2020. I’ve been looking forward to the end of this year almost from the beginning. I know it’s completely unrealistic, and probably tempting fate, but I can’t help but believe 2021 will be better. Now it is nearly here, and even though COVID-19 vaccines are being distributed and administered, it’s going to be a very long time before it will make a significant difference in the progress of the pandemic. In the meantime, the latest batch of restric...
Remember when the local newspaper was the “go-to” place for information about social gatherings, upcoming events and much, much more? When I was growing up in Bickleton, which didn’t have its own paper, there were ordinary people like you and me who ensured that both the Sunnyside Sun and the Goldendale Sentinel received information about goings-on in our tiny community. The world has changed since the middle of the last century. Many of the smaller newspapers have faded away as the Internet has grown in prominence. Now w...
It’s no secret that airlines and airplane manufacturers have been clobbered by the coronavirus pandemic. Particularly hard hit are international flights traditionally flown by jumbo jets. Borders are closed and people aren’t flying. There is a small silver-lining. Just as restaurants started take-out service to survive, airlines are filling planes with freight. U.S. airlines are reeling from the pandemic and have lost more than $20 billion combined in the last two quarters. Ev...
Protests are nothing new in Olympia. Each year, thousands of protesters converge on legislative sessions to rally for special causes, object to government activities and generally just remind lawmakers who they work for. I cannot recall a time that the Capitol Building, other legislative office buildings and the state library weren’t available for public access. Indeed, each year I wander the Capitol campus during session to personally deliver a newspaper to those who r...
Key findings include: 1. Farmers and ranchers have been negatively affected by the lockdowns, despite being deemed essential services. Median farm households in Washington lost $821 in 2019. 2. Washington farms generate $10.2 billion for our economy. 3. To earn a 20 percent profit margin, farms must earn more than $5 million annually. Only 324 farms in Washington did that in 2017. 4. When lawmakers increase taxes on farmers and ranchers, the immediate effect is a reduction in...
Now that vaccines are available, we hope our lives will return to the way they were before the coronavirus pandemic blanketed the globe. That is not likely to occur. Last March our booming economy was clobbered by COVID-19. A worldwide pandemic ensued. There was no vaccine to counter it and even though vaccines were developed at “warp speed” lots of things changed and have become imbedded in our daily lives. Futurist Bernard Marr, columnist in Forbes, believes employers qui...
Hello readers of The Times. You may know me as Drew, the scrawny, 14-year-old-looking reporter who has been covering Reardan news and education, Lincoln County preps sports and miscellaneous news and community features over the last seven or so months. You may know me from before that as sports editor and co-managing editor of Eastern Washington University’s student newspaper, The Easterner. And you may know me from before that if you are related to me. For local readers, t...
It has been 286 days since Governor Inslee first declared a statewide emergency relating to COVID-19. Since that time, the Governor has continued to extend emergency declarations and issued various economic restrictions. Despite repeated bipartisan calls for the legislature to be included in these decisions, the Governor refused to call a special legislative session in 2020. In contrast, Democratic Governors in Oregon, California, Nevada and Colorado (the members of the...
Despite the budget being balanced, billions in reserve, and projected revenue growth of 7.2%, Gov. Jay Inslee is yet again proposing an income tax on capital gains in his new budget. The Governor, however, claims that this type of tax isn’t an income tax. What does he know that the IRS and every other state across the country doesn’t? IRS: “You ask whether tax on capital gains is considered an excise tax or an income tax? It is an income tax. More specifically, capital gains...
While the coronavirus and its devastating effects on people and economies worldwide were unfortunately the top 2020 stories, the massive impact of western wildfires can’t be ignored. It was catastrophic. The National Interagency Fire Center’s western states tally shows a record 8.6 million acres were incinerated in 2020 compared with 4.6 million acres in 2019. In Washington just over 700,000 acres were burned; however, California and Oregon were not as fortunate. By com...
As we enter the 10th month of the COVID-19 crisis, I find myself looking forward to this Christmas season. Festivities and celebrations will undoubtedly look different, and some traditions and customary gatherings may not be feasible this year – but holiday spirit is just as important as ever. As it is for most Christians, Christmas time is a sacred and special time for my family because it is a time to celebrate the birth of Christ and the salvation of humanity. It is a t...
Christmas is an especially difficult time for anyone grieving for lost loved ones. Try adding a crippling killer virus into that mix. That is the tragic reality of 2020. Even though the traditional ceremonies attended by thousands went virtual this year, more than 1.7 million holiday wreaths were placed against grave markers of fallen service men and women. Normally, the fallen are remembered on Memorial Day, but thanks to a Maine family and over hundreds of thousand donors...
On Dec. 18, 1917, Congress proposed the 18th Amendment, which would later make it illegal to make, buy, sell or drink alcohol. Two years later, after ratification Jan. 16, 1919, prohibition became the law of the land. For nearly 14 years, Americans who wanted to have an adult beverage were forced underground. They danced, dined, drank and gambled in what became known as a “speakeasy.” Law enforcement and other public employees often knew about their clandestine watering hol...
On Feb. 29, 2020, Gov. Jay Inslee proclaimed a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 coronavirus. With this unknown and highly contagious virus, most folks agreed with his precautionary measures. His reasoning was to protect and not overwhelm the health care system and keep our people alive and healthy. He shut down most of our economy, allowing only "essential" businesses to operate and told everyone to stay home and protect themselves. Unfortunately, we are once again deali...
In my family, tradition is king when it comes to Christmas. Whether it's eating donuts and drinking hot chocolate (or "special" hot chocolate, when you turn 21) while decorating the tree or watching Tom Hanks play 748 roles in "The Polar Express" at 6 a.m. on Christmas Day (that tradition died when everyone became a teenager), part of the allure of the holidays is its reliable traditions. But sometimes, finding new traditions or trying new things is good practice for the holid...
Names come in all shapes and sizes. Some people are named after ancestors who came before them, a special friend, or sometimes after a random item like a tree. They can be spelled in a traditional way or have various letters added to make a unique creation that follows that person throughout their life. In all circumstances, names have history that can tell a story unique to that person, place, or thing. The communities of Lincoln County are no exception to this rule and all...
Regardless of a person's political views, we can all agree that rising cost is a major problem with our health-care system. Last year, Americans spent 18 percent of our economy, or $3.6 trillion, on health care. The ever-increasing cost curve would suggest that by the 2030s the country will spend 30 percent of our gross domestic product on medical treatments. Extensive research has been done to identify unnecessary care and wastefulness in the system. Estimates vary, but from...
“One of the biggest challenges of the 21st Century is dealing with the progress of the 20th Century – especially old computers, monitors, cellular phones and televisions. These appliances depend on hazardous materials, such as mercury, to operate. After a five-to-eight year useful life, many are tossed into dumpsters and sent to landfills where those hazardous materials can leach into the soil, streams and groundwater.” That was the opening paragraph of a column I wrote 20 yea...
It’s been 278 days since Gov. Jay Inslee first issued executive orders shutting down businesses, ending government transparency and calling some people “non-essential.” His mantra at the time, “flatten that curve” on the growing coronavirus outbreak. The governor and his hand-picked advisers told us the shutdowns were temporary, that the so-called emergency was temporary. More than six month later, temporary seems to have a different definition. Businesses are closing daily, residents across the state are protestin...
There’s no other way to say it, 2020, has been just an awful year. It is difficult to believe anything good can come from this mess but I’m really excited to see that one silver lining to our collective misery will be the opportunity for more public participation across the state during the 2021 Legislative Session. With news that lawmakers will primarily be conducting business remotely next year also comes the exciting announcement of expansive remote testimony for citizens....
Yes, Gov. Jay Inslee has issued new orders shutting down your favorite gym and movie theater, and limiting service at your favorite diner or watering hole. Yes, you’re directed to wear a mask when you go in public. And yes, there’s another run on toilet paper and paper towels (in some parts of our state). But it’s Thanksgiving. It’s time to count your blessings. You’re in America. You live in the greatest, most prosperous country the world has ever known. You have housing opportunities, electricity, running water and emplo...
It's no secret that airlines and airplane manufacturers have been clobbered by the coronavirus pandemic. Particularly hard hit are international flights traditionally flown by jumbo jets. Borders are closed and people aren't flying. There is a small silver-lining. Just as restaurants started take-out service to survive, airlines are filling planes with freight. U.S. airlines are reeling from the pandemic and have lost more than $20 billion combined in the last two quarters....
