Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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REARDAN — Assuming that the majority of students in a district that extends for miles through lonely wheat fields all have reliable access to the Internet may be short-sighted, even in today’s age of instant accessibility. That’s why the Reardan school district is giving its staff a simple guideline: Don’t assume your students will have reliable Internet on days of remote learning. “(We tell staff), ‘don’t be giving them learning assignments that require the Internet on remote days,’” superintendent Eric Sobotta said. “Until...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS—The two families that lost homes in the Bartholomew and Christensen fires Aug. 27 and Sept. 7, respectively will soon be getting some assistance from the community. Wolffy’s Burgers is hosting a spaghetti feed Saturday, Sept. 19, with 100% of proceeds benefitting those fire victims. “When the fires hit here in town … we had thrown around the idea of doing something for the community,” owner Jessica Davis said. “We ran with the idea and put it into play.” Orig...
By DREW LAWSON The Times REARDAN—The town of Reardan is continuing to negotiate with Lincoln County regarding the amount of town should pay for jail services in its contract renewal with the county. Reardan Police Chief Andy Manke told the Reardan Town Council he is planning to make an offer he hopes the county will accept. At a Sept. 3 town council meeting, Manke said he plans to offer the county a resolution similar to the system in South Cle Elum, a town of comparable size to Reardan, that contracts with Kittitas County f...
DAVENPORT -- Gun owners anticipating the fall hunting season or hoping to get in some target practice are having more difficulty than normal buying ammo. According to national media reported in early August, gun sales in 2020 had already surpassed sales in 2019, but the available ammo stock wasn’t keeping pace. Area firearms dealers say there are several possible reasons for an ammo shortage. Mainly, the COVID-19 fallout caused a spike in gun sales, with ammo production struggling to keep up. “COVID is getting everybody wor...
By DREW LAWSON Staff Reporter DEEP CREEK--A Level 2 Evacuation notice given by Fire District No. 10 remained in place for residents between Deep Creek and Brooks Rd due to a 75-acre vegetation fire in the area west of Airway Heights and Fairchild Air Force Base as of Tuesday morning (Sept. 8). Crews responded to the fire off South Christensen Road at 2:17 p.m. Monday afternoon. The fire momentarily jumped Highway 2, causing a momentary highway closure westbound beginning at...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS—Smoke filled the West Plains skies and city residents stood by awaiting potential evacuation recommendations due to a 260-acre fire burning grass and timber northeast of Northern Quest Casino on Monday. Crews responded to a vegetation fire off North Old Trail Road at 4:31 p.m. Monday and remained on scene into Tuesday. As of press time, one outbuilding had burned, according to Guy Gifford of the Department of Natural Resources. The fire had been controlled, b...
FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE – On Aug. 31, 1956, the KC-135 stratotanker took its first flight off base. Over 60 years later, the refueling tanker continues to be the model used by the base for refueling missions and deployments. The base celebrated the “birthday” of the KC-135’s first Fairchild flight Monday. That KC-135 flight occurred two years after the Air Force purchased the first 29 of an eventual 732 plane fleet. The prototype was the Dash 80, designed in 1954 at the beg...
REARDAN – A historical marker is being erected to honor a Reardan man who gave his life for others during WWII. The event to honor Joe Mann is set for Sept. 18 at 2pm at the Mann family ranch on Tramm Road. Joe Mann lived in Reardan scaling church steeples and overcoming broken collar bones in football games because he didn’t want to sub out before graduating from the high school in 1941. He died making the ultimate sacrifice in World War II, jumping on a grenade at age 22 to protect his companions from a German attack in...
REARDAN – A basketball coach for the Reardan School District will not be returning in the coming year, following an investigation that he made inappropriate race-based comments to a student. Coach Damon Dewey was investigated by the school district after a player’s parents made a complaint about Dewey on Feb. 15. In response, athletic director Eric Nikkola conducted an investigation that found Dewey “more likely than not” violated the civil rights of a mixed-race player on the girl’s basketball team. The player’s name was no...
Mask-wearing students are greeted as they descend off the bus for the first day of school at Reardan Elementary. School staff members estimate around 95 students were present for the first day at the middle/high school and 140 students were present at the elementary school. Both of those totals represent roughly 50% of a “normal” attendance count....
REARDAN – A proposed increase to the cost of jail services that the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office provides to the Town of Reardan has some officials frustrated, arguing the city can’t afford the increase. Police chief Andy Manke shared with town council at their Aug. 20 meeting that the county didn’t seem to be willing to budge on a $63 per day cost to the town for inmates arrested by the police department and housed in the Lincoln County jail. The town has been charged a maximum of $200 per inmate at $100 per day, but not...
REARDAN – World War II Medal of Honor and Reardan native Joe Mann is considered a national hero in Netherlands, a war hero in the United States and has a hospital named after him in Spokane. Now the Mann Ranch just north of Reardan is being recognized as a historical marker. The historical marker was campaigned for by the Jonas Babcock chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution and the Mann family. Mann, private first class, posthumously received the Medal of Honor in 1...
MEDICAL LAKE - Authorities responded to a fire burning grass, brush and light timber north of state Highway 902, east of Bartholomew Road, at 12:32 p.m. today. The 100-plus-acre fire is burning northeast of the city and on Fairchild Air Force Base. Several homes and other buildings on the northeast side of the fire and off Bartholomew Road are threatened, but none are believed to have burned, a state Department of Natural Resources spokesman said. Level 3 evacuation notices...
LINCOLN COUNTY – Dogs and cats and goats, oh my. The Lincoln County WA Lost and Found Pet Network has garnered reports of all kinds of pets missing or wandering the county in its six years of existence, and the nonprofit aims to reunite those animals with their owners. The volunteer-run Pet Network was founded in 2014 by Jana Johansson. Board president Gina Habbestad and board member Barbara Grant run a Facebook page to network about lost and found animals, often posting p...
LINCOLN COUNTY – The Department of the Interior (DOI) has responded to a letter written by Lincoln County Commissioner Rob Coffman concerning public access to Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. Coffman’s original letter, dated June 15, implored the National Park Service to further open public access to Lake Roosevelt to aide economic recovery for the area. Camping has remained limited at Lake Roosevelt through the summer, as reported in the July 23 issue of The Times. The DOI’s response letter, dated July 20 and signe...
REARDAN – Lincoln County is a safe place to live, according to local officials, and the Town of Reardan is an example of the county’s low crime rates. “The crime that we deal with 99% of the time is criminal traffic,” Police Chief Andy Manke said. “The number one offense is driving with a suspended license.” Manke added that the corridor Reardan is located in funnels a lot of these cases through town from people coming from Spokane, Ford, Springdale, Davenport and other areas in Lincoln and Stevens counties. “They all come th...
REARDAN – Dispatch contract between the police department and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department has been an ongoing topic of discussion in town, and it was among the main topics of consideration at the Aug 6 town council meeting. The jail expenditure portion of the contract has been its only topic of debate, as previously reported in the July 23 issue of The Times. Police chief Andy Manke informed council that the police department recently received a $611 bill for a DUI...
MEDICAL LAKE — Local students will be starting the school year mostly online learning model, School District Superintendent Tim Ames announced today, Aug. 7. The decision followed state and regional health recommendations for “high-risk” counties where more than 75 new coronavirus cases have been reported in a 14-day period. “Our school board and administrative team have the obligation to follow the strong recommendations from the health experts,” Ames said in a video posted to the district’s website. “Though it is not the...
OGDEN, Utah — A conference football season in which Big Sky powers Montana, Montana State and Weber State were slated to visit Eastern Washington University's newly-turfed Roos Field will have to wait until 2021. Big Sky athletic directors moved an eight-game conference schedule to next spring, according to a release from EWU athletics. The Big Sky President's Council then approved the decision this morning, Aug. 7. Nonconference games are still "under review," per the release...
REARDAN – The school district held a town hall July 30 to discuss the three options they will offer for students in the 2020-21 school year…assuming state health guidelines don’t get in the way. Families will choose between in-person, online and remote models. The in-person model will be four days a week, with Fridays designated for remote learning. This model is subject to change as health rules shift, and superintendent Eric Sobotta said the Friday remote learning day is a way to “practice” remote learning in case rest...
LINCOLN COUNTY – The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the economy statewide, but Lincoln County hasn’t been hit as hard as most other counties. The Employment Security Department (ESD)’s monthly report shows that Lincoln County’s unemployment rate decreased from 9.9 percent in May to 6.7 percent in June. Unemployment went down statewide in the same time span, from 15.1 percent to 9.7 percent. The recorded total of those unemployed in Lincoln County was 293 in June, a decrease from 447 in May. The only counties with a...
REARDAN – The Inland NW Rail Museum re-opened June 12 when Lincoln County entered Phase 3 of the state re-opening plan, and its volunteer-only staff is ready to welcome tourists and train lovers alike. Face coverings and physical distancing are required for visitors of the museum, which hasn’t been an issue thus far, according to museum head volunteer Dale Swant. “We’ve only had one person who wouldn’t wear a mask,” Swant said. Located just west of downtown Reardan rig...
RENTON—It may sound weird to say, but “Friday Night Lights” won’t be taking place until March this year. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) announced a new, tentative schedule which includes four sports seasons for the 2020-21 season due to Corona virus restrictions. The four seasons are classified numerically: Season 1, 2, 3 and 4. Most notably, football, volleyball and girls soccer were all moved to Season 3, which begins at the end of winter....
REARDAN — Police Chief Andy Manke was expecting to enjoy the local firework show on July 4. Instead, he ended up making a felony arrest that got him recognition from the Secret Service. Manke observed Stephen A. Dalin, 34, driving a white 1995 Geo Metro eastbound with expired license plates, according to the arrest report. “The back window was broken out,” Manke said. “A $3,000 mountain bike in the hatchback that just looked out of place, and the tabs were expired in March....
REARDAN – Under a proposed contract change, the Town of Reardan may end up paying substantially higher jail fees to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, a cost that Reardan Police Chief Andy Manke said isn’t feasible for the town of 623. While the town has its own police force, it contracts with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office for jail and dispatch services. The contract between the town and the county is currently under negotiation and set to renew in January. Under t...
