Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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FAIRCHILD AFB -- Lovers of fast aircraft, aerial acrobatics and aviation history will have to wait until 2022 to get their fill. In a Feb. 17 post on their Facebook page, Fairchild Air Force Base officials said that because of the continuing issues surround the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Inland Northwest Skyfest event has been postponed. Officials said the looked a number of alternatives for staging the event, but in the end couldn't find a way to do so without creating...
DAVENPORT – It’s not a complete re-opening, but it’s a start. Lincoln County joined the rest of the state in moving to Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s re-opening plan beginning Feb. 14. The phase includes the re-opening of restaurants at 25% capacity, the return of sports competitions and permission for limited indoor entertainment establishment re-openings. Restrictions limiting outdoor or open air-dining to six people per table are still in place, and alcohol service/delivery still must end at 11 p.m. Much to many Lincoln...
DAVENPORT – Below-freezing temperatures and precipitation coincided for the first time in February after a dry start to the month President's Day. 3.2 inches were reported here by the National Weather Service (though it appeared to be more) on the Feb. 15 holiday, marking the first snowfall of the month after a drier-than-usual January. A small amount of snow fell Tuesday and Wednesday, but didn't match the bluster of Washington's Birthday. A slight chance of snow was f...
DAVENPORT – It’s becoming routine at this point: The Lincoln County Health Department applies for new Moderna vaccine doses aimed at preventing COVID-19 infection. The state doesn’t provide any new doses, while mass vaccination sites, such as the Spokane Arena, receive doses in the thousands. That was the case this week for the third week in a row, health department public health administrator Ed Dzedzy informed the county commissioners at their Feb. 16 meeting. This week, however, a new wrinkle was thrown in, and it invol...
DAVENPORT – The state’s advancement to Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s re-opening plan means that restaurants complying with the governor’s mandates can finally open up indoor seating at 25% capacity. Most local restaurants are therefore now open for indoor dining with those restrictions in mind, and some have adjusted their hours as they work their way back from an 11-month on-and-off shutdown. Here are some updates on those sit-down restaurants, including a meal recommendation from a staff member at those eateries. El Ranchit...
DAVENPORT – Prior to council's action-less meeting Feb. 10, the finance committee heard the 2020 fourth quarter financial report that indicates the city is in a good spot when comparing revenues and expenses. The city received more tax revenue ($912,604) than budgeted for ($754,750), with retail sales and use tax profiting 148.5%. License/permit revenue was 211% more than budgeted for, and intergovernment fees, which included $77,850 in COVID-19 grant money, received 122.7% m...
ODESSA – Following a public uproar when Gov. Jay Inslee declared that the Puget Sound area was the first portion of the state to move to Phase 2 of his Covid-related economic re-opening plan, Inslee initially tried defending his decision but soon switched gears and declared that all of eastern Washington was moving to Phase 2. This about-face means that the much-postponed fall sports season can finally get underway at Odessa High School (see additional sports coverage, p. 8) and that many other potential events can take p...
SPOKANE – The Spokane Ag Show is ready to launch their virtual show February 23-25 via its website, agshow.org. The show is where industry professionals go to meet, learn and grow. It is one of the largest farm shows in North America and while it is virtual this year, it will continue to host industry exhibitors and conduct over 45 professional seminars relating to agribusiness from large-scale operations and small acreage farms and ranches. The show will be free to attend and along with access to exhibitors, some of the c...
OLYMPIA – As a single mother who survived on food stamps, an added $20 monthly cost for her four children’s lunch was more than Rep. Melanie Morgan, D-Tacoma, could afford at that time. Eliminating copays on her children’s lunch would have made a dramatic difference for her and her children, she said. “There was a reason I was on food stamps,” Morgan told the House of Representatives Feb. 12. “This may not seem like a lot to many people, but for me … $20 was a lot of money.” House Bill 1342, which would force schools that hav...
ODESSA – A little over one year ago, Odessa High School’s Chloe Winkler, now a junior, began coursework in computer science and programming in science teacher Jeff Wehr’s science department. Curious about the computer sciences, she showed interest in becoming a computer programmer and pursued coding-related projects. She has now learned more than five computer-science languages, including Q-Basic, R-Basic, JAVA, CSS, HTML and Python. Wehr says she is one of the top five coder...
Terrie Schmidt-Crosby | The Record Crab Creek in mid-Odessa is completely frozen over in this view looking west toward the Division Street walking bridge. Warmer temperatures are being forecast for Sunday and Monday....
UPDATE: Hours after the press conference, the Governor's Office announced that areas moving to "Phase 2" can do so Sunday, Feb. 14, to allow restaurants, bars, taverns and theaters to be open for indoor service on Valentine's Day. ODESSA — Lincoln County will move ahead to Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee's newest coronavirus reopening plan beginning Monday. In a press conference today, Thursday, Feb. 11, Gov. Jay Inslee announced that 92 percent of all residents will be in Phase 2...
DAVENPORT – Lincoln County isn’t known as a hotbed for Internet connectivity and high-speed broadbands, especially in the rural areas. Commissioner Scott Hutsell recognizes this, but also sees ways toward “the future,” which could include a more connected county…both in the towns and on the rural farmlands and ranches. The way to do that, however, is still rather unknown. Many possibilities exist, but there are seemingly endless factors in place and questions to be answered. How does the county ensure a fiber connectio...
SPRAGUE – A female who became separated from her party while fishing at Fourth of July Lake Jan. 31 was later located at a house near Sprague lake amidst a search that involved the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, helicopter searches from Spokane County and the Sprague Fire Department. Three individuals went fishing at Fourth of July Lake located south of Sprague Jan. 31. As evening approached they left the lake to return to the parking lot. A female in the group became separated from the other individuals and did not ret...
REARDAN – House Bill 1356, first read Jan. 25 and moved to a public hearing Feb. 5, would ban Washington public schools from using any Native American names, symbols or images as mascots, logos or team names. If passed, the Reardan Indians moniker would have to change by the end of this year. Reardan is one of seven high schools in the state with the “Indians” nickname. Nearby Colville and North Central high schools are also nicknamed the “Indians.” Superintendent Eric Sobotta testified against the bill at the public he...
DAVENPORT – The board of directors for the Lincoln County Economic Development Council (EDC) recently met to discuss 2021 and the challenges it presents to local business and industry. Doug Tweedy, regional economist for the Employment Security Department, joined the meeting to provide 2020 workforce data that could inform their discussion. The board learned that after an exceptionally difficult year for local businesses, the road forward looks surprisingly positive. Not all the news was good, of course. Lincoln County’s une...
REARDAN – Due to the lack of action items and, as councilmember Clay Soliday noted, the concurrent Gonzaga men’s basketball game, council’s Feb. 4 meeting was adjourned after less than 20 minutes after reports from public works, police and the mayor. Public works report Public works director Bob Winn noted the many roads that have been tormented with potholes in town due to springtime weather. He said his department couldn’t do much at this time, because, “if I start grating, it’s going to make a bigger mess.” “We’re going...
OLYMPIA – A defiant Gov. Jay Inslee defended his phased plan to open businesses by so-called "regions" during a press conference last week. "Everybody can have a rational argument against what we're doing, but you can't argue with the results, which is that we are ahead of 45 other states," he said. According to Inslee, that translates to an extra 8,000 saved lives in the state with more than 700,000 individuals already vaccinated. Inslee's comments come as he finds himself u...
DAVENPORT – 5th Congressional District Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers is calling on Gov. Jay Inslee to boost vaccine distribution in largely abandoned rural counties. She wrote the governor a letter dated Feb. 5 urging improved dosage divvying in counties like Lincoln. “Rural areas are at a disadvantage when it comes to health care access and infrastructure. We have a shared commitment of working to help set these communities up for success,” McMorris Rodgers wrote in the letter. “I urge your administration to avoid a...
ODESSA – According to Wikipedia, “Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a minor Western Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, through later folk traditions, has become a significant cultural, religious and commercial celebration of romance and love in many regions of the world… Saint Valentine's Day is not a public holid...
DAVENPORT--A wind chill advisory was issued by the National Weather Service for much of the Spokane area and Northeast mountains, including the area from here to Airway Heights. The advisory is in place from 1 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday due to expected "very low" wind chills, which could drop as low as -10 to -15 degrees Fahrenheit. Thursday was expected to be the coldest day of the year so far. Davenport temperatures currently read at 16 degrees, with wind blowing north 5 miles per hour. The NWS advises using caution when...
RITZVILLE - The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for Adams, Grant, Whitman and southern Lincoln counties. Hazardous winter weather will begin today with sustained winds of 20-24 mph and wind gusts up to 39 mph possible across the region. "Very cold wind chills are expected to accompany the winds," the outlook said, noting tonight's low will be about 9 degrees, with wind chills dipping to -8 degrees. Frigid temperatures are expected to continue...
ODESSA – The Feb. 9, 2021 special election results for Lincoln County show Odessa’s two school levies and one hospital levy easily passing by margins of over 70 percent in favor to 30 percent or less opposed. Voter turnout stood at 46.47 percent, with 1,284 votes counted thus far out of the 2,763 registered voters in the county. The Sprague and Readan-Edwall School Districts also had levies passing by approximately the same amounts as the Odessa School District. The election results are scheduled to be certified on Feb. 19....
ODESSA – A full complement of council members met Monday night either via Zoom or in the clerk’s office. Several members of the newly formed Metropolitan Park District board also attended via Zoom to discuss funding and various legal matters regarding the Odessa pool. One of the main issues of concern to the board was funding for 2021, since the taxes due the district will not be collected until 2022. Council members reassured the board that they were well aware of that fact and had already included pool maintenance and ope...
ODESSA – The Odessa Chamber of Commerce via Zoom met Feb. 9 to elect officers for the year and handle other relevant matters. Nominations were opened for all positions, although none were forthcoming. The slate of nominees from the prior Chamber meeting was then approved via a vote of acclimation by the participating members. The new officers are: President Jeff Huiras, Vice President Norm Ott, Secretary Terrie Schmidt-Crosby, Treasurer Larissa Zeiler, at-large board member Michelle Melgren, at-large board member Matt R...
