Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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ST. JOHN – Twelve units responded Tuesday afternoon to a tractor fire that spread to the stubble and windrow straw the tractor had been baling. St. John Fire District responded with three trucks while District 11 supplied nine; three from Colfax, three from Steptoe, two from Diamond and one from Albion. The tractor and baler it was pulling were both a complete loss according to Steptoe Fire Chief Greg Hall. The fire also consumed 60 to 70 acres of stubble and straw. The s...
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...
MEDICAL LAKE – One person is in serious condition at an area hospital and two others are being questioned in connection with an early morning shooting today, Aug. 27. The shooting occurred at about 3:50 a.m., Spokane County Sheriff's Office Cpl. Mark Gregory said, noting it occurred at a home in the 800 block of North Howard Street. One man was shot; and a man and a woman were detained for questioning, he said, noting that the names have not yet been released. As of 10 a...
RITZVILLE – U.S. Bank will be temporarily closing it's Ritzville branch Friday, August 28. "The Ritzville location has operated on a limited basis since the onset of the COVID-19 public health crisis, and will temporarily close to allow staffing resources to be used in other ways to support our customers," said Vice President Evan A. Lapiska Thursday, August 27. "We will continue to serve customers through our other branches in the area, including lobby service in H...
DRYDEN – A Wenatchee farmer was killed Wednesday, Aug. 26, when his tractor was struck by a pickup truck on westbound U.S. Highway 2. According to the Washington State Patrol, Ruben Pacheco Lopez, 59, died at the scene about 1:20 p.m. near Milepost 106. Lopez was westbound on his Kabota tractor when a 2003 Dodge Dakota, driven bhy Derick S. Kuch, 32, of Leavenworth, struck him from behind, the patrol said. Kuch was not wearing a seatbelt, but was not injured, the patrol said. One of his passengers, Deepak R. Gohil, 32, of S...
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...
PORTLAND, Ore. — Officials want Washington residents to know there is still time to respond to the U.S. Census — especially residents in Eastern Washington. The count conducted every 10 years is important in that it determines congressional representation, helps with awarding billions of federal dollars to communities each year and provides information that will impact communities for years to come. The Census helps determine how many seats in the House of Representatives each state receives. It also affects funding dec...
DAVENPORT – Four properties within the City of Davenport are being fined for not keeping their weeds under control, an issue that city officials say is creating a fire hazard. At the Davenport City Council meeting on August 12, the council approved passing fines against four properties that allowed their weeds to grow “over 12 inches in height.” Property owners were notified by the city fire chief earlier in the year, but the issue was not addressed, according to the council. The property owners will be charged for the city...
The formerly shuttered livestock processing facility in Odessa has a new lease on life, with the new owners using the facility to help launch a direct-sales beef program. Miles Curtis, who ranches near Odessa, Ewan and Tokio, bought the facility this spring. The facility had formerly been operated by the non-profit group Cattle Producers of Washington. The new plant, called Limit Bid Packing, processes the beef for Curtis’ direct sales program, as well as processing animals f...
EDWALL – A fast-moving fire burned about 40 acres of wheat and sagebrush shortly before lunchtime Wednesday, Aug. 19. The fire on Waukon Road, northwest of the Tyler Road intersection was contained by 12:10 p.m., the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office reported. Fire crews from Edwall, Reardan and Sprague all responded to the blaze, as did Spokane Fire District No. 2 crews based in Cheney. Farmers, too, jumped on the fire line, using their water trucks to help contain the blaze b...
OLYMPIA — The U.S. Postal Service’s capacity to meet the increased service demand during mail-in elections this fall have been cause for concern given President Trump’s recent remarks about the lack of additional funding for the agency. Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman, the state’s chief elections officer, says despite concerns nationwide, Washington voters should rest assured that ballot delivery and return services should continue without significant delay or interruption this fall. “In our decades-long experienc...
SPRAGUE – A Sprague woman has taken a plea deal on charges she used the funds in the account of a dead woman to buy groceries and make purchases on Amazon. Shirley Dee Sauer, 57, submitted an Alford plea in Lincoln County Superior Court on Aug. 11 on a charge of first degree identity theft, theft from a vulnerable adult and second degree theft. The Alford plea allows the accused to accept the plea deal without admitting guilt, but with the recognition that a jury may determine a guilty verdict based on the evidence a...
HARRINGTON – The Harrington School district is planning to start the 2020/21 school year with half day classes for all grades on Sept. 1. Superintendent Wayne Massie said the tentative schedule will be 8:20am to noon. Students who attend school must either have their temperature taken daily at school or attend with a verification from a parent that their temperature was checked at home. According to the school’s reopening plan, students must also wear masks both at school and on the school bus. Students will be assigned to...
OLYMPIA – Due to the continuous dry, hot weather, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced today more changes in campfire restrictions and industrial fire precaution levels (IFPL) on DNR-protected lands. Beginning July 28, a statewide burn ban was enacted by Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz that remains in effect through Sept. 30. Effective Friday, August 14, 2020: • Campfires in campgrounds are not allowed in Highlands and Methow Fire Danger Rating Areas. • IFPL will increase to Level...
DAVENPORT – A marijuana grow operation that had run afoul with state and county regulators has made changes to their operation and is now in compliance, according to Lincoln County officials. Complaints from neighbors about the smells coming from the Happy Trailz marijuana farm on Sterritt Road had alerted the Lincoln County Commissioners earlier this summer that the farm was growing in excess of their state license. The grow operation had expanded well beyond their 10,000 square feet of grow space when Lincoln County o...
DAVENPORT – Two Lincoln County Commissioners are running unopposed for re-election this fall, but each seat had a curious number of “write-in” opponents in the primary election. As of the count on August. 11, the Commissioner 1 seat held by Mark Stedman had 34 write-in candidate votes, or 2.53 percent of the overall total. Stedman pulled 97 percent of the vote with 1,309 votes. The Commissioner 2 seat held by Scott Hutsell had 52 write-in candidate votes, making up for four percent of total votes cast. Hutsell received 95 pe...
A combine fire near Almira on Aug. 10 created clouds of black smoke as the equipment was fully engulfed in flames. The fire burnt 50 acres before being extinguished by area fire crews....
OLYMPIA – Aug. 11, 2020 – As summer heats up, the Washington State Parks Boating Program urges boaters and paddlers to take important steps to safely and responsibly recreate on the water, including wearing a life jacket at all times. In the last 30 days, 25 recreational boating accidents and five fatalities have occurred across the state. “We are asking all boat and paddlecraft owners and operators to help reduce fatalities and injuries on the water,” said Rob Sendak. “Boaters need to take personal responsibility for their...
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife recently announced addition harvest opportunities for white sturgeon in Lake Roosevelt upstream of the China Bend Boat Ramp. The department noted that survival of hatchery-produced juvenile sturgeon was much higher than anticipated. As a result, there is a surplus of hatchery-origin sturgeon available for harvest from Lake Roosevelt. The portion of Lake Roosevelt between China Bend and the Canadian border is managed as a spawning sanctuary for white sturgeon. Sturgeon spawning...
Creston and Lincoln fire crews, along with Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, responded to a haystack fire at 22350 Striegel Road East near Creston on Aug 7. There were no injuries but the combustion fire resulted in a total loss. According to university data, high-moisture haystacks and bales can catch on fire because they have chemical reactions that build heat. Hay insulates, so the larger the haystack, the less cooling that occurs to offset the heat. When the hay’s int...
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...
OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking nominations for candidates to serve on a new ad-hoc committee that will advise the Department in developing a non-native gamefish and fisheries policy. The Department is looking for diverse applicants who represent the broad scope of interests in gamefish management and native species conservation in Washington state. Ideal candidates will represent one or more of the following interests: • Recreational fishing • Fishing industry • Native species...
The Reardan-Edwall School District’s first day of school will be September 1 pending approval from the board. Previous plans indicated that school would start August 26, but that week is now reserved for staff in-service days (August 24-25) and waiver days (August 26-27). The district will continue to offer three learning options: onsite, remote and online....
OLYMPIA – Washington state health officials are working with local, state and federal partners to investigate a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Newport infections linked to onions sold by Thomson International Inc. A total of 640 people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Newport have been reported from 43 states. Washington is currently reporting 25 cases, including residents of King (10), Benton (1), Spokane (1), Asotin (1), Snohomish (2), Garfield (1), Kitsap (1), Lewis (1), Mason (1), San Juan (1), T...
