Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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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...
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...
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...
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...
ALMIRA - An Aug. 10 wheat fire burned 50 acres near the intersection of Williams and Old Coulee roads, resulting in the total loss of a combine. Three fire districts - Lincoln County No. 8 from Almira, Lincoln County No. 7 from Wilbur and Grant County No. 6 from Hartline, as well as a plane from Greg's Crop Care, responded to the incident. Almira Fire Chief Dennis Pilar said actions taken by the farmer helped get the fire quickly under control. "There was a concern that the...
EDWALL – The Christian Heritage School in Edwall is planning to begin the 2020-21 school year, with in-person classes that include students wearing masks and 6 foot social distancing between desks. The private school will start seventh-12th grade students Aug. 31 with the first- through sixth-grade students starting Sept. 3. The school schedule is from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Kindergarten is Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The school that participates in the Mountain Christian sports league will not be o...
CHENEY – Eastern Washington University’s Board of Trustee’s approved a memorandum of understanding with the United Faculty of Eastern (UFE) that would stave off declaration of a severe financial crisis. All of the trustee’s voted for the memorandum with the exception of Trustee Uriel Iniguez, who voted no. The agreement includes financial concessions from the union, including a one-year, 6-percent reduction in salary, a tenure buyout and relinquishment plan and a voluntary retirement and separation incentive. The university a...
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...
DAVENPORT – Students attending the Davenport School District later this month will have a “phased start” that breaks the school day into two parts. Some students will attend during a morning session of 8:00am to 10:30 and others will attend in the afternoon from 12:15 to 2:45pm. Students will be taught in groups of 10 with one adult and groups will not commingle. The split schedule will be for Monday to Thursday with Fridays being a distance learning day. Mandatory Coronavirus precautions mean students must wear masks and s...
Beginning on August 1, the Davenport Clinic will no longer be offering same-day office visits on Saturdays. The hospital district cited low utilization and challenges staffing the shortened Saturday clinic hours as reasons for the closure. Same-day appointments continue to be available to patients Monday through Friday. “We started the Saturday clinics many years ago to help aid patients who found themselves ill over the weekend, but not feeling they were sick enough to need the emergency room,” said Jennifer Larmer, Chief Cl...
LINCOLN COUNTY – Lincoln County has paid nearly $5,000 in Covid leave pay during the month of July for employees that either had the COVID-19 illness or took time off to care for relatives affected by the virus. According to the Lincoln County Auditor’s office, $763 was paid out to one employee who had Covid and $4,201 to three employees who either had to care for a relative with Covid or had to take time off for childcare related to Covid closures. The Covid leave is separate from an employee’s earned sick leave and is no...
Summer fisheries are in full swing throughout the state of Washington this month, providing some of the year’s best fishing opportunities in lakes and streams, along the coast, and on the Columbia River. Some hunters will take to the field for black bear in the first big-game hunt of the season, while others will scout deer and elk hunting areas in preparation for fall seasons. Popular outdoor opportunities in August include: • Puget Sound crab: Seasons are ongoing, or starting in August in a variety of marine areas. • Colum...
Last week Lincoln County Sheriff's Office Deputies Luke Mallon and Michael Tinsley responded to the Lincoln boat launch for a reported boat/vehicle fire. The boat caught fire when the owners were trying to get the boat running and had the cover off the motor, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. The boat was on the trailer hooked to the owner's pickup in the parking lot. The motor backfired and the boat became engulfed in flames on the trailer, which was still...
OLYMPIA – Communities wanting to conserve forestlands now have a state grant program to help, the Recreation and Conservation Office announced. Beginning September 1, communities can apply for grants of up to $3 million in the newly created Community Forests Program. The grants must be used to buy at least five acres of forestland and the land must be maintained as forestland forever. The land must be actively managed to include timber harvest and other income generating activities. Grants also may be used to restore the l...
DAVENPORT – Construction of the new Davenport healthcare clinic is continuing to make progress this summer after being stalled briefly in March due to Covid. Construction re-started in April and is “coming along nicely”, according to Lincoln Hospital Chief Executive Officer Tyson Lacy. “The building is coming along nicely and is tracking for an on-time completion,” said Lacy. “We should be moved into the new clinic by summer of 2021.” The new clinic will be attached to the hos...
OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking comments on proposed alternatives for 2021-23 hunting seasons and has scheduled several meetings in August and September to discuss proposals with the public. The hunting season proposals will be posted Monday, Aug. 17, on the department’s website for the public to provide comments. The department will accept public comments through Tuesday, Sept. 15. This year, the fish and wildlife department has scheduled a series of virtual public meetings by topic to...
OLYMPIA - After counting of almost 500,000 late-arriving ballots, Republican candidates have cut into incumbent Gov. Jay Inslee's lead in the Aug. 4 primarily. As of 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, Loren Culp had reached 17.17% of the statewide vote, up about a half-a-point since the initial tally. Gov. Inslee had slipped about the same amount, down to 50.82%. Despite the slip in percentage, Gov. Inslee will still walk away from the primary with a commanding win. As of Thursday,...
