Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced grants for more than 900 agricultural producers and rural small businesses across the country to implement renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in their operations. “These investments enable farmers, ranchers and rural small business owners to develop renewable energy and make efficiency improvements that will save them thousands of dollars in energy costs each year,” Vilsack said. The grants are being provided through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), a 2...
In a letter sent Friday to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, R-CALF USA President George Chambers wrote that the drought that encompasses most of the south and much of the southwest and southeast likely will culminate into the perfect storm. “With our diminished U.S. cattle herd-size, our reduced number of cattle farms and ranches, and our ongoing inability to produce enough beef from domestic cattle to satisfy domestic demand, this widespread drought bears the potential to severely worsen our industry’s long-term cri...
As part of the administration’s efforts to support the creation and production of biobased products to help create jobs, add value to agricultural commodities and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry toured MBI International, a Michigan bio-manufacturing research facility in Lansing. “Biobased products are not only good for the environment, they’re creating jobs in Michiga...
Washington State University has been awarded a grant in the amount of $410,491 to demonstrate the effectiveness of conservation practices for mitigating air emissions from dairy operations. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the winning proposals for the 2011 Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG). Through CIG, the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is investing nearly $22.5 million in innovative conservation technologies and approaches that address a broad array of existing and emerging natural r...
The Washington Coalition for Open Government (WCOG) hosted a forum in Omak July 27 to discuss the ins and outs of policies that address state and local government transparency issues and public records requests. Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda, who served on the attorney general’s Open Government Task Force, participated as a panelist. Other panelists were Toby Nixon, former state legislator and president of WCOG; Greg Overstreet, Allied Law Group and Russell Wood, State Records manager. Roger Harnack, the Omak Chronicle’s edi...
Odessa firefighters have been busy since about mid-July, when any small spark from any source could ignite tinder-dry grass or wheat. The calls seem to come in every other day or so, pulling the volunteers from their regular jobs and sending them out to save someone’s cash crop or cattle pasture. This past spring’s frequent showers no doubt helped to produce plenty of fuel in the form of lush wheat, as well as lush growth of everything else that grows in the scablands. Sin...
Classes are so full for fall quarter 2011 that Big Bend Community College has cancelled the Sept. 7 new student registration session. "There are so few classes with openings that we need to advise remaining new students individually," said Bob Mohrbacher, vice president of instruction and student services. Students who are just now applying for admission will be alerted to the fact that they may be able to get only one class fall quarter. It might be winter quarter before they can become full-time students, Mohrbacher said....
President Obama has announced that the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Energy and Navy will invest up to $510 million during the next three years in partnership with the private sector to produce advanced drop-in aviation and marine biofuels to power military and commercial transportation. The initiative responds to a directive from President Obama issued in March as part of his Blueprint for A Secure Energy Future, the Administration’s framework for reducing dependence on foreign oil. The biofuels initiative is being steere...
The theme of this year’s bed races, to be held on Deutschesfest Thursday, is “Superheroes: past, present and future.” The entry fee is $50 per team. Any business or group that would like to enter is asked to call Leffel Otis & Warwick at 982-2922 or send an email to kscheller@leffelotiswarwick.com to request a registration form (or pick one up at the office in person). Information on approximately how many people are participating and their T-shirt sizes is needed, preferably before August 23. “It is important that the T-s...
Rural hospitals in communities across Washington state are striving to ensure that patients receive the right care at the right time. In recognition of these efforts, the Rural Healthcare Quality Network (RHQN) distributed awards in nine categories for hospitals meeting or exceeding the organization’s 2011 Quality Initiatives. The awards were presented during the network’s annual meeting in June. The complete list of the nine awarded categories, as well as a brief description of the three that Odessa Memorial Healthcare Cente...
My Sisters’ Closet, an antique and resale shop, will open for business this Saturday, August 13, in the VFW office space most recently occupied by Lyndsay’s Salon. Owner LoriLynn White has been working hard the past two weeks to prepare the space and to transfer an eclectic assortment of goods from her home to the retail space. A grand opening will be held the weekend of Deutschesfest, but White is anxious to get started on her new venture. She says that most of the items for...
Much of the Monday night town council meeting was taken up with discussion of a waiver request by Tom Schafer of Rocky Coulee Brewing Co., who is constructing a new building to be used for storage and to replace the rental tents used during special events at the brewery. Schafer submitted a letter to the council requesting that he be allowed to use the existing sewer hookup at the brewery. He stated that the building would have a bathroom plumbed in but that it would not be...
Midway Beverage of Moses Lake has been selected by Biergarten chair Ted Bruya and co-chair Justin Parr to be the distributor for supplying beer and other alcoholic beverages for this year’s Fest. Bruya and Parr solicited bids from both companies. Odom Corporation, which has been the distributor for the past several years, was the other bidder. Although Midway will be the main supplier, Bruya said, there are some products that Midway does not carry that will still be supplied by Odom, specifically Corona beer and a similar b...
Public health nurses, in cooperation with the healthcare community, continue to investigate additional cases of whooping cough (pertussis) in Grant County. Since the beginning of the outbreak in August 2010, the Grant County Health District has investigated 38 confirmed cases and nearly 500 people who have had contact with at least one of these cases. Between 2005-2009, Grant County averaged less than three cases of pertussis per year. Grant County reported cases are from Quincy, Ephrata and Moses Lake. None of the current...
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today pledged his commitment to the nation’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities that the USDA would continue to work to deliver assistance to those affected by recent extreme weather, including floods, drought, fires and tornadoes. Vilsack said that the USDA would work to offer flexibility to producers, and encouraged producers to contact their local county or state USDA Service Center or Farm Service Agency office for assistance. Vilsack also announced additional flexibility in the C...
Farmers across eastern Washington could soon be fueling the plane you’re taking on your next vacation or business trip. Through a partnership between two biofuel companies and the Farm Service Agency (FSA), camelina crops could be established on up to 11,000 acres in Washington state as part of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP). Camelina is an oilseed crop, and when processed is a drop-in replacement for jet fuels. BCAP project areas are intended to provide financial...
Larry Condon of the Barr-Tech regional waste-management facility on the eastern edge of Lincoln County gives much of the credit for the success of the startup business to the Odessa Public Development Authority (OPDA). “It was a great team effort – everybody worked together,” said Condon, referring to not only the OPDA but the Lincoln County Economic Development Council (EDC), Lincoln County in general and the communities of Sprague, Davenport, Reardan and Odessa. “Linc...
Last week Thursday night, or perhaps in the wee hours of Friday morning (night of July 28-29), thieves once again (The Record reported on an earlier break-in at Odessa Drug in March of 2008) broke into Odessa Drug, making off with all of the narcotic painkillers they could find, as well as about $200 in cash, said owner Ted Bruya. Two whole shelves inside the pharmacy were emptied. “They took everything that started with “hydro” or “oxy,” said store employee Megan Clark, “e...
The waves of grain have begun to fall to the combine-harvester’s sickle. The wheat harvest began last Monday with the first load of wheat hauled to the Ruff elevator of the Odessa Trading Co./Ritzville Warehouse. Mark Cronrath, grain manager at OTC, says the wheat coming in has been nice and dry, with tests showing a range of 10 down to 8.2 for moisture content. Dryland wheat, he said, has been running from the high 50s to the low 70s in terms of bushels to the acre. No i...
With completion of the GWMA groundwater model, identifying solutions begins with the launch of two new modeling projects to assess municipal groundwater supplies and identify sustainable wells along the east low canal. For the past two years, the Columbia Basin Ground Water Management Area (GWMA) has been developing a sophisticated computational groundwater model of the four Columbia Basin counties. This year the state appropriated $1.0 million for GWMA “to use the model to help answer critical questions about groundwater s...
A $1,000 grand prize is being offered to the last poet standing in a free contest sponsored by the Celestial Arts Society. There are 50 prizes in all totaling $5,000. Poems of 21 lines or fewer on any subject and in any style will be judged by the contest director Dr. James Cameron. “I encourage poets to send in the poem they’re most proud of” he says. “I know this contest will produce exciting discoveries!” Entries must be received by August 31, and may be submitted by mail to Free Poetry Contests, 221 N. Central Ave. #228...
IEO is back in business. That was the theme of the open house held at the plant last Thursday, July 21, with company employees serving sausages and hot dogs, potato salad and baked beans to anyone who cared to come. Joel Edmonds and Wally Kempe of the new management firm overseeing operations were both present and shared the duties of cooking and leading tours through the plant. Pearson Burke also led many of the tours, and as the employee with the longest tenure, was well...
Nick Campbell, a 2010 graduate of Odessa High School, has died in a tragic boating accident on Lake Roosevelt last Saturday, July 23. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), with help from the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, the National Park Service and the Colville Tribe, was able to recover Campbell’s body Tuesday afternoon from very deep water, said LCSO Undersheriff Kelly Watkins. Watkins was working Saturday and was on a Sheriff’s Office boat with other LCSO de...
The man suspected of kidnapping and raping a 19-year-old Moses Lake woman was captured this week Tuesday, thanks to tips from the public. On Monday, July 25, Grant County Major Crimes Detectives had asked the public for help identifying the man responsible for the kidnapping and rape of a Moses Lake woman. The 19-year-old victim, a student at Big Bend Community College, told authorities that at around 10 a.m. Monday she was walking to her car in a BBCC parking lot, when she was confronted by a man with a knife. That suspect...
Rural Odessa fire chief Roger Sebesta, Town of Odessa fire chief Don Strebeck and more than 20 other area firefighters responded to a blaze that started north of Marlin Monday and quickly spread to cover about 2,000 to 2,500 acres of mostly sagebrush-covered pasture, plus some wheat fields. One structure was also lost to the flames, a machine shed belonging to Marlin farmer Ron Lesser, along with all of the equipment stored in it. In all, 11 vehicles fought the wind-whipped...
