Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Sorted by date Results 928 - 952 of 1893
How do spiders make silk? Also, sometimes spiders hang down from the ceiling, when they climb back up, where does the silk go? –Johnny, 8, Pullman, WA. Dear Johnny, Spiders can do some amazing things with their sticky, stretchy and super-strong silk. We cats are pretty curious about these little silk-spinning machines, too. Besides chasing spiders around, I’ve watched them use silk to build webs, catch bugs, and protect their young spiderlings. Some spiders will even eat their own web. Imagine if you could build your own hou...
Public safety is one of the core needs and single most important services that county government is obligated to deliver. When citizens dial 9-1-1, they have an expectation that a sheriff’s deputy is coming to their reported emergency and is coming now. It is my experience that most tax-paying citizens seldom use the services of their local public safety officers, but when they do, it’s for an immediate need. As your sheriff, I am reaching out to you with what I hope is an...
Why do leaves change color? –Lucy, 5, Seattle, WA. Dear Lucy, Ever since I was a kitten, I’ve loved picking up big maple leaves in the fall. I’d take them home, put them under a piece of paper, and rub the side of a crayon over the top. It makes a great print of the leaf. Leaves actually get their color from things called pigments. While scientists can use chemicals to make different crayon colors, nature can use pigments to create its own colors. When leaves are green, they have a pigment called chlorophyll. Chlor...
In current politics, one opinion claims that President Obama’s withdrawal of the U.S. military created ISIS. Were perceptions true, we would not need facts for anything. Historical facts, however, show that ISIS had a history of name changing before Presidents Bush and Obama. First, ISIS began in the late 1990s as a terrorist group to overthrow the Jordanian government. After President George W. Bush invaded Iraq in December of 2003, the group was named “Al-Qaida in Iraq.” Second, after the U.S. killed the group’s leader...
Everyone has lost someone special. It might be a father, a mother, a child, a grandparent, a niece, a nephew or a friend. Everyone knows someone who now rests in a cemetery. Cemeteries are sacred places that home the ones we love after they are taken from this world. When someone dies, there is a huge hole in the hearts of those who loved them. The last thing that a family does for their loved one, is to place them in a very special and expensive custom-made box that depicts their taste and life, and the location of that...
We need a change. How many of you think this country is progressing in the right direction? How many of you think that our representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers is representing and supporting your concerns? How many of you can count on being heard when you call, send a letter, email or attend a town hall meeting? Probably most of you would answer “no” to these questions. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, our representative in Congress for the 5th District, has been our representative in Congress for five terms, and she doesn’t need...
It is back-to-school time for Odessa kids, and time for all of us who drive around town to be aware of youngsters on their way to and from school. Slow down and be aware of surroundings. The local school district has provided evidence once again of the high quality of personnel employed there. Accolades have gone this time to Tim Larson and Jeff Wehr. The word is out that this is a school system that cares about its young charges, and school enrollment continues to grow. Take a minute out of your busy day to thank a teacher...
Cathy McMorris Rodgers endorses and supports a person to lead our nation who disrespects and dishonors the very citizens of the nation he wants to lead. Cathy has not unendorsed or unsupported this person, thereby embracing the future he promotes in degrading individuals and showing her lack of character and courage in facing up to it. Her endorsement means she openly approves this person’s positions; dishonoring and disrespecting Senator John McCain as no war hero because he was captured and spent years in a prison camp i...
We want to thank Teresa Iksic for the great photos that she took during the fire and afterwards. With her photos and Lise Ott’s, I had a good understanding where the fire was at all times on the Facebook page. The old Chase (Irby) Hotel is still standing. Chuck Wood/ Joanne Kingsbury Gig Harbor...
My wife and I are newcomers to Odessa. We call it God’s country because of all the beauty around us. It has become obvious to us over the last three months that Pastor Hauge was a very inspiring man for many around here – always ready to give the shirt off his back no matter who you are. Pastors Hauge and Hayashi were working toward non-competitive spiritual pride in the community. I think the best way to honor such a man is to carry on with his wishes and hopes for Odessa. Pat Gamache Odessa...
We are told the “death tax” is terrible and should be repealed because it hurts small businesses. If it were only true. First, the federal estate tax provides an exemption from taxes for the first $5.43 million for an individual or $10.86 million for a couple. This means that 99.8 percent of taxpayers have NO federal estate tax to pay. Not one penny. Only 0.2 percent of taxpayers, who are also top income earners, pay this estate tax – after the exemptions and other tax breaks. While the top statutory rate is 40 perce...
To the 2016 graduates and their parents: If you thought enough of me to send me a graduation announcement, then I thought enough of you to send a gift. Maybe I’m old school, but it is two months past graduation, and I have received no thank-you note. My children were given one month to get their thank-you notes out after graduation. To future graduates of OHS and their parents, this is something you need to think about in the future. Cheryl Jeske Odessa...
Recently, it was reported in the Odessa Record of various power outages affecting local businesses and residential homes, which tells me that there is a bigger problem. There simply is not being enough electricity being delivered into the town of Odessa, and that is causing these issues or other issues at the Odessa substation owned and operated by Avista utilities, home-based in Spokane. I have had similar problems over a long period of time, and it is an ongoing problem. I have power disruptions where the power to the La...
One second. That’s all it takes for life to change. Someone falls in love. Someone else has their heart broken. A life-altering decision is made, or someone signs up for Gishwhes.* Sure, the lead-up might take days, months or years, but the change happens in a single second. In 2016, we all get one extra second in our lives. The U.S. Naval Observatory has announced that on December 31, 2016, at 6:59:59, there will be an extra second of time. What are your plans for that extra second? Sure, one second doesn’t seem like muc...
Everyone who has welcomed us coasties to Odessa has made our move much easier and more pleasant, including Michelle Melgren of Katz Realty, Shari at Ramm Hardware and the staff members at Wheatland Bank, the U.S. Post Office, Odessa Foods, Odessa Drug, Grange Supply Co. (Cenex), Odessa Office Equipment, The Odessa Record, OMHC and Odessa Auto Parts, as well as the mayor, council and clerks. Our neighbors, Mark and Kim, Cathy and Jim, Dennis, Brian and Diana, Ernie and Marla, Cheryl, Harvey, Linda and family and others have...
The article from OMHC on bullying was great. I would add one thing. Bullying is committed by all ages, not just children. Most of us learn it before pre-school, from peers and our living environment. Some of us continue it for our whole life. We are all different and unique in our own way. Take Bill Gates of Microsoft and Steve Jobs of Apple. Both were labeled odd, nerds. Look at them. We should not be afraid to be ourselves, ever. Let’s all stop and think. THINK T - IS IT TRUTHFUL? H - IS IT HELPFUL? I - IS IT INSPIRING? N...
We in this country don’t build walls. We tear them down. As a matter of fact, we have talked other countries into tearing down their walls. So why would we even think of building a wall here in the United States? Are you going to let some fool tell you that this country is not great? I sure as heck am not! I know this country works best when we all work as one. Heck, man, we’ve done it lots of times. The last time was right after 9/11. Don’t you believe and have faith that we have it within us to do it again? I know that...
Dear younger self, I thought I would write a list in hopes you might read it, and maybe it will help guide you throughout the rest of your life. I don’t claim to know everything, but what I do know is that about 80 percent of what you think you know, is incorrect. 1. Have self-confidence. I know you moved around a lot and it has contributed to your low self-esteem and shyness. You have mastered the art of “blending in,” but trust me when I say this, you won’t be this shy gir...
How many suns are in the universe? Asked by Kristen, 8, Pullman, WA. Dear Kristen, Our sun is really one big star. And there are billions and billions of stars in our universe. “More than we can even count,” added my friend Phil Lou. He’s an expert on solar energy here at Washington State University. He’s really curious about finding ways to power homes and schools using energy from the sun. “Most of the energy and life around us that we know is linked to the sun,” he explained. Then we put on our sunglasses, slathered o...
I was asked a question last week about our ads for staff and thought it might be helpful to discuss the continuing need for OMHC employees, especially in the nursing department. The workforce shortage was even a topic of discussion at a recent rural hospital CEO round-table. The American population living today has advantages that none before us has had. We live in a time of tremendous medical advances which allow us to live longer and with a greater quality of life than ever before. In addition, the healthcare industry is...
For those of you who don’t know, I was hit head-on by a drunk driver on June 12, 2016, while on my way to compete at a rodeo. I had a full load of precious cargo which included four horses, my dog and myself. I guess we all figured that the big Kodiak c4500 I was using to pull my horse trailer would take the brunt of the hit, and it did. It most likely saved all of my kids and me from a far worse outcome. Along with the crash that morning, just doing what I normally do, what I also didn’t understand was what this was goi...
I hope that the residents of Odessa appreciate the people who work at the Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center. I was recently a resident there for two months receiving physical therapy after a difficult hip replacement. I have never been in a medical facility where everyone is so helpful and caring, and I’m truly talking about everyone. There are a number of medical facilities that could learn a lot on patient care from the Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center. I would like to personally thank each and every employee of OMHC f...
There has been a lot of talk on the street lately about a proposed public safety sales tax in Lincoln County. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of our struggles, clear up a few misconceptions and then explain the concept to the public. First of all, as you know, the county had a very difficult time balancing the 2016 budget. This condition has been escalating for several years and will continue to compound itself into the future. I feel that it is...
As the 80th alumni banquet nears, you’re about to honor 20 of Odessa’s most talented athletes! As a member of the class of ‘67, I’m compelled to write about the “intense” bullying a group of us endured by a few members of the class of ‘66! The constant bullying started in the sixth grade [and continued] through high school, PE and sports events! It left me with lasting scars and a struggle to attain a positive self-image. You know who you are bullies. An apology to me and the others would be nice! I understand that anti-bul...
I’m sitting in the arms of a big red barber’s chair inside the Rolling Thunder Pizza, eating a slice and visiting with co-owners Nate Lathrop and Jennifer Springer, along with Elizabeth Springer, Iona McGee and little Tympist McGee, quite possibly the cutest four-year-old who has ever existed. Behind me on the wall hangs an incredible self-portrait of Nate created entirely out of numbers stamped using a rubber stamp. It’s a familiar place. Not familiar in an “I’ve been here so...
