NANCE BESTON

Soap Lake looking to seat salary commission

SOAP LAKE — The City of Soap Lake is seeking residents to serve on its newly reactivated Salary Commission, a citizen-led body responsible for reviewing and setting salaries for the city’s elected officials. The city is encouraging registered voters who live within city limits and are not related to or employed by city officials to apply. The commission, once seated, will evaluate compensation for the mayor and city council, compare Soap Lake’s pay structure with similar cities, and adopt salary schedules in accordance with state law.

Community encouraged to spot warning signs at gang awareness presentation

MOSES LAKE — Preventing youth violence and gang involvement requires a coordinated effort between families, schools and law enforcement, said Hunter McLeod, threat assessment coordinator with the North Central Education Service District. “This should be a group effort,” said McLeod. “We want to provide families and community members with tools – strategies they can use at home – even if gang activity isn’t directly impacting their household.” McLeod and Ray Lopez, school resource officer with the Moses Lake Police Department, led a gang awareness presentation at Vanguard Academy last week, aimed at helping families better recognize risk factors and prevent youth involvement in gangs.

MLSD hiring 7 elementary assistant principals, financially unrelated to classroom staffing

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake School District is moving to add assistant principals at seven of its largest elementary schools, a step district leaders say is driven by rising student support needs and longstanding requests from staff — not by cuts to classroom teachers. The district has posted assistant principal openings at Sage Point, Garden Heights, Lakeview Terrace, Longview, Peninsula, Groff, and Park Orchard elementaries, all of which will have enrollments ranging from roughly 316 to 449 students in the 2025–26 school year, according to district data.

Common Grounds: Coffee with district leadership set for Friday

MOSES LAKE — Superintendent Carol Lewis says the district’s new community coffee series is designed to make space for candid conversations about school priorities and levy commitments. “Sometimes there’s a lot of information out there and not always enough opportunity for people to ask questions and have face‑to‑face conversations,” Lewis said. “This event gives us a chance to have honest conversations about the commitments we made through the levy, where we are with that work, and what planning for the 2026–27 school year looks like.” The first Common Grounds – Coffee with District Leadership gathering will be held Friday, May 15, at 7:30 a.m. at Vanguard Academy, 740 E. Yonezawa Blvd.

‘Gather, laugh and be together’

EMS courtyard dedicated to Travis Eloff’s legacy of inclusion

EPHRATA — A space originally created to bring students together through inclusive play and learning now carries a deeper meaning at Ephrata Middle School. On May 8, the Ephrata School District formally dedicated the school’s inclusive courtyard playground to Travis Eloff, a teacher and special education director who served the district for 31 years. Eloff passed away in 2024. Family members, colleagues and community members gathered to honor Eloff’s legacy and the impact he made on generations of students. District officials said his work was grounded in a belief that inclusion is more than a location.

Warden City Council passes parking regulation ordinance

WARDEN — After several meetings of discussion, the Warden City Council unanimously approved a new parking regulation ordinance Tuesday night during its regularly scheduled meeting. Council members said the new rules come after ongoing complaints from residents about vehicles being left parked for days or even weeks at a time, taking up limited spaces in front of businesses and the Warden Public Library. “I think it is long overdue,” Council Member Agapito “Speedy” Gonzalez said. “We have had habitual people parking and staying. We need to address that.” The ordinance goes into effect May 17.

Ephrata schools offer free summer meals to any kid in need

EPHRATA — The Ephrata School District will again offer free summer meals to all children 18 and younger — including those who do not attend Ephrata schools – through a mix of on‑site service and grab‑and‑go meal boxes funded entirely by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer Food Service Program. The district will operate three open sites beginning June 15: on-site meals at Columbia Ridge Elementary and Ephrata High School, and a non‑congregate, drive‑thru pickup at Ephrata Middle School. All meals are free regardless of family income. Food Service Director Alain Black said the district’s goal is simple: make sure children across the region have consistent access to nutritious food when school is out.

Agencies acknowledge communication failures during Mattawa wildfire

MATTAWA — A fast‑moving wildfire that burned nearly 3,100 acres near state Route 24 on Sunday night prompted a four‑hour highway closure – but no public alerts from either the Washington State Patrol or the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, despite both agencies’ long‑standing practices of issuing emergency notifications. Both agencies now say internal communication breakdowns prevented timely alerts from reaching the public, leaving residents without the Nixle messages, Facebook posts or X updates they typically rely on during major incidents.

Sky dancers

Meet Washington’s endangered sandhill cranes

With long wings stretched wide, sandhill cranes fly together across the sky, calling to one another like trumpets. These tall, graceful birds love wetlands and open spaces – and every sighting is special, because sandhill cranes are endangered in Washington. Can you spot your favorite crane facts and words in the graphic and word search below?

4-acre blaze mostly contained in rural Ephrata

EPHRATA — Three fire agencies were called to a wildfire in the 13000 block of Road A.5 Northwest in Rural Ephrata at around 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.