Ready to read
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 5 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | June 15, 2016 6:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — The North Central Regional Library’s summer reading program will bring puppet theater, knights and a lesson on hydropower from the Chelan County PUD to Columbia Basin libraries.
The Book-It Theater, Seattle, will present live performances during the summer in Moses Lake, Quincy, Ephrata and Soap Lake. The Pacific Science Center will make a visit to Moses Lake and Quincy Aug. 8.
Activities begin the week of June 20-24 and continue through the week of Aug. 15-19. Along with special programs, there are weekly crafts and activities at each library.
The in-library program for children is supplemented by online programs for children, teens and adults. More information is available on the regional library website, www.ncrl.org.
It’s a sports theme for 2016, “On Your Mark, Get Set ... Read.”
Summer special events also include a photo editing class at all Basin libraries except Warden. It’s scheduled for June 23 in Ephrata and Soap Lake, July 26 in George, Aug. 2 in Quincy and Aug. 21 in Moses Lake. The 90-minute class is held at different times, depending on the library.
The Book-It Theater comes to Soap Lake and Ephrata June 24; the Soap Lake performance is at 10:30 a.m., with the curtain going up at 1:30 p.m. in Ephrata. The company’s tour presents plays based on children’s books. “Flora and Ulysses” is scheduled for Ephrata and Soap Lake and is the story of a squirrel sucked up in a vacuum cleaner who becomes a superhero.
Book-It Theater visits Moses Lake Aug. 15 and Quincy Aug. 16. They will present “Level Up” by Gene Yuan Lang, a story about video games, supernatural visitors and a young man’s dilemma over choosing a career and direction for his life.
The NRCL Puppeteers visit each library twice during the summer. The puppeteers write and produce an original puppet show each year, based on the reading program theme.
The Knights of Veritas will appear in George and Warden. The Knights, based in Ellensburg, use historically accurate tools, armor and techniques to demonstrate life and conflict in the Middle Ages.
The Chelan County PUD visits all libraries in the system during the summer, telling the story of hydropower in general and its development along the Columbia River in particular. Musician and storyteller Deb McVay will bring her English-Spanish program to all local libraries except Moses Lake.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Moses Lake School District, teachers union reach tentative agreement
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Education Association announced late Friday night that the union has reached a tentative agreement with the Moses Lake School District. Classes will resume Monday, according to a press release from the MLEA.
Priest Rapids Dam oil spill still in cleanup stage
MATTAWA — People downstream of Priest Rapids Dam are being asked to look for evidence of oil on the waters of the Columbia River following a spill of mineral oil at the dam Wednesday. Department of Ecology officials are asking boaters to stay off the river between Priest Rapids and Pasco while crews work to clean up the oil, according to a PUD press release. Absorbent booms were put in the water to collect the oil downstream of the dam and are still there, said Christine Pratt, public information officer with the Grant County PUD, in the PUD press release. The booms will stay there until the Department of Ecology allows their removal.
Royal SD voters to decide on educational programs and operations levy in February
ROYAL CITY — Royal School District voters will be asked to accept or reject a two-year educational programs and operations levy request in a special election Feb. 10. If it’s approved, it would replace the district’s existing levy approved by voters in 2024. Royal Superintendent Roger Trail said the levy rate would remain unchanged.