Friday, April 03, 2026
48.0°F

Big Bend Electric Cooperative donates to local organizations

CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 years, 2 months AGO
by CHERYL SCHWEIZER
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. | January 13, 2021 1:00 AM

RITZVILLE — Operators of the Big Bend Electric Cooperative recently announced a number of donations to organizations and community service projects through its Caring Neighbors fund.

Big Bend Electric donated $2,600 to the Othello Fair Livestock Association to support FFA and 4-H participants selling livestock at the Othello Fair. The Edith Bishel Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired, in Kennewick, received $2,000 to support low-vision treatment clinics, and the Service Peace Warriors, in Eltopia, also received $2,000 to buy collars and vests for dogs helping military veterans.

A $1,000 donation was made to the Ritzville Volunteer Ambulance to help purchase radios, and $1,000 was donated to the Ritzville Downtown Development Association to repair the heating system at the Ritz Theater in Ritzville. The Lind-Ritzville Cooperative Schools received $500 for the Link Crew program.

The money for the Caring Neighbors fund is donated by the cooperative’s members. Applications for the program are available on the cooperative website, www.bbec.org, or by calling 509-659-1700. Applicants must be a municipal entity or have a 501(c)(3) Internal Revenue Service designation to be eligible.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].

photo

Courtesy photo

Shanna Larter, executive administrator for the Edith Bishel Center, accepts the donation from Caring Neighbors, the charitable organization for the Big Bend Electric Cooperative.

ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER

Road closures, roundabout, mean construction season underway
April 3, 2026 3 a.m.

Road closures, roundabout, mean construction season underway

EPHRATA — The grass is starting to turn green, the trees are starting to leaf out, construction crews are starting to build roundabouts – hey, it’s spring. At least one roundabout project is in its final phase, held over from fall 2025. The intersection of State Route 282 and Nat Washington Way will be closed the week of April 6 to allow crews to install permanent lights. “This really is the final (closure),” wrote Grant County Administrator Tom Gaines in a media release. “The roundabout will close at 6 a.m. Monday, and we plan to reopen by Friday, possibly sooner if the work finishes early.”

Ybarra announces run for Washington Senate
April 2, 2026 1:48 p.m.

Ybarra announces run for Washington Senate

QUINCY — State Representative Alex Ybarra, R-Quincy, has announced his candidacy for the Washington Senate. If he’s elected, he would replace Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who announced her retirement in March.

Othello Community Museum to open April 25
April 1, 2026 3:45 a.m.

Othello Community Museum to open April 25

OTHELLO — With a couple of new exhibits, a new heating-cooling system, rearranged displays and a thorough cleaning, the Othello Community Museum will open for the summer April 25. The goal, said Molly Popchock, museum board secretary, is to operate for a full season.