News bites for June 27, 2023
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 10 months AGO
Corporal Jason McDonnell, left, was sworn in Monday morning by Sheriff Joe Kriete, right.
COURTESY PHOTO/GCSO
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | June 27, 2023 1:30 AM
EPHRATA — Nicole Shenefelt, 25, is being held at the Grant County Jail after reportedly setting a fire in Ephrata, according to a statement from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
Grant County Fire Districts 7 and 13 and the Ephrata Fire Department responded Saturday to a wildfire at the Wagon Wheel Mobile Home Park in the 17000 block of Highway 26, according to the statement.
The fire burned about 15 acres, according to a statement from GCFD 13, which is based in Ephrata. The blaze threatened the east side of the park, the GCFD 13 statement said, but firefighters were able to contain it on both flanks while natural barriers slowed the head of the fire.
Shenefelt was arrested Saturday afternoon after witnesses and evidence placed her at the spot, the GCSO statement said. She is lodged in the Grant County Jail for investigation of second-degree reckless burning, the GCSO wrote.
OTHELLO — An investigation is underway into an officer-involved shooting near Othello Sunday.
At about 2 p.m., the Adams County Sheriff’s Office was assisting Othello Police in locating a suspect allegedly involved in an investigation in Othello, according to a statement form the ACSO. The suspect was located in the area of Kulm Road and SR 26, where the officer-involved shooting occurred.
The Central Basin Investigative Team is conducting an independent investigation of the incident, according to a statement from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. CBIT investigation team members include investigators from the Moses Lake Police Department, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Police, Ellensburg Police Department, Washington State Patrol, Ephrata Police Department, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, according to the GCSO statement. Capt.
Jim Weed of the Ellensburg Police Department is heading up the investigation, according to a GCSO statement.
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ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Lake water improvement may not affect housing
MOSES LAKE — Owners of homes along the shore of Moses Lake may see an improvement in the view from their docks after treatment the water received last summer.
Bigger every year
Moses Lake Spring Fest to dominate Memorial Day weekend
MOSES LAKE — The biggest celebration in Moses Lake’s calendar just keeps getting bigger. Tens of thousands came to McCosh Park for Spring Fest last year. The 3-on-3 basketball tournament fielded 121 teams and there were 472 people at the fun run, said Spring Fest Committee Member Lori Valdez. “The car show had over 200 cars, and they ran out of room,” Valdez said. “They had to turn cars away.”
First responders to face off at Guns & Hoses softball game Saturday
QUINCY — The reputations of Quincy’s first responders will be on the line Saturday at the community’s first Guns & Hoses softball game.