News Bites for Sept. 26, 2023
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years AGO
A collision involving four semis and a passenger vehicle blocked I-90 near Cle Elum Monday morning, but only minor injuries were reported.
COURTESY PHOTO/WASHINGTON STATE PATROL
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. | September 26, 2023 1:30 AM
CLE ELUM — One person sustained minor injuries in a collision involving four semi-trucks and a passenger vehicle on Interstate 90 on Monday morning, according to a statement from the Washington State Patrol.
At about 4 a.m., all five vehicles were headed east at milepost 79, four miles west of Cle Elum, according to the WSP. A semi driven by Karanveer Singh, 35, of Renton, jackknifed and blocked the roadway. Another semi, driven by Alejandro Jimenez Garduno, 45, of Kent, struck Singh’s vehicle. Anthony N. Eaton, 57, of Arlington, Ore., driving a 2018 Honda CRV SUV, attempted to avoid Singh’s truck and sideswiped it. A third semi driven by Alfonza Edmond, 71, of Eagle Point, Ore., struck Singh’s rig as well, whereupon both Singh’s and Edmond’s trucks were struck by a fourth semi driven by Luis D. Lopez Arellano, 38, of Surrey, British Columbia.
Jimenez Garduno sustained minor injuries but was not transported, according to the WSP. None of the drivers had passengers, all were wearing their seat belts and neither drugs nor alcohol was a contributing factor. Singh was charged with failure to reduce speed for conditions.
MOSES LAKE — Law enforcement officers stopped a suspected DUI driver in a motor home in Moses Lake over the weekend, according to a statement from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.
Richard D. Johnson, 67, of Moses Lake was booked into Grant County Jail on charges of attempting to elude and hit-and-run of an unattended vehicle, according to GCSO records.
Around 3:20 a.m. Sunday, officers were called to the Circle K minimart at Stratford and Valley roads, according to the statement. Witnesses described a man, later identified as Johnson, in the parking lot driving a motorhome, striking a parked car, revving the RV’s motor and acting strangely. Johnson then departed westbound on Valley Road, where a sheriff’s deputy passed him and headed east to answer the call.
The deputy attempted to pull Johnson over near Paxson Drive, the statement said, but Johnson failed to yield and began to elude the deputy. Deputies and Moses Lake Police pursued him in the belief that he was driving under the influence. Spikes were laid on Airway Drive ahead of the motor home, which flattened some of the vehicle’s tires. Johnson swerved and struck an MLPD vehicle and continued on. Nobody was injured in that collision, the statement said.
Johnson turned onto State Route 17 and continued on, according to the GCSO. Again spikes were deployed, and this time enough tires were flattened to disable the vehicle. K-9 Chewbacca challenged Johnson and he surrendered quickly, the statement said.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”