Broncos celebrate Class of 2024
GABRIEL DAVIS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 10 months AGO
Lind-Ritzville Cooperative Schools Superintendent Don Vanderholm, left, shakes hands with Brock Kinch, right, one of four valedictorians in the 2024 graduating class.
GABRIEL DAVIS/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Lind-Ritzville graduating seniors begin walking toward the stage as part of the processional at the beginning of Saturday’s Class of 2024 commencement ceremony.
Gabriel Davis is a resident of Othello who enjoys the connections with his sources. Davis is a graduate of Northwest Nazarene University where he studied English and creative writing. During his free time, he enjoys reading, TV, movies and games – anything with a good story, though he has a preference for science fiction and crime. He covers the communities on the south end of Grant County and in Adams County. | June 4, 2024 3:15 AM
RITZVILLE — The Lind-Ritzville High School Class of 2024, school staff and community members met for this year’s commencement ceremony Saturday at Gilson Gym in Ritzville to honor 34 students’ graduation from the Lind-Ritzville Cooperative School Districts
Graduating senior Lane Tellefson gave the farewell address prior to the students receiving their diplomas.
“Graduating high school is not mainly about obtaining a piece of paper, it's a testament to our ability to navigate the complexities of education, forge lasting friendships and confront the future head-on,” he said.
According to LRHS Guidance Counselor Kayla Walker the Class of 2024 earned a total of $374,307 between the 17 students who were awarded scholarships, including those from the community.
LRHS principal Kevin Terris also honored the 26 students who received college credit during their time in high school.
“Here's the really cool thing,” Terris said. “At 694 (total) credits and at $243 a credit — I looked it up, that's the average cost in the state of Washington — that's $168,000 that you and they do not have to pay for, so congratulations.”
Full coverage of this graduation and the other grad celebrations throughout Grant and Adams counties will be published in the June 13 edition of the Columbia Basin Herald.
Lind-Ritzville graduating seniors begin walking toward the stage as part of the processional at the beginning of Saturday’s Class of 2024 commencement ceremony.ARTICLES BY GABRIEL DAVIS
Work-based learning lets students build their own futures
MOSES LAKE — Work-based learning provides education opportunities for the workforce to receive hands-on training and technical education and prepare themselves to enter various industries. Educators and workforce development professionals from Eastern Washington discussed some the training they offer and the benefits of their programs. Next Generation Zone, an affiliate of WorkSource based in Spokane, provides job training opportunities for youth and young adults ages 16 to 24. Program Coordinator Kate Martin said there are multiple benefits to the program. “One of them is a paid work experience, and that’s where we reach out to area employers who are willing to take a young person and train them,” she said. “This is a short-term learning experience, so it’s typically about 240 hours; sometimes it could be longer or shorter. We’re the actual employer; we cover all of their wages, taxes, the L&I, and the employer just agrees to give them the experience and train them in whatever field it is that they’re wanting to go into.”
Serving schools: ESD superintendents reflect on operations, priorities
MOSES LAKE — Educational service districts are government-mandated agencies put in place to provide services to school districts across the state. ESD Superintendents discussed what they do and their priorities in operating their districts. ESD 105, led by Superintendent Kevin Chase, serves four counties, including Kittitas, Yakima and portions of Klickitat and Grant counties and provides support for 25 school districts – including Royal School District and Wahluke School District – and more than 66,000 students. “We help them collaborate with each other as well or collaborate with other partners,” Chase said. “(It’s) a lot of advocacy work, either regionally or across the state, or even federally, working on different issues that impact our education. And we provide very specialized services in certain situations in order to meet the needs of our students in our region and of our school districts.”
Columbia Basin Project making headway through Odessa Groundwater program
CASHMERE — The Columbia Basin Project is making gradual progress toward completion with particularly significant accomplishments for the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program in the last six months or so, according to Columbia Basin Development League Executive Director Sara Higgins. “When we’re dealing with a project of this size, advancement is kind of like watching paint dry, but yes, there have been (developments),” she said. “There are a lot of exciting things happening right now.” There are more than 300 miles of main canals, about 2,000 miles of lateral canals and 3,500 miles of drains and wasteways in the irrigation project, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation website. The CBDL advocates for the operation of those waterways and for the project to continue “build-out.”