EPHRATA — The Columbia Basin Herald will be hosting a town hall at the Ephrata High School Performing Arts Center at 6 p.m. March 28 with representatives from the Ephrata School District, City of Ephrata, Columbia Basin Hospital, Ephrata Chamber of Commerce, Port of Ephrata and Grant County Sheriff’s Office on a panel. 

Our goal with this event is to ensure the community remains engaged and to ensure information is flowing to the people, one of the primary functions of a hometown newspaper. Our office may be in Moses Lake, but we’ve been serving the Ephrata community for more than eight decades. City representatives will be speaking about street and water maintenance, police and fire concerns and other issues important to residents. Columbia Basin Hospital will speak to what’s going on to improve the hospital and ensure quality health care for Ephrata and Soap Lake residents. Grant County Sheriff Joey Kriete will talk about the new jail project which will have a big impact on Ephrata and the rest of the county alike. A representative from the Ephrata Chamber of Commerce will be on hand to talk about this year’s chamber events and what the chamber offers to help ensure Ephrata businesses thrive. The Port of Ephrata’s new director, Dave Lanman, will speak about what he’s done to preserve the history of the port and what he’s working on to help the port become an even better economic driver for the city. 

I will personally be on hand to moderate the event and will speak to residents about what our plans are to ensure Ephrata and Soap Lake continue to receive high-quality, relevant news regularly. 

I understand that Ephrata is important not only to Ephratans but to the rest of Grant County as well. It is the county seat and serves functions for all Grant County residents, regardless of which city we live in. Ephrata houses not only our county courthouse but also the main office for the Grant Public Utility District, a reserve military post, the office for the Bureau of Reclamation and many other resources that serve the Grant County community as a whole.

That said, this is just the first of the town halls I hope to host as I continue to work to ensure the paper serves Grant and Adams counties with thorough, unbiased news coverage that keeps everyone informed. 

There are certain issues common to all of the cities we serve in both counties. Those include the fentanyl crisis, homelessness, access to sufficient water for crops, yards and household use, quality schools and affordable housing. 

My goal for this year is to ensure we cover the issues that matter to our readers across our coverage area and facilitate the “marketplace of ideas” that our nation’s founders believed in to address the challenges everyone in the Columbia Basin is facing. Together, with the right information and tools, we can all work together to ensure this area continues to be an amazing place to live.

With much appreciation,

R. Hans “Rob” Miller

Managing Editor

    Columbia Basin Herald Managing Editor R. Hans "Rob" Miller will be the moderator for the We are Ephrata town hall on March 28. Miller is a U.S. Army veteran who lives in Ephrata with his wife, Brandee, and their three dogs, Draco, Cinnamon and Pepper. He has one son, William.