Compression brake use limited in Ephrata
R. HANS MILLER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 9 months AGO
Compression brakes used by large vehicles such as this one travelling through Ephrata will be required to be muffled, or not be used within Ephrata city limits after the city's governing body passed a new ordinance.
R. HANS MILLER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Managing Editor Rob Miller is a 4-year U.S. Army veteran who grew up in Western Montana in a community about the size of Soap Lake. An honors graduate of Texas State University, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Brandee, and their three dogs, Draco, Pepper and Cinnamon. He has one son, William. During his free time, he enjoys photography, video games, reading and working on the house he and his wife bought in Ephrata. He is passionate about the First Amendment and educating communities. | May 8, 2024 6:28 PM
EPHRATA — The Ephrata City Council has approved an ordinance restricting the use of non-muffled compression brakes within city limits. The move comes after a resident expressed concerns about noise associated with compression brakes.
“We got a letter from a citizen asking us to consider it,” City Administrator Ray Towry said.
The city is in the process of implementing the newly adopted rule, but implementation will include community education through social media and other means, Towry said. Signs will need to be ordered and posted at entrances to Ephrata as well.
Compression brakes, often called jake brakes, work to help slow large, diesel vehicles by changing how fuel is delivered to the engine. When that happens, compressed air is released from the engine’s cylinders which can cause a loud noise. That can be muffled with various devices, but many large transport vehicles don’t have those devices installed.
Towry said Ephrata City Council members opted to allow the use of compression brakes that are muffled because they wanted the safety a Jake brake system might provide while still having the reduced noise issues from unmuffled compression brakes.
ARTICLES BY R. HANS MILLER
Feb. 10 initial election results
EPHRATA — Voters were asked to approve or reject educational programs and operations levy requests from a number of Grant and Adams county school districts in Tuesday’s special election. Voters in the Ephrata School District and East Adams Rural Healthcare decided the fate of specific proposals. Unofficial results released Tuesday night are listed below with additional votes coming in via mail over the next few days. Mailed-in ballots must have been postmarked by Feb. 10, 2026 to be counted.
COLUMN: It’s amazing what you can learn ...
Four years ago, almost to the day, my wife and I closed on the first home either of us have owned, a stunningly Pepto-pink house in Ephrata with what we thought of at the time as “character.” It turns out, that character is really, in many ways, a lot of work. Work I hadn’t done much of since helping my dad out when I was a kid a few decades ago. Still though, all of the work I had to relearn or learn – thank goodness for the folks at Ace, Lowe’s and experts on YouTube – has been incredibly rewarding.
Take a wander, see a wonder
MOSES LAKE — Living in Central Washington has a lot of perks, and one of those is the opportunity to see a variety of wildlife.