Big party in Othello for nation’s birthday
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 4 months AGO
The Othello Junior Huskies march in the 2024 July 4 parade. The parade will be one of the main events in the 2025 July 4 celebration Friday.
CHERYL SCHWEIZER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Othello Police Department officers salute the flag at Independence Day 2024.
The coed volleyball tournament returns to Othello for the 2025 July 4 celebration.
The three-on-three basketball tournament returns to Othello’s July 4 celebration for the second year Friday.
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | July 1, 2025 4:52 PM
OTHELLO — The nation’s 249th birthday will be celebrated in Othello with games and a parade and tournaments and fireworks, just like tradition.
“I love the Fourth of July. It’s the biggest party in Othello,” said Jackie Wilhelm, president of the Greater Othello Chamber of Commerce.
Most of the activities will be in Lions Park.
“We’re definitely utilizing the entire park,” Wilhelm said.
Activities start at 8:30 a.m. with a three-on-three youth soccer tournament. The tournament was so successful in 2024 that the venue is expanded to include additional fields at Hiawatha Elementary School as well as Lions Park. The Chamber is partnering with Othello United FC as sponsors. It’s the third year for the soccer tournament.
The annual parade rolls – and walks – down Main Street at 10 a.m. Everything from tricycles to fire trucks to floats to the Othello High School cheer squad will line up along 14th Avenue beginning at 8:30 a.m.
The Chamber is sponsoring a youth and adult coed volleyball tournament, limited to players 14 years of age and older. Check-in is at 10:30 a.m. with games starting at 11 a.m.
Check-in for the three-on-three basketball tournament is at 11 a.m., with tipoff for the first games at 11:30 a.m. It’s for players 13 years of age and older. The basketball tournament dropped off the program for a few years but was revived in 2024.
A beanbag toss tournament will be going on throughout the day, Wilhelm said, with the championship showdown at 5 p.m.
“That’s one of the favorite parts of the day,” Wilhelm said.
Activity stops at noon for the raising of the American flag, and again at 7 p.m. when the flag is lowered.
“My favorite part of the day is flag raising and the flag lowering,” Wilhelm said. “We shut the park down for that.”
Judging for the annual car show is at 1 p.m. The car show always attracts all kinds of rides – classic cars, contemporary cars, tricked-out vehicles, straight restorations. Their owners have some things in common, which is that they love to show off their cars and love to tell their stories.
Live music and performances are scheduled throughout the afternoon and evening, with a fireworks show at about 10 p.m.
Othello Police Department officers salute the flag at Independence Day 2024.
The coed volleyball tournament returns to Othello for the 2025 July 4 celebration.
The three-on-three basketball tournament returns to Othello’s July 4 celebration for the second year Friday.ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Power lines, dam upgrades headline Grant PUD capital plans
QUINCY — The Grant County Public Utility District is projected to spend about $118.6 million on a multi-year project to build additional transmission lines from Wanapum Dam to Quincy, about $103.3 million to finish a new maintenance facility in Ephrata. Those are the two largest projects outlined in the PUD's proposed 2027 budget.
Income and priorities subject of Ephrata budget discussion
EPHRATA — Balancing requests and revenues, what can and should be done in 2027 and what can wait was the subject of a budget discussion at the Ephrata City Council meeting Wednesday.
GCFD 8 firefighter sustains minor injuries when hit by car
MATTAWA — A Grant County Fire District 8 officer sustained minor injuries Wednesday when he was hit by a driver subsequently arrested for DUI. Battalion Chief Doug Anderson and GCFD 8 crews were on the scene of a non-injury collision at about 10:30 p.m. when a car drove through the crash scene, according to a media release from the Grant County Sheriff's Office. The driver, Jorge Ramirez Suarez, 33, Mattawa, allegedly drove through the crash scene, hit Anderson in the leg, and kept going without stopping, according to the GCSO. He was subsequently booked into the Grant County Adult Correctional Facility on suspicion of DUI, vehicular assault and hit-and-run. Anderson was treated at the scene. He joined GCFD 8 in 1998 as a volunteer firefighter, said Barb Davis, the district's business manager, and is still a volunteer. He has served as a GCFD 8 captain, assistant chief and interim chief, as well as battalion chief.