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Feb. 10 initial election results

CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 5 months, 1 week AGO
by CHERYL SCHWEIZERR. HANS MILLER
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. | February 10, 2026 8:36 PM

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.  

Election results will be certified Feb. 20.  

Grant County 

Coulee-Hartline School District 

Two-year EP&O levy:
Yes: 239
No: 98 

Ephrata School District
Construction bond 

Yes: 1,147
No: 1,261 

Quincy School District
Four-year EP&O levy: 

Yes: 933
No: 500 

Royal School District
Two-year EP&O levy: 

Yes: 292
No: 170 

Wahluke School District
Four-year EP&O levy: 

Yes: 261
No: 222 

Warden School District
Two-year EP&O levy: 

Yes: 167
No: 123 

Two-year capital levy, safety and technology: 

Yes: 169
No: 107 

Wilson Creek School District
Two-year EP&O levy: 

Yes: 43
No: 33 

Adams County 

East Adams Rural Healthcare:
EMS levy lid lift: 

Yes: 466
No: 379 

Healthcare levy lid lift 

Yes: 411
No: 432 

Lind School District
Two-year EP&O levy: 

Yes: 122
No: 71 

Two-year capital levy, technology and facility upgrades 

Yes: 125
No: 68 

Othello School District
Four-year EP&O levy: 

Yes: 564
No: 348 

Ritzville School District
Two-year EP&O levy: 

Yes: 315
No: 224 

Two-year capital levy, technology and facility upgrades 

Yes: 342
No: 197 

ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER

Othello man arrested in connection with drive-by shooting
July 21, 2026 9:32 a.m.

Othello man arrested in connection with drive-by shooting

OTHELLO — An Othello man has been arrested and booked on suspicion of first-degree assault and drive-by shooting in connection with an incident July 11 that left one person wounded. A second suspect is still being sought. Gustavo Pineda-Felicano, 18, was arrested Monday night near his residence in the Edson Tracts area near Othello, said Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner in a media release. “He was taken into custody without incident,” Wagner said.

Smoke from Kaiser Canyon Fire blankets the Basin
July 21, 2026 3:10 a.m.

Smoke from Kaiser Canyon Fire blankets the Basin

Public should remain alert to unhealthy air quality

MOSES LAKE — It’s smokey out there, the result of winds blowing smoke into the Columbia Basin from a wildfire north in Okanogan County, making its presence felt throughout Central Washington.

Public’s help sought in finding Othello area drive-by shooting suspects
July 20, 2026 9:29 a.m.

Public’s help sought in finding Othello area drive-by shooting suspects

OTHELLO — The Adams County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public’s help in finding two Othello-area men being sought in connection with a drive-by shooting July 11. Deputies are looking for Gustavo Pineda-Feliciano, 18, and Angel Alvarez, 22, in connection with the shooting on West Angel Street west of Othello. One person sustained a gunshot injury to the face in the incident, according to a statement from the ACSO. Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner said in the statement that ACSO investigators served two search warrants on residences in the Edson Tracts area south of Othello at about 6 a.m. Monday. The ACSO was assisted by the Moses Lake Regional Tactical Response Team and other law enforcement agencies, he said.