More than 100 Basin students make WSU honor roll
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 months, 2 weeks AGO
More than 100 Columbia Basin students were named to the Honor Roll at Washington State University for fall quarter 2025.
COURTESY PHOTO/WSU
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | February 28, 2026 12:10 AM
PULLMAN — One hundred twenty-one students from Grant and Adams counties were named to the President’s Honor Roll at Washington State University for fall quarter 2025, according to an announcement from the university. A student can be named to the Honor Roll either by achieving a grade point of 3.75 while enrolled in at least nine graded credits in a single semester provided that the cumulative GPA is 2.0 or better, or by achieving a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 based on at least 15 cumulative credits of graded work at Washington State University, provided that the semester GPA is 3.0 or better.
These Basin students were named to the Honor Roll:
Almira: Kiley Piper Elliott-Hamper
Beverly: Juan Manuel Herrera-Rendon, Rosalva Pastor
Coulee City: Jaxon K. Baergen, Hayden Lee Buchanan, Reece Bradley Isaak, Abigail Marie Roberts
Ephrata: Ashleigh R. Alcala, Maisie C Becker, Carson Daniel Burns, Owen Zackary Coen, John Thomas Downey, Karlye Mae Ebberson, Deleah Jenea Garcia, Luis Garcia Rangel, Anthony John Graaff, Kathryn Lynda Lay, Kadie G. McMullen, Dallin Kurtis Plaisted, Adelyn Simmons, Ellinor Elaine Sonnichsen, Abby Lee Toro, Joseph Jacob Wohleb
Hartline: Kayleigh Joy Elder, Emma Lynn Whitaker
Mattawa: Abel Castaneda, Humberto Alexander Hernandez, Angela Hidalgo-Andrade, Jazmin Licona, Jordan Alexander Martinez, Brenda Nunez, Jocelyn Michelle Perez Abundez, Javier Rosales, Bryan Sandoval, Carolina Tirado, Angel D. Torres, Jose Alberto Valdovinos
Moses Lake: Elizabeth Charlene Abramson, Nazareth G. Alfaro Mendoza, Jorge Aly Aponte, Jadelyn Nicole Balderas, Maksim Borodulin, Ethan Kenrick Bowers, Julian Bravo, Sarah Marie Carley, Adalynn Grace Carlile, Avery Rose Clark, Caitlyn Renee Dietmeyer, Tyson J. Garza, Amy Gonzalez-Maciel, Jesse Grubbs, Crystal Jimenez, Alex Jeffrey Johnson, Logan Xavior Kemper, Gabrielle Rose Lane, Selah Blake Loomis, Jose Alfonso Lopez, Ashlyn Malaya Magnuson, Kevin Eric Mayo-Gutierrez, Calvin Molitor, Luke C. Molitor, Emily Roseanne Mowry, Derek A. O’Brien, Anna Nell Olson, Issabelle Grace Parrish, Emmet Rasmussen, Jacqueline Robles Martinez, Ethan J. Sands, Jeremy James Sinchuk, Ashlynn Nicole Tate, Griffin J. Terry, Malika L. Warnick, Aimee R. Willis, Nolan Willis, Allen Yang
Othello: Alan Alexander Amado-Victoriano, Jessica Belmonte-Gonzalez, Anahi Camacho Ambrocio, Joselyn Camacho-Ambrocio, Natalie Ann Cerrillo, Marlene Cortez, Vanessa Duran-Alvarado, Adilene Annie Garcia, Lacey A. Garza, Mariza Elayne Gonzalez, Valdemar Saavedra Guerrero, Aldemar Saavedra Guerrero, Rodrigo Vidal Guizar, Karli Sue Long, Edsi Macias, Jesus Mendoza, Adrian Obispo, Elaina Gail Parrish, Jose Luis Policarpio, Kevin Rodriguez-Delgado, Mariana Romero, Collin John Simmons, Kenzie Shea Simpson, Milena Fernanda Urroz Sandoval, America Janett Varela, Andrea Naomi Villicana, James Zuniga
Quincy: Valeria Gomez-Parra, Lydia Harris, Nathan Harrison Ovenell, Lindsey Morgan Stetner, Reid Thomsen, Amanda Rae Walker
Ritzville: David Immanuel Hinkle, Daniella Oliva
Royal City: Miguel A Dominguez Hernandez, Rocio Ortiz, Francisco Pineda Escalera
Soap Lake: Blessby D. Alvarez, Tara Falconer, Aryz Nadine Navarro, Daniela Navarro
Warden: Jose Guadalupe Arriaga, Miliany Michelle Pruneda, Guadalupe Sofia Ramirez Duran
Washtucna: Nathaniel Hawke Hille
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”