NEWS BITES: March 31
NANCE BESTON | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 days, 9 hours AGO
Area residents are encouraged to recycle their oril after the Grant County Public Works Department found oil contamination at the Ephrata Landfill Recycling Center.
COURTESY PHOTO/DANIEL ANDRASKI/PEXELS
Recycle contaminated oil
EPHRATA — Routine test results at the Ephrata Landfill Recycling Center, showed there was contamination of Polychlorinated Biphenyls, according to the Grant County Public Works Department. The cost to dispose of the contaminated oil and clean the tanks was nearly $20,000, but routine recycling of the materials would have only cost around a couple hundred dollars, according to the department.
The department is asking residents to not put contaminated oil in public collection containers but instead take the oil to be recycled.
In Moses Lake residents can recycle at: O’Reilly Auto Parts, located at 826 N Stratford Road; Autozone, located at 632 S. Pioneer Way; Walmart located at 1055 N Stratford Road and CDSI Transfer and Recycling Center, located at 9524 Rd. 7 NE.
In Ephrata residents can recycle at: Ephrata Landfill, located at 3803 Neva Lake Rd. NW; O’Reilly Auto Part, located at 654 Basin St. SW; Autozone located at 789 Basin St. SW and Walmart located at 1399 Nat Washington Way.
In Quincy and George residents can recycle at: Autozone located at 404 F St. S and O’Reilly Auto Parts at 117 G St. SE.
In the Grand Coulee Dam area, residents can recycle at: Delano Regional Transfer Station at 22151 Alcan Rd NE.
Rural Moses Lake trespassing arrest
MOSES LAKE — Justin Bashaw, 46, was arrested by Grant County Sheriff’s deputies Saturday morning after a citizen called to say he was trespassing on their property and opening car doors in the 4900 block of Road L.9-Northeast in unincorporated Moses Lake.
According to a statement from GCSO, Bashaw has a notice against trespass at the property for a previous incident.
He was booked into Grant County Jail for two counts of second-degree vehicle prowling – attempted, second-degree criminal trespassing, a Grant County Superior Court warrant and a Grant County District Court warrant. As of Monday afternoon, Bashaw is still in Grant County Jail with a bail of $8,650.
One arrested for allegedly drawing handgun, firing shots
MOSES LAKE — Grant County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested Cedrick Small, 48, after a person who knows Small said he drew a handgun and fired at him Saturday in the 3000 block of Valley Road Northeast, in unincorporated Moses Lake.
According to GCSO, Small left the scene in a white Ford Ranger Pickup. Deputies arrived at his house in the Larson Community and arrested him. According to the Grant County Jail roster, Small is booked for first-degree assault. As of Monday afternoon, no bail has been set.
Measles update
EPHRATA — The Grant County Health District released updated measles information for Grant County Friday, with two confirmed cases and two tests pending. The district reported around 236 identified exposures; however, this number could be higher as these are only the cases which have been reported to the health district.
The health district said it plans to continue releasing updated information weekly until the exposure period has passed and no additional infections have been identified.
RX Take-Back Day
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Police Department has partnered with the Moses Lake Community Coalition and the Grant County Health District to take back medications 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Apr. 25. The free community event allows people to safely dispose of unused or expired medications. There will be free locking medication bags available as well.
Preventive dental care at Soap Lake School District
SOAP LAKE — On May 20 and May 27 ToothSavers Mobile Dentistry will be visiting Soap Lake schools to provide preventive dental care during the school day. The services include screenings, dental sealants, fluoride treatments and SDF. To sign up for a spot visit: myschooldentist.com/34808_schrsm.
Warden Community Resource Fair
WARDEN — The Warden School District will be hosting its resource fair Thursday from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Warden High School gym. There will be local resources, connections and support available for families. There will also be free food boxed, while supplies last.
ARTICLES BY NANCE BESTON
Ephrata takes first steps toward leaving flood zone with multi-phase plan
EPHRATA — After decades of stalled progress, the City of Ephrata is taking its first steps toward getting more than 500 acres of downtown removed from the federal floodplain, a move city officials say would lift a major economic burden from residents and businesses.
Ephrata SD asks for bond feedback with survey
EPHRATA — The Ephrata School District is asking community members to share their perspectives on the 2026 bond election by participating in a community survey. “I want the community to know that the Ephrata School District absolutely values our community’s voice,” Superintendent Ken Murray said in a previous interview. “I just want our community to know that we appreciate their involvement in this past election. We appreciate the voices that we heard, and we are going to take what we have learned and we are going to put something forward. At the time that we do, we are going to feel confident that it’s something that our community can really rally behind.” The survey will remain open until April 19. All responses are anonymous. The feedback will be used to better understand community perspectives and will be shared with the Facility Study Group this spring, according to the Ephrata School District.
Soap Lake approves tourism committee, planners and RV park host role
SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake City Council moved through a full agenda Wednesday night, unanimously approving the creation of a new tourism committee, hiring two firms to jointly handle city planning duties, adopting a formal job description for the city’s RV park host and accepting funding for Phase II of the Daisy Street sidewalk improvement project.