Northwest

They call Moses Lake "Washington's Great Escape", but residents couldn't  escape from the cool, wet Spring we've just slogged through in the Inland Northwest.  According to the National Weather Service in Spokane, Moses Lake just wrapped up it's 2nd wettest Spring on record (climatologists use March, April and May as "Spring" for record keeping purposes).  Grant County International Airport reported 3.23" of rain for the three-month period.  It was also the third COOLEST Spring on record in Moses Lake.  Records have been kept at the airport since 1947.

A Greyhound Bus caught fire and burned at a gas station out on Kittleson Road early Wednesday afternoon.No one was injured.The fire was put out in about 5 minutes, but as you can see from the photo above, the bus was a total loss.

Grant County Sheriff's deputies are investigating the death of an adult woman in Soap Lake.Deputies were called to a home in the 400 block of Division St. South Sunday afternoon. They found an adult woman dead, and say in a press release that the "circumstances surrounding the death were suspicious." An autopsy is scheduled for this week.Grant County major crimes detectives are investigating. The Grant County coroner hasn't released the woman's identity and won't until next of kin are notified.

Barb Franz was one of two teachers from Washington State to be honored in Washington D.C. by President Barack Obama for their work in math and science. She's an kindergarten teacher at North Elementary in Moses Lake. We featured her earlier this month when she first learned of her award. It had been a long nomination process for her. Subtraction was the focus of her portfolio when she was nominated for the award in 2010.In an email, Barb Franz wrote, "The weeks events have inspired me to think outside my world of the kindergarten classroom. I have met inspirational, engaging and brilliant people. I have been challenged in new ways to reflect on and expand my current practice."

The Grant County Sheriff's Office reports that a man wanted for murder in a deadly drive-by shooting has been apprehended at the US-Mexico border:

The Grant County man accused of shooting an off-duty sheriff's deputy while hunting has lost his appeal.A jury convicted Robbie Joe Marcher marcher of shooting former Grant County Deputy Earl Romig in the back in 2008. Marcher claimed he thought Romig was a coyote.A judge sentenced Marcher to four years in prison for assault, unlawful hunting and failure to summon aide.

The 81st Brigade Combat Team has received a "Notice of Sourcing" from the Department of Defense that it may be deployed overseas at some point in the future.The public affairs office for the Washington Army National Guard at Camp Murray clarified that a Notice of Sourcing is neither a Mobilization or Alert Order, but rather that the brigade is being considered for a future mission.If the 81st Brigade Combat Team is called up, the DoD would follow-up the Notice of Sourcing with an official Alert Order, followed by the Mobilization Order.

Most auctions offer signed sports memorabilia, wine baskets and vacation packages but Big Bend Community College Foundation's annual Cellerbration auction on May 21st is offering something unique; a once in a lifetime ride behind the yoke of a 727.  The lucky bidder will get to taxi a 727 around the Grant County International Airport.   The winner will sit in the captain's seat and drive the plane around the airport before parking the plane and shutting the engine down.  The package includes pictures of the special drive and room for four friends.  Cellerbration! raises money for scholarships to graduates of 15 local high schools, and provide scholarships for returning students who have been out of school for a while. "With tuition expected to increase more than 20 percent over the next two years, these scholarships have never been more important," Howard Skaug, chair of the Foundation Board, said in a press release.Cellerbration! is set to begin at 5:00 p.m. on May 21 in the Masto Conference Center in the Grant County Advanced Technologies Education Center (ATEC) on the Big Bend Community College campus. To make reservations for Cellarbration! For Education, contact the Foundation Office at 509.793.2006. 

Bridgeport High School in Central Washington will have to wait a few more days to find out if President Barack Obama will deliver the commencement speech at their school.Bridgeport expected to hear the answer on Friday, but Superintendent Scott Sattler said that because of how busy The White House has been following the killing of Osama Bin Laden, the President has not had ample time to decide on a school.Sattler says he and the students will be on pins and needles all weekend as they await word from Washington D.C.

It's been a chilly Spring in the Columbia Basin, and in Moses Lake and Ephrata, April has been especially cool.  At the Moses Lake airport, it was officially the 3rd coolest April on record.  The average high temperature was 45.1, which is 5.2 degrees below average.  The record for the coolest April is 44.2 degrees set back in 1955. Ephrata, meanwhile, set an all time record for the coolest April, with an average high of 45.0 degrees.  That's 6.6 degrees below average.  The previous record for Ephrata was 45.1, also set back in 1955.

Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones today announced an arrest warrant has been issued for the man suspected of killing a Joaquin Serrano of Moses Lake during a drive-by shooting last month.Gilberto Valdovinas Medina, 22 of Moses Lake, is wanted for first degree murder and drive-by shooting.Valdovinas Medina is 5' 8" tall, weighs 170 lbs., and has brown eyes, a shaved head and a goatee. He has several tattoos, including on both sides of his neck and arms. He may also go by the aliases "Diablo" and "Pedro".Valdovinas Medina is considered armed and dangerous, and citizens should not attempt to detain him. If spotted, citizens should call 9-1-1 immediately.Anyone wishing to give anonymous information can email crimetips@co.grant.wa.us

 (To see video of the story click here http://www.kxly.com/localvideo/index.html?v=25599

Things like this don't come around every day. Barb Franz, is one of eighty-five math and science teachers from across the nation to be honored by President Barack Obama during a reception and ceremony later this year in Washington D.C.She's been with North Elementary in Moses Lake teaching kindergarten since 1984. Her career started in 1981 teaching in Kennewick at the Bethalem Lutheran School.She received the news recently that she was selected by a panel of distinguished scientists, mathematicians and educators across the State of Washington.

No layoffs occurred this year at Big Bend Community College, though unfilled positions will stay vacant. This was stated at the school's annual State of the College by the institute's president, Bill Bonaudi, on Tuesday. Budget cuts have been an issue at the school, but Bonaudi says, "there's still a lot of student success stories."

Like many grocery stores in the state of Washington, Moses Lake's Grocery Outlet may join the ranks of stores that can feature beer and wine tastings. Their application is currently pending and is waiting the twenty-day waiting period for local authorities and the public. If no local objection has been submitted, the endorsement will be approved. 

Moses Lake Police want you to be safe from fraud and embezzlement. Tonight, April 27th, they're holding an educational seminar, designed to keep you from becoming a victim.Detective Juan Rodriguez will host tonight's seminar at 7 pm in the city council chambers. Police say they're seeing more cases where unsuspecting people are becoming victims of fraud through identity theft, internet fraud and phone scams.This is the first of a series of seminars police are offering throughout the spring and summer. Other topics include self-defense and how to understand the gang problem in Moses Lake and Grant County.

If you like fast boats, Moses Lake is the place to be this weekend.  The Moses Lake Regatta begins Saturday at 10am and continues on Sunday at 10am.  There will be 10 different classes of racing, from smaller 1-litre hydroplanes to the big boys, Grand Prix hydroplanes.  There will even be practice runs on Friday at noon.  For more information, click here. 

The Dave Matthews band is only playing one show on the west coast in 2011 - and that show is at the Gorge Ampitheater near George, Wash.The Dave Matthews Band Caravan will play the Gorge September 2, 3 and 4th. It's the last of four music festivals the band is playing this summer. The caravan features not only the popular band, but also a rotating group of established bands and up-and-comers on the music scene. The bands acompanying Dave Matthews at the Gorge include Dispatch, The Roots and Josh Ritter & the Royal City Band.Playing the Gorge Labor Day weekend has become a tradition for the band. The 2011 dates mark the 37th shows they've headlined there since 1997.

Moses Lake has the best fair around April 30 - May 1 so bring the family out to the Grant County Fairgrounds for the Grant County Spring Fair.