Ellensburg Community Morning Show, Thursday, August 27th
- ECR Staff Writer
- 18 hours ago
- 6 min read
NEWS
Part of the new pavement on Canyon Road is coming back out tonight, and the contractor is paying for it. The city inspected the freshly paved stretch between Umptanum Road and Mountain View Avenue and decided the east half didn't meet the standard the project required. So starting at 8 o'clock tonight, the contractor grinds that section out and hauls it off at no additional cost to the city. The road stays open with flaggers on site. Crews work overnight, and Public Works says Canyon Road will be fully open by tomorrow morning and stay open through the weekend. Repaving starts Monday night and should be finished early Tuesday, with utility work right after the Labor Day weekend and permanent striping in late September, once the asphalt has cured. If you've got questions, Public Works is at 9-6-2, 7-2-3-0.
There's a third fire burning in the mountains northwest of us. Lightning started the Goat Fire on Sunday near the Cle Elum River, and it grew to about ten acres. Together with the Three Queens Fire and the King Fire, roughly six thousand seven hundred acres are burning east of Snoqualmie Pass. Fire officials put containment at about thirteen percent, and as of Monday there were sixteen crews and eight hundred seventy-eight people working the fires, along with thirty-five engines and seven helicopters. Smoke from the Three Queens Fire has been thick enough to limit the aircraft working the Goat Fire, so hotshot crews on the ground have been directing air operations. On the Three Queens Fire, crews were boated in across Lake Kachess to build line uphill while hand crews worked down toward them. Level 1, 2 and 3 evacuation notices are all still in place in that country. You can see the current levels on the Kittitas County Emergency Management evacuation map, or on the Sheriff's Office Facebook page. To get evacuation changes by text, send the word FIRE-two-six to 8-8-8-7-7-7. The forest closure is still on, including sections of the Pacific Crest Trail.
An outside investigator has finished his report on the Ellensburg High School girls basketball program, and the finding is that trust between the coach and a group of his players broke down badly. The district shut the program down in June after players raised complaints following a team camp at Gonzaga. Athletic Director Cole Kanyer paused all basketball activity on June 22nd and the district hired Gene Sementi of Northwest Leadership Associates to look into it. According to the report, Sementi did not find violations of state law or of educator conduct standards, and he did not find intentional bullying, retaliation, or systematic favoritism. What he did find, in his words, was a significant and sustained breakdown in trust, communication, and team climate. He wrote that a substantial group of students experienced recurring emotional distress while a significant number of others experienced the program positively, and that some players reasonably experienced comments or nonverbal interactions as discouraging or intimidating, even though he could not establish harmful intent. The report also faults the administration for thin documentation and follow-up, and notes that most parents invited to meet about their concerns did not take the district up on it. Superintendent Troy Tornow met with head coach Austin Smith and Kanyer in early August and set goals around communication, student relationships and practice organization. Tornow said he does not expect staffing changes. Smith said he could not comment immediately. Kanyer was not available for comment.
The Riegel family has been named the 2026 Kittitas County Fair Farm Family of the Year, and their farm has been in the valley longer than most of us have been alive. It started in 1894, when Emanuel and Charlotte Riegel bought sixty-five acres. A hundred thirty-two years later it's still in the family — Kirk and Marie Riegel run it now with their daughter Kristine and her husband Jess Roberts. They grow timothy, alfalfa and sudan grass, and over the generations they've traded hand-stacked hay for harrow bedding and open ditches for gated pipe and wheel lines. The tractors run on GPS now. Kirk spent more than thirty years on the West Side Irrigating Company board, and Marie teaches 4-H sewing and baking projects alongside her mother, Mary Mathews. "It's a long history," Marie said. "It goes back a ways." The fair opens September 3rd with the theme "County Charm from the Farm."
And put your cowboy hat somewhere you can find it, because the Hoedown in the Downtown is back Saturday evening. It runs 5 to 10 in downtown Ellensburg, it's free, and it's open to all ages. Line-dancing lessons kick it off, and then there's live music from American Honey and Jukebox Central, along with local food, drinks and rodeo-themed games. Hayley Harrell of the Ellensburg Downtown Association says every purchase from the beer and wine garden goes back into downtown projects and events.
Here's what's happening around town today.
Toastmasters meets at 5:30 this evening at the Hal Holmes Community Center. It's also available online if you'd rather join from home.
Looking ahead to Saturday — the Ellensburg Farmers Market is downtown at 9 in the morning, the Hoedown fills the streets from 5 to 10, and out at the Kittitas Café the summer concert series has Under the Covers at 5 o'clock. Up at Snoqualmie Pass, the Summit Summer Music Series plays the Summit West Plaza at 3:30. And Sunday morning the Roslyn Farmers Market opens at 9.
A few notices. Monday is the deadline on a stack of city applications — the Access, Advocacy, Equity and Engagement Commission grants, the city's five council-funded and arts grant programs for next year, nominations for the Arts Treasure and Arts Advocate awards, and the Ellensburg Public Library's customer survey. All of them close at 5 o'clock Monday afternoon. The city is also still taking applications for two seats on the Parks and Recreation Commission, and the county is looking for volunteers for boards, committees and commissions across the board. County commissioners meet at 10 Monday morning to appoint a third commissioner to the District 1 seat. The Kittitas Valley Memorial Pool and Fitness Center closes Monday for its annual two-week maintenance shutdown and reopens September 14th. Starting Tuesday, the Cle Elum Transfer Station switches to a new entrance off State Route 903 with one-way traffic through the yard. And Tuesday afternoon at 2, county commissioners hold a public hearing on a Department of Natural Resources lease at Bowers Field, in the Commissioners' Auditorium at the courthouse.
One more — the Adult Activity Center still needs volunteers for the Senior Lounge at the county fair over Labor Day weekend. Two-hour shifts, and volunteers get a free pass into the fair. Call the Adult Activity Center at 9-6-2, 7-2-4-2.
WEATHER
The forecasted high today in Ellensburg is 80 degrees with a low tonight of 51 degrees. Mostly cloudy through mid-morning, then it clears out. The sunset is at 7:51 p.m. with winds out of the northwest at 5 to 15 miles an hour, gusting up around 26. No rain in the picture. The wind picks up after dark — northwest at 13 to 18 with gusts near 30, easing off after midnight. Tomorrow looks sunny and a little cooler, with a high around 78.
WHAT'S FOR LUNCH AT THE FISH OPEN TABLE?
The FISH Open Table lunch today is chicken and sausage gumbo, with bell peppers, onions, celery and garlic over rice, and a pear. The senior lunch is open to all seniors age 60-plus from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ellensburg Open Table at 204 North Main Street, and from 11:30 to 1 at the Upper County Senior Center in Cle Elum, where the menu is a little different. Lunch is free, donations are welcome but not required, and prior registration is necessary. The community lunch for anyone needing a hot meal is from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Ellensburg Open Table.
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