Ellensburg Community Morning Show, Thursday, May 21st

Looking ahead to next Tuesday, Seattle University professor and author Sonora Jha visits Central Washington University as part of the Lion Rock Visiting Writers Series. Jha will give a free craft talk at noon and a reading at 5:30 p.m. in Black Hall's Multicultural Center. Free lunch is served to people who come to the noon talk. Her novel "Intemperance" won a Washington State Book Award and was named a Best Book of 2025 by Library Journal. Both events include a Q&A and book signing.

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NEWS

The City of Ellensburg cut the ribbon yesterday afternoon on the new playground at West Ellensburg Park, the first new playground in town since 2012. The Ellensburg Morning Rotary Club kicked in twenty thousand dollars for equipment and helped install it back in April. The rest of the two-hundred-thousand-dollar price tag came from the city's Real Estate Excise Tax fund. The playground has swings for all ages, a merry-go-round, and play features designed to include kids of all abilities.

Looking ahead to next Tuesday, Seattle University professor and author Sonora Jha visits Central Washington University as part of the Lion Rock Visiting Writers Series. Jha will give a free craft talk at noon and a reading at 5:30 p.m. in Black Hall's Multicultural Center. Free lunch is served to people who come to the noon talk. Her novel "Intemperance" won a Washington State Book Award and was named a Best Book of 2025 by Library Journal. Both events include a Q&A and book signing.

For events tonight in town, Toastmasters International meets at 5:30 at the Hal Holmes Community Center. And at 7 p.m., Central Washington Dance Academy presents "The Little Prince" at the Morgan Middle School Performing Arts Center. It's a theatrical dance experience that runs through Sunday afternoon.

SPORTS

The Central Washington Wildcats track and field team begins competition today at the NCAA Division Two Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Emporia, Kansas. The meet runs Thursday through Saturday at Welch Stadium on the Emporia State campus, with the first events starting at 10:30 a.m. Pacific. Both the Wildcat men's and women's teams finished second at the GNAC Outdoor Championships earlier this month.

WEATHER                                                                                          

The forecasted high tomorrow in Ellensburg is 79 degrees with a low of 51 degrees overnight. Sunny skies with a light northwest wind around 5 miles per hour. The sun sets at 8:35 p.m. No rain in the forecast.

WHAT'S FOR LUNCH AT THE FISH OPEN TABLE?

The FISH Open Table lunch today is chicken parm, served with a roll, peas, and apples. 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 noon to 1 p.m. at the Cle Elum Seventh Day Adventist Church. The community lunch for anyone needing a hot meal is from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Ellensburg Open Table.