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50

The Hydrologic Model isConsistent with Age Dating Results

Fence diagram illustrating the open intervals for Moses Lake Wells #17 and #18. Surface connection with the East Low Canal can be traced to Wanapum Basalt units coming in contact with the canal at the ground surface.

BY BOB KIRKPATRICKEDITOR

OthelloÕ s David Ò El TorritoÓ Torres and Mike Ò No JokeÓ Stew-art battled to a 10-round draw in front of a sold out house at the Dover Downs Hotel and Casino in Delaware Feb. 25, leaving the NABA Junior Welterweight title belt still unclaimed.

“It was an exciting fi ght,” Tor-res said. Ò The crowd was really on his side and were expecting me to lose, but toward the middle of the bout, the crowd turned in my favor and was cheering for me in the end.Ó

Stewart, 10-0 at Dover Downs, was in for a long night in the ring as Torres took the fi rst two rounds. Both fi ghters landed hard and effective punches in the fourth round, but Torres landing several

right hands in the fi fth, ended the round with fi ve combination shots to the body and a left hook to the head that rocked Stewart.

Ò I knew I hurt him with those shots to the body,Ó Torres said. Ò He was throwing up on the way back to his corner.Ó

Stewart landed a few punches in the sixth round and was seem-ingly running out of gas as his last three fi ghts were only sched-uled for six rounds. But nonethe-less, he evened the score at three rounds each.

Torres, however, gained the up-per hand once more and was in control from the seventh round to the fi nal bell.

Ò I really felt like I out-fought him,Ó he said. Ò He was in a sur-vival mode ... holding on to me

PHOTO BY JONATHAN ALLEN

David “El Torrito” Torres, right, looks for an opening against Mike “No Joke” Stewart as the two mix it up at the Dover Downs Hotel and Casino Feb. 25.

Title � ght ends without a champ

See Torres, Page A5

BY BRIANA ALZOLASTAFF WRITER

The area is losing groundwater at a rapid pace, but most people are just letting others deal with the problem, Ground Water Man-agement Association executive director Paul Stoker said during a public forum March 1.

Ò A lot of people donÕ t take this issue seriously until their tap shuts down,Ó he said. Ò ItÕ s easy to turn the water on and do what

you wish.ÓGWMA is an organization that

monitors groundwater in Grant, Adams, Lincoln and Franklin counties. They recently com-pleted a study in the Moses Lake Sub-Region, which covers parts of Grant and Adams counties.

The amount of old water, or water that has been around for thousands of years, means that 93 percent of major agricultural

COURTESY ARTWORK

Diagram illustrates the open intervals for Moses Lake Wells No. 17 and No. 18. Sur-face connection with the East Low Canal can be traced to Wanapum Basalt units coming in contact with the canal at the ground surface.

DeepÊ thinkingÊ onÊourÊ waterÊ supply

See Water, Page A5

New technology helps police to prepareBY BRIANA ALZOLASTAFF WRITER

Law enforcement now has a faster, safer and more effi cient of way to deal with emergencies at public schools.

The Rapid Responder Pro-

gram, through the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Po-lice Chiefs, provides offi cers with instant access to maps to the schools, plus overviews of fl oor plans and where to set up dif-ferent command center in case of disaster.

Ò It is all laid out before an in-cident happens,Ó Othello Police Chief Steve Dunnagan said at a city council meeting March 7. “The offi cers have it all at their fi ngertips instead of think-ing through the process and taking time.Ó

In case of emergency, like a shooter, a temporary command center would be set up and teams of two offi cers would be sent in to immobilize the threat. Then, the other offi cers would set up the

See Council, Page A5

BY BRIANA ALZOLASTAFF WRITER

As the temperatures outside leave the single digits and climb higher, the hope of spring is in the air.

The participants in the Juve-nile Detention Alternative Initia-tive with Adams County Juvenile Services (ACJS) are making sure the community garden is ready when spring arrives. They spent March 5 building new raised planter boxes, 28 in total.

Ò The plants will grow better in the raised beds,Ó ACJS pro-bation manager Jessie Ò WenoÓ Dominguez said. Ò Before we

JuvenilesÊ growÊ withÊ communityÊ garden

See Garden, Page A5

PHOTO BY BRIANA ALZOLA

Juveniles ful� lling probation hours help ready the community garden for spring. Some of the hard workers are (from left) Ralph Medina, Johnathan Cardenas, Yvette Alfaro, juvenile services probation manager Jessie “Weno” Dominguez, Joseph Garcia and probation o� cer Felipe Lozano.

BY BRIANA ALZOLASTAFF WRITER

Saxophones will be blaring, voices will be groovinÕ and the potatoes will be steaming hot at the Othello Music Boosters an-nual Jazz Night March 15.

The event, which features per-formances from Othello High School Jazz band and choir and a baked potato bar, will begin at 6 p.m. at the Othello Church of the Nazarene Gathering Place, 825 East Ash St.

Ò It is wonderful music and you are supporting the music pro-

gram,Ó booster president Laura Cooper said.

There will be two auctions at the event, one spoken and one si-lent. All the money raised by the auctions will go to the many ser-vices the boosters provide, like scholarships for students pursu-ing higher education in music.

Ò The more funds we get, the more we can give out,Ó booster secretary Tammie Howes said.

To earn a scholarship from the group, a student must show he or she is going on to study music

OHS music boosters to stage a jazzy fundraiser

PHOTO BY BRIANA ALZOLA

Brian McDougall leads the OHS Jazz Choir as they prepare for the upcoming Jazz Night, which will take place at the Othello Church of the Nazarene March 15. See Jazz Night, Page A5

www.OthelloOutlook.com The Othello Outlook – Thursday, March 10, 2011 A5 C O M M U N I T Y

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THANK YOUFOR THE SUPPORT

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To my supporters, thank you for the support

during the Big Bend Electric Cooperative Board

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Donald M. Kagele

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a lot so when the ring announcer read the fi rst score, 96-94 in my favor, I thought I won the fi ght. Then the next two scores were announced ... 95-95, which meant it was a draw.”

Torres was obviously disap-pointed with the outcome.

“It felt like I was robbed of the title,” he said. “But I know I will beat him if we fi ght again.”

His manager Lalo Martinez believed Torres earned the belt, as well.

“I thought we won it by three or four points,” he said. “David

dominated the fi ght, but things don’t always go the way you think it should ... You have to re-spect the judges’ decision.”

Stewart was admittedly sur-prised a with the outcome, too, telling a reporter with MCNS-PORTS he “felt out worked” by Torres.

Torres might get the chance to back up his words as there is talk of a rematch a couple of months down the road.

“They are talking about it ... sometime in May I think,” he said. “If that happens, I will be leaving

town to train in Houston or in Hol-lywood at the same facility where Manny Pacquiao trains.”

Martinez said nothing is con-fi rmed at this point, but he would welcome the opportunity if cer-tain conditions are met.

Ò We are willing to entertain the idea if they put the title on the line again,” he said. “We are also weighing the decision to fi ght at Dover Downs again or in At-lantic City. But no matter where it takes place, it will be another great fi ght.”

Torres: Talks of a rematch are in the works for sometime in MayFrom Page A1

Jazz night: Tickets are $10 at the door From Page A1

Garden: Dominguez said the garden helps embody community spiritFrom Page A1

Water: There are currently more than 157 wells, but they are still pulling 160,000 acre-feet a yearFrom Page A1

Council: A grandfather clause was added to the proposed dog ordinanceFrom Page A1

PHOTO BY JONATHAN ALLEN

Torres and Stewart go toe-to-toe in the late rounds of the � ght.

just planted straight in the soil.”The boxes are fi lled with spe-

cial soil and fertilizer, creating a more ideal environment for the growing vegetables and fruits.

Once the community garden opens, the JDAI kids will take over some of the beds and grow their own produce. Then, they will pick what they’ve grown and take it to the local food bank. They will deliver what is left over to various people in need around the community.

“They are involved in the whole process from beginning to

end,” Dominguez said.Working at the community

garden is something a lot of the people in JDAI look forward to, he said. They are always ready to offer gardening advice or suggest ways to improve the plots.

They use knowledge they have garnered in other parts of their lives.

“Some of them do this at home,” Dominguez said.

The garden itself helps embody the community spirit, he said. Lots of people pitch in, in addi-tion to the JDAI group. Much of

the materials for the planter box-es was donated by Ace Hardware and Probuild.

The garden is open to anyone in the Othello area, whether they also want to grow produce for the food bank or they want to grow it for their own homes. Registra-tion for the plots is open now and will continue through the grow-ing season. The garden offi cially opens in April. Plots are $15 each. To reserve a spot, call or e-mail Timm Taff at 488-5896 or timm.taff@gmail.com or call garden trustee Tracy Field at 989-3988.

perimeters, command center, a place for the fi re department per-sonnel, a location for media and a place for volunteers to gather.

The program also lays out an area to clear in case a medical helicopter must be landed nearby.

“This is great technol-ogy we have at our disposal,” Dunnagan said.

The program covers all the schools in Adams County.

Also at the meeting, Ken Sim-mons with Adams County Pet Rescue gave the council an up-date on its 2010 yearly report.

Last year, ACPR received 229 dogs from the county and 75 from the city. Owners claimed 50 of them and 231 were adopted.

The dogs are not just adopted in Adams County. Adopters have come from as far as Alaska and New York to take home one of the pets.

ACPR also spayed or neutered 173 dogs and 50 cats, gave them a

checkup, updated their shots and provided food, incurring a cost of approximately $100 per animal.

“We are defi nitely a nonprofi t organization,” he said.

ACPR is temporarily hous-ing animals at the city pound until the group can raise enough money to build a new shelter. They are hoping to relocate near the fairgrounds.

The council also discussed their proposed dog ordinance. The ordinance would limit the number of dogs within the city limits to three per residence. The city did a survey of 29 other cit-ies in eastern Washington and the average number of dogs these cit-ies allowed was three.

The city added a “grandfa-ther” clause to the proposal that will allow people who already have more than three dogs that have been licensed in the past to keep them.

The city is also defi ning ken-

nels. A hobby kennel is a small, noncommercial kennel where the household has less than three litters a year of puppies that are registered or purebreed dogs. These kennels are allowed within city limits.

A commercial kennel is a place where pets are bred specifi -cally to be sold or where pets are boarded in exchange for money. These require a special license and are not allowed in resid-ential zones.

No ordinances were signed; the city will discuss the issue again at their March 14 meeting.

Later at the meeting, Mayor Tim Wilson declared the week of April 4 through 9 as the 14th Annual Othello Spring Clean-up Days. Othello residents should work together to help clean up trash and beautify the city during the week, he said.

at a higher education level. This could mean majoring in a music fi eld or simply taking a class to learn more about their instru-ment or music in general.

In addition to college schol-arships for music students, the group helps fund fi eld trips for students to see performances around the state. They also help needy children get the instru-ments they need to play in the band, send kids to music camps and to participate in all-state choirs and help clean the march-ing band uniforms.

State funding continues to be cut, Cooper said, so it is impor-tant to supplement the program with outside funding.

“We need supplements to help the district and the community keep kids engaged in music,” she said.

When students travel to other places, they bring back the knowl-edge they garner to share with the other people in the program.

“All the students get to benefi t from that,” Cooper said.

Studying the arts can help brain development, Howes said.

“Music and art are helping cre-ate successful kids,” she said. “That’s what we’re all about.”

The booster club is made up of community members and for-mer and current parents of mu-sic students. They are not paid, they volunteer their time to run these events.

The group also takes donations of instruments, if parents have them left over from when their children played in the band in high school. The boosters donate them to the school so children who can’t afford to rent an instru-ment can still participate in the music program.

The musicians at the event will be quite impressive, Howes said.

“They are really good for a small town,” she said. “It is amazing what the students here in Othello have to offer.”

The event should be a great one.Ò There will be great food and

talented, young musicians,” Coo-per said.

Tickets are available at the door and are $10 per adult and $7 per student.

and municipal wells in the Moses Lake Sub-Region are not sustain-able, Stoker said. Shallow aqui-fers are not being replenished fast enough and deep aquifers are re-ceiving no recharge.

If area people do nothing, all the water will probably run out over the course of the next 10 or 20 years, he said.

“The bad news is, your water is going to run out,” Stoker said. “The good news is, you have some options.”

One of these solutions involves the Columbia River Distribution

System, where water would be brought down from the Colum-bia River and surrounding cou-lees to irrigate crop land in the area. Another solution would be passive rehydration, where water would be diverted from the river to help fi ll the basalt aquifers currently providing water to the area. Another plan is direct injec-tion, where water would be fed down the wells themselves until it needs to be pumped back up and used.

“It’s like putting it in storage, like a bank,” Stoker said.

People need to start acting now, however, because once the water is gone, options will be greatly reduced, he said.

“That’s really not very long at all,” he said. “It’s almost too late now, in a sense.”

No one can fully solve this problem all at once, however.

“Everything is a partial solu-tion,” he said. “There is no an-swer that helps every well.”

For now, one of the best things to do is to contact legislators and other community leaders and bring the issue to their attention, Stoker said. The more people who are behind the issue, the closer they can get to a solution.

The groundwater that currently feeds the wells comes from aqui-fers in the basalt rock layers of the ground. Some of the water was stored in the rock thousands of years ago. Then, more lava fl ows laid down rock on top of this rock, creating another layer capable of of storing more water. Only the top layers are able to be naturally recharged, or refi lled from rain and other surface water sources.

The number of wells in the Moses Lake Sub-Region have greatly increased in the last 50 years, taxing the pull on existing groundwater resources. People are using water faster, but the re-charge rate is the same, Patrick Royer, with GWMA, said.

The three types of wells are sediment wells, using only water that is on the surface and is easily recharged, shallow basalt wells,

going down up to 500 feet for wa-ter, and deep basalt wells, which pull water up to 2,700 feet from the surface of the ground.

Deep basalt wells are using water that is not rechargeable, because it is so far down in the ground.

In 1960, there were 20 sediment wells, 16 shallow basalt wells and 14 basalt wells in the sub-region and they pulled a total of 7,300 acre-feet of water per year. In 1970, there were 31 sediment wells, 48 shallow basalt wells and 79 deep basalt wells, using a total of 86,000 acre-feet per year. In 1990, the numbers had jumped to 169 sediment wells, 206 shallow basalt wells and 231 deep basalt wells. The wells were pulling up about 162,000 acre-feet of wa-ter a year. The most recent data, compiled in 2010, shows 530 sed-iment wells, 686 shallow basalt wells and 356 deep basalt wells. In total, they are still only pulling about 160,000 acre-feet a year.

“We’re taking the majority of the water that’s already there in the ground, we’re not replenishing it,” John Porcello, with GSI Water Solutions, who have been studying the water in the region, said.

GWMA sampled more than 400 wells in the sub-region to see how much young water there was and how much old water. New water is rechargeable, old is not. In the survey of 464 wells, 36 had evidence of young water. Out of the 25 cities in the GWMA area, 23 of them are pumping ancient ground water.

City Well # Carbon 14 Age (Years)

Moses Lake 10 13,420Almira 4 9,350Connell 8 3,730Creston - 2,460Ephrata 4 7,320Davenport 7 23,070George 2 1,980Harrington 3 NewHatton - OldKahlotus - OldLind 8 24,760Mattawa 2 7,020Mesa 2 NewOdessa 4 26,250Othello 8 24,400Quincy 5 1,580Ritzville 8 15,520Royal City 3 22,320Reardan 2 14,970Soap Lake 1 12,590Sprague 3 18,370Warden 7 3,500Washtucna 3 11,240Wilbur 4 5,100Wilson Creek - Old

Estimated age of water from city wells located within the GWMA.

Music is an outburst of the soul. ~Frederick Delius