Senior Times - April 2023

TUESDAY, APRIL 18

9 A.M. − 3 P.M. Southridge Sports & Events Complex

Seniors celebrate return, reopening of their West Richland center

By Kristina Lord kristina@tcjournal.biz

The buzz of cheerful chatter, funny one-liners and laughter filled the West Richland Senior Center on March 14.

It had been a long time since the modest building at 616 N. 60th Ave. overflowed with so many people.

The senior center shuttered at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic three years ago.

“It’s been a few years since I’ve seen this hall full,” noted West Richland police Chief Thomas Grego.

Since word got out about the reopening celebration, Bill Larsen’s email inbox has been full.

He is the West Richland Senior Association’s new president.

“There’s been an outpouring of interest about when and where and how to get involved,” he said.

More than 60 people attended the

reopening celebration, which included lunch donated by Guardian Angels Homes.

The senior association’s new board gave speeches, introductions and history lessons. Elected officials celebrated their senior population, and fire and police personnel shared safety tips.

Larsen said he hopes seniors will be able to rekindle their friendships and make new ones.

It’s the reason Patty Hamilton, 67, showed up.

“I have nothing to fill my day up. I wanted to get in with the seniors and do what they do,” she said.

Debbie Schutz, 63, agreed: “I have nothing to do.”

The board encouraged anyone wanting to stay at the center after the luncheon to pull up a chair and help

Woodcarvers share their craft with home-schoolers

By Kristina Lord kristina@tcjournal.biz

Dean Herigstad’s hands can coax beautiful shapes out of a block of wood.

It’s a skill he’s happy to share with others.

The retired carpenter from West Richland enjoys teaching others the craft, so when a home-schooling group asked if he and his fellow woodcarvers would be willing to sit alongside young people to teach them, there was no hesitation.

“They’re great. We’ve had 16

home-schoolers through and seven have come back consistently,” he said.

They meet up at the Keewaydin Community Center in Kennewick.

John Moreno of Pasco, a retired middle school teacher, said he’s enjoyed teaching the home-schoolers, calling them motivated and polite.

With the youngest member of their woodcarving group at age 66, Moreno and Herigstad say they worry about whether the younger generation will follow in their footsteps.

“We don’t want to see it die with us,” Moreno said.

The formal woodcarvers group, Tri-Cities Woodcarving Club, was a registered nonprofit but the pandemic forced it to disband.

“We couldn’t sustain the membership,” Herigstad said.

In 2013, there were 86 members. Today there are about 25 left.

But those who carve still enjoying meeting up and have three standing drop-in meetings a week. It’s informal but a nice chance to get together to work on projects, Herigstad said.

“It’s rewarding to take a raw piece of wood and turn it into something. It’s relaxing – the simple pleasure of

doing it,” he said.

The connection between this older generation and the younger one has been a joy to watch, said Dedra Maxwell, a home-schooling mom who helped to organize families interested in learning the carving craft.

“Our seniors are precious parts of our community who sometimes get a little neglected, but to be able to bring them together with children is wonderful on many layers,” she said. “I’m hoping this continues and grows.”

uWOODCARVERS, Page 2

Photo by Kristina Lord

Seniors stuff chocolates into Easter eggs for West Richland’s annual Easter egg hunt on April 8. The seniors volunteered to help after attending the March 14 reopening celebration of the West Richland Senior Center, which had been closed since the beginning of the pandemic. uSENIOR CENTER, Page 2

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STAFF

Paul Read Group Publisher 509-344-1262 paul@tcjournal.biz

Kristina Lord Executive Editor 509-344-1261 kristina@tcjournal.biz

Sara Schilling Reporter 509-344-1286 sara@tcjournal.biz

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Erin Landon Business Assistant 509-344-1285 erin@tcjournal.biz

Senior Times, a publication of Mid-Columbia Media Inc., is published monthly. Subscriptions are $21.69 per year, prepayment required, no refunds. Contents of this publication are the sole property of Mid-Columbia Media Inc. and can not be reproduced in any form without expressed written consent. Opinions expressed by guest columnists and advertisers do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Senior Times staff, other guest columnists or other advertisers, nor do they imply endorsement by Senior Times staff, other guest columnists or advertisers. Every effort will be made to assure information published is correct; however, we are not liable for any errors or omissions made despite these efforts.

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WOODCARVERS, From page 1

In addition to learning how to carve, the kids also learn to interact with the community, she said.

“Being able to go out in the community and get to know members of the community and see things that other people do – that’s also a learning experience,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell launched a private Facebook group (“Homeschool Wood Carvers Tri-Cities, WA”) for those interested in participating. So far, 87 families have joined the group.

“We’re excited. I think it’s a beautiful art, and it’s working with your hands. We just don’t want that to be lost,” Maxwell said.

Kaylee Clark, 12, of Pasco, is working on her third carving. She admitted she’s a bit of a perfectionist and if one thing is off on her piece, “it really bothers me.”

Her mother, Amber Clark, called Kaylee very artsy and a quick study. “She picked it up really fast,” she said.

Kaylee doesn’t see it that way. She pointed out an ornate dragon and mask carved by one of the senior group members. She can’t imagine being that talented, she said. Still, she’s continuing to practice.

Emerson Larsen, 12, of Richland, has been working on carving a boot, one of the first projects the experi-

SENIOR CENTER, From page 1

stuff plastic eggs full of chocolates for West Richland’s 14th annual Easter egg hunt on April 8. Several seniors were happy to do so, including Hamilton and Schutz.

May Hays, treasurer of the West Richland Senior Association, said it’s exciting to relaunch activities at the center.

“We want to get it going again and meet and mingle and bring life back into this whole place,” she said.

The pandemic took a toll on the group’s membership, which num-

enced carvers have the youth tackle.

“It’s fun to see how far you can progress,” he said.

His mom, Marianne Larsen, said she’s enjoyed doing it alongside him.

Parents must stay with their child during the classes for safety reasons. And the carvers encourage them to try it, too.

“I do like it. Time flies whenever we come here,” Marianne Larsen said.

Children must be 12 years old to participate so they have the dexterity

bered between 60 to 80 and is now down to 20, Hays said.

“Covid really put the hurt on a lot of activities our seniors could do,” said West Richland Mayor Brent Gerry.

Larsen, 61, a retired firefighter, encouraged those in attendance to participate and offer suggestions of activities they’d like to do.

“We just need people out again. They’re so lonely,” Hays said. “We’re just trying to bring the community back together.”

She said the senior association hopes to establish a food pantry at the

and hand strength to carve. There’s no cost and the woodcarvers supply the tools and wood. Class size is limited to five students.

The woodcarvers meet 1-3 p.m. Wednesdays and 9 a.m. to noon Fridays at the Keewaydin Community Center, 505 S. Auburn Ave., Kennewick.

The carvers also meet from 1-3 p.m. Thursdays at the Pasco First Avenue Center, 505 N. First Ave. Cost to participate in the drop-in meetups is $1.

senior center and soon will be celebrating a new name for building.

Hays, who sits on the West Richland City Council, said plans are underway to rename the senior center after the late Billy Shane, who served for years as president of the West Richland Senior Association. He died in December 2021 at age 89.

Annual membership for the senior association is $7 a year. For more information, email wolfman6262@ me.com, or come to the monthly potluck, which is at 11:30 a.m. the second Tuesday of the month. Activities cost $1 for members.

Here’s the April schedule at the senior center:

• Bingo: Last Monday of the month. Lunch at 12:30 p.m., bingo at 1 p.m.

• Exercise: 9-10 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

• Sewing: Last Tuesday and Wednesday of the month, 10 a.m.

• Bunco: First Wednesday and third Friday of the month, 11:30 a.m.

• Pinochle: First and third Mondays of the month, noon.

• Potluck: second Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.

• Watercolor session: 1-3 p.m. Saturdays.

Photo by Kristina Lord Dean Herigstad provides guidance to Emerson Larsen, 12, of Richland, at the Keewaydin Community Center in Kennewick. Tri-City woodcarvers are teaching home-school students their craft.

Kennewick’s man, woman of year honored for decades of community service

By Senior Times staff

Two longtime Kennewick volunteers were recognized and praised for their work to make their city a better place to live.

Candice Bluechel, who “inspires everyone she works with,” was named Kennewick Woman of the Year, and Wayne Bell, who “leads by example and is the first to get his hands dirty,” was named Kennewick Man of the Year for 2022.

Bluechel was nominated by Laurie Church.

Bell was nominated by Bob Kelly, 2015 Kennewick Man of the Year, and Gerry Berges, who received the honor in 1997. Bell’s wife, Maureen Bell,

was named Kennewick Woman of the Year in 2015.

The awards, which date back to 1946, were presented by the Kennewick Past Man of the Year Club and the Kennewick Past Women of the Year Club. The banquet to honor the winners was held at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick on March 20.

Woman of the Year

Bluechel, who moved to Kennewick in 1999, has a long list of volunteer work on her resume.

She served for 12 years on the Kennewick Planning Commission.

She was a board member for the Kennewick Arts Commission and

Children’s Development Center. She served as president of Soroptimist International of Three Rivers and was cochair for TriCities Soroptimists Against Human Trafficking.

She was a member of Leadership Tri-Cities Class 8 and worked as business services manager at WorkSource Columbia Basin. She also is a past Rotarian.

“Candice is passionately committed to making Kennewick a better place to live and work. She works hard every

day to achieve this goal. She inspires everyone she works with and is recognized as a true leader, a woman who strives to help whenever called upon and an accomplished professional,” according to her nomination letter.

She continues to take a leadership role in developing plans for human trafficking community conversations, coordinating with multiple agencies and speakers, and was a key partici-

New report highlights increasing cost of family caregiving

Family caregivers provide needed day-to-day support and services and manage complex care tasks for adults with chronic, disabling or serious health conditions. In addition to helping with self-care or other everyday activities and giving emotional and social support, family caregivers handle complex medical and nursing tasks at home, like performing wound care, giving injections and managing medical equipment.

In Washington, the unpaid care provided by these 820,000 silent saviors is valued at $16.8 billion, according to new state data available in AARP’s latest “Valuing the Invaluable” report. This is a $4.8 billion increase in unpaid contributions since the last report was released in 2019.

The share of available family caregivers is projected to continue shrinking relative to the number of older adults who will potentially need longterm care. By 2034, adults aged 65 and older will outnumber children under the age of 18 for the first time. In addition, family caregivers will

GUEST COLUMN

continue to face the dual demands of employment and caregiving responsibilities, which often include caring for an older adult and children simultaneously.

The Covid-19 pandemic laid bare the realities of the caregiving experience. Family caregivers and their care recipients lost access to paid care support due to program closures and staff shortages, experienced isolation and loneliness, and struggled with financial losses in income, housing, and food security. In addition, almost 40% of family caregivers increased their care hours. In fact, for working family caregivers, it was the equivalent of taking on a part-time job.

“Family caregivers play a vital role in Washington’s health care system, whether they care for someone at home, coordinate home health care,

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or help care for someone who lives in a nursing home,” said Marguerite Ro, AARP Washington state director. “We want to make sure all family caregivers have the financial, emotional and social support they need, because the care they provide is invaluable both to those receiving it and to their community.”

The report highlights trends in family caregiving, explores the growing scope and complexity of family caregiving, and discusses actions needed to address the financial, social and emotional challenges of caring for parents, spouses and other loved ones.

AARP Washington supports family caregivers and the loved ones who depend on them for care. For exam-

ple, AARP Washington helped usher in the WA Cares program, which provides funds to pay a family caregiver, which can help an estimated one in four workers who have left the workforce for caregiving responsibilities. These unpaid caregivers often deplete their financial resources, spending up to 26% of their own money on caregiving activities.

Read the full report for national and state-by-state data on the economic value of unpaid care by family and friends at aarp.org/valuing Resources and information on family caregiving are available at aarp. org/caregiving.

Cathy MacCaul is the advocacy director for AARP Washington

Cathy MacCaul AARP

Candice Bluechel

Wayne Bell

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

APRIL 6

• First Thursday Art Walk in Historic Downtown Kennewick: 3 p.m., 27 N. Auburn St., Kennewick.

APRIL 8

• West Richland’s 14th annual Easter Egg Hunt: 10 a.m., Bombing Range Sports Complex, 3200 Bombing Range Road.

• Benton City Chamber of Commerce, Photos with the Easter Bunny: 12:30-2 p.m., 806 Dale Ave., Benton City. Free.

• The Arc Tri-Cities Easter Egg Hunt: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Columbia Point Park, Richland. Register online at arcoftricities.com. or call 509-783-1131, ext. 100.

• Pasco Spring Eggstravaganza: noon, Pasco Sporting Complex, 6520 Home Run Road, Pasco.

APRIL 11

• Alzheimer’s Program

Understanding Behaviors: 1-2 p.m., virtual event. Call 509-9438455 or register online at kadlec.org/ KNRC.

APRIL 12

• End of Life Planning: 1-3:30 p.m., Kadlec Healthplex, 1268 Lee Blvd., Richland. Call 509943-8455 or register online at kadlec.org/KNRC.

APRIL 14-16

• Tri-Cities Men’s Expo: noon7 p.m. Friday, April 14; 10 a.m.7 p.m. Saturday, April 15; 10 a.m.4 p.m. Sunday, April 16. The Hapo Center, 6600 Burden Blvd., Pasco.

• Elijah Family Homes “Better Together” Non Profit Softball Tournament: 5 p.m. Friday, April 14, kick-off; 8 a.m., tournament starts on Saturday, April 15, Horn Rapids Sports Complex, 2000 Snyder St., Richland. Cheer on your favorite team and donate to nonprofits.

APRIL 15

• Heart of Healing Benefit and Auction: 5:30-9:30 p.m., Red Lion Hotel, 2525 N. 20th Ave., Pasco. Tickets at chaplaincyhealthcare.org.

APRIL 18

• Spring Senior Times Expo: 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Numerica Pavilion at Southridge Sports & Events Complex, 2901 Southridge Blvd.,

Kennewick. Go to: srtimes.com. Free.

APRIL 19

• Healthy Ages Wellness Program - WSU Master Gardeners: 1-2:30 p.m., Stevens Drive, Richland. Call 509-943-8455 or register online at kadlec.org/ KNRC.

APRIL 20

• “How Audio Technology Changed the World”: 7:30 p.m., Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate, Richland. Veteran broadcaster Ross Reynolds explores the impact that audio transmission has had on society and storytelling, beginning with the first century of radio, up to the modern age of audiobooks, internet streaming, podcasts and smart speakers.

APRIL 21

• Richland Senior Association dance: 1 p.m., Riverview Room, Richland Community Center, 500 Amon Park Drive, Richland. Cost: $10. Dance to a five-piece band led by Clark Hodge.

APRIL 29-30

• Lakeside Gem & Mineral Club 26th annual Gem & Mineral Show: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, April 29; 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, April 30, Benton County Fairgrounds, 1500 S. Oak St., Building #2, Kennewick. Cost: Adults $5, children 12 and under are free with a paid adult.

APRIL 29

• Franklin County Historical Society ribbon-cutting event: 11 a.m., 305 N. Fourth Ave., Pasco. Ribbon-cutting event for the new annex building.

MAY 4

• First Thursday Art Walk in Historic Downtown Kennewick: 3 p.m., 27 N. Auburn St., Kennewick.

MAY 6

• Classy Chassis Car Show & Shine: Car Show, 10 a.m.3 p.m.; Street Dance, 6-10 p.m. Downtown Kennewick, W. Kennewick Ave. between Dayton Street and Washington Street.

For 4 years, letters intended for Kennewick were mailed to Tehe, Washington

By Gale Metcalf for Senior Times

There was a time was when a letter sent to Kennewick did not arrive at a post office in Kennewick.

It arrived at a post office in Tehe, Washington.

It was the late 1880s and for nearly four years, the Post Office Department in Washington, D.C., did not accept “Kennewick” as a place of destination for mail.

To that government agency founded by Benjamin Franklin, the postal site that has been historically known as Kennewick, Washington, was Tehe, Washington.

All because of a woman’s incessant giggling, according to an historical account of Kennewick’s postal history by George Simmons, Kennewick’s postmaster for many years beginning in 1965.

Kennewick’s postal history began in 1885 during construction of a Northern Pacific railroad bridge across the Columbia River between Kennewick and Pasco. The construction camp was established on the Kennewick side of the river.

H.S. Hudson, resident engineer, was required to send daily reports to the company’s main office. To

accommodate convenience in delivery of those reports, a request was made for a post office to be established in Kennewick. The request was approved and Kennewick’s firstever United States Post Office was opened for business.

On Jan. 21, 1885, Joseph Dimond became the first postmaster of Kennewick.

At the time, Kennewick, not much more than a village, was identified by the spelling “Konnewock,” as

Native Americans pronounced the word.

To the postal service, it soon after became “Tehe,” Simmons noted. It became so in the strangest way. The wife of an engineer employed in building the new train bridge was “addicted” to giggling and the “teeheeing,” as the men came to call her spells of laughter, led one to suggest the place be called Tehe.

“Incredible as it may sound,” Simmons noted, “a petition was cir-

culated asking that the name be changed and although it had started as a joke, the Post Office Department in Washington, D.C., took the application seriously and the change was made.”

From Aug. 31, 1886, until Feb. 16, 1890, the village that was to become the city of Kennewick had the name of Tehe, as far as the postal service was concerned.

It was a sore spot for businessmen and merchants. It forced a change in advertising signs and letterheads.

Diamond held the postmaster position for less than a year when he was succeeded on Nov. 11, 1885, by Nora Knowlton, a widow and the first woman postmaster in Kennewick. She took over the position four years to the day before Washington Territory became Washington state on Nov. 11, 1889.

The Kennewick post office has a history of many locations during its existence.

When A.R. Leeper took over as postmaster in 1889, he operated it out of his retail store. So did Charles C. Conway, who followed Leeper as postmaster six months later and moved the post office into his store,

uPOST OFFICE, Page 10

Courtesy East Benton County History Museum

This letter mailed to Kennewick in 1887 shows the Tehe postmark. From Aug. 31, 1886 until Feb. 16, 1890, the village that was to become the city of Kennewick was known as Tehe, as far as the postal service was concerned.

MEALS ON WHEELS MENU

Mid-Columbia Meals on Wheels senior dining sites serve hot meals from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday (Tuesday through Friday in Connell). Meals are free for seniors age 60 and older.

Seniors must make reservations 24 business hours in advance by calling 509-735-1911.

Monday, April 3: Barbecue chicken, roasted carrots, potato salad, cornbread.

Tuesday, April 4: Beef stroganoff, garlic noodles, green beans.

Wednesday, April 5: Chef salad, ranch dressing, wheat roll, pineapple.

Thursday, April 6: Baked ham, raisin sauce, au gratin potatoes, glazed carrots, wheat roll, carrot cake.

Friday, April 7: Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, brown gravy, broccoli.

Monday, April 10: Turkey tetrazzini, green peas, tossed salad.

Tuesday, April 11: Cranberry chicken, confetti rice, garden vegetables.

Wednesday, April 12: Sloppy Joes, mixed vegetables, coleslaw.

Thursday, April 13: Roast pork with gravy, mashed potatoes, beets.

Friday, April 14: Tuna pasta salad, broccoli salad, crackers.

Monday, April 17: Spaghetti and meat sauce, green beans, garlic bread.

Tuesday, April 18: Baked cod with dill sauce, herbed potatoes, squash medley.

Wednesday, April 19: Chicken

Chop Salad, Salad Greens, Carrot Sticks

Thursday, April 20: Roast beef with gravy, mashed potatoes, Italian vegetables, wheat roll, ice cream.

Friday, April 21: Closed.

Monday, April 24: Sweet and sour, chicken, fluffy rice, Asian vegetables.

Tuesday, April 25: Meatloaf with gravy, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables.

Wednesday, April 26: Tuna noodle, casserole, lyonnaise carrots, peach and cherry crisp.

Thursday, April 27: Hamburger, baked beans, apple cabbage slaw, lettuce, tomato, onion.

Friday, April 28: Chicken Caesar salad, breadstick, cottage cheese & pineapple.

Dining site locations:

• Kennewick Community Center, 500 S. Auburn St.

• Pasco First Avenue Center, 505 N. First Ave.

• Pasco Ray Pfleuger Center, 253 W. Margaret St.

• Richland Community Center, 500 Amon Park Road North.

• Benton City Desert Rose Facility, 510 14th St.

• Prosser Senior Center, 1231 Dudley Ave.

• Connell Community Center, 211 E. Elm St.

• Meals on Wheels Cafe, 1834 Fowler St., Richland. No reservations required at this site.

Boise-based company buys longtime Richland office furniture shop

By Sara Schilling sara@tcjournal.biz

Office supply needs were a bit different back in 1946, when Brutzman’s Office Solutions first opened in the Tri-Cities. Remington Rand typewriters were an early focus, for example.

But the company’s commitment to its customers and the community hasn’t changed, even as it’s grown, adapted and transformed over the last 77 years.

And that commitment will remain as the family-owned business changes hands, the new owner said.

The Brutzmans recently sold to Freeform, a Boise-based commercial interiors company. Terms of the March 1 sale were not disclosed.

“We greatly appreciate having the Bruztman family’s trust that we’ll take care of their customers and continue their legacy in the Tri-Cities market,” said Jeff Heath, chief executive officer for Freeform. “We’re really excited to get embedded and start building those lifelong relationships and help companies thrive in the Tri-Cities.”

Ken Brutzman, whose grandfather, Hal, founded Brutzman’s Office Solutions, also praised the move. For years, Ken has run the business with his sister, Kathy, and his brother, Keith.

“It’s handing off a legacy. I’ve been at it and my family’s been at it for a long time. To be able to transition in such a positive (way) going forward makes my heart feel good,” he said.

While Brutzman’s started as a typewriter and office supply company, its main focus for about the last 20 years has been as a contract furniture dealer, with a $5 million annual sales line.

That fit well with Freeform’s focus, and acquisition discussions began a few years ago, before being delayed by the pandemic.

Brutzman’s employees will stay on with Freeform, which will transition the Richland store to its branding in the coming months.

The Brutzman family is keeping its large format print operation.

Like Brutzman’s, Freeform – formerly Business Interiors of Idaho – is family-owned. The Heath family has known and worked with the Brutzmans for decades.

The Boise-based company took

on the name Freeform after a merger with a Spokane firm last year. The acquisition of Brutzman’s Office Solutions links Freeform’s Spokane and Boise operations and will mean increased efficiencies and savings that will be passed onto customers, Heath said.

Freeform is a company of “furniture geeks” with a passion for making spaces for “people, culture and communities to thrive,” its website says. It has an extensive commercial, education, government, health care

and multifamily portfolio, and it offers services from commercial space planning and design to ergonomic office furniture specification to architectural products and elements selection, and more. The company says it’s the only B Corp-certified furniture dealer in the world.

Search Brutzman’s Office Solutions is at 2501 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Richland.

Courtesy Freeform

Freeform, a Boise-based commercial interiors company, acquired Brutzman’s Office Solutions at 2501 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Richland.

Courtesy Brutzman’s Hal Brutzman started Brutzman’s Office Solutions in 1946. The company is a third-generation family-owned business.

Pasco First Avenue Center

505 N. First Ave., Pasco 509-545-3459 pascoparksandrec.com

• Billiards: 9 a.m.-noon. Mondays; 1:30-4 p.m. Wednesdays; 9 a.m.-noon, 1:30-4 p.m. Fridays.

• Mexican train dominoes: 1:30-3:30 p.m. Mondays.

• Pinochle: 1:30-4 p.m. Tuesdays.

• China painting: 9 a.m.-noon. Wednesdays.

Keewaydin Community Center

500 S. Auburn St., Kennewick 509-585-4303 go2kennewick.com

• Bunco: 1-3 p.m. Fridays. Cost: $1 per day.

• Bridge: 12:30-4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Cost: $1 per day.

• Mahjong: 12:30-4 p.m. Wednesdays. Cost: $1 per day.

• Dominoes: 12:30-2 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays. Cost: $1 per day.

• Pinochle: 1-4:30 p.m. Wednesdays. Cost: $1 per day.

• Creative palette art: 9 a.m.noon Tuesdays.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES

• Sewing: 1-4 p.m. Tuesdays.

• Woodcarving: 1-3 p.m. Wednesdays. Cost: $1 per day.

9 a.m.-noon Fridays. Bring supplies or borrow from the class.

• Billiards: Daily. $2 per day or $20 monthly pass.

Richland Community Center

500 Amon Park Drive, Richland 509-942-7529

ci.richland.wa.us

• Fitness room: 8 a.m.-9 p.m.

Mondays-Fridays; 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturdays; noon-4 p.m. Sundays.

Location: Fitness room. Cost: $2 per day or $8 per month.

• Billiards: Daily. $2 per day.

• Greeting card recycling: 1-3 a.m. Tuesdays. Cost: free.

• Pinochle players: 6-8:30 p.m. Fridays. Location: game room. Cost: $1.

• Party bridge: 8:30-11:30 a.m. Mondays and Wednesdays.

Location: game room. Cost: $1.

• Senior duplicate bridge: 12:303:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays.

Location: game room.

• Table tennis: 6:30-8:45 p.m.

Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:303:45 p.m. Sundays

Prosser Senior Community Center

1231 Dudley Ave., Prosser 509-786-2915 cityofprosser.com

• Pool: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. MondaysFridays. Cost: free. Location: pool room, membership is required.

• Mahjong: 1-3 p.m. Tuesdays

Location: living room, membership is required.

• Daytime bingo: 9 a.m. Wednesdays. Location: dining room

Cost: 3 cards/$1.

• Evening bingo: First Friday of every month. 5 p.m. Cost: $10. Location: dining room.

• Foot care: Second Wednesday of each month: Appointments can be made by calling 509-790-1905.

• Pinochle: 1 p.m. Thursdays. Location: living room, membership is required.

• Crafts: 10 a.m. Tuesdays. Register by calling 509-786-2915.

• Bunco/Game Night: Fourth Friday of month, 5 p.m. Location: dining room.

• Tai chi quan: 6 p.m. Mondays.

Contact Kraig Stephens at 509-4301304.

• All-you-can-eat community breakfast: Last Sunday every month, 8-11:30 a.m. Location: dining room. Cost: Suggested donation $8 per person and $5 per child, 8 and under.

West Richland Senior Center

616 N. 60th, West Richland 509-967-2847

• Bingo: Last Monday of the month. Lunch at 12:30 p.m., bingo at 1 p.m.

• Exercise: 9-10 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

• Sewing: Last Tuesday and Wednesday of the month, 10 a.m.

• Bunco: First Wednesday and third Friday of the month, 11:30 a.m.

• Pinochle: First and third Mondays of the month, noon.

• Potluck: second Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.

• Watercolor session: 1-3 p.m. Saturdays.

Membership to the West Richland Senior Association is $7 annually. Each activity is $1 per member.

Just for Fun

Word search - April

STR8TS

How to beat Str8ts –

How to beat Str8ts –

Like Sudoku, no single number 1 to 9 can repeat in any row or column. But... rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments Each compartment must form a straighta set of numbers with no gaps but it can be in any order, eg [7,6,9,8]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column, and are not part of any straight. Glance at the solution to see how ‘straights’

Like Sudoku, no single number 1 to 9 can repeat in any row or column. But... rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments Each compartment must form a straighta set of numbers with no gaps but it can be in any order, eg [7,6,9,8]. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column, and are not part of any straight.

Glance at the solution to see how ‘straights’ are formed.

Very

Very Hard

How to beat Str8ts: No single number, 1 to 9, can repeat in any row or column. But rows and columns are divided by black squares into compartments. Each compartment must form a straight, a set of numbers with no gaps but it can be in any order, eg: 7, 6, 8, 9. Clues in black cells remove that number as an option in that row and column, and are not part of any straight.

Rules of Sudoku - To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains ever number uniquely. For more strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org and www.str8ts.com.

To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org for Sudoku and www.str8ts.com for Str8ts.

For many strategies, hints and tips, visit www.sudokuwiki.org for Sudoku and www.str8ts.com for Str8ts.

If you like Str8ts and other puzzles, check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store.

If you like Str8ts and other puzzles, check out our books, iPhone/iPad Apps and much more on our store.

Quiz

Find the words in the grid. When you are done, the unused letters in the grid will spell out a hidden message. Pick them out from left to right, top line to bottom line. Words can go horizontally, vertically and diagonally in all eight directions.

TRI-CITY BOOK CLUBS

• 1 p.m. April 19, Mid-Columbia Libraries, Pasco branch, 1320 W. Hopkins St., Pasco, Empty Mansions: The Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark and The Spending of a Great American Fortune by Bill Dedman. Why We Dream: The Transformative Power of Our Nightly Journey by Alice Robb is the May 17 book.

The group typically meets the third Wednesday of the month. Contact Susan Koenig at 509302-9878 or SMKoenig@ymail. com.

• 1:30 p.m. April 20, Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate Drive, The Redetzky March by Joseph Roth. The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War by A. J. Baime is the May 18 book.

The group meets the third Thursday of the month but takes summers off.

Contact: Evelyn Painter, ec_painter@yahoo.com or 509-420-4811.

• 6:30 p.m. April 17, Richland

Public Library, 955 Northgate Drive, The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia. The Night Watchman by Louise Erdich is the May 15 book.

The group typically meets the third Monday of the month. Contact: Sue Spencer, sue_ spencer_england@hotmail.com or 509-572-4295.

• 6 p.m. April 18, Mid-Columbia Libraries, West Pasco branch, 7525 Wrigley Drive, Pasco, The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro is the May 23 book.

• 6 p.m. April 25 at MidColumbia Libraries Benton City branch, 810 Horne Drive, The Rose Code by Kate Quinn.

• 7 p.m. the first Friday of the month, Caterpillar Café at Adventures Underground, 227 Symons St., Richland. Contact Sarah at 509-946-9893 for upcoming titles

To add your book club to this list, email details to info@tcjournal.biz.

WINNERS, From page 3

pant in forming a Benton and Franklin County coalition to address the problem.

She also works on events that promote career support for high school girls.

She continues to volunteer with multiple nonprofits and is dedicated to helping others, her letter said.

Kennewick Man of the Year

Wayne Bell’s leadership activities span several decades.

He served as president of the Kennewick Kiwanis Club in 2021-22 and 2010-11.

He chaired the committee to fund and build a playground for children aged 5-12 at the Kennewick Boys & Girls Club; coordinated a pen pal program for fourth-graders at Amistad Elementary School with his wife; and served on the Camp Kiwanis Foundation Board maintaining the Camp Kiwanis building in Columbia Park for use by community youth groups for no charge.

He has helped collect and distribute school supplies to all Benton and Franklin county schools twice a year through the SHAKE (Seniors Helping All Kids’ Education) for more than

five years.

He coordinated parking at the Benton Franklin Fair for Kiwanis for 10 years, raising an average of $18,000 per year for community benefit.

From 1990-92, Bell led efforts to rebuild ballfields on the empty lot next to Canyon View Elementary for the Kennewick American Youth Baseball at 2125 S. Olympia St. The project was financed by a $70,000 grant from the Seattle Mariners, as well donations and in-kind services from within the community.

Bell was a youth baseball coach for more than 12 years and a Boy Scout leader for three years.

“As a teacher, coach, Scout leader, church member and active Kiwanian, he has impacted and influenced countless children in our community. His passion for the projects he embraces is contagious and he is not shy about recruiting those he thinks can make a difference. He is not afraid to ‘just ask’ and that is a large part of his success – getting good people engaged in projects that improve the community,” according to his nomination letter. For a list of past winners and information about the awards, go to: kmwoy.com.

the first ever rural mail carrier for Kennewick.

which Simmons described as “a small frame structure at the east end of what is now Kennewick Avenue.”

During Conway’s tenure, the postal destination was changed back to Kennewick from Tehe.

By 1899, two other postmasters succeeded Conway, but he was appointed to a second term that year and he moved the post office to another business enterprise Conway was running on North Benton Street.

Ida Morain followed Conway in the postal leadership position and moved the post office first to an old railroad section house on North Washington Street just north of the railroad tracks, and then to a building on Kennewick Avenue between Washington and Auburn streets.

To the whim or convenience of subsequent postmasters, the post office found itself in a small building on North Auburn Street, reportedly in a clothing store known as the Toggery, in a structure known as the Beach Building at Washington Street and Kennewick Avenue, later used as a library and Kennewick City Hall. Then it was in a room at 219 W. Kennewick Ave. in 1912. In 1949, it found a longtime home at 113 W. First Ave.

There were other short-term locations during Kennewick’s post office history.

Rufus Oliver, of the Oliver family with longtime Kennewick roots, was

Political intrigue reportedly played a role in the appointment of at least one Kennewick postmaster.

When James M. Scott, who was appointed in 1905, retired in 1910, Arthur Wheaton was appointed on June 13 that year.

A congressman named Miles Poindexter wanted J.C. Perry appointed Kennewick postmaster. President William Howard Taft refused. A senator, Wesley Jones, wanted Wheaton. He was appointed.

“It all related to a power struggle between President Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt,” Simmons noted. “(Congressman) Poindexter was a Roosevelt man; (Senator) Jones supported Taft.”

The two members of Congress both represented Washington state. Kennewick’s current post office location at East Sixth Avenue and South Auburn Street was dedicated in 1967 for a run of more than 55 years to date. A plaque in the post office notes Lyndon B. Johnson was then president of the United States and Lawrence F. O’Brien was postmaster general.

Gale Metcalf of Kennewick is a lifelong Tri-Citian, retired Tri-City Herald employee and volunteer for the East Benton County History Museum. He writes the monthly history column.

POST OFFICE, From page 5

Market aims to restore dignity with free food distribution

By Robin Wojtanik for Senior Times

There seems to be no coincidence between a family whose last name is “Sparks,” and the way they have set ablaze a full-time lifestyle of impacting the community.

From churning out 200 cloth masks a day during the start of the pandemic to offering drive-thru food box pickups, the family’s most recent venture is a food bank designed to take the shame out of receiving assistance.

Marlando and Stephanie Sparks opened Restoration Market through their nonprofit, Restoration Community Impact, in an unassuming Kennewick building near a paint store and a car wash at 4000 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 110.

At first glance, you’d think they’re serving espresso under a chandelier, as the entryway features modern furnishings and the smell of brewed coffee.

“I’m a very sensory person,” Marlando said. “And if it doesn’t smell good or feel good, I won’t even go, no matter what it is. And when you walk in here, to me, I can see my wife shopping here.”

The modest market lies beyond the entryway, inviting “members” to take what they need for themselves or their family once a week at no cost, with a transaction only including an assigned barcode.

Serving those in need

Food and household donations come from a range of partners, including Northwest Harvest, EastWest Food Rescue, Cascadia Produce, Big Lots, Simplot, Charlie’s Produce, Lamb Weston, local grocers, and the state Department of Agriculture, just to name a few.

It’s a mix of deliveries or pickups by Restoration Market to get the food and supplies to their shelves. Since opening in late January, the Sparks calculated a wide-ranging impact in

just the first few weeks.

“We ran a report that said we serviced 860 households in that time,” Marlando said. “Most of those houses are not five people, they’re like seven to eight people, so when we did the calculations, it was 54,000 pounds of food in three weeks, which helped tens of thousands of families.”

Marlando’s mother volunteers at the market, greeting shoppers with the knowledge her son’s vision will extend beyond this storefront.

“This isn’t it. It’s going to be more than this and bigger than this,” Sharon Sparks said. “There’s no limit. He spoke it, and I knew it was going to happen because it was something God had put on his heart.”

No documentation required

The nonprofit is not faith-based so it’s eligible for federal and state funding and it doesn’t require any specific documentation or income requirement to assist its members. The Sparks figure if people are here, they have a need, and they want to help.

“It makes it all worth it when the families come here,” Stephanie said.

“The kids have smiles on their faces when they see fruit or the chips, and that’s just breaking that poverty mindset. They don’t even know their parents aren’t paying for it.”

A shopper from Richland who stopped by on a recent weekday evening said she learned about the market from a co-worker.

Karolynn, who asked her full name not be used, said she falls into that category often referred to as the “working poor,” where she makes too much money to qualify for assistance, but needs the extra help to get by.

“I would occasionally go to the food bank, but it’s hard to get there during the workday, so this is convenient. Coming here is also so calming. I don’t feel stressed or judged and it gives me hope,” she said.

The market’s members are registered into a database for Restoration Community Impact to use for its reports on grants or state funding, but phone numbers are kept in case a large donation arrives and must be distributed quickly.

This happened recently with an en-

tire truckload of potatoes. The familyrun market had the ability to text all its members to hurry over and receive bags of potatoes as there was nowhere on site to store them.

The items available at Restoration Market vary week to week based on donations and everything is checked daily to be sure it’s still of high quality.

“If we wouldn’t feed it to our family, it doesn’t go out,” Marlando said. But it doesn’t get tossed, either. The couple have connections with local farmers who pick up the bruised apples or browning bananas to feed to their livestock, resulting in little food waste.

There are refrigerated items with fresh produce and dairy products, including eggs, which have become both a scarcity and a luxury for many consumers following recent supply issues.

Tastefully painted signs display the quantity of each item a shopper may take during a weekly visit. If there’s a surplus on, say, turnips, a family may be invited to take as many as they want.

Making a difference

On average, the Sparks say most members leave with three bags totaling about 60 pounds of food.

It’s a big increase and an even bigger impact than what the Sparks first saw when they started setting up drive-thru food pickups through the USDA Farmers to Families program established during the pandemic.

During those events, recipients left with a box containing 20 pounds of items. But the demand often outpaced the donations and in the weeks between distribution events, the Sparks started ordering pizzas to be sent to families through a charity arm of DoorDash.

Both impacts left room for improvement, as pizzas weren’t a long-

uMARKET, Page 15

Photo by Robin Wojtanik

Marlando and Stephanie Sparks opened Restoration Market, a Kennewick food hub offering free food to members of the community who need it, at 4000 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 110, Kennewick. The market provides weekly shopping opportunities in a unique environment for families looking for food assistance, with no documentation required to receive help.

Former Senior Times reporter dies at age 69

Loretto Hulse of Pasco, a former Senior Times reporter, died March 12.

She was 69. She lived in the Tri-Cities for 54 years and was a retired reporter for the Tri-City Herald, where she worked for a total of 38 years.

She worked at the Senior Times and Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business from 2014-16.

Mueller’s Tri-Cities Funeral Home, Kennewick, is in charge of arrangements.

Learn about benefits of Medicare Advantage plan

Providence Medicare Advantage Plans will answer questions about the Medicare process and present the benefits of adding Medicare Advantage. Learn about the steps for transitioning into Medicare, especially for those eligible this year or those planning retirement.

The event is free and starts at 1 p.m. Monday, April 17 at the Richland Community Center. Call 509-344-

1360 for details. For accommodations for special needs, call 509-344-1360.

Richland store among luckiest places to buy winning lottery ticket

Where’s the luckiest place in the Tri-Cities to buy a lottery ticket?

Safeway at 1803 George Washington Way in Richland tops the Tri-City list with seven wins. Of the top 10 retailers in the region, Circle K was featured the most with three of its stores making the list, totaling 13 wins altogether.

Washington’s Lottery recently released its list of the Luckiest Retailers of 2022 showcasing retailers which sold the most winning tickets valued at $1,000 or more.

The top 10 luckiest retailers in the region are:

• Seven wins: Safeway at 1803 George Washington Way, Richland.

• Six wins: Yoke’s Fresh Market at 4905 N. Road 68, Pasco. Finished first in 2021 with 12 wins.

• Five wins: Fred Meyer at 2811 W. 10th Ave., Kennewick. Made the Top 10 list in both 2021 and 2020.

• Five wins: WinCo Foods at 101 Columbia Point Drive, Richland.

• Five wins: Circle K at 4823 Broadmoor Blvd., Pasco. Made the Top 10 list in both 2021 and 2020.

• Five wins: Yoke’s Fresh Market at

454 Keene Road, Richland.

• Five wins: 7-Eleven at 4313 W. Court St., Pasco.

• Four wins: Circle K at 1401 George Washington Way, Richland.

• Four wins: Circle K at 2105 W. Fourth Ave., Kennewick.

• Four wins: Mid-Columbia Grocery at 6409 W. Court St. in Pasco.

The luckiest retail location in the state? The Safeway store in Milton with 16 wins.

Walmart stores going bagless April 18

Walmart will stop providing plastic carryout bags at checkout or pickup at all its stores in the state for checkout and pickup beginning April 18.

The move is an effort to encourage customers to use reusable bags or containers and protect the environment.

As of October 2021, Washington state law banned single-use plastic bags citing that plastic bags are a major contaminant in the state’s recycling facilities, waterways, roadways and environment. The ban aims to reduce pollution by prohibiting singleuse plastic carryout bags and charging a fee for acceptable bags.

Plastic produce bags are exempt from the statewide ban.

Send a friend a goat to help nonprofit

The Wishing Star Foundation will be delivering baby goats for visits within the Tri-City community April 10-14.

A $75 donation to the nonprofit enables members of the community to have fun with unsuspecting friends, family or colleagues by having a real baby goat delivered to them on the day and time of their choice.

The recipient who has been “goated” will be asked to donate any amount to pay for the removal of the four-legged kid.

Anyone can sign up to deliver a goat, or they can buy $100 “goat

insurance” to prevent a surprise visit by going to wishingstar.org/events/ goats.

Wishing Star provides wishes to children who are terminal or battling a life-threatening illness in Spokane, Tri-Cities and Kootenai counties.

Tickets on sale for new Umatilla music festival

Tickets are on sale for the Rock the Locks Music Festival in Umatilla, Oregon.

The three-day festival is held Oct. 6-8 at the Big River Golf Course, 709 Willamette St., in Umatilla.

The event will feature ZZ Top, Collective Soul and Night Ranger, along with rockers Hinder, original Queensryche vocalist Geoff Tate, Ozomatli, Everclear, Royal Bliss, Winger, David Cook, winner of season 7 of “American Idol,” and more.

Rock the Locks Music Festival is a three-day music festival bringing together thousands of music lovers to enjoy more than 25 bands on two stages.

There will be food and merchandise vendors, on-site camping, a general store and beer gardens.

General admission, camping and VIP tickets are on sale. Go to: rockthelocks.org

$1.3 million in improvements underway at new Joann store

More than $1 million in tenant improvements are underway for Joann’s new 29,400-square-foot store at Columbia Center mall in Kennewick.

The sewing and crafts retailer recently closed its former store on North Columbia Center Boulevard to move into a portion of the 160,000-square-foot hole Sears left behind when it closed its store in 2019 after its parent company filed for bankruptcy.

Joann’s new address is 1321 N. Columbia Center Blvd., Suite 455.

Loretto Hulse

Plans underway to open new food co-op store in Richland

By Laura Kostad for Senior Times

The Tri-Cities is getting another shot to support a local food co-op.

Alan Schreiber of Schreiber Farms in Eltopia is leading the effort.

The fifth-generation farmer is leading a steering committee focused on opening a cooperative grocery store in Richland that will offer locally-sourced, predominately organic fresh produce, meats, seafood and other foods, personal care products and home goods.

Plans for the Tri-Cities Food Co-Op include a deli and eating area and small event gathering space featuring art by Pacific Northwest artists for sale. The organizers envision hosting live music, cooking classes, workshops, product tastings and meetings there.

Steering committee members also include Ginger Wireman, Eve McQuarrie, Melinda d’Ouville, Liesl Zappler and Dimple Patel.

A home in Richland

The committee and its community backers have been working with the landlord on tenant improvements at 1420 Jadwin Ave., the former home of Atomic City Thrift.

It’s not the first time the 1960s-era building has been home to a grocery store.

In 1966, it was a retail food mart and in 1983 it was a Price Chopper supermarket. It also once housed a martial arts studio and Paws Natural Pet Emporium.

The co-op held a public meeting in January at the Richland Public Library to discuss plans, hear feedback and stoke member and volunteer interest. It hopes to open in early summer.

It will hold more public meetings as plans progress.

Eating local Schreiber, an organic fruit and vegetable farmer for 17 years, manages 120 acres north of Pasco. He sees an unmet need in the Tri-City region for a dedi-

cated food co-op that focuses on fresh, local organic food in a grocery store format.

Schreiber said he’s surveyed local grocery stores and found that organic representation just isn’t there. In one store, he noted that there was 330 feet of conventionally-grown produce and 15 feet of organic produce. He reported that none of it was from local growers.

“Every city of consequence has a food co-op. Tri-Cities is by far the biggest town in the greater Northwest that doesn’t,” he said, noting that small towns with co-ops include Mazama, Tonasket, Orcas Island and Twisp.

In addition to farmers markets and other direct-to-consumer sales, Schreiber sells his produce to community food co-ops in Canada and all over the Northwest, such as Seattle’s 16 PCC Community Markets, Skagit Valley Food Co-Op and Bellingham’s Community Food Co-Op.

The model challenges the idea of what is considered local in a time when food is commonly transported thousands of miles to consumers across international borders, oceans and continents.

Or, perhaps it doesn’t, given that context. Entering local markets outside of the direct-to-consumer arena has proved challenging for Schreiber.

“It makes my head explode how much is produced here and it almost all gets shipped out of here,” he said. “You can’t get local organic stone fruit (in the grocery store) any time of the year here, even though it’s grown in this area. A lot of what’s grown in the Yakima Valley and Columbia Basin goes to packing houses and is shipped out of the area. We can certainly get a lot more than we are getting.”

“I can’t get my produce into a grocery store in Tri-Cities. To me, they’re just not interested. Grocery stores are not as interested in local-seasonal. The bigger they get, the more they want the guy who can deliver a certain quantity all year round,” he said.

He added that even if a local grocery store wanted to buy his produce, due to how the grocery supply chain works, the store would have to place an order with the distributor Schreiber sells his produce to.

All of Schreiber’s produce then goes to Seattle where it is shipped to western Washington markets, then the portion destined for Eastern Washington goes to Spokane to be distributed. Only then would the orders from Tri-City grocery stores be trucked back to Tri-Cities, he said.

“I want a store I can just drive 15 to 20 minutes to and drop off my produce. That’s the way it should be. The food has a longer shelf life, it’s fresher and it’s less food miles traveled and significantly less resource intensive,” Schreiber said.

Selling in a brick-and-mortar store is also a more stable market for growers, providing more visibility and a yearround outlet for their products.

Schreiber has tried other local venues for selling his produce, but they weren’t cost effective.

Last year he had a stall at the Public Market @ Columbia River Warehouse in downtown Kennewick and also held pop-up market stands in Ace Hardware parking lots with set days and hours of operation. Neither were profitable, he said.

“I think that we are underserved by our grocery stores. We’ve had grocery stores close down at the same time that our population has grown. If you look

Courtesy Alan Schreiber Alan Schreiber of Schreiber Farms in Eltopia is leading an effort to establish a food co-op at 1420 Jadwin Ave. in Richland.

at the number of people per square foot of grocery stores in the Tri-Cities, it’s high. There’s a need for more of them,” he said.

How a co-op works

The co-op-style store will operate at an organizational level similar to Kent, Washington-headquartered outdoor outfitter REI. Its stores are open to the public but offer a lifetime member buyin option for a reasonable one-time fee that provides members access to special sales, discounts and voting rights in board elections.

Tri-Cities Food Co-Op is accepting membership payments now to help fund the future co-op.

A basic lifetime membership is $100 per household, or $50 for active students and seniors over 65.

Payments may be paid by credit card over the phone at 509-266-4348 or via check made payable to Tri-Cities Food Co-op and mailed to Schreiber Farms, 2621 Ringold Road, Eltopia, WA 99330.

Founding members also are welcome to contribute at amounts of $250 or higher.

Part of the funding goal is to welcome 1,000 members.

It’s not the first time a food co-op has opened in Richland.

Mid-Columbia Market at the Hub operated from 2013-17 at 603 Goethals

Drive, now the home of Pacific Pasta & Grill.

Schreiber and his steering committee were not involved in that market, though he said some former organizers have showed up at public planning meetings to show their support.

This time around, he feels the effort to establish a co-op will have a firmer foundation and more established business plan to ensure long-term success and viability.

Organizers plan to file paperwork to turn the co-op into a legal nonprofit. Schreiber said they have retained a lawyer, have articles of incorporation, a bank account and marketing firm.

“We have a letter of intent for a lease and are in negotiations with a lender for a $350,000 loan,” he said.

The goal is to raise $600,000 from the community. In addition to membership payments, one large pledge of $50,000 has come through in support of the co-op.

Prior to the co-op’s launch, a governing board will be elected by the membership.

To learn more about the food co-op, attend an informational meeting from 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 8 at the Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate Drive, Richland.

Go to: facebook.com/TCFCoop, website tcfcoop.org. Contact admin@ tcfcoop.org for more information.

Registration underway for Manhattan Project National Historical

Park tours at Hanford

By Senior Times staff

Registration is now open for the U.S. Department of Energy’s free public tours of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park facilities at the Hanford site.

Tours start April 3 and continue into November, including six days per week through the summer, and throughout the Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day holiday weekends.

DOE offers two tours of the national park at Hanford.

The first is to the B Reactor National Historic Landmark, where visitors can stand face to face with the world’s first full-scale nuclear production reactor. Built in 11 months, the B Reactor started operations in September 1944 and produced the plutonium used in the Trinity Test in July 1945 and the “Fat Man” atomic weapon dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945 to help bring an end to WWII in the Pacific. The tour lasts about four hours and includes transportation to and from the B Reactor, and a walking tour of the facility.

The second park tour explores the history of the Mid-Columbia Basin area of Eastern Washington prior to the government’s eviction of homeowners and tribes in 1943 as the Manhattan Project began.

The tour offers visitors an understanding of the communities and successful agricultural operations along

the Hanford Reach that became known for their early-ripening fruits that shipped all over the world. The tour lasts about four hours and includes bus transportation and a short walking tour at four of the remaining buildings from that era.

The park, which also includes historic properties at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Los Alamos, New Mexico, preserves and interprets the complex story of the Manhattan Project and the dawn of the atomic age. Created in 2015 following congressional action, it is jointly administered by DOE and the National Park Service.

Both Hanford tours are free and open to visitors of all ages and nationalities. Cameras, cellphones and other recording devices are welcome on the tours.

Visitors can register for up to six tour seats at a time. School and group tours may also be available on a firstcome, first-serve basis and with a minimum of 20 participants.

Registration is available online, at manhattanprojectbreactor.hanford.gov.

Visitors who would like help scheduling a tour or have special requests, including wheelchair transportation or American Sign Language interpretation, are invited to call 509376-1647, or stop by the Manhattan Project National Historical Park visitor center, at 2000 Logston Blvd. in Richland.

Many times the death of a loved one occurs while they are away from home. Families are left with the added burden of what do they do now?

The Travel Plan by Inman assists in bringing a loved one home if death occurs more than 75 miles from their legal residence.

Relieve your family of the stress and financial implications in bringing you home should death occur. Without the Travel Plan these costs may range from $1,500 - $15,000.

Provide you and your family peace of mind by planning for the unthinkable. Call for more information.

Study: Irregular heart rhythm appears to heighten dementia risk

People with a recent diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF), the most common irregular heart rhythm, have a modestly higher risk of developing dementia than people without the condition, according to recently published research in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The research involved nearly 197,000 patient records from California health systems. Half of

MARKET, From page 11

term solution and the box distribution meant people might receive items they weren’t likely to use or cook with. But the Sparks had built a connection with the community and felt rewarded by what they were doing, with a dream they could impact even more.

It took almost a year from start to finish to plan and open the doors of Restoration Market.

Restoration Community Impact received a $100,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Agriculture through its Food Assistance

the patients had been recently diagnosed with atrial fibrillation; counterparts in the control group were selected for similar age and health profiles but did not have AF. Both patient groups’ medical records were reviewed for three years, on average, to identify subsequent diagnoses of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Overall, people with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation had a 13% higher risk of developing dementia. That risk appeared to be amplified in people whose AF diagnosis came before 65 years of age (65% higher risk) and people who did not have

Resiliency Grants, allowing it to staff, operate and establish the food hub, which offers parking for about 20 vehicles.

Its location was also key, thanks to the building’s owner, George Ahearn of Trinity Realty and cofounder of EastWest Food Rescue, a nonprofit focused on redirecting food from the bountiful east side of the state to the denser populated west side.

Restoration Community Impact hasn’t shifted all its resources to the market. With its core team of family volunteers, partners and the state, the Sparks say they still host food distribution events across nine counties

chronic kidney disease (20% higher risk). No such significant differences in risk were seen based on patients’ sex, race or ethnicity.

“Previous studies that have examined the link between atrial fibrillation and dementia have yielded conflicting results, and we hope that our study’s large sample size helps to establish confidence in our findings,” said Dr. Nisha Bansal, a professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She was the paper’s corresponding author.

Atrial fibrillation, typically a very rapid heart rhythm, can spur

in Eastern Washington, covering the Yakima Valley and as far north as Okanagon. They say they’re not trying to compete with other food banks, they’re just trying to fill a need.

“Looking at the inflation numbers and everything else going on, you don’t have to be part of the working poor to be affected,” said Irene Mendoza, chief administrative officer for the nonprofit. “Just one week’s worth of groceries will help supplement your bills and you can afford other priorities because no one asked to be put in this position at any level of economic value, so we don’t have restrictions. You can just come get what

blood clots in the heart, increasing someone’s risk for stroke and heart failure and shorten lifespan.

Richland seeks volunteers for various board position

The city of Richland seeks volunteers to serve on its boards, commissions or committees.

Position openings are available with the following groups: Arts Commission, Board of Adjustment, Planning Commission, Public Facilities District Board and Utility Advisory Committee.

For more information or to apply, go to ci.richland.wa.us/bcc.

you can get to hold you over for the week.”

The Sparks are still seeking additional partners and donors to help advance their efforts to impact the community at large.

Restoration Market is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and noon to 7 p.m. Thursday. Appointments are preferred due to demand. The store offers walk-ins the first and third Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Search Restoration Market: 4000 W. Clearwater Ave., Suite 110, Kennewick. Contact: restorationcommunityimpact.com; 509-987-9281.

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