DELIVERING NEWS TO MID-COLUMBIA SENIORS SINCE 1982
Port of Kennewick bill for complaint tops $450,000 By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz
Don Barnes, chairman of the Port of Kennewick commission, will not seek reelection when his term expires this year. The move comes after the port spent nearly $450,000 to address an “anonymous” complaint against Barnes and fellow Commissioner Tom Moak over a land sale dispute that began in 2019. Barnes announced his decision to step down after nine years on April 27, calling it an honor to have served. “I have worked hard to serve the best interests of my community and fellow taxpayers with honesty and integrity,” he said. The complaint cost, which was authored by the port’s third commissioner, Skip Novakovich, led to a finding that both Barnes and Moak violated port policies during arguments over the sale of former port-owned land that is now home to Miramar Health Center, operated by the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic. Moak accepted the finding of fault but Barnes appealed. A judge reversed the decision, concluding Barnes did nothing wrong. The complaint cost $400,000 to investigate and adjudicate. On April 13, Barnes and Moak voted to spend an additional $49,000 to reimburse Barnes for his legal fees, sidestepping a review that said $42,000 was reasonable. “In some way or matter it was appropriate,” Moak said. “It’s about time we finish this. And I think it is justified. We need to move on.” Novakovich abstained from voting. uPORT, Page 4
MAY 2021
Vol. 9 | Issue 5
Hearing clinic adds house calls to its menu of services By Kristina Lord
publisher@tcjournal.biz
George Perkins doesn’t have to worry about navigating his wheelchair into the offices of Columbia Basin Hearing Center to see his audiologist. Since February, the 83-year-old meets with Neil Aiello from the comfort of his Kennewick home. “Dr. Neil has been here every month checking on the quality – and he just left here by the way,” Perkins said in late April. “We enjoy his visits so much. It’s a social and technical visit,” he said. Aiello and his audiologist wife, Shannon Aiello, own Columbia Basin Hearing Center, which has offices in Kennewick and Walla Walla. They recently launched a clinic within their clinic called Hear For You, offering hearing aid delivery services, telehearing appointments, mo-
Courtesy Columbia Basin Hearing Center George Perkins, left, chats with his audiologist, Neil Aiello, at his Kennewick home. The 83-year-old was the first patient to use Columbia Basin Hearing Center’s new mobile clinic, called Hear For You.
bile hearing care and curbside service. The pandemic got the husband-andwife team thinking about how best to serve their homebound patients. The idea bounced around Shan-
non’s mind the year prior because of the long-term relationships their clinic nurtures with patients, she said. uHEARING CENTER, Page 2
Retired Hanford chemist now tells overlooked stories of Black excellence By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz
John Abercrombie had little use for history during the 28 years he worked as a chemist, analytical lab manager and employment officer at the Hanford site. History was a tangle of people he didn’t know, places he hadn’t been. He had a series of jobs to do, a family to raise. “I hated history, I absolutely hated it,” said Abercrombie, who worked at Hanford for 28 years, beginning in 1967. He retired in 1997 and, despite his previous disinterest in history, is enjoying a second
career telling the overlooked stories of Black excellence in the U.S. and beyond. AbercromJohn Abercrombie bie splits his time between his official home in Richland and his native Spartanburg, South Carolina, where he quarantined for the Covid-19 pandemic after returning to care for his aging parents. He devotes his free time to his blog at Amazingblackhistory.com, and the podcast he hosts on blogtalkradio.
com. His recent efforts include a profile of Raye Montague, who grew up in the segregated South and overcame low expectations to become not just an engineer but the first person ever to design a U.S. Navy ship by computer, and Dr. Alexa Canady, the first black female neurosurgeon focused on pediatrics. For his work, Abercrombie was February’s “Everyday Patriot,” an honor given by Cold War Patriots. The organization serves veterans of the nuclear industry. His own story is as riveting as uABERCROMBIE, Page 7
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
PBS puts spotlight on Richland’s global miracle worker Page 5
MONTHLY QUIZ
Senior-focused agency breaks ground on $1.6M building
Page 11
What year was the town of Richland taken over by the U.S. government as development of the top-secret Hanford activities were going on in World War II, and what year was it reincorporated under civilian control? ANSWER, PAGE 9
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