Burbank Community Library

From KNDO-KNDU / December 29, 2009

FRANKLIN COUNTY SERGEANT COPES WITH BRAIN CANCER

BURBANK, Wash. — Sgt. Dan Gayda has been on the force for Franklin County for nearly three decades. His 28 years of service will end at the end of this week. He’s been forced into early medical retirement after he was diagnosed with brain cancer last month. Now he’s trying to stay positive as a major chapter in his life comes to a close.

Sgt. Gayda will lose complete medical coverage for his cancer treatment once he retires this week. His wife’s insurance will cover some of the costs. He has treatment most days of the week; so far his tumor’s size has not gone down.

KNDU’s video coverage is here.

Update: The Tri-City Herald ran this story about Sergeant Gayda in their December 31, 2009 edition. The photo below accompanied the article and was captioned: “Franklin County sheriff’s Sgt. Dan Gayda is retiring after 28 years with the department while he fights a brain tumor. He’ll turn his attention to the eight alpacas he and his wife Sheryl have been raising.”

From the Tri-City Herald / September 25, 2009

STUDENTS TOUR CBC RESEARCH AREA, BURBANK FARM
By Drew Foster, Herald staff writer

…… Students from Kennewick and Kamiakin high schools touring CBC’s farms, agriculture mechanics building and campus halls. After visiting CBC, the students boarded the buses and headed to Burbank, where they checked out Gauntt Farm.

Chep Gauntt spoke to the students about farming, finishing school, opportunities in agriculture, the role technology plays in farming and how the industry isn’t all “back-breaking, get-out-the-shovel-type of work.”

“Agriculture is something most American people take for granted,” he said. “It’s something in the background. I think in a lot of ways it’s not very glamorous. This gives them a concept of the technology and the equipment.”

See the full article here.

The photo below accompanied the article and was captioned: “Tim Woodward, dean of Agriculture Education Research and Development at Columbia Basin College, leads a group of Kennewick High School students Thursday on a tour of CBC’s agriculture plots. About 85 students from Kennewick and Kamiakin high schools toured CBC and Gauntt Farms to learn about ag classes and related jobs.”

A few stories have slipped by me over the last few weeks, so I’m going to combine several different Burbank news items (some new, some older) into one post. Here goes:

• Back on September 2, 2009, KNDO-KNDU ran a preview of Columbia-Burbank’s football team.
• Congratulations to Seth Shelton of Columbia-Burbank who was named an Academic All Star. (I’m not sure what that means exactly and KNDU doesn’t elaborate. Can anyone help me out with this one?)
• The Tri-City Herald reports today (September 24, 2009) that Gen-X Energy Group, “which lost its Burbank biodiesel plant to a fire in early July”, has signed an agreement with a sister company of Tri-City & Olympia Railroad Co. “to build a new facility in Richland to make biofuel.” See our earlier post about the July fire at the Burbank site.
• The Herald also has an article in today’s paper (September 24, 2009) about the “likely presence” of swine flu (H1N1 virus) in some of the smaller Tri-City area schools. Columbia-Burbank Superintendent Lou Gates is quoted.

  Gates’ district — like other smaller districts in the area — has seen a recent increase in student absences. But the numbers have been under control.

  In Burbank, they’re already going down. For example, in the middle school there were a few students absent the first day of class, including one who reported being sick. By Sept. 11, there were 30 students absent, with 17 calling in sick. The number of absences now has dropped off and “we have settled out at this point in time,” Gates said.

• Here’s a photo from the front page of the Mid-Columbia section from the September 13, 2009 edition of the Tri-City Herald. The caption read, in part: “Floyd Rivas of Burbank tears up as the habanero salsa he and his wife Tonia are trying kicks in Saturday and the Fiery Foods Festival in Pasco.”

From KNDO-KNDU / September 1, 2009

BURBANK WOMAN SHAKEN AFTER SOMEONE HITS HER CAR WITH ROCK

BURBANK, Wash. — It’s the last thing we want to think about on the drive home from work– the thought of someone throwing rocks onto your car. But a drive home for a Burbank woman turns into the scare of her life. It’s the second time in less than two weeks someone in our area has been hit by rocks thrown off an overpass. The latest incident happened at I-182 and the 395 overpass in Pasco.

“And it was the scariest thing ever,” she said. “The thing that actually kept me alive was my windshield and I’m very thankful the rock didn’t go all the way through.”

It’s a drive home Christina Trivett will never forget. As she was driving on Interstate 182 towards her home in Burbank, someone or some people threw a rock and destroyed her windshield. A day after and she’s still shaken up. ……

State Patrol says if you happen to get hit by any type of debris, try and remain calm and safely stop on the shoulder and call 911. And as for those responsible, police say it can be tough to catch the criminals responsible and they rely on tips from drivers who might have seen something. As for the people Who hit Christina’s car, State Patrol is still looking for those responsible.

See the full article (including video) here.

From the Tri-City Herald / August 25, 2009

BURBANK MAN FINDS A WINNING FAIR ROUTINE
Ingrid Stegemoeller, Herald staff writer

KENNEWICK — Blue ribbons, superintendent’s choice and other awards have become a routine part of Lyle Hatcher’s summers. The 73-year-old Burbank man has earned the honors for his giant apples, his embroidery and his macrame lawn chairs.

And even though his wife of more than 40 years recently died — the two often competed against each other for biggest apple — Hatcher’s entries will once again be on display at this year’s Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo, which officially begins [August 25].

“If you see something that you’ve done that you like, maybe someone else will like it too,” Hatcher said as he stood in the sunshine beneath one of his nearly 800 apple trees.

See the full article here. The photo below accompanied the article and was captioned: “Lyle Hatcher of Burbank has won a slew of awards for his entries at the fair over the years. In addition to prize-winning apples, like these big red delicious apples in his orchard, Hatcher also embroiders shirts and makes macrame lawn chairs.”

From the Tri-City Herald / July 15, 2009

FREEZING FOODS CORRECTLY WILL HELP ENSURE FRESHNESS
By Loretto J. Hulse, Herald staff writer

… You already know the basics of preserving foods by freezing. But there are some techniques that will help ensure what you stash away now is something you’ll want to eat later.

“When you think of it, we are all food preservers because almost everyone owns a freezer, whether it’s a separate appliance or part of your refrigerator,” said Shannon Brier of Burbank.

She’s one of about a dozen Master Food Preserver volunteers in Benton and Franklin counties who are trained by and work out of the Washington State University Extension offices.

Throughout the summer, Brier and other master preservers will be teaching classes on food preservation, answering questions and helping ensure the public has the latest information on all aspects of food safety. …

A pamphlet — Freezing Fruits and Vegetables — is available at Extension offices (look in the phone book under county offices). Or go online to the Center for Home Food Preservation’s Web site www.homefoodpreservation.com.

See the full article here.

The Benton/Franklin County Extension offices are here and the Walla Walla County office is here.

From the Tri-City Herald / June 27, 2009

UNION PACIFIC UPGRADING TRACKS BETWEEN TRI-CITIES, WALLULA
By Pratik Joshi, Herald staff writer

… The company recently started a program to replace old, worn ties on its industrial rail line that serves local industries.

The 20-mile track — between the Tri-Cities and Wallula — is being upgraded at the cost of $2.8 million, said Zoe Richmond, company spokeswoman for the western region.

… The project continues through the end of September.

See the full article here.

From the Tri-City Herald / June 11, 2009

CHILDREN’S MUSEUM LOSES LEASE AT BROADMOOR MALL
By Dalina Castellanos, Herald staff writer

PASCO – A group of 3-year-olds screamed and played on top of the U.S.S. Friend-Ship in the Children’s Museum of the Three Rivers on Wednesday while two others enjoyed plastic burgers in the Burger Galley below deck. … But by next month, children in the Tri-Cities might lose this place where their imagination can set sail.

The museum, in the Broadmoor Outlet Mall in Pasco, is about to be ousted from its home of four years because of the expansion of its neighbor, Charter College.

See the full article here.

Earlier this year, the Burbank Library was able to offer free family passes (by reservation) to the Three Rivers Children’s Museum. The museum pass program was made possible by a grant that has since expired. Many of our patrons enjoyed the museum (and the free admission!), so we hope that the museum finds a new home soon and that the museum pass program will be renewed.

Update: The Tri-City Herald (June 27, 2009) reports some good news:

The museum, after 3 1/2 weeks of scrambling and searching for a new building, has found another home at the Broadmoor Outlet Mall in Pasco. … The museum’s doors are scheduled to reopen Aug. 6.

From the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin / June 4, 2009

SWINE FLU REPORTED IN WW COUNTY
By Sheila Hagar of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

Public health officials received first confirmation of a positive influenza A, or swine flu, case in Walla Walla County.

The illness was identified in a hospitalized child who has now been discharged and is recovering at home, said Harvey Crowder, administrator for Walla Walla County Public Health Department.

“While this is our first reported case, we believe the virus has been here for a period of time,” he added.

Under law, Crowder was not allowed to disclose any other information about the patient, including if the boy or girl attends public school, but did say there are no concerns for the child’s family surrounding the H1N1, or swine flu, virus.

It is very late in the year for all influenza, he conceded. “We’re finding other kinds of flu here, too. Usually by this time of the year, the flu has dissipated.”

His office is advising people to continue following the Centers for Disease Control recommendations for protection and prevention, Crowder said.

Update: The June 30 edition of the Tri-City Herald contains this article about a Tri-City resident who has been diagnosed with the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, but who is hospitalized in some unknown location outside the Tri-Cities. The article calls this the “first confirmed case in Benton or Franklin counties.” However, if the person is not currently in Benton or Franklin counties and we have no way of knowing when the person was last in either of these counties, it seems strange to categorize it as such. The article goes on to say: “A spokeswoman for the state Department of Health said no information about the case or the patient’s location could be released.” I guess we’ll have to wait to see if any additional information is forthcoming.

(I also find it a bit strange that the article refers to the person diagnosed with the virus as a “Tri-City resident”, since there is really no such thing as a Tri-City resident — one is either a resident of Richland, Kennewick, or Pasco. It also leaves the door open for this to be the first confirmed case in Benton or Franklin counties, which again just shows how little information is actually coming out of the state Department of Health.)

From the Tri-City Herald / June 1, 2009

WALLULA DAD AND HIS PASCO SONS BACK FROM 12,000-MILE MOTORCYCLE ODYSSEY
By John Trumbo, Herald staff writer

Riding a motorcycle 12,200 miles in 56 days is tough, but making it climb 800 feet higher than Mount Rainier is pushing the limit.

By the time they reached the end of the road May 4, Wallula resident Chuck Glessner and his sons Nathan and Jonathan, both of Pasco, had ridden through Mexico, Central America and South America to nearly the tip of the continent – 15 countries in all.

See the full article here and a photo gallery here.