Mid-Columbia Libraries (MCL) proudly announces its “Inspiring Latinos / Latinos Inspiradores” video series, a project of the Tri-Cities Latino Community Network (TCLCN), was recently named a silver winner in the 43rd Annual Telly Awards for Social Video Series: Diversity & Inclusion category. The two winning videos, featuring Washington State University Tri-Cities graduate Savanna Navarro Kresse and Columbia Basin College graduate Michael Villa, can be found on YouTube.
This is MCL’s second Telly Award; in 2019 the series won a bronze in the Social Video Series: Culture & Lifestyle category. The Telly Awards honors excellence in video and television across all screens and is judged by leaders from video platforms, television, streaming networks, production companies and including Vice, Vimeo, Hearst Digital Media, BuzzFeed and A&E Networks. Last year the competition received 12,000 entries from around the world. The series, produced by Mid-Columbia Libraries’ Communications Department together with videographer Ryan Scott of Firefly Photography & Cinematography, showcases the leadership, talents, generosity, and resilience of six inspirational Latinos who are making the Tri-Cities community a better place. More about the project can be found at midcolumbialibraries.org/latinosinspiradores. “Mid-Columbia Libraries and the Tri-Cities Latino Network, together with the support of our project sponsors Columbia Basin College, HAPO, and Firefly Photography & Cinematography, are committed to uplifting the voices of our Latino community,” says MCL Communications Manager and TCLCN co-founder Annie Warren. “With this project we are dedicated to providing a platform for these inspiring stories to be seen and heard.” Other silver winners in the category included Under Armour, Sony Music, and Fox Entertainment. The full list of the 43rd Annual Telly Awards winners can be found at tellyawards.com/winners.
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The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation has signed a Cooperation Agreement with the Port of Pasco regarding the Tribes’ economic development efforts in Pasco. The Colville Tribes owns approximately 184 acres of land in Pasco and is developing the site for future business ventures.
The Cooperation Agreement includes a commitment by the Port of Pasco to officially support the Tribes’ Pasco project and assures that the Port is kept informed about the progress of this effort. This agreement follows other agreements with the City of Pasco and the Franklin County PUD as the Tribes pursues cooperation and collaboration with local government entities. Colville Business Council Chairman Andrew C. Joseph, Jr., said today, “We are pleased to sign this Cooperation Agreement with the Port of Pasco. It has long been our goal to bring the Palus Tribe back to their ancestral lands. The Colville Tribes will be a good neighbor and this economic development project will significantly benefit the local economy by adding jobs, tourism, and new businesses to the area. This project is a win for all involved.” Port of Pasco Commission President, Vicki Gordon, said today, “The primary objective of the Port of Pasco is to grow the economy by creating opportunities for investment and growth. We see our agreement with the Colville Tribes as an opportunity to welcome a new neighbor and to expand Franklin County’s economy.” Family Medicine Physician Dr. Jayme Thompson Joins Prosser Memorial Health’s Prosser Clinic6/13/2022 ![]() Prosser Memorial Health is proud to add Dr. Jayme Thompson, DO, to our team at the Prosser Clinic. Dr Thompson is a Yakima Valley native and has previously worked as a Family Medicine physician in Wapato. She received her bachelor’s in medical biology from Heritage University before going on to receive her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences. She also completed an internship and residency focused on Family Medicine with Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic’s Sollus NW Family Medicine. Dr. Thompson also holds several certifications including Basic and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support, American Association of Family Physicians, and American Osteopathic Association. Dr. Thompson is excited to be working with Prosser Memorial Health as a family medicine provider. She loves getting to know her patients and creating a relationship with them. She understands that trust between her and her patients is important and works to build that trust from the first meeting. Dr. Thompson will be providing a wide variety of services and treatments, including primary and preventative care, acute illnesses, women’s health, and implementation of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment. Her services will cover care for patients of all ages, from newborn to geriatric. She is enjoying the family environment created within the Prosser Clinic team and the small-town, community feel in Prosser. Having been born and raised in the area, Dr. Thompson grew up being very outdoorsy. She loves skiing at White Pass with her husband and son, or simply staying active. Dr. Thompson is currently taking new patients at the PMH Prosser Clinic. To learn more about her services, or to schedule an appointment, please call 509.786.1576 or visit prosserhealth.org. Food truck vendor Only Tacos opens today at Columbia Gardens Wine & Artisan Village in Kennewick. The newest mobile eatery’s hours are Tuesdays to Fridays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Co-owners and chefs Jesus Rodriguez and Manuel “Curly” Montijo are serving popular recipes from various regions in Mexico to give taco truck fans a unique local experience. The chefs also plan to share stories with customers about the history of how some ingredients were originally introduced in Mexican dishes. The Food Truck Plaza at 325 E. Columbia Gardens Way off East Columbia Drive in Kennewick is surrounded by Columbia Gardens’ winery buildings with tasting rooms for Bartholomew Winery, Monarcha Winery, Gordon Estate Winery and the soon-to-open Muret-Gaston Winery. Only Tacos joins five other mobile eateries with leased spaces at the Food Truck Plaza, including Ann’s Best Creole and Soul Food, Bobablastic Tri-Cities, Culture Shock Bistro, Swampy’s BBQ and Taste of Wok. Each vendor sets its days and hours of operation. Visit ColumbiaGardensVendors.org for more about all the businesses at Columbia Gardens. ![]() Advaitha Motkuri will be presented with Scouting’s highest honor, the Eagle Rank, on June 11th at the Hindu Temple of Eastern Washington in West Richland, the Blue Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America has announced. Advaitha is the daughter of Radha Motkuri of Richland. Advaitha is one of the founding members of Scouts BSA Girls Troop #0219, chartered by Hill Spring Church and one of just a handful of girls to achieve the rank of Eagle in the Blue Mountain Council. Her Scoutmaster is Wendy Cicotte. To achieve the rank of Eagle Scout, Advaitha had to earn 21 merit badges and show leadership by planning, developing, and completing a community service project. For her project, Advaitha built a playground at the Hindu Temple of Eastern Washington in West Richland with donations and help from her community, Scouts BSA troop, family and friends. Her project took 181 hours to complete and now provides a safe place for the families with small children to play during various events held at the temple. Advaitha attends school at Richland High School, where she is active in Key Club, DECA, Robotics club and the String Orchestra. She was also one of the finalists in the U.S National Chemistry Olympiad and placed in the Regional and State Science and Engineering Fair. Outside of school, she is in U.S World Class Taekwondo, plays the piano and has been learning Indian Carnatic Music for the past 10 years. Advaitha plans to get a 4-year degree in Computer Science/Cybersecurity or Medicine. She is a good, and well-respected Scout. The rank of Eagle is earned by less than four percent of all youth who join Scouts BSA. In 2021, 49 Girls and Boys in the Blue Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America earned the Eagle Scout Award, providing over 7300 service hours in the community. Trios Obstetrics and Family Medicine Physician Ana Sofia Rosa-Ruiz Moves to Chavallo Clinic6/7/2022 ![]() Trios Health is pleased to share that obstetrics and family medicine physician Ana Sofia Rosa-Ruiz has relocated her practice to the Trios Care Center at Chavallo, effective June 6. Dr. Rosa-Ruiz – formerly Dr. Zelaya – is now seeing patients at the Chavallo Care Center. She previously saw patients at the Trios Care Center at deBit. Her move puts all of Trios’ obstetrics, gynecology, and women’s health providers at either the Trios Care Center at Chavallo or the Trios Obstetrics & Women’s Health Clinic at the Trios Care Center at Southridge. “Dr. Rosa-Ruiz is a great physician, and it’s great to be able to have all of our providers for women’s health services at two locations now,” said Lorie Orozco, Director of Trios Medical Group Operations. As a family medicine and obstetric physician, Dr. Rosa-Ruiz treats patients for a variety of conditions and provides a number of services, including obstetrical care, vaginal and cesarean section deliveries, bilateral tubal ligations, gynecological procedures, annual and sports physicals, preventive care, well-child care, immunizations, and more. The Trios Care Center at Chavallo is located at 7211 W. Deschutes Ave., Suite B, in Kennewick. Patients can schedule an appointment with Dr. Rosa-Ruiz by calling 509.221.6930 or online at TriosHealth.org/Schedule. Mid-Columbia Libraries (MCL) invites readers of all ages to read beyond the beaten path! The annual Summer Reading Challenge begins today, and participants can read or listen for 15 hours before Aug. 19 to complete the challenge and be entered to win a prize.
Registration and details are at midcolumbialibraries.org/reading-challenges. Participants can use the Beanstack app to log their reading and engage in activities to earn badges and be eligible for prizes. Or, participants can pick up a challenge log in person at their local MCL branch. Those who register by July 1 will be entered to win a prize pack of fun board games. Kids ages 12 and under who finish the challenge receive a free book; and teens and adults get a book bag, while supplies last. All finishers will be entered to win grand prizes like a hoverboard or bike. All prizes are provided by Friends of Mid-Columbia Libraries. MCL hosts a variety of fun and engaging programs throughout the summer. June events include the Summer Reading Challenge Kickoff Party on June 15 at 2 pm at the Keewaydin Park library and Glow Hike on Badger Mountain on Friday, June 24 at 8:30 pm. Reptile Man and children’s music concerts take place later in the summer. Information about weekly and special events can be found at midcolumbialibraries.org/calendar and on Facebook. Through Yakama Cares and the Community Impact Fund, Legends Casino Hotel will distribute $1,063,645 to nonprofit organizations supporting our community today. The Yakama Cares program selected 144 nonprofits to share $525,872 while larger grants supporting law enforcement, healthcare, and our municipalities were awarded through the Community Impact Fund.
Yakama Cares, an annual event, donates funds to create positive impacts in the communities we serve, and it is funded through the Charitable Contribution fund. Non-profit organizations submit their applications annually between January 1 and March 31. The impacts of these grants will be felt throughout Central Washington including Yakima, Benton, Kittitas, and Klickitat counties. The committee for the Charitable Contribution fund received 274 applications to evaluate for the 2022 distribution. The applications undergo multiple rounds of cuts before the final selection. The committee bases part of their selection on the areas of need in the community. The organizations receiving a distribution comprise many communities, and this year, grants awarded range from $1,000 to $30,000 per recipient. Grants include hospice care, fire department support, veteran service animals, materials to support education, support for food banks and more. Close to 50% of the funding supports fire departments and schools in our community. The Community Impact Fund seeks to aid larger projects that benefit the community as a whole. This fund is administered by an independent committee including representatives of Toppenish or Wapato, Yakima, the state gaming commission, the Yakama gaming commission, and Yakama Tribal Council. For 2022, $527,773 has been designated in amounts from just over $18,000 for a drone to more than $132,000 for a fire truck. Recipients include fire and police departments for both the Cities of Toppenish and Wapato, Yakima County Sheriff’s Office, Yakima County Fire Protection District No.5, and Yakama Nation service providers such as White Swan Ambulance, Tribal School, Justice Services, and more. Mid-Columbia Libraries begins an online survey of residents in three counties today to help improve library services and, possibly, develop new services. The 18-question survey is available for three weeks, in both English and Spanish, on the library district’s social channels and website at midcolumbialibraries.org.
The survey is open to any resident 18 and over living in a city served by MCL, which covers Benton, Franklin and parts of Adams counties. Those living in some select census-designated and unincorporated communities, as well as visitors to any of the 12 branch locations, may also participate. All participants who complete the survey are entered to win an Apple iPad mini and can pick up a free book bag from their local branch, while supplies last. “We’re asking our communities to help shape the future of their local libraries,” said Sara Schwan, advocacy and development manager at MCL. “Our communities created these libraries. They pay for these libraries. So we need to continue providing not just resources, but the right resources, based on community feedback, in the right venues and with ease of access.” The survey asks respondents to rate the importance of quality-of-life influencers such as cultural diversity, educational opportunities, career programs, social connections and access to resources. It also explores associated demographic characteristics such as income, ethnicity and age. “Our goal is inclusiveness,” Schwan said. “We want a truly balanced representation of the diverse voices out there. Please, pause a few moments to voice your needs and take this survey.” To prepare for the survey, MCL held nine focus groups and town halls, some only in Spanish, with residents and organizations from the Tri-Cities, Prosser, Connell and Othello. “We listened to a diverse group of people, who identified some real strengths, such as our early literacy programs,” said Schwan. “But we also heard concern about information availability, particularly for those in unserved, underserved or historically marginalized communities. There also seems to be a desire for more multilingual resources beyond Spanish. These are just a few of the concerns that the survey will help us better understand and plan for.” MCL aims to efficiently use its limited resources to address the most common wants and needs of those it serves, be it leisure, education, community integration, or any other service that one might seek from their hometown library. MCL will study the results and, working with its community partners, use the insights to ensure the library district continues providing the best value to taxpayers and its communities as a whole. After accessing the survey site, participants will be asked to enter their ZIP code. Users will be allowed to proceed only if they enter a ZIP code from Benton City, Basin City, Burbank, Connell, Eltopia, Finley, Kahlotus, Kennewick, Mesa, Othello, Pasco, Prosser, Paterson, Plymouth or West Richland. ![]() Lourdes Health recently announced that Tracy Gowan has been recognized as the facility’s 2022 Mercy Award winner. The Mercy Award recognizes one employee from each of LifePoint Health’s facilities who profoundly touches the lives of others and best represents the spirit and values on which the company was founded. The Mercy Award is an annual recognition program established in 2002 to honor the life and contributions of Scott Mercy, LifePoint’s founding chairman and chief executive officer. The award is considered the highest honor a LifePoint employee can receive. “At Lourdes Health, we share LifePoint’s commitment to making communities healthier, and we recognize this is supported by the good work and service of our employees on and off the job,” said Joanie White-Wagoner, CEO of Lourdes Health. “We are extremely proud to recognize Tracy for his efforts on behalf of our patients and our community. He goes above and beyond each and every day to ensure that every person he encounters receives the highest level of care and compassion.” “Tracy, a Registered Nurse, has dedicated his life both on and off the job, advocating for the most complicated and vulnerable population in our community”, White-Wagoner said. “He utilizes his clinical expertise for educating others and providing quality care in a compassionate manner. Tracy has a gift of making any individual feel like they are the most important person to him, at the moment, no matter if he has the time”. Tracy is a genuine, compassionate individual with a big heart and a gentle soul. He inspires others by his positive attitude and the love he has for his job and patients. He often works late, covers others shifts as needed, demonstrates professionalism, respect and compassion to all individuals. He is also committed to serving the people and organizations of his community. Tracy has served as a volunteer at Kennewick Nazarene Church for many years. During his years of service, he has been a leader who helped create a warm and welcoming environment for the kids who attended the church. “We recently had a new family attend our service”, said Amanda Mohs, Children’s Ministry Director of Kennewick Nazarene Church. “Their son had just been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and this was the first time he was going to be out of his parents care since spending a week in the hospital. Tracy went out of his way to comfort the parents and give them the confidence to allow their son to stay with his peers for Tracy’s class. After the service the parents let me know how meaningful Tracy’s attention was and that he helped them feel a little bit more normal after such a dramatic change in their household”. Each hospital winner, including Tracy, will be considered for LifePoint’s 2022 companywide Mercy Award. The companywide winner will be announced this summer and honored during a ceremony in Nashville, Tenn., in August, to which Tracy and all facility winners are invited to attend. |
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July 2024
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