Richland’s Rollarena celebrating 70 years

Rollarena Skating Center is holding a special event on Feb. 18 to celebrate its 70th anniversary.

The skating event runs from 1-9 p.m. and will double as a fundraiser for My Friends Place, which provides support to homeless youth in the Tri-Cities.

Admission is $10, including traditional skate rental. All admission and concession sales will go to My Friends Place, and Rollarena will match the funds.

People are invited to drop by throughout the day to skate and share Rollarena stories. Music from the last seven decades will play, with guest DJs Jeff Jacobs and Brandon Andersen scheduled to appear. Jacobs was Rollarena’s DJ in the 90s and Anderson hosts its adult night on Thursdays.

Ben Franklin Transit adds Dial-A-Ride provider

Ben Franklin Transit is expanding Dial-A-Ride service.

The agency’s board of directors on Jan. 11 authorized a contract increase with Nomad Transit LLC, known as Via, to operate expansion services.

The move will allow Via to provide ADA Dial-A-Ride overflow trips, general demand services in Prosser and Benton City, and on-demand services to the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, according to a statement from the transit agency.

The idea is to increase reliability and offer more flexibility and efficiency in scheduling, the statement said.

“These shared services will ensure we’re well equipped to support our Dial-A-Ride customers in the event of an increase in ridership and will provide consistency for our cherished clientele. We want to position ourselves to offer the most dependable service to our community,” said Rachelle Glazier, general manager, in a statement. “Get used to seeing our BFT CONNECT Via vans in more locations, including Prosser and Benton City, as we strive for service excellence.”

BFT plans to start the expansion in March and is working out details with Via. The BFT Citizens Advisory Network will be consulted to ensure customer needs are the focus, the statement said.

Cool Desert Nights returns to Richland

The Richland Chamber of Commerce and the city of Richland have announced the return of Cool Desert Nights on June 21-22.

The event returns with a Friday night cruise, a street dance concert in John Dam Plaza, and a car show-n-shine all day Saturday at the Uptown Shopping Center and Jefferson Park in Richland.

Co-sponsors are the Richland Chamber of Commerce and the city. 

Tri-Citian of the Year nominations open

Do you know someone deserving of being named 2024 Tri-Citian of the Year?

Nominations are due by 5 p.m. on March 9. Fill out the nomination form at tricitianoftheyear.com.

The award is given to people who demonstrate “outstanding service above self” and is meant to show appreciation for “efforts exerted in building community through service,” the program website says.

Dozens of people have been honored since 1962, when the first award went to Owen Hurd, former managing director of the Washington Public Power Supply System and general manager for the Benton PUD. Last year, Lura Powell, the former director of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, received the honor. The year before, it went to Mark Brault, chief executive officer of Grace Clinic.

Other recipients have ranged from Ken Hohenberg, the former Kennewick police chief and current Port of Kennewick commissioner, to the Lampson family.

This year’s ceremony is April 25 at the Three Rivers Convention Center in Kennewick.

Another annual awards ceremony also is coming up. The Kennewick Man and Woman of the Year will be named at a ceremony on Feb. 12 at the convention center. Nominations already are closed. 

Agency behind Meals on Wheels celebrates 50 years of service

Senior Life Resources Northwest, the nonprofit operating the Meals on Wheels service, celebrated 50 years of service on Jan. 4.

Established in 1974 as the Bread ’n Butter Nutrition Program, it transformed into Meals on Wheels in 1997, providing no-cost, nutritious meals to those 60 and over in Benton and Franklin counties.

Meals on Wheels ensures homebound seniors receive hot meals five days a week, with frozen options for the weekends, and operates eight dine-in sites across the region.

In 2023, the program served more than 2,400 clients and delivered 257,000 meals.

SLR’s Home Care Services, its second program established in the 1980s, has evolved into one of the state’s largest programs, spanning six areas: Clarkson, Ellensburg, Richland, Sunnyside, Walla Walla and Yakima.

Home Care Services provides meal preparation, errands, household chores, personal hygiene, medication reminders and respite for caregivers.

The program, available 24/7, reached a milestone in 2023, delivering a record-breaking 900,000 service hours through 770 providers, impacting the lives of more than 1,500 clients. 

Pink Ice Night to benefit Tri-Cities cancer patients

On Feb. 24, the Tri-City Americans will host the annual Fred Meyer “Pink Ice” Night, squaring off against the Regina Pats in a Western Hockey League showdown. The game starts at 6:05 p.m.

The Toyota Center ice will be painted pink. In addition to the auction of specially themed, game-worn jerseys, other fundraising opportunities will be available.

Contributions will benefit the nonprofit Partners in Care Foundation, which offers payment for a variety of expenses that aren’t covered by medical insurance, including gas or transportation services, respite care at home or in a health care setting, medical supplies or equipment, child care, lodging or food during treatment, and more, as well as cancer screenings.  

Partners in Care will host its annual charitable 5K run and 2-mile walk to benefit local head and neck cancer patients on April 14, along the Riverfront Trail at Columbia Point Marina Park in Richland.

For more information about Partners in Care, including details on how to register or sign up as a sponsor of the upcoming Richland race, email info@yourpartnersincare.org or call 239-931-7326. 

Coughs used to help screen for TB

Smartphones could play a role in detecting tuberculosis based on the sound of your cough, according to a recent study.

Researchers recorded the coughs of patients in Nairobi, 149 of whom had TB and 46 of whom had other respiratory illnesses, using various microphones. UW Medicine doctors and University of Washington engineers fed the 33,000 cough recordings into a machine-learning model, called TBscreen, they’d developed.

They discovered that a smartphone mic better predicted which coughs indicated TB than a more expensive microphone. The smartphone recordings had an 82% accuracy rate compared to the 70% accuracy rate of two microphones.

The World Health Organization said a detection method for TB should have 90% sensitivity, but this technology is a good first step.

According to lead author Manuja Sharma, “It is not possible to differentiate TB coughs by just hearing with the human ear.” Instead, the app pays attention to frequency that humans would not be able to identify.

Ordinarily, diagnosing TB requires a clinical laboratory with reliable electricity and access to supplies. While the app is not a definitive diagnosis, it may be able to provide a preliminary screening for TB and alert a provider that further testing is needed.

Senior author Dr. David Horne estimated that 10 million people contracted TB and 1.4 million died from it in 2022, and the disease “has once again dethroned Covid-19 as the leading cause of infectious disease related death worldwide.”

The findings were published Jan. 3 in Science Advances. 

Pasco invites public to community listening sessions

The Pasco City Council and staff will hold community listening sessions during the last week of February. These sessions allow Pasco residents to engage with their local government and have their voices heard.

Residents are invited to attend one of two scheduled sessions:

• 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27 at the Holiday Inn Express, 4525 Convention Place, near the HAPO Center.
• 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29 at the Leo Center, 3713 E. A St.

These facilitated forums offer residents an opportunity to share suggestions and creative ideas for enhancing their community.

Historically, community listening sessions have been instrumental in generating numerous goals for the city council. The feedback and ideas from past sessions have led to significant and positive changes.

The council encourages all segments of the community to participate. Residents, business owners and members of community organizations are welcome.

Spanish translation services will be provided at each session.

For more information, call 509-544-3060.

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