Grant Ritchey

MOUNT VERNON — Andrew Samples knows how to code — although it’s a work in progress. Sitting around fellow first- and third-graders, Samples can control a tiny robot called an ozobot. The bot can be programmed or coded with commands that determines its direction. Samples, like other students at Twin Oak Elementary, has focused on […]

MOUNT VERNON — There were 16 people who received sentences in November for felony convictions in Knox County. Seven people sentenced Nov. 7 Brooklyn Miller, 26, of Mount Vernon, was sentenced to two years of community control on an aggravated possession of drugs and illegal use or possession of drug paraphernalia convictions, among other requirements. […]

CENTERBURG — A Centerburg Local Schools pavement project is expected to go out to bid in early January, forecasting district-wide infrastructure improvements for the 2025-26 academic year. Both the elementary and middle/high school parking lots will see improvements, superintendent Ryan Gallwitz said. The elementary’s south parking lot will be replaced with a new asphalt layer […]

MOUNT VERNON — Annie Purcel hit the record button, grabbed a couple of markers, a white board and an eraser. Her message was simple: let’s raise money for hurricane relief. The goal was for Columbia Elementary students and parents to raise $600. They responded in a big way, raising more than $1,400. Money was collected […]

HOWARD — After a year off, Fire and Ice at Honey Run waterfall returned to Howard on Saturday night. Hundreds of lights were lit along Honey Run waterfall walkways for the Food For The Hungry event in collaboration with the Knox County Parks District and Millwood Church of Christ. (Below are pictures taken Saturday night […]

HOWARD — Naomi Heckman still remembers the aroma of cocoa filling the air in her grandma’s kitchen. It was there in the yellow-white kitchen that Heckman learned from her grandmother’s tools of the trade. From baking pies to finding the perfect ratio of brown to white sugar in chocolate chip cookies, Heckman learned to love […]

Intel’s impact on Sherwood, Oregon Chip manufacture Intel arrived in Washington County, where Sherwood is located, in the mid-1970s, bringing exponential growth to the farming community. You can read more of our reporting here. SHERWOOD, Oregon — Dave Murray lives and breathes lavender. Murray, originally from Southern California, moved to his Sherwood home (which he […]

DANVILLE — The Danville Board of Education approved a $484,610 contract with Energy Optimizers USA to demolish the Intermediate Building on Monday. The vote was 3-2 with board members Joshua Byers and Dawna Stephens dissenting. When asked when the demolition would start, Danville superintendent Jason Snively couldn’t give a timeline at this time, he said. […]

MOUNT VERNON — A Knox County grand jury handed down seven indictments in its Dec. 16 session. Here are the cases: Joshua Goheen, 38, of Mount Vernon, having weapons while under disability, third-degree felony; forfeiture specification to count one, a felony. Heather Hagner, 35, of Mount Vernon, domestic violence, fourth-degree felony. Michael Mitchell, 41, of Mount […]

HARRISON TOWNSHIP — If you looked up at the sky Friday night, there’s a good chance you saw a cloud of smoke hovering in eastern Knox County. We received several questions about the open brush fire early Friday evening, Dec. 13. Readers asked about the fire’s origins in Harrison Township. Eastern Knox County Joint Fire District […]