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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1914 | 26 |
| 1915 | 20 |
| 1916 | 36 |
| 1917 | 36 |
| 1918 | 1 |
119 stories matching benton
- The Brutal Politics of the Benton County Bench
An editorial endorsement attacks a rival candidate, arguing that splitting the vote would hand the superior court seat to an outsider.
- Benton City Marks Irrigation Milestone
Thousands gather to dedicate the Benton extension of the Sunnyside Canal, signaling a doubling of local irrigated acreage.
- Benton City Prepares to Welcome the Canal
A day of speeches, picnics, and festivities marks the expansion of irrigation to the thirsty fields of Benton County.
- The Editors Came, Saw the Grapes, and Went Home to Boost Kennewick
For three days in September 1914 the young river town threw its Fourth Annual Grape Carnival, wined and dined the weekly editors of three counties, and sent them home to write love letters about cement sidewalks, shade trees and enormous bunches of grapes.
- The Secret Bond Deal Costing Taxpayers Thousands
A critical look at why Benton County’s courthouse bond issue failed to provide the value achieved by neighboring Walla Walla County.
- Federal Dollars Head to Kennewick Fields
The U.S. Department of Agriculture formally integrates Benton County’s agricultural oversight into its federal mission.
- Supreme Court Backs Benton County Taxpayers in Bond Case
The Supreme Court rules against Benton County commissioners for 'bad faith' in a courthouse bond dispute.
- The Courthouse Deal Done in the Dark
Benton County commissioners quietly sold $125,000 in bonds for a new courthouse. Farmers from Finley to Prosser cried foul over up to $40,000 in extra interest—and demanded to know why it had to be secret.
- The Foreclosure Auction: Luke Walsh Loses His Farm to Louis Rottmann
A Benton County sheriff’s sale is set for May 2, 1914, as a judgment of over $1,200 forces the transfer of land from one local farmer to another.
- Washington Votes Dry
Benton County joins a statewide landslide for prohibition, leaving only two 'wet' counties in Washington.
- Benton County's Courthouse Fight Turns Into a Four-Commissioner Circus
A newly elected commissioner is kept waiting, a courthouse contract is let in defiance of a court order, and $125,000 in bonds leave just $1,362 for furnishings.
- The Courthouse Contract Benton County Couldn't Swallow
Commissioners Clements and McNeill let a courthouse contract and issued a warrant without advertising for bids. A judge said they were within the law; the Courier-Reporter said the taxpayers would remember.
- The Dark-Lantern Courthouse Deal That Split Benton County
Two defeated commissioners pushed a $125,000 courthouse bond through in thirty minutes, and Kennewick's editor saw a county-seat conspiracy — and a raid on the taxpayers' treasury.
- The Sunday Bond Deal That Split Benton County
Two commissioners secretly arranged a courthouse bond sale, and a courtroom fight over lost premiums exposed how far they went to keep the third commissioner—and the public—in the dark.
- The Fight for the Finley Highway
A political brawl between Benton County towns erupts over construction of a new permanent highway, pitting local taxpayers against county officials.
- The Ghost Railroad That Never Reached Benton City
A failed land investment lawsuit reveals how the death of a railroad titan doomed a town's hopes for becoming a major terminal.
- The Governor’s Nightmare Road
An editorial critique of the state's failure to maintain a fifteen-mile stretch of road between Richland and Benton City.
- The Battle for the Benton County Roads
Kennewick business leaders protest a county road project, arguing that their tax dollars are being diverted to build infrastructure in empty, undeveloped territory.
- The Failed Recall of Benton County Commissioners
A political movement to unseat local officials fizzles out as residents and neighboring papers dismiss the effort as unnecessary discord.
- The Desert Beckons: The Fight to Irrigate Benton County
Highland Improvement and Commercial Clubs launch an ambitious campaign to finally secure irrigation rights for the long-promised Benton Unit.
- The Candidate Who Refused to Promise a Bridge
Running for representative, Gordon C. Moores argues that effective legislation requires compromise rather than the 'hobby-riding' log-rolling that clutters the statute books.
- The Battle Over Benton County's Governance
A fiery editorial calls for the decentralization of county power to curb political patronage and take road building 'out of politics'.
- Benton County Commissioners Clash Over Special Counsel
A heated debate between commissioners reveals deep-seated regional rivalries between Kennewick and Prosser.
- A Gas Well Roars to Life in the Sagebrush — and Yakima Comes to Watch
Sixty North Yakima men drove out to a wildcat well 14 miles north of Benton City, where escaping gas hissed like a locomotive, then lit into a 20-foot tower of flame — and raised fresh hopes of oil under the desert. Spoiler: the gas wasn't there in commercial quantities yet.
- Benton County Bets on Hogs, Corn and a Free Boar
Prosser's first annual Hog and Corn Show drew Kennewick crowds on the morning trains — and a warning that exclusive fruit raising would not carry the county forever.