DELIVERING NEWS TO MID-COLUMBIA SENIORS SINCE 1982
Franklin County Historical Museum expansion coming – maybe by 2022? By Kristina Lord
publisher@tcjournal.biz
Pieces of the Franklin County Historical Museum’s collection are scattered throughout the county. Some are stored in the basement of the Pasco police station. Some are tucked into the Kahlotus Grange Hall. The Port of Pasco is storing some items for the museum. Past museum board members opened up their barn space. Only about 10% of the museum’s collection is on display, said Damien Davis, the museum’s part-time executive director since January 2021. Davis also served as manager at the Pasco Farmers Market and interim executive director at the Downtown Pasco Development Authority. “Franklin County, with its rich history in agriculture, means there have been large things donated. As people have donated items and we received them through the years, we haven’t had a place to house the donations. We really wanted a place to centralize it,” Davis said. That’s why the Franklin County Historical Society plans to build a 5,802-square-foot annex behind its museum at 305 N. Fourth Ave. in Pasco. It’s not clear when construction will begin on the $809,352 project as it has been fraught with delays.
Expansion plans
Preserving the history of the people of Franklin County is important, said Glen Allison, president of the Franklin County Historical Society. He’s a reuMUSEUM, Page 10
OCTOBER 2021
Vol. 9 | Issue 10
Cemetery Tim keeps memories alive at the graveyard By Kristina Lord
publisher@tcjournal.biz
The proprietor of Headstones by Cemetery Tim makes death look cool. That’s what some of his clients have told him over the years. But Tim Morris isn’t trying to look cool. He’s going for approachable. His headstone company is based in Yakima but he recently opened a showroom in downtown Pasco. His front door at 325 W. Lewis St. features a caricature of him leaning around a tombstone engraved with the words, “The Headstone Whisperer.” There’s a welcome mat with the same logo. It’s also branded on his shirt. His Ram pickup is emblazoned with red lettering, touting his business’ offerings: lay-away options, service to all cemeteries, custom design work and his large social media presence. “I can’t tell you how many people pull out their phone and start recording my truck on their phone,” he said. Morris’ headstone-making business has been featured on several nation-
Photo by Kristina Lord Tim Morris, owner of Headstones by Cemetery Tim, sets a headstone at Pasco’s City View Cemetery with help from Gilbert Sanchez. His eye-catching branded pickup is parked behind him.
wide news outlets, including TMZ, BET and New York Daily News, because he’s designed extravagant grave markers for celebrities.
His goal when he started the business five years ago was to be approachable. He wasn’t interested in uCEMETERY TIM, Page 12
Chaplaincy Health Care delays hospice project over costs By Wendy Culverwell editor@tcjournal.biz
Chaplaincy Health Care is delaying construction of a 10-bed hospice house at the Richland Wye after construction estimates soared 30% past the $5 million price tag. The nonprofit intended to begin construction on a replacement for Chaplaincy Hospice House in Richland this fall. The site, 1336 Spaulding Ave., is a short walk from the agency’s Fowler Street administrative office. Instead, it will make updates to its existing hospice facility in Kenne-
wick to extend its useful life by about five years. Costs coupled with Covid-related challenges to fundraising prompted the board to rethink the timing, said Tom Corley, a retired hospital executive who is serving as Chaplaincy’s second interim executive director. A nationwide search to replace Gary Castillo, who departed in the spring, is ongoing. Bob Rosselli, a board member who stepped in as interim, left in July. Chaplaincy hired Richland’s Bouten Construction, a veteran hospital builder, to assess the hospice build-
ing, which was constructed by volunteers in 1996 on West Entiat Avenue behind First Lutheran Church. Bouten will recommend repairs and updates to the board, along with cost estimates. The board will choose which to pursue. Corley and hospice staffers say the new building will serve a need, but the existing one is a useful and sacred space for patients and families facing death. “Hospice house is going to be here,” Corley said. uCHAPLAINCY, Page 2
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Seniors group offers ways to avoid Covid isolation
Page 5
MONTHLY QUIZ
Spudnut remodels to meet ADA requirements after suit
Page 13
What military rank did Meriwether Lewis and William Clark hold during the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery expedition? ANSWER, PAGE 9
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