In Other News
PRISON TERM FOR EMBEZZLED ATM CASH
EPHRATA – A longtime employee for a local business was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay nearly $72,000 in fees and restitution for embezzling company funds last summer.
Jose Luis Leal Rodales, 33, of Ephrata, pled guilty Monday in Grant County Superior Court to felony charges of first-degree theft and first-degree identity theft.
A nine-year employee of Inland Oil Co., Leal was authorized to regularly obtain cash from a local bank to place in ATM machines at the company’s convenience stores. Those include the Ephrata Conoco station and Hawk Fuel stores in Ephrata, Soap Lake, Moses Lake, and Othello.
In September 2024, the company’s owner and secretary provided spread sheets and other information to Ephrata police which showed discrepancies totaling $43,000 between the bank withdrawals made by Leal and the amount of cash he was loading into the ATMs over a four-month period beginning last June.
When questioned by an EPD officer about the financial discrepancies, Leal tearfully admitted to embezzling the funds and apologized, saying he was broke and needed money for his parents. Leal was arrested and initially booked into the Grant County Jail, then later released on a signature bond.
During Monday’s court hearing, Judge Melissa Chlarson followed a plea agreement recommendation and sentenced Leal to 12 months and one day in prison, followed by 12 months’ community supervision by the state Department of Corrections.
Chlarson also ordered Leal to get DOC approval for future employment and living arrangements, and to pay restitution of $20,066 to Ephrata Inland Oil Co., $51,000 to EMC Insurance Companies of Des Moines, Iowa, and court and victim assessment fees totaling $700.
The state’s case was handled by Grant County deputy prosecutor Jeremiah Jensen. Leal was represented by defense attorney Etoy Alford Jr.
$614K GRANT AWARDED TO EPHRATA FOR STREETS
OLYMPIA – The Washington State Transportation Improvement Board has awarded a $614,517 grant to the City of Ephrata that will largely pay the cost of chip-sealing nearly 3.5 miles of high-traffic arterial streets in 2026.
Ephrata council members on Wednesday voted unanimously to accept the grant, which will require a $68,280 city match that has already been budgeted in its street fund.
“Residents will greatly benefit by preservation of city streets with regular chip sealing maintenance,” city administrator Ray Towry wrote in a memorandum to the council and Mayor Bruce Reim. “The cost of chip seal maintenance is much less than the costs of full reconstruction of city streets.”
Chip sealing involves spraying liquid asphalt onto an existing road surface, then compacting a cover layer of small stones, or “chips.” It creates a rougher roadway than more-costly paved asphalt, but quickly and effectively seals cracks to reduce deterioration while improving skid resistance.
Among the roadways designated for next year’s work are: Alder Street from Third Avenue S.W. northward to the North Basin Street/State Route 28 intersection; First Avenue N.W. between Basin Street and Statter Road; A Street S.E. past the Ephrata Middle School and city fire station and shop; Fourth Avenue N.W./Frey Road past Ephrata High School; Third Avenue N.E., and portions of Airport Street and Railroad Street at the Ephrata Port District.
Public works director Rob Harris told the council that the upcoming street work would be similar to chip-sealing conducted last year. And projects engineer Dave Bren noted the TIB funding was the largest of multiple grant requests currently being pursued by the city.
TIB grant monies are primarily derived from the state’s Motor Vehicle Fuel Tax.
