SOAP LAKE - Soap Lake Mayor Raymond Gravelle is suggesting a citywide garage sale might help mend the city's perceived image problem.

"What do other people call Soap Lake? They call it Dope Lake," Gravelle said. "They call it the red-headed stepchild of Grant County. Well, we're going to change that and one of the ways we're going to start doing that is by supporting our police department in any way that we can."

Gravelle proposed inviting residents to organize their own yard sales around an as-yet-undesignated weekend sometime in the early spring. Residents not wishing to hold their own could donate items to a central city-run sale. At the end of the day donations would be solicited to fund more police, Gravelle explained.

"We'd ask, 'Do you feel like you got some benefit out of the city promoting this and more people coming through, and by the way would you help support our police department?'" he said.

All proceeds would go toward the cost of hiring two additional reserve officers.

"I've been told by a couple of our officers that there are people waiting in the wings to join as reservists, but it costs nearly $2,000 to bring a reservist on board. That's why we don't have more today," Gravelle said. "(Police chief Jim Dorris) assured me that this would help him greatly in being able to perform the public safety job at hand."

Gravelle is currently looking for committee volunteers to work out the details of the sale.

For more information, contact city hall at 509-246-1211.