Arson fire at North Elementary School under investigation
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 6 months AGO
These three boys were caught on camera setting fire to North Elementary’s playground equipment.
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | April 11, 2016 1:45 PM
MOSES LAKE — Three boys are being sought after security cameras at North Elementary School caught them setting a fire that burned playground equipment Thursday afternoon.
School district officials released a picture of the suspects; the case is being investigated by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office. The incident occurred about 5:15 p.m.
The fire didn’t threaten any buildings.
Security video shows the three suspects walking up to the playground toy, a slide and climbing bars next to the basketball court, and two boys setting a fire under the slide. The suspects then walk away, and in a few minutes one returns with some dried weeds and adds them to the fire. The extra fuel sets the toy aflame.
The suspects “walked off and watched it burn,” said district superintendent Michelle Price.
Firefighters from Grant County Fire District No. 5 responded to the scene and put out the fire, but not before the equipment was destroyed.
Price said the playground equipment was insured, and district officials are working with the district’s insurance company to replace it as soon as possible.
“Very unfortunate,” Price said, since the playground equipment is used by children in the North Elementary neighborhood and in her opinion belongs to the kids at North Elementary and the surrounding neighborhood.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Warden man injured in tractor-trailer collision with train
BRUCE — A Warden man was transported to an out-of-area hospital after the tractor-trailer he was driving was hit by a train near Bruce at about noon Tuesday. "The extent of the driver's injuries is not known at this time," wrote Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner in a media release. "Preliminary information indicates the semi-truck was traveling above the speed limit and failed to obey posted requiring traffic to yield at the railroad crossing. The train was traveling at a slow speed," Wagner said. "He was moving. He wasn't stuck on the tracks," he said in an earlier interview.
Othello man arrested for Moses Lake attempted burglary
MOSES LAKE — An Othello man jumped into Moses Lake in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid Moses Lake Police Department officers last Friday. An MLPD media release issued Wednesday said Fernando Lira, 36, was booked into the Grant County Jail on suspicion of second-degree burglary in connection with the incident. Lira allegedly attempted to burglarize a business in the 600 block of East Broadway Friday morning. The business owner discovered him and chased him off the property, the release said.
Higher revenues, expenses projected in preliminary Moses Lake city budget
MOSES LAKE — While Moses Lake city officials have reduced expenses and revenues are projected to increase by about 7.9% in the city's preliminary budget, proposed expenditures are projected to go up by about 9.5%. Assistant City Manager James Richmond emphasized the preliminary budget presented earlier this month is not cast in stone. "The projected figures are not finalized. They are requests from departments based on projected 2027 operational costs. Largely, the figures are based on guidance from the city council during the financial sustainability plan analysis," Richmond wrote in answer to questions from the Columbia Basin Herald.