Moses Lake Christian Academy dinner raises $40,000
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years AGO
The crowd filled the building at the fundraising crab feed sponsored by the Moses Lake Christian Academy.
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. | March 31, 2016 6:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — A banquet to raise money for the Moses Lake Christian Academy athletic program filled the 4-H building at the Grant County Fairgrounds and raised about $40,000.
The crab feed drew about the same size crowd as 2015, said Stephanie Voigt, the school’s director, because the event was – and is – a sellout. “We’re at capacity,” she said.
The money raised supports the school’s athletic program, which includes basketball, volleyball, baseball, golf, soccer and cheerleading. Athletes show their gratitude for the help by working at the banquet, Voigt said. “They do a ton of the setup, they break down, they serve,” and many other chores surrounding the event, she said.“It’s a lot of fun.”
Along with the crab and prime rib, the evening features a raffle and a live auction. The raffle prizes included a package for a Seattle Sounders soccer game. The auction only includes 10 items, Voigt said, but they’re big items – tickets to a Seahawks game and a vacation package in the Tuscany region of Italy, among others.
There will be a 2017 crab feed. “This year we even had people buying tickets for next year,” Voigt said.
Academy officials also announced the donation of 9nine acres to the school, which will be used for a soccer and baseball field. The land is located adjacent to the campus and was a driving range, part of a nine-hole golf course that looped around the school campus. The golf course has been removed and the land is being redeveloped into an apartment complex.
The land donated to MLCA is adjacent to the South Campus Athletic Club. Voigt said the MLCA board and administrators will be working on a fundraising campaign to develop the property as athletic fields. The academy board and administrators are still doing research to determine the cost; Voigt said the board wants the project to be 100 percent funded before ground is broken.
When completed the facility would be available for community use as well as MLCA students, she said.
More than 700 people were served during the 2016 crab feed, Voigt said. The menu features crab caught about 48 hours previously, then cleaned, cooked and shipped to Moses Lake, Voigt said. The prime rib part of dinner was catered by Michael’s.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
Moses Lake Grange to sponsor candidate forum
MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Grange No. 1151 will sponsor a forum where people can listen to candidates for the Fourth Congressional District from 3 to 5 p.m. May 9 at the Grange building, 14724 Road 3 SE.
Ephrata to consider impact fees for new development
EPHRATA — The possibility of adding transportation and parks impact fees for new development will be under consideration by the Ephrata City Council, starting with a discussion April 29. Community Development Director Ron Sell said development fees would be a new thing for Ephrata. “Currently we don’t have any impact fees in place. We do have a parks mitigation fee in place,” Sell said.
Surveys of Moses Lake residents show attitudes toward service cuts, sales tax increase
MOSES LAKE — About 49% of Moses Lake residents contacted as part of a survey of community attitudes and priorities said they were satisfied with the direction of the city, with about 42% saying they thought the city was on the wrong track. The biggest concerns of survey respondents centered around homelessness and public safety. The survey was part of a larger project to get public input on possible revisions to city programs due to a deficit in the general fund. “We’re trying to understand how voters look at their values and what kinds of things you might have the opportunity to do in the future as you’re thinking about corralling this budget. Where are the opportunities, where will you find resistance and (where) will you find more agreement among voters?” said Ian Stewart, of Fulcrum Strategy group, which conducted the survey.