Quincy Valley Historical Society raises a ruckus – and a barn
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 4 months AGO
Courtesy photo Elliot Kooy, left, accompanies Connie Celustka, Sherry Krebs and Tanya Lawson of All Strings Considered at the Raise a Ruckus fundraiser in Quincy on Saturday.
Joel Martin has been with the Columbia Basin Herald for more than 25 years in a variety of roles and is the most-tenured employee in the building. Martin is a married father of eight and enjoys spending time with his children and his wife, Christina. He is passionate about the paper’s mission of informing the people of the Columbia Basin because he knows it is important to record the history of the communities the publication serves. | April 25, 2018 1:00 AM
QUINCY — Webster defines “ruckus” as a row or disturbance, which doesn’t capture the level of fun generated at the Quincy Valley Historical Society’s “Raise a Ruckus” fundraiser Saturday night. The event raised about $3,700 toward the society’s Heritage Barn, which broke ground last August and is now nearing completion.
“People said it was one of the best events we’ve ever had, and it was a lot of fun,” said volunteer Harriet Weber, who is spearheading the barn project.
About 100 people packed the Pioneer Church for the event, according to Weber. The main entertainment was an Americana-themed concert by the Wenatchee-based group All Strings Considered playing hammer dulcimer, fiddle and guitar and joined by George resident Elliot Kooy on the banjo. The church’s superior acoustics owing to its unique barrel vault ceiling made the music especially beautiful, Weber said.
Kylie Youngren, the new choir teacher at Quincy High School, brought in select members of her choir for an a capella rendition of “Will the Circle be Unbroken,” followed by a duet performance by Youngren and her husband Riley of “Oh, Shenandoah.”
“We had a singalong time, and I taught them the Virginia reel in the barn,” Weber said. It was really, really fun.”
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
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Quincy Police retirements leave big shoes to fill
QUINCY — There are some big shoes to fill at the Quincy Police Department. “We’re losing 48 years of experience between them,” Quincy Police Chief Ryan Green said at the retirement party for Capt. Jorge Trujillo and Det. Damon Powell Thursday. Trujillo, who grew up in Sunnyside, has been with QPD for 19 years, he said, coming on as a patrol officer fresh out of the military. From there he served as a field training officer, a detective and finally captain. “I consider him my left-hand man,” Green said. “He runs the operations side of the house … He knows the agency very well, and he knows the community.” Trujillo has some projects around the house to tackle now that he’s retired, he said.
Big fun on a small scale
Wheat Land Communities’ Fair opens Thursday
RITZVILLE — The Wheat Land Communities’ Fair isn’t as big or as flashy as some of the county fairs around central Washington, but the folks who keep it going like it just the way it is. “It’s somewhere you can go and get an old-time traditional feeling, and you’re comfortable letting your kids roam the grounds and experience all that it has to offer,” said Board Member Lori Williams. “It’s more of a feeling than (one) specific thing,” The fair starts Thursday in Ritzville and runs through Sunday. Starting Friday, the 56th Ritzville Rodeo will take place alongside the fair at the rodeo grounds. This year the entertainment budget was expanded, Williams said, to be able to offer more fun that’s covered by the cost of admission. For the kids, there’s face painting, balloon art, Lego crafts, races, contests and games. Children can also ride on a little train towed around the fairgrounds behind a tractor.