Scouts match cars at Pinewood Derby
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 7 months AGO
Lynne Lynch/Columbia Basin Herald Pack 67 Cub Scouts in Moses Lake wait between races at Saturday’s Pinewood Derby held at C & V Auto Sales.
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. | February 5, 2018 2:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — The roar of the engines may have been replaced by the rattle of plastic wheels and the whoosh of carved wood propelled by gravity, but the racers at Cub Scout Pack 67’s Pinewood Derby in Moses Lake Saturday had enough enthusiasm for any NASCAR crowd. Each boy had cut out, assembled, painted and decorated his own vehicle (no more than 7 inches long by 2 3/4 inches wide and weighing no more than 5 ounces, according to Boy Scout regulations) and they were all eager to see how their cars stacked up. In a Pinewood Derby, vehicles are started from a standstill and allowed to roll down a ramp to a finish line.
The overall winner was Conner Roth. Conner’s father, Brian Roth, said that in the course of helping Conner make his car he ran across his Pinewood Derby car from his own Cub Scout days, and entered it in the open races that followed the official derby.
“The wheels were different, and it didn’t win any of its races, but hey, it’s 48 years old,” he said.
“At the end, we raced his car against my car. His won by a mile.”
Tiger winners were Boe Harum, first place; Kipton Childress, second place; Alex Lawton, third place. Winning Wolves were Conner Roth, first place; Mason Earney, second place and Seth Jensen, third place. Bear winners were Nathan Miller, first place; Dylan Littlefield, second place; Aiden Camyn, third place. Webelo victories went to Daniel Heeney, first place; Joaquin Trevino, second place, and Charlie Pray, third place.
Several Scouts also received award certificates for work on their cars: Charlie Pray, Cypres Stark, Daniel Harberts, Daniel Heeney, Joaquin Trevino, Dylan Littlefield, Alex Lawton, Luke Lynch, Conner Roth, Nathan Miller, Odin Shirley, Seth Jensen, Skyler Mckinsey and Aiden Camyn.
C&V Auto Sales hosted the event and served as trophy sponsors.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Quincy National Night Out scales down
QUINCY — Quincy’s National Night Out was more compact this year, which worked out well, said QPD Sgt. Joe Westby, who’s in charge of event planning for the Quincy Police Department. “National Night Out is a big event, and the fact that we’re able to shrink it up is like a breath of fresh air,” Westby said. “If you're always doing the same thing, it's kind of nice to switch things up and see how it works.” National Night Out took place Thursday on the block of C Street next to the police station, a shift from previous years when it was held at Lauzier Park. The smaller space meant fewer emergency vehicles for children to explore, but it also meant less walking for attendees. Grant County Fire District 5 brought a fire truck, and the Grant County Sheriff’s Office had a patrol boat. Renew, the Grant County behavioral health agency, had a booth and so did Quincy Partnership for Youth. Veterans Operation Creation sang the national anthem, and the Quincy Animal Shelter brought kittens that piled over each other making friends with passersby. As before, the QPD served grilled hot dogs.
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.