Christmas on 3rd Avenue
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 years, 9 months AGO
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. | December 9, 2019 10:32 AM
MOSES LAKE — Friday was a chilly evening for the Moses Lake Ag Appreciation Parade and Street Party, but the atmosphere was warm and bright.
It seemed like the entire population of Moses Lake turned out for the traditional festival of brightly-lit farm equipment, hot cocoa and candy canes. Chairs, blankets and even a fire pit or two lined the downtown sidewalks.
The action started late in the afternoon as parade participants started drifting into the parking lot at the Surf ’n Slide Water Park to begin decking out their creations. Some of the participants were old hands, others were just getting into the swing.
The Sons of Norway have had a float in the parade for nine years, according to member Robert Johnson. The float is made to resemble a Viking longboat, and was completely redone this year.
“We didn’t expect it to last as long as it did,” said Johnson. Johnson’s mother Lillian Lucke, former longtime president of the local Sons of Norway chapter, had her seat reserved in the place of honor at the front of the ‘ship.”
Part of the renovation was a brand-new wooden figurehead and tail, both carefully crafted by Jamie Casteel. The head is engraved with medieval Norse runes.
The float representing JP Ranch and Robel Farms isn’t so old. In fact, it gets reinvented every year.
“We keep trying to one-up ourselves,” said Pam Lewison, who with her husband Jim built a homemade barn for this year’s entry in less than 48 hours. This is their third year entering the parade.
The floats began moving out at 7 p.m., lighting up the dark winter streets with everything from the Grinch sitting atop a light-covered structure that would have made Clark Griswold jealous, to rodeo queens showing off their riding chops, to a rolling Nativity scene put up by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Riders on the floats flung faux snow and candy, the latter of which was eagerly snapped up by children on the sidelines.
The parade is sponsored by the Downtown Business Association and is meant to give the community a chance to show its appreciation for farmers. It also gives farmers a chance to show off for their community. That’s a welcome break for many.
“Especially in the winter, when there’s little else to do,” said Lewison.
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.