The hunt is on
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 5 months AGO
Children descend on McCosh Park Saturday for the 2022 Easter egg hunt sponsored by the Moses Lake Lions Club. The hunt started at noon and all the eggs had been snapped up by 12:04.
File photo
Three-year-old Levi Heimark looks at the egg he found at the Easter egg hunt at McCosh Park last year. This year’s event is 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 7, 2023 1:20 AM
COLUMBIA BASIN — Small plastic eggs will be stashed – and snatched up by little hands at an astounding rate – all over the Basin this weekend.
Nearly every community in the area has its own Easter egg hunt either Friday or Saturday, as is traditional the weekend before Easter. The first one will be at Columbia Basin Hospital in Ephrata, at 10:30 a.m. Friday. This hunt is for kids 6 and under.
Both Moses Lake and Ephrata will have flashlight egg hunts Friday evening. Ephrata’s will be at Lions Park at 8:15 p.m. It’s hosted by Ephrata Parks and Recreation for kids in grades 5-12.
“The majority of the kids that we see there are middle school-ish, maybe some freshmen,” said Parks and Recreation Director Tracy Bennett. “But we really don't turn anyone away.”
It’s not usually very dark out when the hunt starts, Bennett added, so the flashlight is fun but not essential. The eggs will contain the usual pieces of candy, but there will also be some prizes.
Moses Lake will also hold a flashlight hunt for older kids Friday, at the McCosh Park Amphitheater at 8:45 p.m. There will be 4,000 eggs out for high-school-age kids to find, and 43 prizes as well, according to Gunnar Blankenship, recreation coordinator with the Moses Lake Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department.
“We've got a Spalding basketball with a pump and a JBL Clip 3 speaker,” Blankenship said. “That's one prize.” There are also Amazon and Visa gift cards, he said, and a host of gift cards for local businesses,” he added.
Saturday morning and early afternoon will see children turning out in public parks all over the Basin, including George, Mattawa, Soap Lake, Lind and Grand Coulee. Ephrata has another as well, for kids up to fourth grade, and Moses Lake has three, at McCosh Park, the sand dunes and Blue Heron Park.
People hoping to get in on the hunts would do well not to be late. Easter egg hunts tend to be quick as kids swarm onto the grass and grab up all the eggs in a matter of a few minutes.
“It takes us longer to scatter them out than it does for the kids to pick them all up,” Bennett said.
Joel Martin can be reached at [email protected]
INFOBOX:
Here’s where the Easter Bunny will be leaving his treasures this year:
Ephrata
• Columbia Basin Hospital, Friday, 10:30 a.m. Ages 6 and under.
• Lions Park, Friday, 8:15 pm. Flashlight hunt for grades 5-12, hosted by Ephrata Parks and Recreation.
• Lions Park, Saturday, 1 p.m. Kids up to 4th grade. Sponsored by Rotary Club of Ephrata
George
• George Community Hall, Saturday, 9 a.m. Ages 0-12. Sponsored by the Georgettes.
Grand Coulee
• Grand Coulee Old Middle School Athletic Field, Saturday, 11 a.m. Hosted by Grand Coulee Dam Lions Club.
Lind
• Lind City Park, Saturday, 11 a.m. Hosted by Lind Lions Club.
Mattawa
• Hund Park, Saturday, 10 a.m. Kids only.
Moses Lake
• McCosh Park Amphitheater, Friday, 8:45 p.m. Flashlight hunt for grades 9-12. Hosted by Moses Lake Parks, Recreation & Cultural Services.
• McCosh Park, 12 noon. Hosted by Moses Lake Lions Club.
• Blue Heron Park, Saturday, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Hosted by Grant County Animal Outreach.
• Moses Lake Sand Dunes, Saturday,12 p.m.-3 p.m. Hosted by Sand Scorpions ORV Group.
Quincy
• East Park, Saturday, 10 a.m. Sponsored by Quincy Moose Lodge No. 1925.
Soap Lake
• Smokiam City Park, Saturday, 10 a.m. Ages 12 and under.
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.