'...we're just people too.'
GABRIEL DAVIS | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 8 months AGO
The Adams County Sheriff’s Office and the Othello Police Department partnered to host Saturday’s National Night Out event held at the Columbia Basin Health Association Othello Clinic.
GABRIEL DAVIS/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
A member of the community attempts to hit the dunk tank target to drop Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner into the water during National Night Out.
A Columbia Basin Health Association representative hands out backpacks with school supplies to members of the community outside of the Othello Clinic during the National Night Out event. CBHA planned on handing out 1000 backpacks throughout the evening.
Gabriel Davis is a resident of Othello who enjoys the connections with his sources. Davis is a graduate of Northwest Nazarene University where he studied English and creative writing. During his free time, he enjoys reading, TV, movies and games – anything with a good story, though he has a preference for science fiction and crime. He covers the communities on the south end of Grant County and in Adams County. | August 16, 2023 1:30 AM
OTHELLO – The Adams County Sheriff’s Department partnered with the Othello Police Department to host a National Night Out event Saturday evening at the Othello Columbia Basin Health Association Clinic.
Adams County Sheriff’s Office Administrative Assistant Sandra Gomez led the Sheriff’s Office’s coordination of the event.
“This is our first year here in Othello, so we’re super excited,” said Gomez. “We were anticipating at least 1300 people, but I hope it’s that and then more.”
Gomez said she wanted to do the National Night Out event after working for Adams County Integrated Health Care Services and participating in a program to prevent substance abuse in the community. She’s also started community outreach events and donations through the Sheriff’s Office.
“What better idea than to create this,” said Gomez. “That way everybody can mingle, get to know what our services are, and who else works at the offices, the Police Department and Sheriff’s Office. That way the community can build that relationship with law enforcement…get to know each officer and deputy.”
The event featured free food, drinks, waterslides, bounce houses, music, informational booths, giveaways, and even skydivers holding an American flag as they landed outside the clinic. Event attendees could also pay to dunk various law enforcement officials at the event, including Sheriff Dale Wagner and Othello Chief of Police David Rehaume.
Event attendee Reese Jones said the children’s activities and support for ACSO brought him to the National Night Out.
“We brought my niece and nephew. They wanted to do the bouncy houses, and get some food and some free stuff,” Jones said.
Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner elaborated on the motivation behind working with the Othello Police Department to put on the event.
“Just awareness of our law enforcement and what we do for the people and what they do for us,” Wagner said, “And that’s really what my goal is, is to have a community event that people can come and communicate with us on a level that they’re not used to and help them understand that we’re here to help them, and we’re just people too.”
Gomez said the community surprised her in how much support they provided for Saturday’s event, including the vendors providing food, activities, and supplies.
One such community participant was CBHA, who donated the space behind the Othello clinic for the event and were handing out 1000 backpacks with school supplies throughout the evening.
“We get to partner with the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, all the great local police officers, EMT, fire department,” said CBHA Community Relations Coordinator Alex Bountharath. “This event is definitely great for the community to come out and meet all of our local law enforcement…and we’re hoping to do more in the future.”
Other sponsors and partners with the event included various local agencies and businesses, such as the Othello School District, Simplot, Leprekon Harvest Foods, the Othello Food Bank and more.
Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android.
MORE STORIES
Color run for childhood health to be held in Othello
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 2 years, 8 months ago
ARTICLES BY GABRIEL DAVIS
Work-based learning lets students build their own futures
MOSES LAKE — Work-based learning provides education opportunities for the workforce to receive hands-on training and technical education and prepare themselves to enter various industries. Educators and workforce development professionals from Eastern Washington discussed some the training they offer and the benefits of their programs. Next Generation Zone, an affiliate of WorkSource based in Spokane, provides job training opportunities for youth and young adults ages 16 to 24. Program Coordinator Kate Martin said there are multiple benefits to the program. “One of them is a paid work experience, and that’s where we reach out to area employers who are willing to take a young person and train them,” she said. “This is a short-term learning experience, so it’s typically about 240 hours; sometimes it could be longer or shorter. We’re the actual employer; we cover all of their wages, taxes, the L&I, and the employer just agrees to give them the experience and train them in whatever field it is that they’re wanting to go into.”
Serving schools: ESD superintendents reflect on operations, priorities
MOSES LAKE — Educational service districts are government-mandated agencies put in place to provide services to school districts across the state. ESD Superintendents discussed what they do and their priorities in operating their districts. ESD 105, led by Superintendent Kevin Chase, serves four counties, including Kittitas, Yakima and portions of Klickitat and Grant counties and provides support for 25 school districts – including Royal School District and Wahluke School District – and more than 66,000 students. “We help them collaborate with each other as well or collaborate with other partners,” Chase said. “(It’s) a lot of advocacy work, either regionally or across the state, or even federally, working on different issues that impact our education. And we provide very specialized services in certain situations in order to meet the needs of our students in our region and of our school districts.”
Columbia Basin Project making headway through Odessa Groundwater program
CASHMERE — The Columbia Basin Project is making gradual progress toward completion with particularly significant accomplishments for the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program in the last six months or so, according to Columbia Basin Development League Executive Director Sara Higgins. “When we’re dealing with a project of this size, advancement is kind of like watching paint dry, but yes, there have been (developments),” she said. “There are a lot of exciting things happening right now.” There are more than 300 miles of main canals, about 2,000 miles of lateral canals and 3,500 miles of drains and wasteways in the irrigation project, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation website. The CBDL advocates for the operation of those waterways and for the project to continue “build-out.”