Firefighters for Kids gets boost from Boeing
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 9 months AGO
The Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce presents Firefighters for Kids with a donation from Boeing and the Association of Washington Business. From left: Chamber Director Debbie Doran-Martinez, Firefighters for Kids president Mike Miner, Moses Lake Deputy Fire Chief Chris Callahan and Boeing Fire Local I-66 President Casey Yeager.
Joel Martin/Columbia Basin Herald
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 4, 2023 1:20 AM
MOSES LAKE — Some families in the Columbia Basin will have a merrier Christmas, courtesy of The Association of Washington Business, Boeing and local firefighters.
Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce directors dropped by Moses Lake Fire Station 1 on Thursday to present Moses Lake Firefighter Mike Miner, president and founder of Firefighters for Kids, with a “Santa Box” that included a $5,000 donation. The goodies came through a donation by the Boeing Company to the AWB’s Holiday Kids’ Tree Project, which raises money for families in rural communities, said Chamber Director Debbie Doran-Martinez.
Boeing specified that its contribution be used in the Columbia Basin because of its close ties to the Moses Lake community, she added.
Miner started Firefighters for Kids in 2015 in Spokane, and brought it to Moses Lake when he was hired here in 2017, he said. The group collects donations from the local community as well, both online and through a donation box set up at the fire station.
Miner said local schools are helping find families who can use a little help.
“I have several counselors within the schools here in Moses Lake, and they're giving me a list of five kids (per school) right now,” Miner said. “I'm going to call them and then start adding kids to our list that we can help out for Christmas, and then I'll also contact schools that I haven't contacted throughout Grant County as well.”
The help Firefighters for Kids gives goes beyond individual children, he explained.
“Let's say you're a counselor, right?” Miner said. “And then you give me five kids that are from your school? Well, we help that whole family. So it's not just five kids; we're looking at 20, 30 kids, and then we're going to add more.”
Each family will get three to five gifts per child, Miner said, as well as brand-new clothes, food, diapers and other necessities.
Firefighters for Kids still operates in Spokane as well as the Tri-Cities and other places.
“We helped just under 600 kids last year, several hundred of them in Grant County,” Miner said.
Donations can be dropped off at Moses Lake Fire Station 1 at 701 E. Third Ave. or online at www.ffs4kids.org.
Joel Martin may be reached via email at [email protected].
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.