Firefighters for Kids gets boost from Boeing
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 10 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
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”