RIS bazaar showcases crafts from students and others
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 8 months AGO
Royal Intermediate School’s Christmas bazaar drew 37 vendors and a fair-sized collection of shoppers of all ages Wednesday.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Tawnee Hebden and her daughter offer Royal Knights T-shirts at the Royal Intermediate School bazaar Wednesday. The proceeds go toward extra educational activities for Royal students, Hebden said.
Fifteen-year-old Royal student Taylor Webb shows some of her handmade earrings at the Riyal Intermediate School bazaar Wednesday. Web has been making the jewelry since she was 12, she said.
Santa Clause, whose non-holiday identity is retired teacher and Royal City Council Member Rick Kanelly, has a chat with 5-year-old Mia Estrada at the Royal Intermediate School Christmas bazaar Wednesday.
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 13, 2023 1:25 AM
ROYAL CITY — Earrings, slime, T-shirts and tamales were just a few of the things on offer at the holiday bazaar at Royal Intermediate School on Dec. 6.
“We had about 37 vendors this year, which is more than we've had in the past,” said Liesel Hall, a teacher at RIS who helps organize the bazaar. “That's our greatest number.”
Hall wasn’t sure how long the bazaar has been going on but thought this was at least the fifth or sixth year. Students drive a lot of the business, she said; some students sold homemade slime kits and one student made large marshmallows with sprinkles in Seahawk and Cougar colors, as well as festive red and green for Christmas. A couple of stands selling homemade tamales sold out quickly, she added.
Royal High School sophomore Taylor Webb had an array of handmade earrings on offer. She’s been making them since she was 12, she said.
“They're made of clay, polymer clay,” Webb said. “I'll use a cutter and I'll cut them into different shapes and sand them after baking. And then I use a special resin to assemble them.”
Not far away, Tawnee Hebden and her kids were selling Royal Knights T-shirts as a fundraiser for the Royal Parent-Teacher Organization.
“All the money that we make goes back, we put it back into the school,” Hebden said, “We've gotten authors to come and teach classes, and I think an illustrator came one year. We just get together as an organization and vote on the things that we want to bring in for the kids.”
Angelina and Angel Ruiz or Royal City were also selling T-shirts, printed on the spot from designs selected by the customer. Angelina Ruiz has been building the business slowly, her husband said, starting with small bazaars like Royal’s and hoping to move on to larger venues.
Hall spent the bazaar helping the students who were selling pizza, she said. She also said she hopes to see even more participants next year.
“Kids selling things is my favorite part,” she said, “that we have students that get to make a product and share it.”
Joel Martin may be reached via email at [email protected].
Tawnee Hebden and her daughter offer Royal Knights T-shirts at the Royal Intermediate School bazaar Wednesday. The proceeds go toward extra educational activities for Royal students, Hebden said.
Fifteen-year-old Royal student Taylor Webb shows some of her handmade earrings at the Riyal Intermediate School bazaar Wednesday. Web has been making the jewelry since she was 12, she said.
Santa Clause, whose non-holiday identity is retired teacher and Royal City Council Member Rick Kanelly, has a chat with 5-year-old Mia Estrada at the Royal Intermediate School Christmas bazaar Wednesday.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.