Auction set to support local accident victim
R. HANS MILLER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 years, 10 months AGO
Managing Editor Rob Miller is a 4-year U.S. Army veteran who grew up in Western Montana in a community about the size of Soap Lake. An honors graduate of Texas State University, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Brandee, and their three dogs, Draco, Pepper and Cinnamon. He has one son, William. During his free time, he enjoys photography, video games, reading and working on the house he and his wife bought in Ephrata. He is passionate about the First Amendment and educating communities. | March 28, 2023 5:00 PM
MOSES LAKE – Central Washington Livestock, Inc., Moses Lake, is set to auction off Panda the Mexican steer Wednesday at 1 p.m. to support Caleb Berquist and his family as he recovers from a side-by-side ATV accident.
“I actually grew up with Shane Berquist, Caleb’s dad,” said Randy Hull, Jr. of Central Washington Livestock, Inc. “We’ve been close friends our whole lives – grew up in the same little town. (He’s) the closest thing to a brother that I’ve got, and so, obviously I have known Caleb since he was born.”
According to a GoFundMe page set up to raise money for Berquist’s recovery, Berquist is a 23-year-old rancher and Montana State graduate who was competing in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association as a stand-out roper. While working to wrangle some yearlings, the ATV he was in rolled over and ended up rolling over him. He was then taken by LifeFlight to Spokane where he is receiving treatment for a broken left knee and a crushed vertebrae.
The GoFundMe was at nearly $63,000 as of Tuesday afternoon, but it is likely that medical bills will exceed that. Anyone wishing to donate may do so at https://bit.ly/BERQUIST.
Hull said he and the Central Washington Livestock team wanted to help the Berquists with the bills associated with the recent accident that has Berquist recovering in the hospital. The goal is to come together to see the Berquists through a challenging time, he said.
“We’re just doing what we can to try and raise some money for him,” Hull said.
Anyone who would like to bid on Panda may do so by attending the auction or calling the auction house at 509-778-3467 or 509-750-2833.
R. Hans Miller may be reached at [email protected].
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