Copenhaver prepares to take over at RMS
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 3 months AGO
Copenhaver
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. | May 10, 2023 1:00 AM
ROYAL CITY — Royal Middle School is getting a new principal.
Jerrod Copenhaver, who has been teaching fifth grade at Royal Intermediate School since 2014, has been tapped to take over from the retiring David Jaderlund starting July 1.
“I'm very excited,” Copenhaver said. “It's a great opportunity to keep working in this community.”
Teaching school in Royal City is a long way from what Copenhaver thought he’d be doing. He grew up on the west side and planned from an early age to work in law enforcement. And he did that, as a juvenile probation counselor in Kittitas County. He worked toward his teaching certification during that time, he said.
“I just kind of realized that I wanted to work in a more enjoyable environment with kids,” Copenhaver said. “I think what really helped me do it is, you realize that life's not so black and white for kids and that kids are experiencing bad things at home. And that kind of helped me work with kids in the classroom a lot better. Looking at the whole child.”
Copenhaver said he’s expecting the transition to the middle school to be a smooth one.
“The good news is I've taught all of them, so I know the kids in our school district,” he said. “I think the middle school is doing a lot of great things for kids right now.”
One of those things, Copenhaver said, is that the school has a house system, much like the fictional Hogwarts.
“Every kid gets put into a house and then you have competitions within your house,” he said. “You earn points for good behavior, and you feel like you're part of a team.”
The houses at Royal Middle School take a more medieval tone, he added, renaming the units kingdoms and strongholds.
Copenhaver has kept his hand in at law enforcement while he’s teaching, as a reserve sergeant for the Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office. He, his wife and their three daughters live in the country outside Ellensburg, and he commutes daily to Royal City.
“I'm looking forward to learning and getting to know the staff better and building relationships,” Copenhaver said.
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.