'More than a statistic’
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 8 months AGO
A Civil Air Patrol cadet salutes after placing a wreath at the grave of a veteran in the Ephrata cemetery Dec. 13.
R. HANS MILLER/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Retired Air Force Col. Roger Patry speaks at the opening ceremony of Wreaths Across America Dec. 13 in Ephrata.
Legionnaires from American Legion Post 28 in Ephrata attend the opening ceremony of Wreaths Across America in Ephrata Dec. 13. More than 1,000 veterans were honored at cemeteries in Ephrata, Soap Lake, Quincy and Stratford.
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 24, 2024 3:30 AM
EPHRATA — More than 1,000 Grant County veterans were remembered Dec. 13 when the Civil Air Patrol, American Legion Post 28, Ephrata, and other community members laid wreaths on their graves.
“To our children, we want you to understand that the freedom that you enjoy has not been free,” retired Air Force Col. Roger Patry said in the opening ceremony of Wreaths Across America at the Ephrata cemetery. “It has come at a cost.”
A total of 1,020 wreaths were laid at the graves of veterans in Ephrata, Soap Lake and Quincy, said CAP Lt. Col Kathy Maxwell, who coordinated the events.
“For the first time that I’ve been doing it for the last five years, we finally covered every one of the veterans’ graves that we knew about,” Maxwell said.
Veterans buried at the Stratford cemetery got wreaths as well this year, Maxwell said, because there were a couple of boxes left over.
Wreaths Across America was started in 1992 by Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington, Maine, according to WAA’s website. Civil Air Patrol cadets sold the wreaths outside stores in Soap Lake, Quincy and Ephrata over Veterans Day weekend, and more were ordered online, Maxwell said. A truck driver volunteers every year to drive them over from the west side and 40-50 volunteers came to the cemeteries to place them. Similar events took place on the same day all across the country.
“As long as you're saying their name out loud, they are not forgotten,” Maxwell said. “So every time we put a wreath down, we read the stone out loud and either salute or put our hands over our heart.”
The exercise made a particular impression on the Civil Air Patrol cadets, Maxwell said, as they sought out the graves of veterans, some of which dated to World War I.
“Many of them have not been touched by death yet, because they're so darn young,” she said. “(They’d say) ‘Oh, my gosh, this guy was only 19 years old,’ or ‘This person fought in two wars in two different branches of the military.’”
“We could give the statistics of individuals buried around the country, but all that would (be) is a bunch of numbers,” Patry told the cadets. “Instead, we ask you to take a moment (when you) visit a grave site, write down information for the person and when you return home, research their name on the internet and find out what you can about that person. You'll find they were real Americans with families, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles. They were and are more than just a statistic.”
Wreaths are already on sale for next year, Maxwell said, and the national WAA organization will match the sales wreath for wreath through Jan. 17. Wreaths can be ordered at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org or by contacting the Civil Air Patrol at 509-754-3273.
Retired Air Force Col. Roger Patry speaks at the opening ceremony of Wreaths Across America on Dec. 13 in Ephrata.
Legionnaires from American Legion Post 28 in Ephrata attend the opening ceremony of Wreaths Across America in Ephrata on Dec. 13. More than 1,000 veterans were honored at cemeteries in Ephrata, Soap Lake, Quincy and Stratford.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.