Biscuits, bacon and buckin’ broncs at the Cowboy Breakfast
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year AGO
Despite a little help from the judges, 3-year-old Griffi McFadden takes a tumble off the inflatable bull at the Peewee Stampede during the Moses Lake Cowboy Breakfast Friday.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Between 175 and 200 people came out Friday morning for the Cowboy Breakfast, the traditional kickoff to the Grant County Fair in Moses Lake. This is the first year the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce has managed the breakfast.
Nine-year-old Kathlyn Campos of Moses Lake, right, signs up to compete in the Peewee Stampede Friday morning. Each competitor got a free hat, and there were belt buckles and sashes for prizes.
Claire Price, 9, of Moses Lake holds onto her bucking bronc at the Cowboy Breakfast Friday.
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. | August 12, 2025 3:15 AM
MOSES LAKE — The chute opened, the rider came out and for eight seconds, the bull and rider flung themselves every which way. But this time, the bull was inflatable and the rider’s age was a single digit.
This was the Peewee Stampede Rodeo at the Moses Lake Cowboy Breakfast, the longstanding traditional kickoff to the Grant County Fair. This year’s stick horse rodeo drew about 20 young cowboys and cowgirls.
“We’re going to have some fun,” said Anne Fisher of Guild Mortgage, which sponsored and organized the stampede.
Each child who signed up was given a hat to wear, and there were belt buckles for the prizes.
“All the girls get a tiara and a sash, because we’re going to do a Little Miss Peewee Stampede competition,” Fisher said. She had made the sashes herself, she added.
“I did them on my kitchen counter last night,” she said. “I always love a craft project.”
The rodeo began with a grand entrance, all the children marching and holding American flags as the national anthem played. The rodeo events consisted of bareback, barrel racing and bull riding, with prizes for those events as well as all-around cowboy and cowgirl.
This year, the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce took over managing the breakfast. The chamber estimated a turnout of about 200 people, Executive Director Debbie Doran-Martinez said.
“The previous group said they did 150 last year,” she said. “So I planned for a little bit more, because we have a little bit lower price point … I'm gonna have to up my number for next year.”
Breakfast consisted of biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs and bacon, served up by chamber members. Moses Lake DJ Dale Roth spun the music, and Basin RV had a table set up with free toys for the children. The toys proved popular and disappeared quickly.
“We should have brought more toys,” Basin RV owner RJ McFadden said. “This is what we love to do. We just love to support community and get out here and show our faces and shake hands and say hello.”
Between 175 and 200 people came out Friday morning for the Cowboy Breakfast, the traditional kickoff to the Grant County Fair in Moses Lake. This is the first year the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce has managed the breakfast.
Nine-year-old Kathlyn Campos of Moses Lake, right, signs up to compete in the Peewee Stampede Friday morning. Each competitor got a free hat, and there were belt buckles and sashes for prizes.
Claire Price, 9, of Moses Lake holds onto her bucking bronc at the Cowboy Breakfast Friday.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.