Realtors step up with school supply drive
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year AGO
Members of the Moses Lake-Othello Association of Realtors show the backpacks, notebooks, pencils and other school necessities they gathered to donate to the Moses Lake School District Aug. 7.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Moses Lake School District Public Relations Director Ryan Shannon addresses the monthly meeting of the Moses Lake-Othello Association of Realtors Aug. 7.
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 15, 2025 12:10 AM
MOSES LAKE — We’re still a few weeks away from the beginning of the school year, but the Moses Lake-Othello Association of Realtors got a head start Aug. 7, handing over a heap of school supplies to the Moses Lake School District.
“I don’t think there’s any of us as parents who don’t remember what it was like to go out and acquire those supplies,” said Anne Fisher, branch manager for Guild Mortgage in Moses Lake and an affiliate member of the MLOAR. “It’s tough to make that fit in the budget, so it’s nice to be able to contribute.”
Fisher and her team went around to 15 member offices and dropped off plastic tote bins for the agents to fill. And the agents came through, with pens, pencils, crayons, notebooks, backpacks and more. No formal count had been done, but Fisher estimated they had gathered about $2,000 worth of educational necessities.
“We gave them a list of some things that were recommended to us, and some of the basics that kids use all the time,” Fisher said. “When you think about some of the things that you can pick up, it doesn't really cost a whole lot to help, but if you put everybody together, it sure makes a difference.”
The supplies were given to the district in the person of MLSD Public Relations Director Ryan Shannon at the end of the MLOAR’s monthly meeting at Pillar Rock Grill at the Moses Lake Golf and Country Club. The supplies were especially welcome, Shannon said, in a time when families’ budgets are stretched thin and school districts frequently aren’t in a financial position to be able to help.
“Having organizations like yours willing to step up and help our families is a big deal,” Shannon said, “because we want all of our kids to walk into school with that feeling of equality to the to the kid next to them that might be able to afford stuff. So having supplies on hand is very important to their education and their learning environments.”
Moses Lake School District Public Relations Director Ryan Shannon addresses the monthly meeting of the Moses Lake-Othello Association of Realtors Aug. 7.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.