Rec grants fund local projects
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year AGO
The Washington State Recreation and Conservation Funding Board recently awarded $1 million to create habitat for the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit, whose numbers are small and dwindling rapidly.
FILE PHOTO
The basketball courts at Kiwanis Park in Othello will get an upgrade through a grant from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Funding Board.
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 27, 2025 1:15 AM
MOSES LAKE — The Washington State Recreation and Conservation Funding Board recently awarded almost $2.8 million in Grant and Adams counties, part of more than $148 million awarded statewide to build and improve parks and trails, conserve wildlife habitat and maintain land for farming and forestry, according to an announcement from the board.
“These grants are critical to keeping Washington a premier destination for outdoor adventure as well as a great place for Washingtonians to live,” Megan Duffy, director of the Recreation and Conservation Office, wrote in the announcement. “These grants are key to building great communities. The grants help communities light ball fields, make parks accessible to people with disabilities, connect gaps in trail systems, refurbish pools and resurface pickleball courts.”
Monies furnished to Grant County through the board include $1 million to buy 640 acres of Beezley Hills just north of Quincy to facilitate reintroduction efforts for the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit; $65,000 to update and maintain the toilet facilities at the Moses Lake Sand Dunes; $150,000 to develop a shooting range at the Columbia Basin Wildlife Area in the Potholes area; and $665,000 to update restrooms and parking at Evergreen Reservoir, Lind Coulee Island, Heart Lake and Windmill Lake.
The sole Adams County project financed by the grant will be renovations to Kiwanis Park in Othello. That grant provides $346,500 to build new basketball courts, according to the RCO’s project snapshot.
“The existing courts, which are 40 years old, consist of one standalone half-court and two hoops on a multi-court tennis court,” the RCO wrote in the grant description. “These courts are undersized and have outlived their useful life. This project would replace them with two full-sized lighted courts and one all-inclusive bankshot court, benches, landscaping, safety features and walkways connecting to ADA paths.”
In total, the board awarded 242 grants to projects in 35 of the state’s 39 counties, according to the board’s announcement. The RCO received 411 applications requesting more than $266 million in funding, meaning 59 percent of the projects received funding.
“Recreation not only is important to Washington’s economy, but to the health of the people who recreate here,” Duffy wrote. “Countless studies have shown that spending time outside can improve a person’s physical and mental health, reduce stress and even improve eyesight. It also does so much for our kids, including helping them improve their social connections and school grades. These grants are important for ensuring there are great places to recreate across Washington.”
The basketball courts at Kiwanis Park in Othello will get an upgrade through a grant from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Funding Board.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.