Moses Lake meets new city manager
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 7 months AGO
Moses Lake’s incoming City manager Robert Karlinsey, center, and his wife Michelle Karlinsey talk with former Moses Lake Mayor David Curnel at a meet-and-greet event at the Moses Lake Civic Center Tuesday. Karlinsey, who has been the city manager of Kenmore, Washington for 13 years, will take over in Moses Lake officially March 24.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
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. | January 29, 2025 1:10 AM
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake’s incoming city manager paid a visit to the Civic Center on Tuesday evening to meet city employees and community members.
Robert Karlinsey, who accepted the position Jan. 21, is currently the city manager in Kenmore, a city of about 24,000 at the north end of Lake Washington in King County. He takes the reins in Moses Lake on March 24, but he’ll be coming over to Moses Lake occasionally in the meantime to prepare, he said.
About 40 people turned out at the Civic Center to meet Robert Karlinsey and his wife, Michelle Karlinsey.
“It's surprising how much people in Kenmore know about Moses Lake,” he said. “They know people from Moses Lake, or they grew up there or their parents grew up there, and the number one thing we hear is, ‘You're going to love the people.’”
“(Karlinsey) talked a lot (in his interview) about talking to staff, talking to council and getting to know them, and spent a lot of time asking people, where do we want to go?” said Council Member David Skaug. “… It seemed like he had a lot of experience in dealing with people and management.”
Moses Lake’s search for a city manager hasn’t been an easy one in recent years. Former City Manager Kevin Fuhr retired from the position in June for health reasons. Fuhr, previously the Moses Lake chief of police, stepped up to replace Allison Williams, who had taken on the position in 2019 after her predecessor John Williams and his deputy city manager Gilbert Alvarado resigned amid allegations of misconduct.
The Moses Lake City Council interviewed two candidates in December, and a third candidate withdrew his name after being named as a finalist but before the interviews.
“That's a challenge that a lot of municipalities have faced in a lot of positions,” said Mayor Dustin Swartz. “This is something we hear at (Association of Washington Cities) conferences a lot, about how to fill the positions we need to fill … But it was well worth the wait, and we really appreciate that along the way Kevin Fuhr stepped up and took that position as a longtime community member. It really gave us stability for a period. But, yeah, we're ready to move forward.”
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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.