’70s-themed Senior Picnic a groovy time
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 2 months AGO
The dance floor is full at the Moses Lake Senior Picnic June 11.
COURTESY PHOTO/MOSES LAKE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The Senior Picnic attracted about 700 people for lunch, music, door prizes and lots of information valuable to seniors.
Attendees at the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce’s Senior Picnic visit information booths.
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. | June 18, 2025 1:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — About 700 people came out to the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce’s annual Senior Picnic on June 11, which was pretty much on a par with last year, Chamber Director Debbie Doran-Martinez said.
“Everybody really enjoyed themselves,” she said. “We had a lot of people dancing, more than usual.”
The theme was “Peace, Love & Party,” and attendees were decked out in tie-dye and bell-bottoms. The music that brought folks out to the dance floor was provided by Cheyenne.
The event is more than just lunch and some dancing, however. Most of the exhibitors provide some sort of service to seniors, and the Senior Picnic was an opportunity for those folks to see what’s available to them. Health Care facilities, insurance companies, financial planners and assisted living facilities were all there with representatives to help seniors navigate what can be some tricky waters.
This is the 11th year the Chamber has hosted the picnic, which has grown to occupy the 4-H and Commercial buildings at the Grant County Fairgrounds. The whole thing was free for seniors and the chaperons, caregivers and other guests paid a nominal fee. The various vendors provided door prizes.
The band that performs at the picnic has changed over the years, Doran-Martinez said. The last couple of years it was the Rocky Ford Band from Moses Lake, and the Old Time Fiddlers have performed as well.
“We had, for many years, the Fun Addicts out of Seattle, but COVID kind of took that band out. So since then, we’ve used different bands, just trying to shake it up.”
The theme for next year’s picnic will be red, white and blue in keeping with the sesquicentennial, or 250th anniversary, of American independence, Doran-Martinez said. It will take place June 10, 2026.
The Senior Picnic attracted about 700 people for lunch, music, door prizes and lots of information valuable to seniors.
Attendees at the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce’s Senior Picnic visit information booths.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.