Out and about in Quincy
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 5 months AGO
A child tosses bean bags at Quincy’s Lauzier Park, the largest park in town.
FILE PHOTO
The Quincy Aquatic Center at East Park offers a place to cool off as temperatures rise in the Columbia Basin.
The playground at Paradise Park offers a variety of equipment for children to have fun on.
Pond Park is a case of the city making something useful out of necessity. It’s a grassy basin that’s used as a storm water pond for about three months out of the year, and a park the rest of the time.
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. | March 10, 2025 2:15 AM
QUINCY — The temperatures are rising and it’s time to start venturing outside to local parks. Here’s where to play in Quincy, according to the city:
Lauzier Park: This is the big one. Located in the corner of town on 13th Avenue Southwest, Lauzier Park has basketball and pickleball courts, softball and T-ball fields, soccer fields, two big playground toys and picnic gazebos. There’s also a paved walking path with fitness stations. Lauzier Park has public restrooms located
The gazebos and playing fields can be reserved through the city, but otherwise they’re first come, first served. The park is located at 1400 13th Street.
East Park: This park has a playground toy and a baseball field, but it’s best known as the home of the Quincy Aquatic Center, which doesn’t open until summer, but when it does it will offer two water slides and a whole lot of fun for Quincy families.
The park is also right next to the Quincy Skate Park which includes a pump track for bike enthusiasts to enjoy. East Park can be accessed from F Street Southeast or from I Street and Sixth Avenue Southeast. Its formal address is 724 F Street SE in Quincy.
South Park: This park has a baseball diamond and lots of space for children to run and play. It’s located behind Pioneer Elementary School. The baseball damond is at the corner of 2nd Avenue SE and L Street SE.
North Park: Located at C Street Northeast and Central Avenue North, this park has two playground toys, a picnic shelter with grill and a basketball court. Children can enjoy a dinosaur slide, spiral slide, swings and plenty of green space. The park is located at 315 B Street NE.
Paradise Park: At about an acre and a half, Paradise Park isn’t huge, but it has playground equipment and picnic tables. It’s located in a residential neighborhood at Seventh Avenue and K Street Northeast.
O’Connell Park: This park, located at B Street and Third Avenue Northeast, offers a slides, swings and lots of shade during the hot months.
Pond Park: This park is built around a neighborhood storm water pond that’s a grassy basin for playing in about nine months out of the year. It’s at G Street and Rocky Avenue Northeast and while it doesn’t have a lot, it does have picnic tables and space for children to play.
Simmons Park: This is a small park tucked away behind the Quincy Valley Historical Museum, located at 415 F Street SW, with a small climbing toy and shade trees. The city of Quincy plans to add swings and sand toys as well this year, according to the city’s website. It’s a great place to let the children work out some energy after a visit to the museum. Simmons Park is located at 415 F Street SW.
Sixth Avenue Park: This park, located at E Street and Sixth Avenue Northeast, isn’t ready to use yet, but the city of Quincy has big plans for it, according to the city’s website. When it’s finished it will have restrooms, a splash pad, picnic shelters, two play structures for older and younger children, a basketball court, a soccer field and a bowl for skaters and skateboarders. The city expects to have it open to the public this summer.
Memorial Park: The smallest park in Quincy is this little triangle at the corner of F Street and Second Avenue Southeast. It’s home to memorial walls and other commemorations of people from the Quincy area who served their country in the service, both those who came back and those who didn’t. While it may not be an ideal place to play due to the proximity of roadways, it is a good place to teach children about history and service.
The Quincy Aquatic Center at East Park offers a place to cool off as temperatures rise in the Columbia Basin.
The playground at Paradise Park offers a variety of equipment for children to have fun on.
Pond Park is a case of the city making something useful out of necessity. It’s a grassy basin that’s used as a storm water pond for about three months out of the year, and a park the rest of the time.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.