Othello and Warden offer places to get out and enjoy spring
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 year, 5 months AGO
The playground at Othello’s Lions Park. Lions Park is the largest park in Othello and hosts most of the city’s celebrations and many sporting events.
COURTESY PHOTO/CITY OF OTHELLO
Kiwanis Park is host to the Othello Spud Run car show every year and is also the site of a planned splash pad to open this summer.
P./J. Taggares Park west of Othello is the city’s newest park facility.
Residents and guests fill Warden Community Park for the city’s annual Community Days Labor Day weekend.
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 12, 2025 1:35 AM
OTHELLO — The days are a little longer lately and the weather is a little warmer, which means it’s a good time to get out and shake off the last winter doldrums. In Othello and Warden, there are some parks that are great for that purpose:
Lions Park: This is the biggest park in Othello, located on the north side of town on Seventh Avenue between Pine and Hamlet streets. Lions Park boasts four picnic shelters, a paved walking path, an arboretum, a skate park and a playground with equipment for all ages. It’s also the place to go for sports; there’s a street hockey rink, a handball wall, four tennis courts and two full-sized basketball courts. Lions Park is also the city’s go-to venue for civic celebrations like Cinco de Mayo and the Fourth of July.
Pioneer Park: This is the smallest park in Othello at just shy of one acre, and also the oldest, dating back to 1912, according to the city’s website. It’s smack in the middle of downtown on Main Street between Third and Fourth avenues. Pioneer Park hosts the Othello Farmers Market and offers picnic tables and a gazebo. It’s also the home of a 1950s T-33A fighter jet, mounted on a tall post as a reminder of Othello’s ties to aviation through the former Othello Air Force Station, which was located on top of a hill south of town until its closure in 1975.
Kiwanis Park: The south side of Othello has Kiwanis Park, situated on Seventh Avenue across from Lutacaga Elementary School. It’s a little over 15 acres and has two tennis courts, three basketball courts, three playgrounds, walking trails and a grassy amphitheater. Kiwanis Park draws crowds in July for the annual Othello Spud Run car show. While the Pothello city pool is out of commission for repairs, the city plans to open a splash pad at Kiwanis Park this summer to let residents cool off in the hot Grant County summer.
P.J. Taggares Park: This park is just outside of Othello proper, in the neighborhood known as West Othello. It covers almost 18 acres and includes basketball courts, a soccer field, a playground and a covered picnic area. P.J. Taggares Park is the newest park in Othello; built in 1997, it was acquired by the city of Othello in 2021.
The city of Othello also has a walking and biking path that loops around town for a total length of 4.8 miles. A map can be found at https://bit.ly/OthelloPath.
Warden City Park: This park, home to Qwarden’s annual Community Days celebration on Labor Day weekend, is located between Third and Fourth Streets and Maple and Alder avenues. It’s got a playground, a basketball court and lots of nice shady trees. Warden City Park is also the starting point for the eastern segment of the Palouse to Cascades Trail, stretching through Adams, Whitman and Spokane counties to the Idaho state line.
Kiwanis Park is host to the Othello Spud Run car show every year and is also the site of a planned splash pad to open this summer.
P./J. Taggares Park west of Othello is the city’s newest park facility.
Residents and guests fill Warden Community Park for the city’s annual Community Days Labor Day weekend.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.