GALLERY: November 2025 in review
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 months, 2 weeks AGO
The Moravida Festival commemorates departed loved ones with family altars and displays Nov. 1.
FILE PHOTO
Franco Perez (32) breaks loose on a run play for the Wahluke Warriors offense against Grandview Nov. 6.
The Mavericks celebrate after securing a 49-35 win at home over Issaquah Nov. 7 to advance to the 4A state tournament. Their state run ended with the month, but this year’s team secured its reputation as the winningest in Moses Lake history.
Big Bend Community College chemistry instructor Lindsay Groce receives the STEM Champion of the Year Award during the NCW Tech Alliance’s annual awards ceremony Nov. 5.
The Mavericks celebrate after securing a 49-35 win at home over Issaquah Nov. 7 to advance to the 4A state tournament. Their state run ended with the month, but this year’s team secured its reputation as the winningest in Moses Lake history.
The Royal Knights’ Scout Stevenson (21) from the Knights lines up for the start of the play while Brycen Fitzhugh (16) fills in at quarterback late in the game against King’s Way Christian Nov. 7. Royal shut out King’s Way 69-0.
The Grant County Democrats held a food drive on Veterans Day for the Moses Lake Food Bank, raising $393 in cash and about 200 pounds of food.
Country musician Coffey Anderson performed a concert for veterans Nov. 11 in Quincy.
The Othello High School drama troupe performed Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Nov. 13-15.
Broncos senior volleyball player Hannah Towne gets down low to hit the ball against Manson at the state tournament Nov. 13.
Ashton Rodriguez, left Ruby Nishida starred in Moses Lake High School’s production of “Mamma Mia!” Nov. 21-25.
Taggart Rathbun navigates traffic as he carries the ball upfield in Moses Lake’s game against Bothell Nov. 15.
The Port of Moses Lake celebrated its 60th anniversary Nov. 13.
Almira/Coulee-Hartline's Caden Correia runs for a first down against Entiat Nov. 15.
Ricky Boehler, flanked by Jeremiah Jensen, left, of the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office and Community Court Specialist Manny Garcia, prepares to shred the DUI complaint that would have sent him back to prison. Boehler graduated from Community Court Nov. 19.
Volunteer Vlad Kovtonyuk loads a sack of apples into a car at the Moses Lake Food Bank’s drive-thru Thanksgiving distribution Nov. 24.
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. | November 30, 2025 3:00 AM
COLUMBIA BASIN — November in the Basin began with memorials for the departed, surged through state sports championships and finally began to look like winter during Thanksgiving week. Here are a few highlights from last month.
Cheryl Schweizer, Nance Beston, Mike Maynard, R. Hans Miller and Caleb Perez contributed to this report.
Franco Perez (32) breaks loose on a run play for the Wahluke Warriors offense against Grandview Nov. 6.
The Mavericks celebrate after securing a 49-35 win at home over Issaquah Nov. 7 to advance to the 4A state tournament. Their state run ended with the month, but this year’s team secured its reputation as the winningest in Moses Lake history.
Big Bend Community College chemistry instructor Lindsay Groce receives the STEM Champion of the Year Award during the NCW Tech Alliance’s annual awards ceremony Nov. 5. The Mavericks celebrate after securing a 49-35 win at home over Issaquah Nov. 7 to advance to the 4A state tournament. Their state run ended with the month, but this year’s team secured its reputation as the winningest in Moses Lake history.
The Royal Knights’ Scout Stevenson (21) from the Knights lines up for the start of the play while Brycen Fitzhugh (16) fills in at quarterback late in the game against King’s Way Christian Nov. 7. Royal shut out King’s Way 69-0.
The Grant County Democrats held a food drive on Veterans Day for the Moses Lake Food Bank, raising $393 in cash and about 200 pounds of food.
Country musician Coffey Anderson performed a concert for veterans Nov. 11 in Quincy.
The Othello High School drama troupe performed Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” Nov. 13-15.
Broncos senior volleyball player Hannah Towne gets down low to hit the ball against Manson at the state tournament Nov. 13.
Ashton Rodriguez, left Ruby Nishida starred in Moses Lake High School’s production of “Mamma Mia!” Nov. 21-25.
Taggart Rathbun navigates traffic as he carries the ball upfield in Moses Lake’s game against Bothell Nov. 15.
The Port of Moses Lake celebrated its 60th anniversary Nov. 13.
Almira/Coulee-Hartline's Caden Correia runs for a first down against Entiat Nov. 15.
Ricky Boehler, flanked by Jeremiah Jensen, left, of the Grant County Prosecutor’s Office and Community Court Specialist Manny Garcia, prepares to shred the DUI complaint that would have sent him back to prison. Boehler graduated from Community Court Nov. 19.
Volunteer Vlad Kovtonyuk loads a sack of apples into a car at the Moses Lake Food Bank’s drive-thru Thanksgiving distribution Nov. 24.ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”