GALLERY: November 2025 in review
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 months, 1 week 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
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.