Ceremonies planned for 9/11 remembrance
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 12 months AGO
Moses Lake Fire Department Lt. Jason Koziol reads a speech at last year’s Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony in Moses Lake.
FILE PHOTO
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. | September 9, 2025 3:30 AM
MOSES LAKE — Several local communities will hold remembrances of the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attacks Thursday. All are open to the public.
The Moses Lake Fire Department will be joined by Grant County Fire District 5 for a ceremony at 7 a.m. at Moses Lake Civic Center Park. The ceremony will include a short speech and the ringing of the Four Fives, a traditional requiem for firefighters who have given their lives in the line of duty.
The Four Fives will also be run at Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center’s ceremonies at 8:15 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. in front of the CBTECH building, according to the Moses Lake School District. The ceremony will be conducted by the Criminal Justice and Fire Science programs students and instructors and will last about 25 minutes, according to an email from CBTECH director Christine Armstrong.
The American Legion Art Semro Post 28 Auxiliary will put 200 banners honoring the fallen of that day on the lawn of the Grant County Courthouse in Ephrata starting at 7 a.m., according to Auxiliary member Jane Montaney. Volunteers are invited to come out and help place the banners. A remembrance ceremony will be held at 5:30 p.m.
Veterans Operation Creation will host a ceremony at the Quincy Valley Historical Society and Museum at 5:30 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets for the ceremony, which will be approximately 45 minutes long.
The events of Sept. 11, 2001, are a pivotal time in America's recent history. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost, including 343 firefighters, according to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. An additional 72 police officers were killed, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
“Let this (ceremony) symbolize the devotion that these brave souls had for their duty, those who have selflessly given their lives for the good of their fellow man, their tasks completed, their duties well done,” CBTECH Fire Science Instructor Jaron Shaddix said at last year’s ceremony.
Correction: Banners will start going out in Ephrata at 7 a.m.
9/11 Memorial Schedule
Moses Lake
Moses Lake Civic Center Park
411 S. Balsam St.
7 a.m.
Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center
900 Yonezawa Blvd.
8:15 and 11:35 a.m.
Ephrata
Grant County Courthouse
35 C St. NW
5:30 p.m.
(Banners out at 7 a.m.)
Quincy
Quincy Valley Historical Society and Museum
415 F St. SW
5:30 p.m.
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.