Moses Lake ready for spring cleaning
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 months, 3 weeks AGO
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. | April 15, 2026 3:10 AM
MOSES LAKE — The annual Downtown Cleanup will be April 25, with an expanded range.
“We’ll be cleaning up downtown Moses Lake, probably spanning from Balsam Street up to Cedar, and then we’re extending over to Neppel Landing Park this time,” said Mallory Miller, executive director of the Downtown Moses Lake Association, which organizes the cleanup.
There has been some concern about needles or other sharps being found at Neppel Landing, Miller added, so only those volunteers who are comfortable with that possibility will be asked to clean that area.
Last year’s cleanup included about 60 volunteers, Miller said. There were 22 people signed up Monday morning, according to the DMLA’s website. Volunteers don’t have to sign up online in advance, but Miller said because the DMLA supplies trash bags and gloves, it’s helpful to know how many people to plan for. Lowe’s donates the supplies and has thrown in some grabbers as well this year, she said.
The DMLA was able to extend the cleanup area because for the most part, downtown hasn’t been too difficult to clean, Miller said.
“The last couple of years we’ve noticed that it’s not really that dirty by the time springtime rolls around,” she said. “There’s a little bit of leftover trash that’s blowing around … bottles and things. A couple of years ago we had some furniture in an alleyway that we coordinated with Lakeside Disposal to come and pick up, but that was a one-off.”
The event will run from 9 a.m. to noon. In past years they’ve allotted four hours for the cleanup but usually finished in about two, Miller said.
“If we get done early, great,” she said. “If not, then at least we have until noon.”
This year, the DMLA will partner with Moses Lake Industries and Sila Nanotechnologies to plant five trees at Neppel Park.
“We wanted to make a bigger impact for Earth Day,” Miller said.
An earlier version of this story gave the date of the Downtown Cleanup incorrectly. It has been corrected above.
About 60 people turned out to help make downtown Moses Lake shine at last year’s Spring Cleanup.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.