Moses Lake ready for spring cleaning
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 months 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
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BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
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