Crestview school raises funds with jog-a-thon
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 months, 2 weeks AGO
Crestview Christian School students show the T-shirts listing the names of sponsors from the annual jog-a-thon fundraiser Friday.
COURTESY PHOTO/CRESTVIEW CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
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 23, 2026 3:15 AM
MOSES LAKE — The students at Crestview Christian School in Moses Lake had a little outside support for their annual jog-a-thon fundraiser Friday.
“We had some of the neighbors come over, and they walked a couple of laps with the kids,” said school secretary Kim Dieter. “It was a gorgeous day, perfect for outside activity. Not too hot, not too cold.”
About 30 people, including students from both Crestview and Brite Beginnings Preschool as well as some teachers and other adults, ran, jogged or walked around a makeshift track behind the school. Grownup volunteers tallied the laps and kept the walkers hydrated. A neighborhood puppy named River even trotted over and walked a few laps with the children.
Students raised money for the jog-a-thon by soliciting sponsorships to contribute a certain amount per lap they completed, and businesses could sponsor the event as well. A contribution of $150 or more got the donor’s name on a commemorative T-shirt.
Students completed a total of 912 laps, Dieter wrote an email to the Columbia Basin Herald.
The amount of money raised wasn’t available at press time. Dieter said. The goal was $18,000, the same as last year’s jog-a-thon, and that event raised more than $20,000. Every year the money goes toward improvements to the school. This year’s funds will purchase some new furniture for the entry foyer of the school and picnic tables for the playground area.
Crestview and Brite Beginnings are both affiliated with the Moses Lake Seventh-day Adventist Church, and until October 2024, the church had been meeting in the school building. At that time, the church building, which had been under construction for more than 15 years, was complete enough to move into. This meant some of the school’s furniture went to the new church.
“It left us with some bedraggled seconds,” Dieter said. “So we want to spruce (the foyer) up a bit and make it more appealing.”
The picnic tables are well-worn from Basin weather, and the school hopes to replace them with coated, heavy-duty ones.
“(The existing ones) have been out in the sun for several seasons now and are breaking down.” Dieter said. “We want something a little sturdier and safer than the jagged edges of the plastic falling apart.”
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.