Volunteers clean up downtown ML, plant trees
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 months, 1 week AGO
From left: Kari Rodriguez, Erick Rodriguez and Eli Rodriguez were among the Moses Lake residents who went through the downtown core Saturday morning picking up trash and debris.
JOEL MARTIN/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
Volunteers wrangle an oak tree into the ground at Neppel Landing Saturday morning, in conjunction with the Downtown Moses Lake Association’s Spring Cleaning.
The DMLA’s Spring Cleaning brought out helpers of all ages to collect trash in the downtown core.
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 29, 2026 3:15 AM
MOSES LAKE — The downtown core of Moses Lake is tidier due to the work of about 75 people at the Downtown Moses Lake Association’s annual Spring Cleaning Saturday morning.
“I expected to see more trash, but we did a lot of picking up of weeds,” said Sara Guadarrama, “Weeds and cigarette butts.”
Guadarrama and her coworker Kari Rodriguez were part of a group from Moses Lake Industries who came out together. Other local companies also came out in force for the event.
“Moses Lake Industries and Sila Nanotechnologies wanted to work together for an Earth Day collab,” Rodriguez said. “We coordinated with the city and with DMLA … I saw a bunch of people from LocalTel and a couple of people from Genie. There a lot of groups out here.”
About 75 people came out altogether, Guadarrama said.
“I think we had more people here than we did last year,” City Council Member Joel Graves said. “It was a huge turnout, old to young. We had some little (ones), we had some families come out, we had some older people.”
“And a dog,” DMLA Executive Director Mallory Miller added. “I should have brought treats.”
The cleanup has been a DMLA tradition in Moses Lake for many years. With grabbers, gloves and trash bags donated by Lowe’s, volunteers went street by street and alley by alley picking up whatever had blown around or been tossed on the ground. This year, the scope of the operation increased to include the lake shore at Neppel Landing.
“There was quite a bit down along the steep edge (of the lake), said David Champoux. “Lots of stuff from fishermen, probably some (from) homeless people.”
“It was a good experience, especially since I used to run there,” said Nahir Vasquez.
Vasquez and Champoux had filled a bag with about 15 pounds of debris, they said.
“I think a lot of the weight was because there was a lot of plastic in the water,” Champoux said. “… Lots of beer cans and plastic bags.”
Besides cleaning up Neppel Landing, volunteers also planted two oak trees at the park.
“They’ll be ready in 70 years,” Miller said.
“We love that the Downtown Moses Lake Association made this an annual thing,” Graves said. “We want to do more of it. There’s a huge untapped potential of people who want to see our city cleaned up. The whole city is wrapping its arms around this.”
Volunteers wrangle an oak tree into the ground at Neppel Landing Saturday morning, in conjunction with the Downtown Moses Lake Association’s Spring Cleaning.
The DMLA’s Spring Cleaning brought out helpers of all ages to collect trash in the downtown core.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.