NCW Tech Alliance expo showcases AI uses
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 2 weeks, 5 days AGO
Lisa Karstetter (left), Senior Manager -Wash State CELA HQ Team for Microsoft, presents Wenatchee teacher Sheena Zacherle with a $4,000 check for her Sheena Town educational AI app.
COURTESY PHOTO/DAVID MABEE/NCW TECH ALLIANCE
A cross-sector panel discusses AI applications at the NCW Tech Alliance AI Expo last week. From left: Chanel R. Hall of the Technology Alliance; Aaron Parrott of SkillSource; C. Becket Mahnke, M.D., of Confluence Health; Heather Hunter of Chelan County PUD; James Richmond of the city of Moses Lake; and Dr. Nik Bergman of Quincy School District.
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. | August 17, 2026 3:00 AM
WENATCHEE — Artificial intelligence has found a place in North Central Washington classrooms, farms and more, NCW Tech Alliance demonstrated at the sixth annual AI Expo in Wenatchee Aug. 11.
Wenatchee teacher Sheena Zacherle took home $4,000 from Microsoft for her educational program Sheena Town, which uses artificial intelligence to give students hands-on experience with financial decision-making, according to a release from NCW Tech Alliance Marketing Director David Mabee.
Sheena Town was selected as the Fan Favorite in NCW Tech Alliance’s AI in Action: Use Case Showdown. The competition gave four finalists an opportunity to demonstrate how AI technology is being applied to real-world problems.
“Zacherle developed Sheena Town to give students hands-on experience with financial decision-making and the real costs of living,” Mabee wrote. “For nearly 10 years, she managed versions of the simulation through spreadsheets, printed resources and other manual processes. She has now used AI to help develop the concept into a web application that moves more of the student experience online.”
The AI Expo gathered together leaders from all corners of society – education, ag, business, high tech – to explore the possibilities artificial intelligence presents for their work in north central Washington.
Zacherle’s simulation plunges students into a full-day simulation of real life, according to the Wenatchee School District’s website. The students are given a paycheck and learn to allocate the money for rent, insurance, groceries and the other constants of adulthood.
“Then life happens,” WSD wrote. “A sick pet. A car accident. A broken ankle. Students have to figure out how to handle the unexpected just like they will after graduation.”
The other three finalists demonstrated the use of AI in medicine, mental health and agriculture, according to Mabee.
“Franco Lopez III of Vanguard Metabolic Nutrition presented how AI is helping translate more than 14 years of clinical expertise into personalized care tools and standardized workflows,” Mabee wrote. “Dean Lester of Behavioral Tech Institute demonstrated AI-powered, high-fidelity avatars that allow therapists to practice difficult clinical interactions before working with high-risk clients. Steve Mantle of innov8.ag presented HarvestReplay™, which uses agricultural and labor data to help growers understand how decisions made throughout a season affect farm performance.”
The expo also explored how AI can be a friend or an enemy to students, depending on whether they rely on it to feign learning or use it as a self-teaching tool, according to the expo’s website.
“Throughout the day, workshops covered AI fundamentals, Spanish-language AI education, governance and responsible use, business decision-making, Microsoft Copilot and other AI tools, enterprise implementation, personalized AI assistants and practical applications for everyday work,” Mabee wrote. “The AI Expo is part of NCW Tech Alliance’s broader effort to build practical technology knowledge and create opportunities for organizations and community members to learn from one another as emerging technologies develop.”
A cross-sector panel discusses AI applications at the NCW Tech Alliance AI Expo last week. From left: Chanel R. Hall of the Technology Alliance; Aaron Parrott of SkillSource; C. Becket Mahnke, M.D., of Confluence Health; Heather Hunter of Chelan County PUD; James Richmond of the city of Moses Lake; and Dr. Nik Bergman of Quincy School District.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.