Cellarbration! For Education coming March 21
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 months, 2 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. | February 20, 2026 3:00 AM
MOSES LAKE — Tickets were still available Wednesday for Cellarbration! for Education, the Big Bend Community College Foundation’s annual fundraising auction and banquet.
“Every dollar raised at Cellarbration! has a direct impact on student lives,” Foundation Director LeAnne Parton wrote in an announcement from the college. “Our donors and community partners make it possible for students to stay enrolled, complete their programs, and build brighter futures.”
This is the 25th year the Foundation has held the auction, which raises money for scholarships for Big Bend Community College students, according to an announcement from the college. This year’s theme will be “Get Ready for a Roaring Good Time,” with callbacks to the 1920s world of flappers, sheiks and shebas and “The Great Gatsby.” There will be a fine selection of Northwest wines and a catered dinner, as well as silent, live and dessert auctions.
The auction raises money for scholarships across the 4,600-square-mile service area, the largest in Washington state, according to the college’s announcement. At least one student from each of the 19 high schools within that area will receive a scholarship, as well as students returning to finish their education after a pause, according to the Columbia Basin Herald archives.
The event also includes a special paddle-raise that feeds an emergency fund for students who run into unexpected financial difficulties that could force them to drop out otherwise.
Last year, the event raised a record $257,800, according to Columbia Basin Herald archives, an increase over 2024 of more than $10,000.
“I believe the reason Big Bend is as successful as we are is (that) everyone here believes in the mission, and the mission is pretty simple – let's take care of our students,” BBCC President Sara Thompson Tweedy said at last year’s event.
Cellarbration! 2026
March 21
Reception and silent auction 5 p.m., dinner 6:30 p.m.
BBCC ATEC Building, 7611 Bolling St. NE, Moses Lake
Individual $125, table of eight $1,200, table of 10 $1,500
Tickets available at https://bit.ly/BBCC-Cellar26
Attendees look over the silent auction items at the BBCC Cellarbration! scholarship fundraiser.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.