Cellarbration! For Education coming March 21
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 7 months, 4 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
Endless battle
Noxious Weed Control Board works to keep invasive plants under control
MOSES LAKE — Some of the nastiest plants in Grant County were the topic of a class led by Jay Johnson, a consultant with the Grant County Noxious Weed Control Board, Tuesday. The Noxious Weed Control Board, as its name would suggest, is tasked with keeping weeds under control in Grant County. That’s not a small job; the board’s website lists 129 species of noxious weeds that are found around Grant County. A noxious weed is defined as an invasive, non-native plant that threatens agricultural crops, local ecosystems or fish and wildlife habitat, according to the Noxious Weed Control Board. Washington state law requires that these weeds be identified and their spread kept to a minimum, if not completely eradicated. “We’re one of those agencies a lot of people don’t really understand,” Johnson said. “We’re a county office and … our funding is tax-based assessment. When you get your tax bill and you look down at all the expenses that you pay for, there we are.”
BASIN EVENTS: Oct. 16-24
COLUMBIA BASIN — Whether you feel like shopping, crafting, learning or seeing a show, there’s something happening for you this week in the Basin. Oct. 16 ‘My Family (Mi Familia)’ screening Spanning three generations, “My Family (Mi Familia)” is a heartfelt drama that follows the Sánchez family as they build their lives in East Los Angeles. Through love, hardship, triumph, and sacrifice, the film explores the immigrant experience, the strength of family bonds, and the traditions that connect one generation to the next. Lowrider show and taco truck before the screening. Sponsored by Columbia Basin Allied Arts, EDUBS C/S and the Moses Lake Creative District. $12 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m., film begins at 7 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center Auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Tickets and info: www.cba-arts.org.
Moses Lake author encourages women to look beyond church culture norms
MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake author’s book, “A Christian Woman Striving to Live Her Faith in a Man-Controlled World,” takes aim at the role to which many churches relegate the female half of their congregations. “It’s to encourage women in the faith,” Linda Curran said. “A lot of churches say, ‘Teach Sunday school, do this, do that, but don’t (evangelize.)’" In her book, Curran recounts a time when she moved to a new community and joined a church there. She was surprised to learn that, as a new female member, she had been automatically assigned church cleaning duties. When she questioned it, she wrote, she was met with condescension and her objections were brushed aside. In other churches, she said, women who were capable of teaching were relegated to “women’s ministry.”