More than 100 Basin students make WSU honor roll
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 months, 1 week AGO
More than 100 Columbia Basin students were named to the Honor Roll at Washington State University for fall quarter 2025.
COURTESY PHOTO/WSU
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 28, 2026 12:10 AM
PULLMAN — One hundred twenty-one students from Grant and Adams counties were named to the President’s Honor Roll at Washington State University for fall quarter 2025, according to an announcement from the university. A student can be named to the Honor Roll either by achieving a grade point of 3.75 while enrolled in at least nine graded credits in a single semester provided that the cumulative GPA is 2.0 or better, or by achieving a cumulative grade point average of 3.50 based on at least 15 cumulative credits of graded work at Washington State University, provided that the semester GPA is 3.0 or better.
These Basin students were named to the Honor Roll:
Almira: Kiley Piper Elliott-Hamper
Beverly: Juan Manuel Herrera-Rendon, Rosalva Pastor
Coulee City: Jaxon K. Baergen, Hayden Lee Buchanan, Reece Bradley Isaak, Abigail Marie Roberts
Ephrata: Ashleigh R. Alcala, Maisie C Becker, Carson Daniel Burns, Owen Zackary Coen, John Thomas Downey, Karlye Mae Ebberson, Deleah Jenea Garcia, Luis Garcia Rangel, Anthony John Graaff, Kathryn Lynda Lay, Kadie G. McMullen, Dallin Kurtis Plaisted, Adelyn Simmons, Ellinor Elaine Sonnichsen, Abby Lee Toro, Joseph Jacob Wohleb
Hartline: Kayleigh Joy Elder, Emma Lynn Whitaker
Mattawa: Abel Castaneda, Humberto Alexander Hernandez, Angela Hidalgo-Andrade, Jazmin Licona, Jordan Alexander Martinez, Brenda Nunez, Jocelyn Michelle Perez Abundez, Javier Rosales, Bryan Sandoval, Carolina Tirado, Angel D. Torres, Jose Alberto Valdovinos
Moses Lake: Elizabeth Charlene Abramson, Nazareth G. Alfaro Mendoza, Jorge Aly Aponte, Jadelyn Nicole Balderas, Maksim Borodulin, Ethan Kenrick Bowers, Julian Bravo, Sarah Marie Carley, Adalynn Grace Carlile, Avery Rose Clark, Caitlyn Renee Dietmeyer, Tyson J. Garza, Amy Gonzalez-Maciel, Jesse Grubbs, Crystal Jimenez, Alex Jeffrey Johnson, Logan Xavior Kemper, Gabrielle Rose Lane, Selah Blake Loomis, Jose Alfonso Lopez, Ashlyn Malaya Magnuson, Kevin Eric Mayo-Gutierrez, Calvin Molitor, Luke C. Molitor, Emily Roseanne Mowry, Derek A. O’Brien, Anna Nell Olson, Issabelle Grace Parrish, Emmet Rasmussen, Jacqueline Robles Martinez, Ethan J. Sands, Jeremy James Sinchuk, Ashlynn Nicole Tate, Griffin J. Terry, Malika L. Warnick, Aimee R. Willis, Nolan Willis, Allen Yang
Othello: Alan Alexander Amado-Victoriano, Jessica Belmonte-Gonzalez, Anahi Camacho Ambrocio, Joselyn Camacho-Ambrocio, Natalie Ann Cerrillo, Marlene Cortez, Vanessa Duran-Alvarado, Adilene Annie Garcia, Lacey A. Garza, Mariza Elayne Gonzalez, Valdemar Saavedra Guerrero, Aldemar Saavedra Guerrero, Rodrigo Vidal Guizar, Karli Sue Long, Edsi Macias, Jesus Mendoza, Adrian Obispo, Elaina Gail Parrish, Jose Luis Policarpio, Kevin Rodriguez-Delgado, Mariana Romero, Collin John Simmons, Kenzie Shea Simpson, Milena Fernanda Urroz Sandoval, America Janett Varela, Andrea Naomi Villicana, James Zuniga
Quincy: Valeria Gomez-Parra, Lydia Harris, Nathan Harrison Ovenell, Lindsey Morgan Stetner, Reid Thomsen, Amanda Rae Walker
Ritzville: David Immanuel Hinkle, Daniella Oliva
Royal City: Miguel A Dominguez Hernandez, Rocio Ortiz, Francisco Pineda Escalera
Soap Lake: Blessby D. Alvarez, Tara Falconer, Aryz Nadine Navarro, Daniela Navarro
Warden: Jose Guadalupe Arriaga, Miliany Michelle Pruneda, Guadalupe Sofia Ramirez Duran
Washtucna: Nathaniel Hawke Hille
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.