Moses Lake YMCA project takes step forward
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 months, 3 weeks AGO
The effort to create a Moses Lake branch of the Wenatchee YMCA, shown here, took a step forward last week with the commissioning of a study to determine its feasibility.
FILE PHOTO
One of the advantages of having a YMCA in Moses Lake would be its facilities for underserved children, which is why the Port of Moses Lake contributed to the cost of the initial study.
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. | January 22, 2026 3:10 AM
MOSES LAKE — The dream of a YMCA in Moses Lake is a little closer to reality.
“The YMCA ... report has been funded,” said Teresa Fields, who’s been spearheading the effort to bring a Y to town. “Now we wait 90 days and see from there whether an actual YMCA building is sustainable.”
The push for a YMCA began last spring, when Fields and some other community members met with Dorry Foster, CEO of Wenatchee Valley YMCA, to explore the possibility of a branch location in the Moses Lake area. The first step was to fund a study by an outside company to determine whether the community could support a YMCA. That study was going to cost about $20,000, Fields said. But another company could do the same study for about $10,000, she said. As of last week, that money had been collected and the study commissioned.
The first $5,000 came from a construction company in Wenatchee that had local connections, Fields said, and some local residents chipped in several hundred more. The Port of Moses Lake contributed the remaining balance, she said.
“From our perspective, there’s a major group of people in our community that are underserved, and the Y is able to bring in a lot of things that will help with that,” said Port of Moses Lake Business Development Director Richard Hanover.
A YMCA could bring to the area a swimming pool, a gymnasium and meeting areas, but also childcare and an after-school hangout for teens, Foster told the Columbia Basin Herald last year. The Wenatchee facility has all those things, as well as summer camps. Financial aid is available for families who can’t afford the YMCA’s fees.
The Larson Community near the Port would be one possible location, Foster told the Columbia Basin Herald last year. One thing the study will determine is whether there’s enough population within a particular driving distance to make use of the facility, and the Larson Community is accessible not only to Moses Lake but to Ephrata and Soap Lake as well.
Regardless of where a potential facility is located, the Port believes it will benefit the community, Hanover said.
“When they do the study, they determine the best location for the whiteboard, which doesn’t necessarily mean it would be anywhere (the port),” Hanover said. “But we felt like this was something that was needed … having a place for childcare or a swimming pool available for kids that are underserved. There’s just a bunch of stuff that they have available that I don’t feel like our community does a very good job (at providing). And that’s what this study is going to do, is look at our community, where the population sits, what’s the best location if it’s feasible for a Y to be here. And they’ll look at existing services in the community as well.”
One of the advantages of having a YMCA in Moses Lake would be its facilities for underserved children, which is why the Port of Moses Lake contributed to the cost of the initial study.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.”