National Night Out
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 1 month, 3 weeks AGO
Moses Lake Police Ofc. Jose Ramirez takes a plunge into the dunk tank at a previous National Night Out. The tank will be a fixture at this year’s event as well, which will be held at Sinkiuse Square Aug. 4.
FILE PHOTO
Washington State Patrol Bomb Squad troopers show some attendees at last year’s National Night Out some of the equipment they use.
Grant PUD workers demonstrate what happens to a kite caught in power wires at Quincy’s National Night Out event last year.
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. | July 16, 2026 3:20 AM
MOSES LAKE — The Ephrata Police Department will host its first National Night Out this year, joining several other Basin communities.
“We’ll have static vehicle displays: one of our patrol cars, the fire truck, (and) Lifeline is hopefully going to be joining us with an ambulance,” EPD Office manager Jennifer Hansen said. “We’ll be serving free hot dogs and everyone is invited for a free swim.”
The event will be held Aug. 4 at Splash Zone, the city water park, according to Hansen, who took the lead in planning the event. It’s long been a priority of the department to get to where it could host National Night Out, and although this is the first year, Hansen said, it won’t be the last.
National Night Out is a nationwide event that brings police departments face-to-face with the citizens they protect, in a fun, positive setting. Officers serve food, play games and bring in vehicles for children to explore.
Usually, the Grant County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington State Patrol put in an appearance as well. Other organizations and agencies often bring informational booths at the same time, to interact with and bring awareness to the public.
Quincy’s NNO will be held Monday, Aug. 3, downtown, a change of venue from past years when it was held at Lauzier Park. There will be free food, family activities and public safety displays and demonstrations, according to an announcement from Sgt. Joe Westby, event coordinator for the QPD. The event usually draws between 800 and 1,000 people, Westby told the Columbia Basin Herald in an earlier interview.
Moses Lake will hold NNO at Sinkiuse Square downtown Tuesday, Aug. 4, with free hot dogs and snow cones, face painting, a doughnut-eating contest and bike giveaways, according to an MLPD announcement. There will also be a dunk tank, where anyone who wants to, can plunge MLPD Chief David Sands into the water, said Capt. Mike Williams.
“(People) will probably have to fight in line with the cops to get their shot,” Williams said.
Mattawa’s event will be Aug. 7 and will include not only police and emergency vehicles and first responders, but a competition for kids to eat doughnuts suspended from a string and a burrito-eating contest for the first responders.
National Night Out is important, Zeseti said, because it gives the police a chance to be seen in a positive light by a community that isn’t always trusting of people in uniform.
“Sometimes it’s not in (a person’s) best interest to give us a call, because they’re scared of retaliation,” Zeseti said “So if we can build that trust, we can potentially … create a better, safer environment.”
National Night Out and similar events are bridging that gap, Zeseti said, a little at a time.
“The goal is to enhance the community-law enforcement relationship,” Hansen said. “It shows all our officers in a different light.”
Moses Lake
6-8 p.m. Aug. 4
Sinkiuse Square
Third Avenue and Ash Street
Quincy
5:30-8 p.m. Aug. 3
300 Central Ave.
Ephrata
6-8 p.m. Aug. 4
Splash Zone
780 A St SE
Mattawa
5-7 p.m. Aug. 7
Hund Park
Washington State Patrol Bomb Squad troopers show some attendees at last year’s National Night Out some of the equipment they use.
Grant PUD workers demonstrate what happens to a kite caught in power wires at Quincy’s National Night Out event last year.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.