Gettin' down to business
JOEL MARTIN | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 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. | March 17, 2026 6:52 PM
MOSES LAKE — Attendees stroll down the aisles at the Moses Lake Business Expo Tuesday afternoon at the Grant County Fairgrounds. The Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce puts on the annual event to support businesses and provide a bit of fun for the community. Further coverage of the event will be in an upcoming edition of the Columbia Basin Herald.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Passing the baton
Chad Utter to lead CBTECH
MOSES LAKE — It’s official: Chad Utter will take over as director of the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center.
Locals fight to save a piece of Washtucna’s history
WASHTUCNA — In a tiny town in the southeastern corner of Adams County, some folks are trying their best to save a piece of history, and turning to the Washington Trust for Historical Preservation for help. “The (Bassett Hardware) Building is 125 years old,” said Michelle Plumb, treasurer/secretary of the Washtucna Heritage Museum and Community Center. “I don’t know how many things in this area are that old. It would just break my heart to (lose) that building.” The Bassett Hardware Building, located in downtown Washtucna, is one of the oldest structures in the little town of about 200 and possibly in Adams County. Built by the town’s founder George W. Bassett, it’s stood in the same place since 1901, through boom and bust, storm and sunshine, a reminder of the town’s frontier past. The lower part started life as a hardware store, then became a grocery store in the 1940s and ’50s, Plumb said.
After the disaster
Restoring a home after a fire or flood
MOSES LAKE — When a disaster strikes your home, the worst part may be the aftermath. Restoring a damaged home is a job for professionals.