Staff Writer
JOEL MARTIN
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.
ARTICLES BY JOEL MARTIN
Youth baseball and softball season kicks off with parade
MOSES LAKE — The youth baseball and softball season kicked off in Moses Lake with the traditional Youth Day Parade downtown Saturday morning. The parking lots at McCosh Park and the Surf ‘n Slide Water Park were filled with pickup trucks and trailers, each decorated in team colors and bearing …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 0 MINUTES AGO
Piano students get expert guidance
MOSES LAKE — Forty-five Basin piano students participated in the Washington State Music Teachers Association’s Music Artistry Program March 27-28, according to an announcement from the association. “The students play two piano pieces, memorized or non-memorized, for the visiting artists,” said music teacher Harriet West, who had students participating in …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 0 MINUTES AGO
CBAA auction moves inside with Kentucky Derby theme
MOSES LAKE — The Columbia Basin Allied Arts fundraiser auction will have a new venue this year, at the Best Western Plus Lake Front Hotel in Moses Lake. “They catered last year … and it was great,” CBAA Executive Director Shawn Cardwell said. “It felt like it would be fun …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 0 MINUTES AGO
Hayden Homes named Great Place to Work
REDMOND, Ore. — Hayden Homes is officially a great place to work, according to an announcement from the company.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 0 MINUTES AGO
Two dead after collisions near Moses Lake
MOSES LAKE — Two collisions left a driver and passenger dead on Road 3 Northeast near Moses Lake Sunday afternoon, according to Grant County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman. At about 4:45 p.m., the Washington State Patrol responded to a report of a hit-and-run collision on State Route …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 11 HOURS, 16 MINUTES AGO
BBCC Job & Career Fair returns Thursday
MOSES LAKE — There are jobs out there, and people who are looking for jobs, and the two will come together Thursday at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake. “We’re incredibly excited to welcome more than 60 exhibitors to campus for the 33rd annual Job & Career Fair,” Alissa …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 17 HOURS, 37 MINUTES AGO
Pipes, punk and tradition
MOSES LAKE — The pipes will skirl and the fiddles will ring out at the Cascade Celtic Festival in Leavenworth May 1-3. “Building on the success of its inaugural year, the 2026 festival expands its programming, deepens its cultural partnerships, and welcomes visitors for a full weekend of music, dance, …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 DAYS, 17 HOURS AGO
BASIN EVENTS: April 17-25
COLUMBIA BASIN — Is it spring or isn’t it? You’d never know by the way the weather has gone back and forth this month. Don’t let that stop you from getting out and doing things this week, though. Here are some things to check out: April 17 Safe Kids, Strong …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 DAYS, 17 HOURS AGO
Support students and save some green at FFA plant sales
MOSES LAKE — This is the time of year when FFA students get to show the fruits of their labor – literally – at plant sales all over the Columbia Basin. Nearly every high school will offer flower and vegetable starts for sale around the end of April and the …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 3 DAYS, 19 HOURS AGO
The Way Cafe opens in Moses Lake
MOSES LAKE — It had only been open about an hour and a half, but already The Way Cafe was bustling Tuesday morning.
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 4 DAYS, 17 HOURS AGO
Hands-on history
MOSES LAKE — Some students in the Columbia Basin will get a chance to experience history at close range this summer. The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation is accepting applications for its four-day Youth Heritage Project, which will be July 13-16 in Ellensburg this year. “We go to different places …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 5 DAYS, 17 HOURS AGO
Ephrata Youth Fishing Derby Saturday
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Lions Club will host its annual Youth Fishing Derby from 6 to 8 a.m. this Saturday at Ping Pond, formerly Oasis Park Pond, according to Lions Club member Bill Sangster. The event is free for all children 4-14 years old. No registration is necessary; kids can …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 5 DAYS, 17 HOURS AGO
Moses Lake ready for spring cleaning
MOSES LAKE — The annual Downtown Cleanup will be this Saturday, with an expanded range. “We’ll be cleaning up downtown Moses Lake, probably spanning from Balsam Street up to Cedar, and then we’re extending over to Neppel Landing Park this time,” said Mallory Miller, executive director of the Downtown Moses …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 5 DAYS, 17 HOURS AGO
Family drama
QUINCY — The Biblical story of Joseph will come to life in song this weekend, as Quincy Valley Allied Arts opens “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” Friday. “(The writers) originally wrote it for a kids’ school,” Director Brian Higgins said. “You have a bunch of different genres of music. …
COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD | UPDATED 6 DAYS, 17 HOURS AGO
