Latest news with #MosesLakeSpringFest
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Volunteers, police make big difference at Spring Fest
May 29—MOSES LAKE — This year's Moses Lake Spring Fest came off better than usual, in large part because of lots of community involvement, organizers said. "We welcome everyone in our community to come and volunteer," Spring Fest Board Member Lori Valdez said. "But this year, we had a lot of people step up and volunteer that we've never had before, and that was very nice." Nearly 200 people came out to help with the various activities at the festival, according to Board President Sean Sallis. The Fun Run alone had 60 volunteers, he said. There were 30 volunteers helping with the beer garden, 45 for the 3-on-3 basketball tournament and 11 for the parade. "One little boy was helping us put tape on the basketball court," Sallis said. "He was like 4 years old, and he wanted to help lay tape. It's just a picture of our community." The 20 Moses Lake High School JROTC students were especially helpful, Valdez said. They helped set up before the festival and stuck around for teardown and cleanup, which is usually an ordeal in itself, she said. "By the time we get to Monday, to tear down, we are completely exhausted, 100% medically and physically," she said. "When you get out of bed, you can't even walk ... They helped clean the tables, they picked up garbage, they came back (Monday), until we were 100% all cleaned up at the park. They stayed until like five o'clock and helped us tear down." The JROTC students also carried the giant flag in the parade, Valdez said. Not all the assistance the festival organizers received was measurable in hours. Pro Rentals donated 18 big lights to illuminate the park and the carnival, Sallis said. "We had those all throughout the park and the carnival, (in) any spots that were dark," he said. "Every night, we were inspecting different spots that could have better lighting, and so we were working in concert with the police department and the sheriff's (office) to ... support them." The Moses Lake Police Department increased its presence at the festival as well, according to Capt. Jeff Sursely, contracting with the Grant County Sheriff's Office to provide some deputies as well. "We plussed up our manpower," Sursely said. "We averaged, between us and the Grant County Sheriff's Office, between 26 and 30 officers a day, (which included) two jail staff and a jail transport vehicle." In past years, the MLPD has only had six to eight officers a day at the festival, he added. Officers made 12 arrests. "Mostly juvenile issues, trespassing, nothing big," he said. "Mostly misdemeanor crime." The MLPD announced a zero-tolerance policy on crime during the festival, Sursely said, and the Grant County Commissioners authorized law enforcement to book juvenile offenders, which hadn't been allowed before. The additional lighting was a major factor as well, he said. The Spring Fest is Moses Lake's biggest community celebration of the year, and it takes a lot of coordination between departments and organizations. Because most of the event takes place at McCosh Park, the Parks & Recreation and Cultural Services Department bears much of the brunt of the work involved, Director Doug Coutts said, but the rest of the municipal government has a part to play as well. "Our fire department is here with paramedic services, roaming around and doing checks on people with heat-related issues," he said. "Our streets department has to close the street for the parade, move the street closures around as the event progresses. So, it is a full-on city team effort." Having so much volunteer help says a lot about Moses Lake, Valdez said. "We had people showing up at the park saying, 'What can I do to help?' she said. "It just tells you what type of community we live in, that 100% we have an amazing community."
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Memorials to honor the fallen Monday in the Basin
May 23—COLUMBIA BASIN — Among the barbecues, festivities and relaxation of the three-day weekend, many Basin communities will take a solemn moment to recognize the reason for Memorial Day weekend. The Moses Lake Spring Fest, a tradition for more than 40 years, is adding a little patriotic remembrance into its Grand Parade at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, said Spring Fest Committee member Lori Valdez. "(This year) we ordered a very, very large flag that is going to encompass the street, and we have people who have volunteered to carry the flag. It will bring a tear to your eye if you've had a loved one serve." Pioneer Gardens in Moses Lake will hold a ceremony Monday morning at 11 a.m., and American Legion Post 51 will hold one at the Ritzville Cemetery, also at 11 a.m. The Veterans of Foreign Wars will hold a ceremony at 11 a.m. as well, at Bess Hampton Cemetery in Othello. The American Legion and other volunteers will place flags and crosses on the graves at the Ephrata cemetery Friday night, according to Legion Auxiliary spokesperson Jane Montaney. The Beezley Hills Community Flag Association will put out the Aisle of Flags at the Ephrata cemetery on Monday morning starting about 7 a.m., Montaney said. "We have casket flags ... and they have the name of the deceased on the banding of the flag," she said. "And as we're putting them up or taking them down, we're looking at that name and offering up a prayer for that veteran and his or her family." The Legion will hold ceremonies at the cemeteries in Soap Lake, Ephrata and Quincy on Monday, with the honor guard from Art Semro Post 28 in Ephrata participating in all three. The Soap Lake ceremony will be at 10 a.m., Ephrata at 11 a.m. and Quincy at 12:30 p.m. At 11 a.m., the Forgotten Heroes Memorial at the Grant County International Airport will commemorate the 87 servicemen who died when their transport plane crashed at what was then Larson Air Force Base in 1952. That memorial was established by Million Air owner Larry Godden, who passed away earlier this year, and Million Air General Manager Mark Bonaudi has taken it over, Bonaudi said. Pastor Mike Swartz of Lake Valley Baptist Church, a retired army chaplain, will deliver the invocation, and Buck Naff will sing the National Anthem. "I'll have (Port of Moses Lake) Commissioner Darren Jackson speak briefly, and then I'll read about the event," Bonaudi said. "We will call off every single name of the 87 service members who lost their lives that day, and upon the name being read, a bell will ring. Then we have 100 long-stemmed roses for the people who are attending to bring up and lay against the memorial." The ceremony will close with taps and a benediction, also by Swartz. "This is very important to the community," Bonaudi said. "I want to make sure that we keep it going, that the 87 forgotten don't get forgotten." Memorial Day, May 26 Moses Lake: 11 a.m. at Pioneer Memorial Gardens, 14403 Road 2 NE, Moses Lake. Soap Lake: 10 a.m., Valley View Memorial Park, 20174 Road A NE. Ephrata: 11 a.m., 333 E Street SW. Othello: 11 a.m. at Bess Hampton Cemetery, 1915 E. Cemetery St. Ritzville: 11 a.m. at Ritzville Memorial Cemetery, five miles west of Ritzville on Rosenoff Road. Quincy: 12:30 p.m. at Quincy City Cemetery, Seventh Avenue and F Street Southwest.
