If the Moses Lake School Districts closes school due to inclement weather, the Larson & Downtown Clubs will be closed.

The decision to be closed is based upon safety.  We want to ensure that; our Club members and staff are able to arrive safely, whether they are walking or driving and that they avoid the circumstance of being “stranded” at a Club site.    KBSN/KDRM radio station (99.3) will run Club closure announcements in the early morning, along with the school closure announcements.    Closure confirmations will also be posted on our Face book page (BGC of Columbia Basin)

…..in the meantime, enjoy the snow and be safe!

Join us as we proudly take part in Macy’s Thanks For Sharing.

As one of our valued supporters, you’ll have the opportunity to champion Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin and other charitable causes.

Starting September 14, 2011, put your $25 enrollment on your Macy’s Credit Card and you’ll get 10% rewards on most Macy’s Card purchases* from your enrollment date through December 31, 2011.

Thanks to you, Macy’s will donate $10, up to $15 million to participating charities.  The first $3 million raised will benefit Go Red For Women.  The balance, up to an additional $12 million, will be donated to Make-A-Wish Foundation, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Futures Without Violence, formerly Family Violence Prevention Fund as well as local Boys & Girls Clubs like ours.

Enrollment is easy.  Visit macys.com/thanks, ask a Sales Associate at any Macy’s or call 1-888-933-6229.

*Terms and conditions apply.  See a Macy’s Sales Associate or go to macys.com/thanks for details.

MOSES LAKE – A $15,000 grant brings the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin closer to building a new clubhouse, possibly this summer.

The Staples Foundation for Learning gave the grant to the clubs this week.

“This new facility will have a dedicated teen space,” commented Brant Mayo, the club’s executive director. “This will allow us to run new programs and services designed for the teen members.”

The existing downtown club on Third Avenue, in downtown Moses Lake, and a second location on Arnold Street, do not have space for teens.

“It is a demographic we want to have more impact with,” Mayo stated.

In both locations, activities are provided for more than 200 youth per day.

They also learn about character and leadership development, “while increasing their community service participation and future academic and employment opportunities,” he explained.

The grant application started with the manager of the Moses Lake Staples store, Kevin Donovan.

Staples supports the club with donations, but wanted to go further, Donovan explained.

“I wanted to do something more specific for the local club,” he said. “Hopefully, it will help them get a little closer to their goal, to building their new facility.”

Staples staff members bring their children to the club, he explained.

“We’re so excited to help Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin make after-school programs that make a positive impact available to more youth throughout the community,” stated Amy Shanler, director of community relations for Staples.

“Staples Foundation is committed to supporting Boys & Girls Clubs of the Columbia Basin as they work hard to provide phenomenal academic and enrichment programs that help local youth reach their full potential,” she added.

Last year, the clubs started the public portion of their capital campaign to raise $1.5 million for its new clubhouse.

The site is located next to Park Orchard Elementary School, on Paxson Drive, in Moses Lake. The school is set to open this fall.

MOSES LAKE – Giggles and squeals of surprise mark Thursdays at the Boys & Girls Club on Arnold Drive.

Student teachers from Heritage University spend an hour each Thursday teaching children at the club about science.

Heritage adjunct John Bartkowski supervises the student teachers and gets a kick out of the lessons that present the wonders of science in a fun lesson.

“This is a unit on water,” Bartkowski said. Surface tension, buoyancy and other water-related lessons are all part of a semester of Thursdays spent at the club.

Bartkowski said Heritage has done science lessons with students in Moses Lake for the last three years but this is the first year it’s being done at the Boys & Girls Club.

“The benefit of having it here is that this is a much more conducive setting to separate the groups,” Bartkowski said.

For middle school students like Starr Hernandez, 13, of Moses Lake, the science lessons are a way to couple fun and learning.

“My favorite thing is to do the tests,” Hernandez said. “I’ve been coming for three weeks.”

Hernandez said she heard about the program from a student advisor at school.

“It sounded pretty cool and I wanted to join in,” Hernandez said.

For instructor Matt Wood, the class gives him a chance to work with students in the real world.

“My wife teaches and I love working with kids,” Wood said.

While earning his teaching certificate, Wood is also a substitute teacher.

He called the move toward becoming a teacher a “natural fit.”

“Last week, they did the Mentos in water,” Bartkowski said. “That is always fun.”

For more information about the science classes or the Boys & Girls Club, call 509-762-5832.

By Lynne Lynch
Herald staff writer Columbia Basin Herald

MOSES LAKE – About 15 kids learned more about the nuances of leadership and character-building as new Torch Club members.

The students, mainly ages 11-13, are also members of the Boys & Girls Club in Moses Lake.

Thursday’s meeting featured a talk from Chuck Sutton, REC Silicon’s head of commercial planning, and a Boys & Girls Club board member. He spoke about leadership and his career at the company.

Sutton began working as an operator, later advancing to the positions of supervisor and manager.

He told the students to take their skills and develop them.

“If you can do that, it creates opportunities for you,” he commented.

He asked the kids to describe what a leader is.

They replied with range of answers, including someone who is good with people, has responsibility, is a role model and doesn’t think negatively.

Leaders are positive and polite, have integrity, are trustful, and have vision, drive and commitment, Sutton added.

He also explained how leaders have good organizational skills, but that everyone makes mistakes.

It’s important to plan, budget and continually improve.

He also spoke about the importance of good citizenship, cultural understanding and understanding people.

Leadership skills are built by doing those things.

The group learned more about REC Silicon, one of Grant County’s largest employers. The company offers several types of jobs.

The jobs are mechanical, chemical and electrical engineers, managers, supervisors, gas operators, payroll clerks, accountants, computer, medical, trainers, welders, machinists, pump specialists, lab testers, buyers, designers, drafters, salesmen, product managers and marketing.

The company also has a sister plant in Butte, Mont., and eight worldwide locations, doing business in 50 different countries.

He’s traveled to 25 countries in seven years on business.

In Moses Lake, the company is four times larger than it was a few years ago.

REC Silicon’s customers use their products to make LCD screens found in TVs and computers.

Sutton also shared photos of his international travels with the company and gave the students plush molecules to take home.

Afterward, the kids received small lapel pins from the Boys & Girls Club to wear to their weekly meetings.

Savannah Gonzales, 9, of Moses Lake, said she decided to join the club because she thought it was interesting to learn how to be a leader.

“When we were doing our permission slips, it said we would help the community in different ways,” she said. “I thought that was really neat. We need a change in the community. We need to get more food to the poor people and to help people.”

Damian Torres, 10, of Moses Lake, became involved because he always wanted to be a leader.

“I wanted to be ready for life,” Torres said.

Joey Valdobinos, 10, of Moses Lake, said he thought the club sounded kind of cool.

“It’s really interesting and really fun,” he added.

This is truly a work in progress and we greatly appreciate your patience as we go through the process of not only compiling all the necessary information but also learning to navigate through the program. We hope you enjoy the new site as much as we do!

The new clubhouse will help children avoid being recruited by gangs, Washington state Attorney General Rob McKenna said at the event.

“This is a problem throughout our state,” he said. “This is not an Eastern Washington problem, a Yakima problem, a Grant County problem; this is happening everywhere.”

Law enforcement’s responsibility is arresting the leaders and separating them from the community, he said, adding police succeeded in the late 1980s and early 1990s in 
combating this problem.

“So successfully, when the South-Central L.A. gangs were infiltrating up to Washington state, that many jurisdictions shut down their gang units,” he said. “So we know one of our goals has to be to cut off the head of the snake.”

Organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club become important in stopping recruitment, McKenna said, adding gangs are recruiting children at younger ages. Leaders do this to avoid longer prison sentences.

“Somewhere in the state, one young person is shooting another young person,” he said. “I’m sick to death of reading headlines in Washington news stories that say, ‘Teenagers killing each other, wounding each other, harming innocent bystanders.’”

The children have substituted gangs for families, McKenna said, adding people are waging a battle for the hearts and minds of children.

“Particularly those that are most vulnerable to this kind of recruitment – kids who are poor, kids who are homeless, kids who come from single-parent households or no-parent households,” he said. “We have to understand that there are bad guys out there actively working to win them over, to use them and then dispose of them.”

< click for full story >

October 25, 2010

From the Columbia Basin Herald

As Mia Arntson, 3, sat on a hay bale, Star Arntson carefully arranged the layered sleeves of her daughter’s Halloween costume.

After making the last finishing touches, Star snapped a few photos of her smiling daughter, dressed as a witch.

“It’s her first time doing all this fun stuff,” Star said about Mia.

Mia was born prematurely and was sick during past Halloweens, her mom explained.

This year is different, though. Mia said she picked out her witch costume, along with the small black hat perched on her head.

Then as she jumped up and down, she said “candy!” It was her favorite part of the day.

Mia and Star were among the many families that poured into McCosh Park Saturday for the Boys & Girls Club harvest festival.

Despite the clouds and cool weather, the park was filled with parents and kids enjoying the activities. Some kids were wearing costumes, while others were not.

Face painting, bean bag throwing, petting zoo, arts and crafts, picking pumpkins and a candy hay hunt were among the many activities offered.

Horizon Credit Union sponsored the event.

“We saw over 1,700 people today,” said Brant Mayo, the club’s executive director. “It was great. We had other non-profits and organizations that were part of it. The weather held out nice for us.”

Lillian Hastings, 1, of Moses Lake, was playing in the pumpkin patch located in the center of the activity booths.

Dressed as a snowflake princess in a long, light blue dress with a tiara, she picked up one pumpkin at a time and arranged them around her.

Her mom, Andrea Hastings, said it was Lillian’s first time at the event.

Andrea said her daughter was having fun.

Nearby, a farmer’s market was being held, which drew crowds of people into the park to buy popcorn, pastries, produce and other items.

From the Columbia Basin Herald

For a few hours on Saturday night, flapper dresses and fedoras made a fashion comeback.

More than 350 people donned their best Roaring 20s outfits in support of the Boys and Girls Club 15th annual fund-raiser held at Big Bend Community College.

The night-long event included wine and microbrew tasting, silent auction, dinner and live auction.

A jazz band filled the halls with lively tunes.

“This auction has exceeded all of our expectations; we have exceeded the amount of money we raised last year,” said club executive director Brant Mayo.

Total profit raised from the fund-raiser will not available until later this week, he said.

Last year, the fund-raiser raised close to $125,000.

“Even with the tough economic times, everyone was extremely generous. We had such a nice turnout this year,” said Mayo.

Approximately 270 items were up for auction at this fund-raiser.

Former Moses Lake resident artist Anthony Kaufmann’s structural piece was bought by a local business for $3,500, according to Mayo.

The business then donated the artwork back to the Boys and Girls organization.

Money from the fund-raiser will go toward operational budget costs only, said Boys and Girls Club board president Bob Tatum.

He said the club board works hard each year to come up with a fund-raiser theme.

Last year, the fund-raiser’s theme was the Kentucky Derby, and James Bond was the theme for 2008.

“We like to have people have fun while they are supporting us. It’s also a good way to get supporters back each year,” said Tatum.

Attending their fifth club fund-raiser, Chuck and Lori Sutton said the event is a way to give back to the community.

“We’ve raised our entire family here and now its time to give back to Moses Lake,” said Lori Sutton.

“Our children never wanted anything because we were able to give them things they wanted. Now they are out of the house, we want to help kids in need,” said Chuck Sutton. “Everyone should have the same opportunities as everyone else.”

Dressed in a vanilla cream argyle vest, checkered pants, knee-high socks and a newsboy cap to top off the old school look, Don Kersey said he has been coming to the fund-raiser for years.

“It’s a really good cause; I hope they raise a lot of money for the club,” said Kersey, who donated a bottle of wine to be auctioned.

“Whatever breaks we can give the kids, I’m all for it,” said Kersey, a Moses Lake resident.

The Moses Lake club currently has about 850 members, according to Mayo. Forty percent are Hispanic, 45 percent are Caucasian and 15 percent are comprised of various minority groups, he said.

“More than 70 percent of our members are qualified to receive free or reduced lunch at school,” said Mayo.

Membership costs $10 per child, but the club does not turn anyone who cannot afford membership dues away, he said.

“We are starting to run out of room at the Moses Lake club. We are near capacity with members,” said Tatum.

He said club officials are looking to build another Boys and Girls club near Park Orchard Elementary School located at Paxson Drive.

“In a perfect world, with all the funds raised for the new club, we would begin building the new club at the end of Spring 2011,” said Mayo.

This year’s fund-raiser was sponsored by the Moses Lake Lioness Club.

September 28, 2010

From the Columbia Basin Herald

What is 8 inches wide by 8 inches long by 8 feet tall and made out of basalt?

A structural art piece created by former Moses Lake resident Anthony Kaufmann three weeks ago.

“The most challenging thing so far about this piece is the size of it and the material it’s made out of, basalt. It is a very laborious material. Basalt is harder than granite, and it can be very brittle at times, too,” described Kaufmann. “When I work fast, I don’t have control, but when I have control, I don’t work fast.”

But that’s all he’ll divulge about his artwork.

He’s waiting for his piece to be unveiled at the Boys and Girls Club auction on Saturday.

“I want it to be a big surprise. I don’t want anyone to see it or know about it until that night,” said Kaufmann, 40.

He said he will use his truck to deliver the piece.

Boys and Girls club board member Steve Rimple contacted Kaufmann about two months ago to see if he’d be interested in contributing to the auction.

“I was familiar with his work and talked to a few people about him. I thought it would be interesting to have him create a piece for the auction,” said Rimple. “I thought one of the new items this auction could include more of was work from artists.”

Kaufmann said it was an honor to be asked to be part of the auction.

“I see this artwork opportunity as doing something for my home. It’s refreshing to work in Moses Lake, there isn’t as much micromanaging as there is in the big city,” said Kaufmann, who currently resides in Seattle.

But his first home was in Moses Lake.

He grew up in the Highwalker Valley area.

“It was a place where if you sit outside, all you would see is the never-ending green grass,” said Kaufmann.

He attended Peninsula Elementary, Frontier Junior High, Moses Lake High School and graduated from Big Bend Community College in 1990.

His first structural piece for Moses Lake was created in 2005 is called “Gabriel’s Whisper.” It currently is at Neppel Park.

He moved to Seattle about 19 years ago. Since then, Kaufmann has made a living designing and building custom gardens and doing construction work. He also created his own art studio, 3000BC Studios, 11 years ago.

Kaufmann’s artwork will benefit more than 1,000 kids enrolled in the Boys and Girls Club program, said executive director Brant Mayo.

“We only charge $10 per kid, so this fund-raiser is going to be how we fill the budget gaps needed to fill the money needed to have those services,” said Mayo.

The auction will go toward operational budget, staff facilities, and provide supplies for the children, according Mayo.

Kaufmann said he has two goals for his artwork.

“I hope that it earns money for the kids, and secondly, I hope the art piece finds a deserving home where it can be displayed,” said Kaufmann.

Last year, the fund-raiser raised close to $125,000.

At this year’s auction, there will be wine and microbrew tasting, a dinner prepared by Gonzaga University chef Thomas Morisette as well as silent and live auctions.

The dress theme this year will be the Roaring ‘20s. Pervious auction themes have included the Kentucky Derby and 007.

“For the past few auctions, we’ve geared the fund-raiser to be more dress-themed. We thought it would be a good way for the people of Moses Lake to dress up if they wanted to,” said Mayo.