Thumbs up,Thumbs down
Humble heroes
“This is one you just have to help.”
That’s what Winderemere Tri-Cities owner Dave Retter told a Herald reporter about his role in the donation of a vehicle to a young family last week.
The parents had lost their ability to get their 15-month-old disabled son to Seattle for his regular medical care when thieves stole and wrecked their van.
The donations were the culmination of a quick effort on the part of Kennewick Police Chief Ken Hohenberg, the department’s Community Cares Fund, Retter and Dwight and Carmen Marquart of Toyota Tri-Cities.
For Retter, Hoehenberg and the Marquarts there have been many, many “just have to help” causes — too many to list here.
They, and many others like them, quietly give — time and time again — so others in our community can live a better life.
They don’t seek recognition. In fact, they will be embarassed by being referred to as heros in this editorial.
But to at least one 15-month-old child and his parents, there’s no other appropriate description.
And our job at the Herald is to tell it as we see it.
And that’s the way we see it.
It’s no surpise that these same people started the Community Cares Fund that also participated in the donation. There have been many instances, that never made the paper, let alone the front page, where the fund has helped those in need.
You can join the ranks of the Humble Heros who make our community so special by donating to the Community Cares Fund.
Donations can be sent to the Kennewick Police Department Foundation, 8524 W. Gage Blvd. A-1, P.O. Box 311, Kennewick, 99336.
Leaders with vision
For more than a decade the Friends of Badger Mountain have been working to provide public access to the summit of Candy Mountain. That access is a critical piece in group’s vision of a 20-mile network of ridge-top trails that starts at Amon Basin on the Kennewick-Richland border and extends to the Yakima River by way of the summits of Little Badger Mountain, Badger Mountain, Candy Mountain and Red Mountain.
Tuesday, Benton County commissioners approved an agreement to buy eight Candy Mountain parcels for $1.4 million, securing that access.
The land purchases are being paid for by $695,000 from Friends of Badger and matched by a grant from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office. Friends of Badger raised more than $850,000 with lead gifts of $300,000 from CH2M Hill Plateau and $100,000 from Bechtel National.
Thumbs up to the Friends of Badger Mountain and the Benton County commissioners for their vision.
Deadly need for speed
Last week a Pasco teen was killed in a fatal rollover near Road 100. Video evidence and wintnesses suggest he was one of three cars racing on a stretch of I-182 that has become popular with the local street racing culture.
“It’s a flat out miracle this doesn’t happen frequently,” said Washington State Patrol Sgt. David Kaiser.
Kaiser said he recently pursued two cars exceeding 130 mph on I-182 neer the Road 68 exit, only managing to catch one of them.
It’s also “a flat out miracle” that this reckless behavior hasn’t killed some innocent family on their way to school or work.
If you see this kind of behavior, call 911. Let’s put a stop to it.
This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Thumbs up,Thumbs down."