Tri-City Area and Real Estate Blog

Bogert Aviation is the new hero to four CBC students by donating $9,000 to help the students compete in a national Skills USA competition.  The competition is scheduled for June 20-26 and is geared towards automated manufacturing technology and its a teamwork project.

Owner Richard Bogert has hired several CBC students over the years and has been very pleased with the quality of his employees. He felt it was time to give back to the CBC program that gave him such qualified employees. 

Rob Walker, the instructor of CBC’s Machine Technology program indicates that a name change is due for the program, from Machine Technology to Manufacturing Technology because of the level of skills that consist in the program more accurately fit into the manufacuring fields.

4000+ students from Tri-City elementary and middle schools gathered in Columbia Park to wish a fond farewell to the salmon fingerlings they have watched grow in their classrooms for the past 3 months. The 10th Annual Salmon Summit was held at Columbia Park in Kennewick on May 4th near the blue bridge. Throughout the period when the students were watching the fish, they learned about the stages of life for the salmon and about what the name “salmon” means, which is “jumping fish’.  Each of the past 10 years the Benton and Franklin Conservation Districts have established this release event, with students putting the fish into small cups and then releasing them into the waters of the mighty Columbia River.  It will be approximately 4 years before the salmon return to this area after their long and arduous trip down the river to the ocean.

On Tuesday a $500,000 boost came to the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center from the state supplemental budget. This funding came from the Heritage Capital Projects Fund, a program run by the state Historical Society. The Richland Public Facilities District, who is the public agency overlooking the construction of the Center found that another agency had withdrawn its request for funding and decided to request the legislature to redistribute the money to the Reach project.

The Center is a proposed 61,000 square-foot interpretive center which will tell the story of the Hanford Reach National Monument and the surrounding plants and wildlife, geology and historyof the region. The location for the Center has been in flux from the start after objections from area tribes. However, a proposal to place the building at the west end of Columbia Park is under consideration by both the Kennewick and Richland city councils, as they work on the master plan for Columbia Park as a whole.

HAPO Community Credit Union will be sponsoring this years Annual River of Fire Festival in Columbia Park, according to the Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce. The event takes place on July 4th and is billed as the largest fireworks presentation in Southeastern Washington. A Tidewater barge anchored on the Columbia River will be the platform for the fireworks setup and spectators can watch the $20,000 fireworks display from any spot in Columbia Park, along with from most higher elevations in both Kennewick & Pasco.

The day long event begins at 10 am with cardboard Boat Races, the Kid’s Area opens at 11 and at noon, the Opening Ceremonies will take place. Stage entertainment will cxommence at 12;15pm and continue until 10pm. The finale of the day will be the 25 minute firework display.

If you are interested in becoming a sponsor or a volunteer for this family-friendly event, connect with the wonderful folks at the Tri-City Regional Chamber office by calling 736-0510.

City council members from both Kennewick and Richland are in agreement that the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center would be a wonderful addition to the west end of Columbia Park, however there are concerns about the money to make it a reality.  Development of the west end of the park have long been debated, with alternatives for both commerical development and keeping it as a public park with improvements visualized.  The public would like to have a more useable park atmosphere, while planners & developers for both cities wanted more options for commerical use. When the option to add the Reach Center was proposed, it seemed like a perfect fit. The final decision lies in the hands of the Corps of Engineers and potentially could be approved next week.  Let’s keep our fingers cross that the Reach Center finds a new home in Columbia Park and that all parties involved can find a middle ground on the issue.

On a sunny, but chilly Sunday morning last weekend, hundreds of motorcycle enthusiasts rode together from Flat Top Park in West Richland, through Kennewick’s Columbia Park and gathered together in the parking lot of Full Throttle Motorcycle in Central Kennewick. (Take a look at the video below).

Desert Thunder Mototorcycle Club sponsored the run again this year and each biker had purchased a new toy to bring with them along on the ride, and at the end loaded up their toys into the back of three pickups. The toys are being donated to a local organization that will distribute them to local area unprivledged children.

Washington Operation Thank You is a non-profit group that send care packages to troops every 6 weeks they received monetary donations from the bikers to aid in their mission to send Christmas care packages to our local troops serving overseas.