Children buy pickets for Doolittle park

MOSES LAKE - Students from three Moses Lake elementary schools joined hands to help buy fence pickets for Gen. James H. Doolittle Park.

Students at North Elementary School, Discover Elementary School and Knolls Vista Elementary School collected money to buy the fence pickets.

Pickets are available for $35 each, and they include up to 18 characters printed on them.

Organizer Tara Childs estimated 20 fence pickets were purchased by the three schools.

For their effort, Big Bend Community College's mascot Thor visited students Friday. Classes with the largest totals from each school received a donut party.

"We're thankful those schools stepped up to do something for our community," Childs said.

Alsted Read Estate co-owner Mark Fanning brought Thor and the donuts to the schools.

"It's simply that they are taking an interest, that we're happy about," Fanning said.

The first school to be visited was Discover Elementary School. Students collected $322, enough to purchase nine pickets. Monica McAtee's fourth-grade class collected the largest total of $59. Their classroom's nickname, Discover Rainforest, is being imprinted on the pickets. "I'm thrilled that they're giving back to the community," McAtee said.

Fourth-grade student Maricella Pimentel, 10, estimated she donated $8 in bills, plus some change.

"I brought in so much change because I thought it would be nice for the Doolittle park to have more stuff," Pimentel said.

Childs said buying fence pickets helps the children feel as if they are part of the park. If the children have purchased a piece of the park, they will feel a stronger desire to protect it, she said.

She hopes to sell a total of 1,110 pickets to the community.

For more information, call Tara Childs at 509-771-0074.